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CARLI Ad Hoc Membership Committee

Report to the CARLI Board of Directors

October 21, 2005

The Membership Committee held its first meeting by teleconference on Friday, October 14, 2005.  Members attending were Paula Kaufman, Kathy Walsh (chair), and Eric Welch;  CARLI staff on the call were Tom Dorst, Kris Hammerstrand, Elizabeth Clarage, Connie Walsh, Dave Stewart, and Bernie Sloan.  Anne Craig, member representing the Illinois State Library, phoned in for portions of the meeting.  Members Jeff Garrett, James Huesmann, and Allen Lanham did not join the call (Walsh planned to follow up with each of them individually).

To begin discussion, Clarage (ICCMP), Dorst (IDAL), and Hammerstrand (ILCSO) reviewed the structures for membership and assessment (if any), and the services and programs, that applied to each of the “legacy” consortia.  This would provide background for discussing how these would translate to the CARLI environment, and how they might be expanded in future to include additional libraries.  In future meetings, the committee will also be examining how CARLI will define membership / participation in entirely new services and programs.

The committee used several principles to guide its work:

• Neither membership requirements nor fees / assessments should cut any library off from services it had previously enjoyed prior to the formation of CARLI.
• CARLI membership requirements and any assessments should be structured in ways that will encourage participation and will not impose undue hardship.
• The committee supports the basic membership requirements that are specified in CARLI Bylaws adopted in May 2005:  “All higher education institutions in Illinois that are recognized by the Illinois Board of Higher Education and that are members of the ILLINET network are eligible for membership in CARLI.”  The committee also fully supports the Bylaws’ provision for the Board to consider on a case-by-case basis petitions for membership by institutions that do not meet these requirements.

With the above information and assumptions in mind, this initial discussion produced the following suggestions:

1. CARLI membership could be structured in 3 “service levels,” as follows.  NOTE:  this provision may require revision of the CARLI Bylaws, Article 3.  Specific entitlements and eligibilities will be spelled out in further committee discussions.
   1. Level 1:  Library pays no fee and is entitled only to services offered at no direct cost to members, but may be eligible for some other services that may be available on a cost-recovery or at-cost basis.  Examples:
   • Use of I-Share for resource sharing, i.e., to request items held in the collections of I-Share libraries
   • Subsidized e-resources offered in the past via IDAL, including upgrades
   • Eligibility to apply for what were formerly known as ICCMP grants, and to participate in what were formerly known as ICCMP bibliographer programs
   • Eligibility to subscribe to the for-fee resources offered by CARLI, including those previously offered by ICCMP and IDAL
   • Eligibility to participate in other CARLI programs & services, such as professional development opportunities, CARLI meetings & conferences, etc. (some on cost-recovery basis)
   2. Level 2:  Library pays some sort of fee to become entitled to receive defined services beyond Level 1 (“all-or-nothing” plan; specific services to be determined at a later date).
   • Example:  additional databases that would not be available to libraries with Level 1 service.
   3. Level 3:  Library pays additional fees to opt into selected programs / services beyond levels 1 and 2 (“a la carte” plan, rather than “all-or-nothing”).   Examples:
   • Use of I-Share as ILS in support of local library operations
   • Use of WebFeat for federated search
   • Use of SFX as link resolver
   • Use of CONTENTdm to manage digital collections
2. The committee suggests that the question of adding additional libraries to services such as I-Share and the three digital library products be deferred until such time as the new CARLI AVP / ED has had the opportunity to assess resource implications for such service expansion.
3. The committee supports in principle the Illinois State Library’s expressed interest in pursuing future partnership opportunities between CARLI, multitype libraries, and regional systems.  Although details have not yet been discussed, the committee believes these partnerships could create important new opportunities for extended collaboration among libraries.  As with the previous item, the committee suggests that final decisions in this area be deferred until the new CARLI AVP / ED has had an opportunity to be involved in the discussion.

The committee’s next steps:

1. Gather comments from CARLI BOD at its October 21 meeting
2. Gather input from membership at CARLI’s initial Membership Meeting on October 28
3. Identify existing and proposed products, services, and programs to be incorporated within each membership level.  Develop specific cost structure by membership level for proposal to CARLI BOD [date ?]
4. Develop recommendations for expanded participation in Voyager ILS [date ?}
5. Develop recommendations for expanded participation in SFX, WebFeat, and CONTENTdm [date ?]
6. Review CARLI Bylaws and draft membership agreement and recommend revision as necessary [date ?]

We welcome CARLI Board members’ review and comments.

Kathy Walsh, Chair, Ad Hoc Membership Committee