Momentum

A Changing OCLC Relationship

2008-05-19T13:18:21.4300000-04:00

As we've held Town Hall Meetings about the proposed SOLINET/PALINET merger, I've reviewed the key reasons the SOLINET Board identified the merger as a strategic step for the future of SOLINET's programs and services. One reason I have cited is the upcoming change in the network business relationship with OCLC. Folks always want to know more about this; so I thought I'd share the background here.

SOLINET and OCLC have long worked in partnership to serve the region's libraries. OCLC, in planning its future, has let networks know that they will be making significant changes to the business aspects of this partnership, effective July 1, 2009. While the details of these changes are still under development, we must begin planning to accommodate these changes now.

OCLC will be introducing a rigorous program to "certify" organizations such as networks which provide support, training, consulting and administration of OCLC products. SOLINET intends to apply to be certified and believes that we have the expertise, relationships and infrastructure to achieve certification. It is our intention to continue to serve the OCLC needs of member libraries.

One important aspect of this upcoming change is financial. OCLC will be introducing standard pricing for its services for all libraries across the U.S. Rather than SOLINET funding its activities through an added surcharge, established by the SOLINET Board and endorsed by the SOLINET membership, there will be no added surcharge. Instead, OCLC will provide some level of compensation to certified service providers. While we don't yet know what the level of compensation will be, we are projecting a decrease in our operating budget of one third. A budget cut of this magnitude undermines SOLINET's viability and will adversely affect services to our members.

Which brings me full circle: the reasons the SOLINET Board identified a strategic step of a merger with PALINET. First, in light of this pending and significant budget cut, it is essential to control costs through consolidation and re-engineering. A merger with a similar strong and innovative organization such as PALINET provides the opportunity for this consolidation and re-engineering. More important, a merger allows us to increase our organizations' capacity for innovation and new programs for members in the future.

Town Hall Meetings: Lots of Input!

2008-05-05T17:13:14.1942168-04:00

Greetings from the road of Town Hall meetings. My colleague, Cal Shepard, and I have been conducting open meetings about the potential merger with PALINET around the region. I wanted to share with you my update and observations from the Town Hall Meetings we have conducted thus far.

So far we have held 8 meetings and have many more to go – dates and locations of future meetings are posted on the Merger page of our Website. I am encouraged by the active participation at each meeting and the open and positive atmosphere of the discussions.

SOLINET members are clearly thinking seriously about this topic and are asking very important questions. The critical questions most often asked of me are:

1. What will the new membership and Governance structures be?

2. What will be our future pricing?

3. Tell me more about PALINET as an organization and their strengths.

4. What are the possible new services/programs offerings of the future organization?

5. Tell me more about the changing OCLC business relationship.

6. Where will be office be located?

7. Future Board composition and a strong desire for library type representation is also a common theme from member’s questions.

Committees of both organizations’ boards are working hard on all of these topics plus many others. I anticipate we will have announcements that answer some of these in the near future. The hard work for some of these others questions is underway and answers will be available soon. One announcement I can make now is that a future combined organization will maintain an office and staff presence in both the existing network territories – the commitment to maintain local touch is something we all take very seriously.

Finally, in a future blog post, I will go into more detail of the changing OCLC business relationship with all networks.

Changing to Stay Stable

2008-03-30T13:42:51.9290000-04:00

One great thing about the process of considering the merger with PALINET has been the many conversations I have had with folks about SOLINET. One recent comment surprised me and made me think. The comment was, "SOLINET is going through so many changes. Would it be better for my library to be a member of a more stable organization?"

My first thought was of Will Rogers' quip: "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

SOLINET has been on an arc of change and transformation. I believe we are on the right track and, trust me, we're not just sitting here. In today's libraries, past programs, resources and service models will not assure the successful fulfillment of customers' needs. Nor will past practices ensure a library's future viability. So is it with SOLINET. We are proactively working and changing for our members.

SOLINET is a stable organization. To me stability means that SOLINET is grounded in the core values of cooperation and service to library users, and that these core values are shared across the membership. Stability means that we provide continually evolving programs and services that are of use to our continually evolving members. Stability means that we are always thinking about the processes, expertise, tools, and technologies we need to be effective and innovative. And, yes, stability means thinking about the best organizational reach and depth for addressing all of these.

I believe strongly that our reach and depth can be significantly strengthened with PALINET. How? As I have discussed elsewhere, through synergies between the core values and programs of our two organizations and our memberships, through increased capacity for the development of innovative new programs, through cost control and consolidation, and through increased leverage with vendors and partners. The change that this merger represents is a platform for ongoing stability.

Some one wise (I don't know who) once said, "We must change to stay the same." SOLINET is following this wisdom, and looking to the future.

Why PALINET? An important SOLINET Board decision......

2008-03-24T17:34:46.1100000-04:00

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

Welcome to "Momentum"

2008-03-06T08:55:30.4020000-05:00

Hello everyone! Welcome to our new blog dedicated to discussion about the potential SOLINET and PALINET merger. We hope this space becomes the first stop for SOLINET members who have questions or comments regarding this potential partnership.

So, let those questions roll in! Use the comments feature below and we'll address new issues in the next entry.

Thanks for being a part of this exciting time!