I want to thank my good friend and colleague, Bill Gosling, who worked with me long and hard on a soon to be published article on the guiding principles that we looked to and that, I think, cause us to be successful. These principles are, then, first, that every partner in the enterprise must perceive some benefit from cooperation. Second, a central administration is a visible symbol of inter-institutional commitment, vision, and action. I have worked in a number of consortia, and know this to be a very important point. Whether the central administration is housed in one of your libraries and is made up of part of your staff or not, it is certainly essential.
Someone has to be accountable and responsible for moving projects along.
It just makes good sense. Third, the focus has to be on enhanced access to and delivery of the right information to the users. Otherwise, there is really no reason to be engaged in the project. Fourth, all of the programs you develop have to allow for varying levels of participation. For example, Bill Studer has many obligations and opportunities in OhioLINK that supercede participation in particular CIC programs, and that's okay.