1	Collaboration & Consortia: Possibilities and Pitfalls Keynote Address at the OPAL (Ohio Private Academic Libraries) Conference Presented by Tom Peters August 5, 2005
2	60 Years, 180 Degrees 1945: Collaborator as social pariah 2005: Collaborator as social role model
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4	Collaboration Is “In” Grant funding agencies openly reward collaborative efforts Library consortia have flourished in the past 10 years The entire wiki movement Collaborative blogs Why does collaboration have such a high social value?
5	The Problem with Collaboration Reality often much different than the social ideal Impact and outcomes often delayed and intangible Requires patience and good faith Very labor intensive
6	The “Truth” About Collaboration For every project or program, its champion Collaboration is not the opposite of competition Collaboration is 10% inspiration, and 90% communication All collaboration, like all politics, is local Collaboration is the shared exploration of a desert in a sandstorm
7	Why Should Libraries Collaborate? Cost Avoidance Risk Management Spread the Start-Up Costs Seize an Emerging Opportunity Develop and Share Best Practices Staff Development Environmental conditions increasingly require collaboration
8	From Collaboration to Consortium One line of reasoning: If several libraries want to effectively and efficiently collaborate on an ongoing basis, they should form a consortium.
9	Albert, Prince Consort
10	History of Consortia Prince Consort as the husband of a reigning female sovereign A consortium is like a marriage! Libraries were into consortia before consortia were cool Agricultural cooperatives Resource sharing alliances Integrated Library Systems
11	Types of Consortia Highly Structured: Bylaws, governing boards, etc. Exclusive, but Less Structured Inclusive, but Less Structured Loose Federations Project-Specific Collaborative Efforts
12	Collaborating with the “Other” or with the “Enemy” Collaborating with other cultural materials organizations, such as museums Collaborating with other units within your organization Collaborating with other types of libraries (e.g., public or K-12 libraries) Collaborating with vendors Collaborating with Google!
13	Beware of the 3 P’s Personalities Politics Pecunia (money)
14	Other Consortial Pitfalls Continuing a consortial practice when it no longer is beneficial to the members Overlapping consortia Meetings, bloody meetings Conference calls, bloody conference calls Spreading the consortial energy too thin
15	Is it Possible to Foster Collaboration? Yes! More of an art than a science Requires the consortium to be both realistic and idealistic about collaboration Identify and support the champions of collaborative projects Develop a culture of collaboration
16	Ideas for Consortial Collaboration Collaborative specialized reference Collaborative “institutional” repository Shared testing and evaluation of the options within an emerging product category Shared preservation efforts
17	Possible Futures for Library Collaboration and Consortia Impromptu collaboration within and across libraries Consortium as an incubator More collaboration among non-birds-of-a-feather? Make collaboration more efficient and effective Collaboration will become less formal
18	Better Collaboration Tools Better group communication tools Better collaborative document creation software Better methods for gauging interest, instant polling Better project management software
19	The Mundane Mystery of Collaboration Collaboration really is mundane. Yet is also is mysterious. For consortial collaboration to succeed, we must honor both the mundanity and the mystery.
20	Questions and Discussion Tom Peters TAP Information Services Email: tpeters@tapinformation.com Phone: 816.228.6406 Website: www.tapinformation.com