Collaboration = Doing More with More

NEW YORK (06/04/2013)(readMedia)-- Like many others throughout the country, New York libraries have been tasked with providing more essential services with fewer financial resources -- an equation that is clearly unsustainable. Instead, libraries must focus on doing more with more, building on existing collaborations and developing new ones, removing barriers to cooperation, and proving that working together ultimately improves the services provided to constituent communities.

That is the conclusion of I2NY: Envisioning an Information Infrastructure for New York, a report released by the NY 3Rs Association, Inc.

"The I2NY Report reflects our assessment of the current conditions for collaboration and shared project management among libraries in the state," stated Kathleen Miller, Chair of the NY 3Rs Association.

"We are very pleased that there is great interest in moving forward with a number of collaborative initiatives, including statewide digitization of research resources, open access of original research articles and data, and development of models to reduce the cost of e-books and electronic journals through the use of aggregated purchases," continued Ms. Miller. "We anticipate that this report will be the basis for the development of working task groups in these, and other areas, and we expect a fairly quick turnaround time in beginning the actual work of implementing these important recommendations."

Bart Harloe, Executive Director of the ConnectNY Library Consortium and a participant in the planning process agreed, stating: "The I2NY report and subsequent initiatives represent important opportunities to address long-standing concerns about the need to develop more cost effective and efficient collaborative models for libraries of all kinds."

A copy of the I2NY Report can be found at http://www.ny3rs.org/i2ny-2/ and at the websites of the various NY 3Rs Association members. The I2NY Report is also being distributed to the New York State Board of Regents, the governor and state legislators, the media and the library community throughout New York.

About the NY 3Rs Association, Inc.: The NY 3Rs Association is an educational corporation founded in 2003 by the nine reference and research library resources in New York state. The purpose of the Association is to improve library services in New York; further the development of research resources on a statewide level; increase cooperation and resource sharing among libraries and library systems; and support improved economic development, health care, and information technology thorough libraries in New York.