VIVA Organization

Effective July 1, 1999

(Approved 12/3/98)

• Steering Committee (Standing)
• Resources for Users (Standing)
• Resource Sharing (Standing)
• Outreach Committee (Standing)
• Special Projects, ad hoc
  • Organization Committee
  • Nominations Committee

Steering Committee:Standing

Mission:

To provide leadership for the Virtual Library of Virginia. This leadership recognizes the changing boundaries of information delivery in the higher education environment and supports activities that result in:

• increased buying power for all VIVA members with VIVA funds, and for some or all VIVA members with member pooled funds, for licensing and/or purchasing electronic databases and full-text journals or other electronic information products important to a major part of the VIVA constituency;
  
  
• efficient, equitable and economical sharing of non-virtual resources individually owned by the VIVA libraries;
  
  
• analyses and wide-reporting of the impact of the availability of VIVA supported resources on the teaching, learning, research endeavors of VIVA institutions;
  
  
• other contributions in support of identified information needs of students and faculty at VIVA institutions.

Membership: (14 voting, 2 ex officio and non-voting)

• Standing, directors from the 6 public doctoral schools
  
  
• Elected for two-year terms from their defining group, with service beginning July 1 of the new term:
• 3 directors from the public comprehensives;
• 2 directors from public-2yr schools
• 1 director from an independent school.
  
  
• Ex-officio, the chairperson of LAC during her/his leadership of LAC
  
  
• Ex-officio, the VIVA Project Director
  
  
• Ex-officio and non-voting, 2 members of the State Council of Higher Education

Other:

The Chair of the Steering Committee is elected from the Steering Committee membership for a two-year term after the Steering Committee receives a report from the Nominations Committee at the spring meeting.

The VIVA Project Director serves as the Secretary of the Steering Committee. Each year the VIVA Project Director asks the Directors of each VIVA school to submit at least one, and up to three names of individuals for possible appointment to VIVA standing committees.

The Steering Committee submits an annual report ( 2 pages or less) to LAC.

Resources For Users Committee:Standing

Mission:

• To recommend to the Steering Committee new electronic products, which VIVA should consider for licensing and/or purchasing, or the renewal of products already supported in VIVA. These recommendations are based upon:
  
  
• An annual needs assessment (August) submitted to the Steering Committee. The assessment should include an evaluation of the effectiveness of products already supported by VIVA, an indication of the new products that are available, and the overall needs of constituents. This assessment should be guided by overall funding available for all VIVA products, and by indications from LAC and the Steering Committee that the focus of new products should shift to full text resources, particularly journals For new or renewed products, a review of each product including considerations of reliability of content, reliability of access, scope, anticipated or known ease of use by end users, price, and the ability to easily implement the product in all participating VIVA sites
  
  
• To work as a support team with the designated VIVA purchasing agent for RFP's and product negotiations
  
  
• To organize and offer training sessions for VIVA librarians and staff when new VIVA products are introduced or when major changes occur in an existing product.
  
  
• For each VIVA supported product to identify someone from a VIVA institution who is willing to serve on a continuing basis as the primary contact for information to and from the vendor, and who will as appropriate send necessary information to the VIVA listserv about the product.

Membership: (12 voting)

• One Steering Committee member elected by the Steering Committee
  
  
• 11 members selected by the Steering Committee from the annual pool of names submitted by all VIVA directors. Representation in the 11 members should include at least 2 public doctoral schools, 2 public comprehensive schools, 2 public two-year schools, and 1 independent school.

Other:

The Chair of the Resources For Users Committee is appointed by the Chairperson of the Steering Committee. Any member of the Resources for Users Committee may be appointed as its Chair. Chairs shall determine the frequency of meetings. Chairs may appoint subcommittees for a specified period with the concurrence of the Steering Committee.Terms for Chairperson and for Committee members are for two years, with members named to assure continuity of part of the Committee.

The VIVA Project Director serves as the Secretary of the Resources For Users Committee.

The Resources for Users Committee submits an annual report (2 pages or less) to the Steering Committee.

Resource Sharing Committee:Standing

Mission:

• To recommend to the Steering Committee policies and/or operations related to borrowing, copying, or archiving of individually owned resources at VIVA schools in ways that are mutually beneficial to the owner of the resource and to other VIVA sites.
  
  
• To monitor professional developments in resource sharing and archiving that are relevant to VIVA operations and to share this information with VIVA schools
  
  
• To maintain data regarding resource sharing activities among VIVA schools

Membership: (9 voting)

• One Steering Committee member elected by the Steering Committee
  
  
• 8 members selected by the Steering Committee from the annual pool of names submitted by all VIVA directors. Representation in the 8 members should include at least 4 members from the top 4 lending schools as noted in the previous year's data and one independent school member.

Other:

The Chair of the Resource Sharing Committee is appointed by the Chairperson of the Steering Committee. Any member of the Resources Sharing Committee may be appointed as its Chair. Chairs shall determine the frequency of meetings. Chairs may appoint subcommittees for a specified period with the concurrence of the Steering Committee. Terms for Chairperson and for Committee members are for two years, with members named to assure continuity of part of the Committee each year.

The VIVA Project Director serves as the Secretary of the Resource Sharing Committee.

The Resource Sharing Committee submits an annual report (2 pages or less) to the Steering Committee.

Outreach Committee:Standing

Mission:

• To recommend to the Steering Committee policies, projects and/or operations related to working with faculty at VIVA schools or with faculty organizations in the state to assure that they are knowledgeable about VIVA products and the ways they can be used in teaching and research
  
  
• To document the impact of VIVA products in teaching and research
  
  
• To organize and carry out Steering Committee approved projects related to outreach
  
  
• To draft annual funding proposals for VIVA's continuing legislative support

Membership: (6 voting)

• One Steering Committee member elected by the Steering Committee
  
  
• 5 members selected by the Steering Committee from the annual pool of names submitted by all VIVA directors. Representation in these 5 should include at least one member from each type of school, public doctoral, public comprehensive, public 2 year, and independent.

·

Other:

The Chair of the Outreach Committee is appointed by the Chairperson of the Steering Committee. Any member of the OutreachCommittee may be appointed as its Chair. Chairs shall determine the frequency of meetings. Chairs may appoint subcommittees for a specified period with the concurrence of the Steering Committee. Terms for Chairperson and for Committee members are for two years, with members named to assure continuity of part of the Committee each year.

The VIVA Project Director serves as the Secretary of the Outreach Committee.

The Outreach Committee submits an annual report (2 pages or less) to the Steering Committee.

Other Teams or Committees -ad hoc

Special Projects

Each year the Steering Committee will solicit Directors of VIVA libraries for ideas for special projects helpful to all VIVA constituents and will review the ideas submitted for possible implementation. The Steering Committee may also determine that a special project is needed.

As necessary the Steering Committee may create ad hoc Teams or Committees for a specific objective and for a specific time. In establishing such Teams or Committees the Steering Committee will be mindful of the work of other organizations such as VLA so that the work of the groups is generally directly related to VIVA's goals.

Ad hoc Teams or Committees will be named by the Steering Committee and will have an outlined purpose, objectives, reporting mechanism and response time for completion.

Examples of activities that could typify special projects are:

• Offering an authentication workshop for improving access to VIVA databases for off-campus VIVA members
  
  
• Developing a grant proposal for highlighting Special Collections of VIVA libraries on the web
  
  
• Development of cataloging guidelines for electronic resources

Nominations Committee

Every two years, in the spring, the outgoing VIVA Steering Committee chair will appoint a three-person nominating committee to recommend the next chair who will serve for a two-year term beginning July 1.

In the event of an unexpected vacancy in the Steering Committee chair position, a nomination committee will be appointed to recommend a chair to fill out the remaining period of the term.

Organizational Committee

Is appointed by the Chair of the Steering Committee on those occasions when matters of organization are under review.

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Contact: Kathy Perry, (George Mason University) VIVA Director.
Last updated: 2/12/2001