Cornell University Library Staff Web

In accordance with a number of goals of the CUL Strategic Plan, a new CUL task force has been formed to develop some policies and principles for the future of alumni access to library resources.  Our sponsors are Janet McCue and John Saylor. Members include Erla Heyns, Angela Horne, Bill Kara, Brenda Marston, Maureen Morris, Jennifer Sawyer, myself (chair) and two alumni from the Library Advisory Board, Beth Anderson and Bonnie Eissner.

The task force charge is appended below. 

Virginia Cole, Ph.D.
Reference & Digital Services Librarian;
Medieval Studies & British History Bibliographer
Research and Learning Services

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Task Force on Alumni Outreach:

Members:  Virginia Cole (chair); Beth Anderson; Bonnie Eissner; Erla Heyns; Angela Horne; Bill Kara; Brenda Marston; Maureen Morris; Jennifer Sawyer

Charge:  The Library Task Force on Alumni Outreach will investigate the current state of and recommend future directions for the library’s service-related outreach to alumni.  Over the next year, the Task Force will: 
• recommend policies and means for communicating with alumni about access to collections and services.  This includes access to print collections and databases (free and licensed);  reference services (including research-on-demand, Ask-a-Librarian, and tools for managing research, including RefWorks); document delivery;  CIT’s alumni-related policies;
• review other university library websites to determine best practices and make recommendations for enhancing the current “Library Services for Alumni” web pages, http://alumni.library.cornell.edu/content/additional-services;
• craft guidelines for adding content to & maintaining the “Library Services for Alumni” web pages
• other service-related issues that arise in the coming year that might have a direct impact on services for Cornell alumni.

Membership: Membership on the task force should include staff members who have experience and knowledge of: central Cornell Alumni Affairs initiatives, directives, & opportunities; understanding of issues & policies concerning alumni borrowing privileges & access to collections, including general & business-related databases; general CU network privileges for alumni; awareness of current issues in citation management, including the intricacies of alumni access to citation software licensed for use at Cornell; understanding of reference/research policies regarding the extent of (and in some cases, pricing for) research services available to alumni; knowledge of archival collections directly pertaining to alumni records & the history of Cornell; collection development responsibility & experience with licensing electronic resources.  In addition, representatives from the Cornell University Library Advisory Committee (CULAC) will provide insights and recommendations related to the needs of the alumni community.

The Task force should include representatives from:
Access Services    
Reference Services
Rare & Manuscript Collections  
Business Community (Hotel/ILR/Management)
Database Review Committee  
Central Library Operations
Cornell University Library Advisory Council 
Library Alumni Affairs and Development

Timeline: In addition to working with the staff and key groups (i.e. PSEC; and CD-Exec), the Task Force on Alumni Outreach will discuss services with various members of the Cornell University Library Advisory Council (CULAC).  The Task Force will submit a brief report of their findings and recommendations for discussion with the Library Executive Group by June 2011.  By January 2012, the revamped website and guidelines for updating and maintaining content should be implemented.