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Marcum encourages collaboration between information technology departments and university libraries

When it came to promoting the meaningful collaboration between information technology and academic libraries in higher education, Deanna Marcum, president of the Council on Library and Information Resources, began a recent discussion on campus by questioning the audience of library and information technology (IT) staff.

How will IT and libraries collaborate to support research technology? Why aren't libraries and IT coordinating their efforts? Why is support difficult?

Perhaps, suggested Marcum, whose visit was co-sponsored by University Computer Policy and Law (UCPL) and Cornell University Library, the answer lies in common stereotypes. Libraries are considered repositories of the past, whereas IT is seen as innovators of the future.

Marcum focused her discussion on the central concern of users, suggesting that the greatest potential failure of a meaningful collaboration would result in users being confused and uncertain about resources in general.

The intermediate challenge for colleges and universities is to find the combined value of these two formerly separate departments and strive to place them in the context of timing and research. It's in the interest of higher education to promote their collaboration to enhance its larger mission.

In the afternoon session, Marcum reflected on her experiences as a historian working through archival materials and the dynamics underlying the acquisition and appropriation of digital data in library collections. Recognizing the significance of choices made for collections as well as the appreciation of innovative technologies and formats that shape the collections process, Marcum sought a deep appreciation of the values, technologies and choices underscoring the collections process.

"We are faced with a need to think of new ways to cope with the onslaught of information in all formats. And we must think about our new technological tools in terms of broadening participation in their use," said Marcum.

"This means that we, as librarians, should be thinking about making the use of resources as simple as possible, because achieving technical perfection is not as important as sharing the wealth, taking advantage of the technologies' ability to transfer libraries from a few buildings to millions of individuals' computers. The question becomes, how easy can we make this while still preserving the resources for use beyond the current generation?"

"Deanna Marcum is a first-rate innovative intellectual, precisely the kind of leader that libraries, IT and higher education overall need and desire to meet the daunting challenges of the 21st century," said Tracy Mitrano, policy advisor for the Office of Information Technologies and director of UCPL.

"What she has to say is of the utmost importance for Cornell, if not for all campuses-not only for the conclusions she draws about collaboration, but for the questions she raises about who we are as academics, staff and administrators, what foundational services we hope to provide users, and the purposes for which we struggle."

Marcum's afternoon lecture and a personal interview with Mitrano are available online. UCPL's mission is to further information technologies ethics education.

By Leslie Intemann (04/10/03)