AskARLIS Session 5
"From Collaborations to Consortia: Developing Partnerships"
March 20, 2000
Art Libraries Society of North America 28th Annual Conference, Pittsburgh , PA

Sponsored by:
Art & Design School Library Division
ARLIS/Canada
Public Libraries Division

Moderated by:
Jill Conner, Brand Library (Glendale)
Jill Patrick, Director of Library Services, Ontario College of Art & Design (Toronto)

Program Description:
Art and design libraries are investigating and participating in a range of mutually-beneficial partnerships -- from collaborations to full-fledged
consortia -- to improve outreach services, obtain grants for research & development projects, establish creative programs, and provide improved and
more economical access to automated systems, collections, electronic resources, and services.

The goal of this AskARLIS session was to present a variety of case studies, ranging from unique one-time projects to on-going consortial partnerships.
Panelists were asked to discuss planning, start-up, development and maintenance issues, how alliances were identified and formed, how needs were established and met, how goals and priorities were set, how concensus was reached, how decisions were made, how funding was obtained, and how success is being measured. The purpose of this session was to present as many viewpoints and ideas as possible for librarians who have not yet participated in a collaborative venture.

Presentations:
Five (5) speakers were confirmed but, due to illness, there were two last-minute cancellations. There were 3 presentations.

(1)
"Collaborative Exhibitions as Fundraising and Collection Development Tools."
James A. Findlay (Bienes Center for Literary Arts - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida) jfindlay@mail.bcl.lif.fl.us
 - discussed collaborations between the Biennes Center and the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Art for a Duane Hanson exhibit as well as collaboration
with the Miami City Ballet for an exhibit of works by Edwaerd Villella.

(2)
"Libraries, Schools, and Museums: Merging Cross-Disciplinary K-12 Instructional Activities Through Art and Technology." Sonja Staum-Kuniej
(Herron School of Art Library - Indianapolis, Indiana) sstaum@library.iupui.edu
 -  reported on the Herron School of Art's participation in the AMICO University testbed project and a $290,000 National Leadership Grant from
IMLS.

(3)
"Collaborative Ventures, Collaborative Gains." Laura Graveline (Maine College of Art Library - Portland, Maine) laurag@saturn.caps.maine.edu
 - presented information on 3 different cooperative ventures: MaineInfoNet (a union catalog), the Greater Portland Alliance of Colleges &
Universities (CPACU), and a nascent collaboration  involving the  Portland Public Library, Maine Historical Society, Portland Museum of Art, Portland
Performing Arts and the new Center for Cultural Exchange.

After brief 10 minute presentations, the moderators took questions from the floor and encouraged the audience to participate in a lively and informative
interaction.

Submitted by:

Jill Patrick
Director of Library Services
Ontario College of Art & Design
100 McCaul Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5T 1W1

jpatrick@ocad.on.ca