“The libraries of the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) collaborate to enhance the teaching and learning missions of private higher education in Indiana by optimizing resources and services while strengthening leadership and professional development.”
– PALNI Mission
The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) is a 501(c)(3) owned by the twenty-four supported private academic institutions. This library-to-library collaboration strives to enhance faculty teaching and student learning for academic success. Through the “Power of PALNI,” each school benefits from reducing the duplication of efforts and achieving more in quality, value, and support.
The academic landscape is growing more difficult with escalating financial pressures yet colleges and universities must provide excellent services and resources. The PALNI solution is to collaborate not only with other private academic institutions in Indiana, but also to partner with other groups and consortia to reduce costs and compete academically through innovative services.
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.
Mission
The libraries of the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) collaborate to enhance the teaching and learning missions of private higher education in Indiana by optimizing resources and services while strengthening leadership and professional development.
Vision
PALNI and its member institutions strive to:
- Innovate in the development of resource sharing.
- Innovate in the collaboration of resources to optimize benefits for the constituencies of member libraries.
- Yield advantageous return on investment for shared technologies and services.
- Cultivate collaborative efforts among members and with other library organizations.
- Stimulate dynamic statewide developments in library information services.(e.g., open source and other technology initiative initiatives, implementation of new resource discovery tools)
- Provide a forum for professional exploration and dialog with candor and vigor about key issues in library and information services and the changing character and services of libraries.
- Foster programmatic research and development to enable libraries and library staff to develop and maintain their capacity to meet changing expectations and needs.
- Maintain agility to respond dynamically to changing environments.
Shared PALNI Values
All of these institutions have joined PALNI because of a belief in the power of collaboration as a mechanism for improving library services. The PALNI Board of Directors believes that a broad statement of the values that undergird the organization and a statement of values that guide the implementation of consortium programs are useful tools in reminding ourselves of first principles that should be honored in our work.
Equity of Service
Quality of Service
Collaboration & Sharing
Innovation
Flexibility
Efficiency
Effective Stewardship
These values establish the context for the consortium and provide a foundational statement for the organization.
- We achieve more together. Libraries working together make us individually stronger.
- We respect each supported organization and library. We will strive to understand the needs of each individual supported organization and find common ground to serve the libraries of the supported organizations jointly.
- We expect to improve the equality of access to information for the students, faculty, and staff of supported organizations. Through our efforts, we strive to level the playing field of access to information resources.
- We provide leadership. PALNI is committed to being an advocate for supported organizations’ interests and values in state-wide collaborative ventures.
- We engage in and enable continuous learning. PALNI is committed to the belief that continuous learning is essential in a rapidly changing world.
- We encourage participation. We will provide opportunities for supported organization participation and engage in open communication in our decision-making and governance.
In developing the programs of PALNI, the supported organizations will strive to honor these values:
- Equity of service across types and sizes of libraries. While supported organizations may opt for different types and levels of service, we will always strive for equity in terms of common understanding of level of use and ability to pay.
- High quality of services. We will provide sustainable, affordable, and ready access to services that are tailored to the evolving information needs of supported organizations.
- Collaboration and resource sharing. We will serve as an effective vehicle for the supported organizations to share their resources, services, programs, and ideas, leverage their purchasing power through group efforts, and, reduce the risk for individual supported organizations.
- Innovation. PALNI is committed to bringing new services to the libraries of supported organizations, making supported organizations aware of best practices, and encouraging innovation among our supported organizations.
- Flexiblity and responsiveness to supported organizations’ needs as we continuously adapt to the change that affects us. We will strive to find ways to address change, to understand it and its impact, to accommodate to it, and to prompt change that helps us better achieve our goals.
- Efficiency in all of our operations. Limited budgets of supported organizations make it essential that operations of PALNI be consistent with these financial constraints.
- Effective stewardship. PALNI is committed to the effective use of the resources that supported organizations entrust to the consortium.
*Mission approved by the PALNI Board, Fall 2011
*Vision approved by the PALNI Board electronic vote, Fall 2011
To view our Articles of Incorporation and/or Bylaws please click the links below. PALNI updates both on a set cycle and will post the most recent to this page.