“If you build it, they will come.” But will they?
Libraries and library consortia have a long history of creating spaces, services, collections and programs in hopes of meeting the wants and needs of the multiplicity of communities they serve. In today’s landscape of uncertainty and disruption, how do we ensure that we as library staff and consortial partners stay tuned in to what the many communities we serve desire from us?
“Community ownership” is a term often used to suggest responsibility and direction provided by a community or group of stakeholders for initiatives, infrastructure, or services with distinct benefits that include a high degree of responsiveness to the community’s wants and needs. But what does it mean to put community ownership into practice in academic libraries or within a library consortium? As most of us rely increasingly on collaboration, how do we support community ownership while balancing the wants and needs of the many communities libraries serve simultaneously? What might community ownership look like, what does it empower us to do, and what does it suggest we should stop doing? How does it change our expectations and the expectations of those we serve?
PALCI’s Annual Meeting Virtual Events Series will explore the theme of community ownership in terms of libraries as place, collections, collaborations, library service offerings, access to information, software and technology choices, and more.
Registration & Recordings
Registration is free and open to all staff of PALCI libraries and invited guests.
Recordings available to all PALCI members in PALCI’s ConsortiaManager portal (login required, contact support@palci.org if you need assistance)
September Virtual Events
Recordings and slides now available in ConsortiaManager. (Need a login to ConsortiaManager? Email us at support@palci.org)
September 8th, 12:00 – 1:00pm ET
with Tony Zanders, Skilltype
Skilltype – Sharing our Expertise: A Product Demo & Conversation with speaker Tony Zanders – Skilltype is a software platform for libraries and consortia to analyze, develop, and share expertise. Developed in partnership with academic research libraries and professional associations, Skilltype aggregates professional development resources from conferences, vendors, and training providers around the world, to create personalized learning experiences for workers and organizations.
September 15th, 12:00 – 1:00pm ET
with Jill Hurst-Wahl and Raym Crow
A Conversation About Increasing Equitable Access to Information with panelists Raym Crow (Consultant, SPARC) and Jill Hurst-Wahl (Consultant and Professor Emerita, Syracuse University) – PALCI members will learn about Raym’s work with SPARC to collaboratively fund Open Access initiatives, and Jill’s work with Library Futures initiatives to build equitable access to information. Raym and Jill will highlight what they see as the challenges we face and the opportunities libraries have to collaboratively address equity issues in access.
September 22nd, 12:00 – 1:00pm ET
Incorporating Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Holistically in Consortial Work with Anne Osterman & Genya O’Gara (VIVA) – Virginia’s statewide consortium, VIVA, is working to infuse EDI principles throughout its initiatives and programs, from including relevant criteria in VIVA’s Open Grants program to starting an Anti-Racism Webinar Series to constructing EDI metrics for evaluating shared collections. Anne and Genya will share these diverse initiatives and hope to spark a discussion about this topic among attendees.
September 29th, 11:30am – 1:00pm ET
I-CLAP and PALCI Community Awards Celebration — Nominate your colleagues at your library or at partner PALCI libraries to celebrate their contributions to your community, the consortium, the profession, and beyond.
