Summer 2013

rehead

CI-CCI: The Future is Now!

The library directors of Drake University, Grinnell College, Grand View University, Central College, and Simpson College announced the formation of the Central Iowa Collaborative Collections Initiative (CI-CCI) this summer. The directors have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize the initiative.CI-CCI has four immediate goals:First, to responsibly reduce the size of local print collections by reducing duplication among the participating libraries so that library space may be freed up for other uses.

Second, to create and maintain a distributed, shared collection of these titles to ensure that circulating copies of them are retained within the group.

Third, to coordinate acquisitions with the goal of developing a shared collection among the participants to reduce duplication and to leverage acquisition funds.

Fourth, to establish an environment where exploration and additional areas of collaboration can flourish.

By launching this shared print initiative, Cowles can free up space for more pressing needs such as student study space, a learning commons, and archives. A key component of this initiative is that the group will also focus on developing a shared collection development approach to allow the participants to make better use of acquisitions dollars. For many items it will eliminate the need to duplicate book purchases within the group since the collections will be shared. This should allow libraries to offer a greater depth of materials. Additionally, the collaboration lays the framework for more targeted future collaboration among the participants.Teri Koch, Cowles Library Collection Development Coordinator, worked on this project during her spring semester sabbatical. Koch worked on developing this collaboration along with Pam Rees, the Library Director at Grand View University. Library Dean, Rod Henshaw, laid the ground work for this kind of project to flourish during his recent tenure as Chair of the Iowa Private Academic Libraries (IPAL) consortium.

The CI-CCI group is now listed in the Print Archives Preservation Registry (PAPR). This registry is maintained by the Center forResearch Libraries. CI-CCI is one of 26 similar projects listed. CI-CCI is in distinguished company since the list includes such well known preservation projects as Portico, and the Orbis-Cascade Alliance.