Timothy M. McGeary
Associate University Librarian for Information Technology Services
Duke University
Joe M. Williams
Interim Associate University Librarian for Collections & Services
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Elisabeth M. Long
Associate University Librarian for IT and Digital Scholarship
University of Chicago
Robert Cartolano
Associate Vice President for Technology and Preservation
Columbia University
Heidi Nance
Director of Resource Sharing Initiatives
Ivy Plus Libraries Partnership
Lisa Croucher
Executive Director
Triangle Research Libraries Network
Ben Heet
Program Officer
Triangle Research Libraries Network
In this session, panelists representing the memberships of TRLN (Triangle Research Libraries Network) and Ivy Plus will discuss their experiences working on two different collaborative projects that each aim to provide shared discovery of collections across multiple institutions: TRLN’s Discovery Project and IvyPlus’s BorrowDirect Shared Index Project. The panel will discuss the benefits of collaboration and explore the challenges presented by their different contexts including: • Formal vs. informal organizational structures • Different levels of staffing • An upgrade project vs. a new initiative • Use of dedicated staff vs. consultants • Geographic proximity vs. dispersion Despite these differences, both projects also have many aspects in common. Both have questions about sustaining and maintaining the shared discovery platforms, and both expect local uses of the shared discovery index to take priority in decision making. Panelists will share the successes each collaboration has accomplished and lessons learned to date. Panelists will engage with each other, and the audience, to explore the issues raised in these two case studies in order to highlight some of the more complex and rewarding aspects of collaborative IT projects.
