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To Members of the Five College Community:
We are very gratified for the positive and thoughtful
responses to our March 11 communication encouraging greater collaboration among our
institutions. A number of Five College groups have already begun a planning process
that will lead to the higher level of integration that is our common goal, including
exploring the possible consolidation of some back office functions. As these plans
begin to materialize we will keep the campuses informed with periodic campus-wide
updates, the first of which comes from the Five College Librarians Council.
The Librarians and their staffs at each of our institutions
have worked effectively together over the years to provide students and faculty with
stronger collections and services than any one institution would be able to provide
on its own. Through a shared library catalog, a rapid book delivery system, and a
shared storage facility our libraries have demonstrated the power of Five College
collaboration.
The Librarians of the Five Colleges have responded to
our recent call for greater and deeper cooperation among the Five Colleges with two
welcome and important initiatives: they propose integrating our book collections
far more fully; and they propose centralizing their back office operations of acquisitions,
cataloging, and materials processing to the greatest degree possible.
In these difficult economic times leveraging our resources
to expand the breadth of our library resources is essential. Further coordination
of our multiple book collections will ensure the strength of all of them and sustain
our current purchasing power. Ordering additional copies only when they are clearly
required to support teaching, learning, and research will avoid unnecessary duplication.
In looking to centralize appropriate areas of their
back office operations of acquisition, cataloging and materials processing, they
seek to find the most effective and efficient ways for all five institutions to process
the large volume of material we purchase each year.
We believe these efforts represent the creativity and
initiative that is essential for the Five Colleges during these economically challenging
times. We recognize that realizing these projects entails much effort and will present
significant challenges. To succeed, our Librarians and their staff will need your
support. We ask that you join us in encouraging these efforts.
Anthony W. Marx, President, Amherst College
Ralph J. Hexter, President, Hampshire College
Joanne V. Creighton, President, Mount Holyoke College
Carol T. Christ, President, Smith College
Robert C. Holub, Chancellor, University of Massachusetts
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