PALNI

  • About Us
    • Mission, Vision, Values
    • 2017-2020 Strategic Plan
    • Commitment to Deep Collaboration
    • Product Vision Specifications Documents
      • PALNI Institutional Repository Whitepaper 2018
      • PALNI Institutional Repository Vision
      • PALNI WMS Group and Local Systems Needs
    • Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws
    • Annual Reports
      • 2017 Annual Report
      • 2018 Highlights Report
    • Our History
  • Governance & Organization
    • Supported Institutions
    • Organizational Chart
    • Consortial Leadership
    • Selected National & Global Service Leadership Roles
    • Groups & Committees
    • Meeting Calendar
  • Our Services
    • Services List
    • Scholarly Communications Blog
    • Instructional Technology Blog
    • Shared Collections
  • News
  • Contact Us
    • How to Partner with PALNI

Library Consortia Partner on Innovative Institutional Repository Solutions

January 11, 2019 by PALNIDCM

The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana, Inc. (PALNI) is developing collaborative instances of two open-source institutional repository platforms, Islandora and Hyku, via partnerships with the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC) and the Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc. (PALCI). The work will include analyzing and improving the functionality and capacity of the software to support collaboration. To benefit the wider community, all developments from the partnerships will be openly available for adaptation.

Both projects support PALNI’s collaborative and community approach on four levels by:

  1. Sharing scholarship and digital content from our institutions with the world
  2. Developing open-source, community-owned tools
  3. Collaborating to host and maintain tools in shared server space
  4. Sharing expertise in metadata, mapping, user experience design, workflow design, and collections across consortia participants

Institutional Repositories (IRs) perform a valuable function by creating open access to campus scholarship, and by doing so demonstrating library value and the value of the institution as a whole, however only fifteen percent of PALNI’s supported institutions currently have an IR system. Sixty-five percent of PALNI members indicated a desire to participate in a collaborative repository, highlighting a strong need for this service.

PALNI Executive Director Kirsten Leonard noted, “The ability to control costs and build scalable, collaborative workflows are two essential elements for a sustainable PALNI Institutional Repository service, and lead PALNI to develop the Hyku and Islandora partnerships. We aim to reduce IR costs to support all of the twenty-four PALNI institutions for roughly the same average cost of a single IR instance.” Leonard added, “Collaborative tools and partnerships can benefit institutions of all sizes by sharing infrastructure and administrative costs.”

PALNI Scholarly Communications Director Amanda Hurford conducted assessments and environmental scans to assess the needs of PALNI institutions:  “Ultimately we aim to create a consortial IR service individual libraries may use, customize, and brand as their own, while sharing underlying infrastructure costs and administration across consortia. We want a solution with a sustainable and controllable cost structure that functions as a true IR.”

These two IR softwares each have unique strengths, allowing PALNI to test different aspects of consortial partnership and service provision. Hyku and Islandora repository platforms have different foci, communities, and opportunities. Islandora is a mature product and PALNI will benefit from WRLC’s knowledge and optimization. Hyku is a native multi-tenancy architecture. With additional development the software will support multiple consortia and collaborative workflows. By exploring both platforms, PALNI is able to proactively ensure that the consortium can meet multiple priorities in the IR and digital collection management software spaces while doubly contributing to the open source and open access communities in a practical, innovative, and collaborative fashion.

PALNI and WRLC have completed the first phase of the Islandora implementation with a summer 2019 completion expected. PALNI will complete the initial Hyku pilot near the end of 2019.


About the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC):

The Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC) is a collaborative partnership providing proactive, responsive, innovative, and cost-effective access to shared information resources, services, and expertise. Through strategic priorities such as the creation of coordinated collections and a robust infrastructure for discovery and access, the WRLC is contributing to the success of learning and scholarship. The combined collections of the Washington Research Library Consortium total more than 17 million items. For more information, visit the WRLC website at http://www.wrlc.org.

About the Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc. (PALCI):
PALCI (legally named the Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium, Inc.) was formed in 1996 as a grassroots federation of 35 academic libraries in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Today, the PALCI membership consists of nearly 70 academic and research libraries, private and public, in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, and New York. PALCI’s mission is to build access to our shared collections through collaboration among academic libraries in Pennsylvania and the neighboring states. PALCI Members serve over 800,000 students, faculty, and staff, through a variety of programs including the highly-regarded E-ZBorrow service. PALCI also serves as the home for PA Digital, the Pennsylvania hub of the Digital Public Library of America, and the new Affordable Learning PA program, creating a community of practice for open textbooks and related educational resources. http://palci.org

About the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI): www.palni.edu

PALNI is a non-profit organization supporting collaboration for library and information services to the libraries of its twenty-four supported institutions. The library deans and directors who sit on the PALNI board have expanded the organization’s strategic direction as the internet and information services landscape have changed. PALNI shares systems and expertise in many areas including a resource management system, strategic planning, affordable education, instructional technology, collections, reference, information fluency, outreach, and data management.

PALNI Supported Institutions: Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary | Ancilla College | Anderson University | Bethel College | Butler University | Concordia Theological Seminary | Christian Theological Seminary | DePauw University | Earlham College | Franklin College | Goshen College | Grace College | Hanover College | Huntington University | Manchester University | Marian University | Oakland City University | University of Saint Francis | Saint Mary’s College | Saint Meinrad’s Seminary and School of Theology | Taylor University | Trine University | University of Indianapolis | Wabash College

Filed Under: Development, External Partnerships, Institutional Repositories Tagged With: 2019, Consortia, Hyku, institutional repositories, IR, Islandora, PALCI, Partnership, WRLC

New PALNI Scholarly Communications initiatives take off after new Scholarly Communications Director hire, Amanda Hurford

January 17, 2018 by PALNIDCM

PALNI Scholarly Communications Director Amanda Hurford

Since the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana, Inc (PALNI) hired a Scholarly Communications Director, a number of scholarly communication initiatives have launched consortia-wide. Those in affordable education, open access publishing, and institutional repository (IR) development topping the list. The new Scholarly Communications Director, Amanda Hurford, brings focused expertise to the supported PALNI schools and looks forward to sharing her knowledge while forming partnerships in and outside of the consortia.

“PALNI has made it possible to launch scholarly communication initiatives at our very small theological school,” Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary Library Director Karl Stutzman testifies to the added value. “There is broad excitement from our faculty and administrators for open access resources because they are so clearly connected to our educational mission; having a PALNI staff expert is helping us leverage PALNI’s significant technological resources to support open access journals, launch an institutional repository, and more.”

Scholarly Communications jobs have grown in significance since the Association of College Research and Libraries (ACRL) identified the crisis in their 2003 white paper, “Principles and Strategies for the Reform of Scholarly Communication.” A 2012 Association of Research Libraries survey showed a 70% increase in the number of scholarly communications positions with 24% creating new areas to handle scholarly communication support. However, most PALNI libraries lacked the budget to create a position focused on this area on their own.

In late 2016, the PALNI Board of Directors unanimously voted to add the shared, full-time staff position continuing PALNI’s “deep collaboration” initiatives. The position, the first of its kind nationally, supports a consortial effort to advance scholarly communications, institutional repository support, and affordable education initiatives at all 22 supported institutions. Previously in the PALNI consortia, only Butler University Libraries had access to a full-time Scholarly Communications Librarian despite the growing need in all schools.  

To achieve this year’s goals, Ms. Hurford leads the Scholarly Communications Advisory Group, which works to provide PALNI librarians with the knowledge, tools, and services needed to engage in these types of projects at the local level. Projects include creating a faculty OER adoption toolkit, implementation of the cutting edge Hyku institutional repository software, and building a robust support system around open access publishing using Open Journal Systems.

Ms. Hurford brings over a decade of experience in digital librarianship working for Ball State University and IUPUI. Former colleague and IUPUI Associate Dean of Digital Scholarship Kristi Palmer spoke highly of Ms. Hurford’s experience, “Ms. Hurford has been an integral part in the success of Indiana’s Service Hub with the Digital Public Library of America, participating since the Indiana Memory DPLA was formed in 2015. As the organization’s current chair she led our 2nd Annual DPLA Fest and has worked diligently to ensure the organization thrives in its mission.”

“Having recently finalized our action plan for 2018, I’m truly excited to move our ambitious goals into sustainable programs within PALNI,” Ms. Hurford states enthusiastically. “Especially interesting will be the development of our consortial institutional repository, and all the opportunities for growth and collaboration it invites in and outside of PALNI.”

Filed Under: Scholarly Communications Tagged With: 2018, affordable education, hire, institutional repositories, Scholarly Communications

Our Location

PALNI staff and coordinators work out of home offices or their home institutions spread across the states of Indiana and California. However, our legal address can be found at Butler University:

Private Academic Library Network of Indiana
c/o Irwin Library
4553 Clarendon Rd.
Indianapolis, IN 46208

Internal Tools and Workspaces

Majority of collaboration occurs in our private space, PALNI Community.

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  • About Us
    • Mission, Vision, Values
    • 2017-2020 Strategic Plan
    • Commitment to Deep Collaboration
    • Product Vision Specifications Documents
      • PALNI Institutional Repository Whitepaper 2018
      • PALNI Institutional Repository Vision
      • PALNI WMS Group and Local Systems Needs
    • Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws
    • Annual Reports
      • 2017 Annual Report
      • 2018 Highlights Report
    • Our History
  • Governance & Organization
    • Supported Institutions
    • Organizational Chart
    • Consortial Leadership
    • Selected National & Global Service Leadership Roles
    • Groups & Committees
    • Meeting Calendar
  • Our Services
    • Services List
    • Scholarly Communications Blog
    • Instructional Technology Blog
    • Shared Collections
  • News
  • Contact Us
    • How to Partner with PALNI

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