It has been a month since we announced that SOLINET was investigating a merger with PALINET, the network immediately north of us.  In that month I have had discussions with many of you about this initiative. These discussions have allowed me to both understand members' perspectives and to answer your questions.  This blog gives us the chance to take the dialogue online so that others can participate.  I hope to hear from you!

Many of the questions I have received are answered on the Solinet web site at www.solinet.net.  We are updating that site weekly:  I hope it's helpful!

Some questions merit more in depth discussion.  One such question is "Why PALINET?"  Afterall, there are lots of consortia and networks, so what makes PALINET a good potential merger partner?

The SOLINET Board considered lots of factors in its discussion of potential "mergees". (Is that a word?  Is a participating organization in a merger called a "mergee"?)  The Board was seeking a strong organization which would bring much to the SOLINET membership in terms of programs and expertise, whose members could benefit from SOLINET programs and expertise, which offers efficiencies and economies of scale in infrastructure, and which is a contiguous geographic service area.  The Board also was interested in a financially sound organization.  Most important, the Board looked for an organization which is innovative in its programs and processes.

PALINET met these tests.  For more information about PALINET and its programs, see www.palinet.org. 

What does a merger with PALINET mean for members of SOLINET?

In the near term, it means that SOLINET members will have access to the programs and services of PALINET. This ranges from a wider array of continuing education topics, to the PALINET Leadership Network, to additional databases and software packages.  PALINET members will have reciprocal access to the services of SOLINET.

More importantly, it means that members of the merged organization will benefit from  increased capacity for innovation and new services.  Putting the two organizations together gives us the resources for new programs in such areas as Open Source, advocacy, and others.

In addition, the potential merger provides such tangible benefits as cost control for members through consolidation of duplicative functions, more geographic deployment of staff throughout the merged region, and increased leverage with vendors.

SOLINET's goal has always been to bring together libraries to accomplish through cooperation what cannot be accomplished as effectively by individual linstitutions. The SOLINET Board and I believe that this goal can be most readily met in the future through this merger initiative.

What do you think?

Kate Nevins

3/24/2008 5:34:46 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [2]