Date: Thu, 9 Apr 2009 06:10:10 -0400
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From: "UMass Chancellor's Office" <official-chancellors@admin.umass.edu>
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Subject: Five College Librarians Council
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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.

Tony Marx, 
President, Amherst College

Ralph Hexter,
President, Hampshire College

Joanne Creighton,
President, Mount Holyoke College

Carol Christ,
President, Smith College

Robert Holub,
Chancellor, University of Massachusetts Amherst