Living and thriving with library/ITS collaboration: The Hamilton College model

Abstract

A t Hamilton College, the library has adopted a policy of aggressive collaboration with Information Technology Services (ITS). We believe it is in the best interest of our students and faculty, as well as in the best interest of the library, to foster a spirit of collaboration with ITS and to actively seek out opportunities for such collaboration. In this article I will discuss the ways the library and ITS have collaborated over the past four years, the benefits of this collaboration, and some of the issues we have encountered. I will also discuss three main examples of collaboration: the Multimedia Presentation Center, the HILLgroup, and the Information Commons. BackgroundThe Hamilton College Library and ITS are sep arate entities with different reporting lines. The library has a professional staff of five public ser vices librarians, three technical services librar ians, and two systems professionals, as well as approximately 20 FTE support staff. ITS has a staff of 26.5, divided into seven teams. The two that work most closely with the library are Instructional Technology Support Services

Working Together: A Literature Review of Campus Information Technology Partnerships

“…7 At Hamilton College, library and IT collaborators began their partnership by participating in a two-day, facilitated retreat meant to help them reduce misunderstandings and see beyond their stereotypes of one another in order to find common ground. 8 Similarly, St. Cloud State University's staffers initiated the Learning Resources and Technology Services (LR&TS) group with a joint library/IT retreat but in support of a different sort of collaboration built on the librarian liaison model.…”

An Exploration of the Working Relationship between Systems/IT and Reference/Information Services Staff in an Academic Library Setting

“…He describes Hamilton College' s policy of "aggressive collaboration" between these two departments that report to different administrative areas. 18 Again, the shared vision and sense of purpose directs the collaboration. He points out that, ultimately, students do not care which employees report to which administrative heads; their only concern is for highperforming information systems.…”

Collaborations in Liberal Arts Colleges in Support of Digital Humanities

“…Hamilton College has a strong history of collaboration between the Library and Information Technology Services, dating back to 2000 (Ericson, 2004). This includes the formation of the HILLgroup (Hamilton's Information and Learning Liaisons).…”