originally: http://www.oclc.org/programs/communication/partnerupdates/prospectus0706.htm
July 2006 RLG Programs ProspectusOCLC research and RLG programs unite to advance exploration, innovation and community building for libraries, museums, archives, and cultural heritage organizations. PurposeThe new OCLC Programs and Research Division will support research institutions in collaboratively designing their future. We are allying RLG's programmatic work with OCLC's research work. This will create the leading venue for applied research, community building, and the prototyping of future systems and services in support of research and learning through libraries, archives, museums and related institutions worldwide. The new RLG Programs organization will sit alongside OCLC's Office of Research and will work with partner institutions. Through membership and participation in RLG Programs, partner institutions directly support innovation, prototyping and development work, helping them thrive in times of exciting and challenging change. This collective innovation and leadership is especially important today. Large aggregators of information such as search engines are transforming the way people consume and produce information. At the same time, we face new challenges in the creation, organization, and curation of large-scale digital collections. In what areas will RLG Programs work?OCLC Programs and Research will pursue a high-level agenda. We will work with libraries, museums and archives to collaboratively address changing architectural, workflow, and service issues. Work will typically be in the following areas: Curation: managing the cultural and scholarly record
Description: evolving practices and economics
People, places and things: organizing knowledge
Architecture, standards and best practices: building on solid foundations
Business intelligence: harnessing data to work better
Resource sharing
Outputs of RLG Programs may be research work, best practices, specifications, and prototypes. The expertise of existing and new programs staff will be marshaled to promote innovation and promote conditions for effective community consensus-making and requirements gathering. They will carry out their work in a team environment with colleagues from OCLC Research. How will RLG Programs advance its work?RLG Programs will influence policy, inform planning, and support practice in the following ways:
Partner participationThe RLG Programs organization is a membership organization. Its agenda will be shaped by the needs of its partners. Opportunities to influence the direction of programs, projects and initiatives will be many. Staff from partner institutions will work together to gain or share competence in the use of new technologies, contribute to the development of new standards, and collectively improve the ability of researchers and learners to find and use the rich collections that partners manage on their behalf. To ensure that the most effective agenda is pursued and that the collective outcomes are guaranteed acceptance and take-up in the community, institutions are invited to be RLG partners contributing annual financial support and staff expertise. We believe that any research institution with the following characteristics can be an engaged RLG partner:
Partner organizations support RLG Programs through participation in its programs and with annual dues. These dues are currently based on the size of the organization in order to allow motivated institutions both large and small to participate. The work of RLG Programs is guided by a Program Council, elected by partners. The Program Council reports to the OCLC Board of Trustees through a dedicated subcommittee of the Board. PeopleLorcan Dempsey is OCLC Chief Strategist and Vice President Programs and Research. He will have overall responsibility for OCLC Programs and Research. James Michalko is Vice President RLG Programs Development. He will take a chair on OCLC's Strategic Leadership Team. He will assure overall program coherence and oversee partner relations. Members of the RLG Programs Board of Trustees Standing Committee are James Neal (Chair) (Columbia University), Nancy Eaton (Pennsylvania State University), Carol Mandel (New York University), Lizabeth Wilson (University of Washington), Jane Ryland (Educause), Elisabeth Niggemann (Die Deutsche Bibliothek). Initial Program Council members are: Shirley Baker (Washington University in St Louis), Nancy Eaton (Pennsylvania State University), Ken Hamma (J. Paul Getty Trust), Tony Hey (Microsoft), Wendy Pradt Lougee (University of Minnesota), Clifford A Lynch (Coalition for Networked Information), Carol Mandel (New York University), James Neal (Columbia University), Chris Rusbridge (University of Edinburgh), Gary Strong (University of California, Los Angeles), Lizabeth Wilson (University of Washington), David Zeidberg (Huntington Library). How to joinTo learn more about how partnership can benefit your institution, read more on our Web page Becoming an RLG Programs Partner. To get in touch with us by phone or e-mail, please contact Nancy Elkington at +1-614-764-6375 or elkingtn@oclc.org. For more information |