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History of Susquehanna
Library Cooperative On November 29, 1972, eight regional libraries, all in central Pennsylvania, were represented at a preliminary meeting on interlibrary cooperation held at Lycoming College. Librarians were present from Bloomsburg University (Scott Miller), the James V. Brown Library (Ray Campbell), Bucknell University (George M. Jenks), Lock Haven University (Robert S. Bravard), Lycoming College (Anthony L. Grillo), Mansfield University (James J. Simonis), the Pennsylvania College of Technology (David P. Siemsen), and Susquehanna University (James B. Smilley). The eight libraries formally organized as the Susquehanna Library Cooperative (SLC) at a meeting at Bucknell University on April 16, 1973. The first elected officers were James J. Simonis, Chair, and George M. Jenks, Secretary-Treasurer. A set of by-laws and a series of cooperative objectives were adopted at the meeting of June 16, 1973. From the beginning, the SLC was open to expansion within the region. On July 24, 1973, the libraries of the Geisinger Medical Center and the Guthrie Medical Center (formerly Robert Packer Hospital) were accepted as full members. December 10, 1973 brought the acceptance of the libraries of the Divine Providence Hospital and the Williamsport Hospital. The library of the Laurel Health System (formerly Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital) joined on October 19, 1979. The National Fishery Research and Development Laboratory Library became a member on May 28, 1982. The most recent member, the library of the PP & L, Susquehanna Training Center, joined on September 21, 1984. On July 1, 1995, with the formal alliance of the Divine Providence Hospital and the Williamsport Hospital creating the Susquehanna Health System, the SLC experienced its first reduction in membership. By the second meeting, the goal of a union list of periodical holdings was under active development. It was decided to begin by compiling subject union lists. Once the subject lists were completed, it was possible to compile an alphabetical union list of periodical holdings. This effort was successful; at the meeting of November 14, 1978, the SLC celebrated the completion of its first union list. Special recognition was given to the dedication of Ms. Margaret (Peggy) Kelly, the Serials Librarian of Bloomsburg University. By the third SLC meeting, a series of concrete cooperative agreements were developed. An interlibrary loan relationship was in place; this procedure included the free photocopying of periodical articles. All members extended borrowing privileges to the residents of the North Central Library District; this policy included the stipulation that local needs would receive priority. A directory of the membership was an early project with such information as staff members, holdings, and hours included. Later editions included the by-laws and circulation and ILL policies. The directory is regularly revised and reissued. The SLC moved to develop ties with its geographical area. The State Library of Pennsylvania was quickly apprised of the existence of the SLC and Dr. John McCrossan of the State Library was present at the April, 1973 SLC meeting. The Pattee Library of the Pennsylvania State University has on occasion been represented at meetings. On November 21, 1974, the Cooperative was recognized by the regional Interinstitutional Coordinating Committee. The SLC was a participant in the 1975 PLA panel discussion on cooperatives. Since 1975, the SLC has participated with the West Branch Chapter of PLA in planning and funding the annual regional conference. Beginning in 1975, the SLC was represented on the Council of Pennsylvania Library Networks. As the State Library developed such projects as the Drexel Plan and the first and second revision of the Pennsylvania Interlibrary Loan Code, the SLC's reactions and suggestions were requested and incorporated into the final documents. At the meeting of November, 14, 1980, the Chair of the Reader Services Committee reported informal contacts with the Associated College Libraries of Central Pennsylvania (ACLCP). The SLC voted to authorize the Committee to "begin discussions with their counterpart in ACLCP to develop ways of strengthening ties between the two organizations in the use of services." A draft document, SLC/ACLCP Cooperatives: Interlibrary Loan Code, was discussed at the meeting of September 25, 1981. Following modest revisions, a six month trial period starting in January of 1982 was approved. The trial period was extended through 1982 at the May 28, 1982 meeting. On February 18, 1983, the SLC voted "to extend the cooperative agreement with ACLCP indefinitely." In November 1997 the Directors reaffirmed the SLC/ACLCP agreement. Not all SLC projects were uniformly successful. After a great deal of effort a federal grant through the State Library was secured in July of 1974. The goal was the promotion of interlibrary loan activity within the cooperative by funding the installation of TWX machines at the libraries at Bloomsburg, Geisinger, Lycoming, and Robert Packer. When the project was over, it was clear that what had been learned was that interlibrary loan activity using the TWX was neither efficient nor effective for hospital libraries. In another effort, considerable time and energy was spent to determine that there was minimal need for the SLC to develop a regional business reference service. A striking success was the first in-service workshop to be sponsored by SLC. The subject was "multi-media collections; their development and cataloging." Twenty-three attended on November 7, 1974, at Bucknell. At the meeting of November 11, 1974, the Development Committee was established. The initial function was to develop new areas of cooperative activity and to recommend additional projects. In 1975, this committee recommended the establishment of the modest dues and developed the committee system. The SLC had quietly, perhaps inadvertently, moved into a new level of activity. The Periodicals Committee became responsible for the Union List of Periodicals. The committee was highly active and union lists were produced in hard copy. Considerable effort went into developing a format that would be followed by all libraries in providing the updates. The master file of SLC periodical holdings was maintained at Bloomsburg University. The Reader Services Committee took over the sponsorship of the SLC in-service workshops. This highly successful series has included workshops covering On-Line Searching (October 27, 1980), Statistical Reference Sources (October 29, 1982), Legal Reference (November 18, 1983), Interlibrary Loan Roundtable (May 4, 1984), The SLC Online: a Practical Approach Workshop (November 21, 1986), CD ROM for the Less Affluent library (November 20, 1987), a second Interlibrary Loan Roundtable (May 4, 1988), Computer Searching Update (November 17, 1988), EDIN Workshop (November 9, 1990), PRISM Workshop (November 30, 1992), workshops on "ILL Options for the 90s" and on Copyright (May 4, 1995), Advanced Internet Workshop (December 8, 1995), PALINET Custom Holdings and ILL Fee Management Workshop (March 11, 1996), Video conference on Infomedicine (October 25, 1996), Demonstration of OCLC's Passport and the ILL Microenhancer for Windows (March 24, 1997), and a Presentation of the Geographic Information System (GIS) with SEDA-COG in Lewisburg (April 4, 1997). The committee has continued to work on the interpretation of the cooperative agreements adopted back in 1973. The A-V Committee was not nearly as fortunate. While the committee labored long and hard to develop cooperative ties in this area, each and every effort met serious roadblocks. After experiencing more than their share of frustration, the A-V Committee was mercifully suspended in September of 1981. The Technical Services Committee had its first meeting on December 3, 1982. It was decided to develop a Directory of Vendors. This project was completed by the May, 1983 SLC meeting. The Technical Services Committee was disbanded on November 30, 1984. The SLC did succeed in 1981 in obtaining another federal grant through the State Library. This carefully developed project received $5,000 to improve the access to health information for the general public. The collection was housed at the James V. Brown Library and was available on ILL throughout the region. In many ways, considering the present (1987) emphasis on personal health, this was a pioneering project; this time the SLC enjoyed a solid success. In February of 1983, the Development Committee, at the direction of the SLC, reviewed the Cooperative's official objectives. It was accepted that the original mission had been achieved. The SLC received presentations on PALINET and on the ODIN System of the Harrisburg Area. Out of these deliberations, there was created a Microcomputer Committee (Martin Jamison of Lycoming College served as the Chair) with a November, 1983, charge to develop a grant request in this area. The February 10, 1984 meeting was one of the most quietly fractious in SLC history. The Chair of the Microcomputer Committee distributed the draft letter of intent and then resigned from his committee noting that he could not personally support the proposal. There followed extensive discussion and a growing realization that the SLC was not prepared at this time for a project of this size and level of responsibility. Two decisions were made. It was agreed that the SLC should focus on the question of producing the next edition of the Union List of Periodicals; the size and complexity of the union list would seem to require some form of automated activity. It was further agreed that a questionnaire should be prepared to aid in determining the long-term goals for the SLC. The Development Committee by May 4, 1984 was able to present a plan for the production of a new edition of the Union List of Periodicals utilizing the data processing facilities of Geisinger. The plan was unanimously accepted. The questionnaire results were reviewed by the Development Committee on September 13, 1984. It was clear that the members wanted the Union List of Periodicals to remain a priority and that the creation of a permanent, computerized, database was the primary, immediate goal. It was also clear that the members wanted the SLC to advance to other projects but also wanted to avoid compromising what the SLC already does well by trying to do something beyond available SLC resources. The State Library was requested to send a representative to the September 21, 1984 SLC meeting to discuss the Pennsylvania Union List of Serials. Mr. Charles Peguese, the Coordinator of Networking and Academic Libraries for the State Library, made the presentation. It was moved and passed that Mr. Peguese be invited to all SLC meetings; the invitation was accepted. Again, the SLC had quietly passed a milestone in its existence. The Geisinger edition of the SLC Union List of Periodicals was distributed at the July, 1985 meeting. After a warm round of mutual congratulations, preparations immediately began for the next edition. A second edition was issued in August, 1986. The SLC continued its understated procedure of being open to all technology and of quietly evolving internally. In September of 1985, the SLC was one of the first bodies in Pennsylvania to meet at BroDart to be briefed on the emerging CD-ROM technology. In February, 1986, the SLC developed a quarterly schedule of meetings. Among the SLC's strengths was the strong collective awareness of the wonderful variety of the member libraries and an understanding that no component of the cooperative should predominate in furthering activities. It was easily accepted that not all member libraries could have or even should have access to the OCLC database and that the SLC Union list of Periodicals necessarily had to be in hard copy. When the second edition of the Geisinger-produced list appeared in 1986, an open dialogue began on the need to further automate the production of any future union list. By the November, 1986 meeting, it was possible for the SLC to authorize the Development Committee to develop an LSCA grant that would utilize the Pennsylvania Union List of Serials and would eventually lead to a hard copy SLC union list. The February, 1987 meeting saw this concept unanimously adopted and the formation of a steering committee to expedite the proposal. At the May, 1987 meeting, the Chair was able to announce that the SLC had been awarded an LSCA Title III grant which would result in the SLC periodical holdings being entered into PaULS and the production of a union list. An RFP was developed and the project contract was awarded to the Pittsburgh Regional Library Center. The grant carefully included funds for a PaULS updating training workshop. The SLC in February of 1989 had to deal with a significant cost overrun of the LSCA grant due to several unanticipated circumstances. Between the strength of the treasury, the coolness of the officers, and the determination of the membership, the crisis was successfully managed. Lycoming College, in the person of Susan Beidler, assumed the responsibility for updating the PaULS records of non-OCLC members. The use of the PaULS List served to simplify the activities of the Periodicals Committee dramatically; Union List after Union List was produced in an efficient, almost routine manner. During the February 17, 1995 meeting of the SLC Reader Services Committee, a discussion developed around the possibility of combining the responsibilities of the Periodicals Committee and the Reader Services Committee. At the Directors' Meeting of August 9, 1996, the long-time Chair of the Periodicals Committee, Susan Beidler, noted that the Committee's work was in effect over. At the December 12, 1996, Directors' Meeting, by unanimous vote, the responsibilities of the Periodicals Committee were added to the charge of the Reader Services Committee. Ms. Beidler agreed to continue directing the production of the Union List. The SLC was invited to send a representative to the 1986 Pennsylvania Interlibrary Loan Code Revision Committee, a major State Library project. At the April 29, 1988 meeting, the Cooperative unanimously endorsed the new code. At the February 19, 1988 meeting the SLC voted unanimously to apply for an LSCA Title III grant to acquire telefacsimile machines for the seven member libraries then without this technology. By August 1 1988 the Chair could report by letter that the grant request was approved by the State Library. The fax machines were all in place by the May 26, 1989 meeting. The Development Committee was directed at the August 12, 1988 meeting to develop a membership policy; at the November 4, 1988 meeting, a concrete list of membership responsibilities was also requested. The Committee presented at the February 24, 1989 meeting a revised draft of Article II (covering membership) of the by-laws and two documents, "Basic Responsibilities of Membership" and "Responsibilities of SLC Membership Related to Union Listing." The revised Article II and the two documents, the second with slight revisions, were unanimously accepted. Not all Cooperative activity went smoothly. The SLC discussed a recently received request at the August 12, 1988 meeting for an ILL agreement from the Philadelphia Regional Interlibrary Loan Cooperative (PRILL). Following the collection of additional background information, the Cooperative voted at the November 4, 1988 meeting to approve such an arrangement for a one-year trial period. The agreement was formally dissolved as of January 1, 1990. Throughout 1989, the Reader Services Committee worked to develop guidelines covering the use of the telefacsimile equipment for Interlibrary Loan activity within the Cooperative. The Committee's proposed protocols were adopted at the May 25, 1990 meeting and with editing redistributed at the February 19, 1993 meeting. As the Susquehanna Library Cooperative completed its twenty years of activity, it again requested the Development Committee to consult with the membership to determine future directions and projects. In keeping with the established tone of the group, it was determined that the celebration of this landmark anniversary would be an open, informal occasion and a committee was established to develop appropriate arrangements. The SLC held its twentieth anniversary celebration, July 27, 1992, on board "The Hiawatha" riverboat on the Susquehanna River at Williamsport. There were thirty-three members, guests, and friends present. July was an appropriate month for the occasion; the first informal conversations leading to the formal organization of the cooperative began in July of 1972 The ceremonies featured three presentations. George M. Jenks, one of the founders and the first Secretary-Treasurer, gave his perspective on the creation of the SLC and its early days. Charles R. Peguese, now the Library Director of Harrisburg Area Community College, spoke from his perspective as the former Coordinator of Networking and Academic Libraries for the Commonwealth Library. Mr. Peguese could not be present and his remarks were read by William V. Ryan, a past SLC Chair. Finally, Sara A. Parker, the Commissioner of Libraries of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, spoke briefly and read several appropriate poems. The ceremonies completed, the rest of the occasion was sunshine, cool breezes, scenery, a very pleasant lunch, shared memories, and conversation. It was a memorable celebration and totally in keeping with the spirit of the Susquehanna Library Cooperative. As the events of the anniversary became another landmark SLC memory, the Cooperative began the deliberative process of moving in appropriate fashion into what has been described as a new age of information. The promise of such innovations as the Internet brought new challenges and fresh opportunities to the mission of the SLC and there was an eagerness to again explore the possibilities. An SLC Home Page was developed and an informal "What's Out There" Group began meeting to review possibilities and resources available on the Internet. The Reader Services Committee surveyed the membership concerning the SLC Union List and discovered "widespread satisfaction." OCLC FirstSearch credits in blocks of twenty-five were made available to all members, through the Secretary/Treasurer, and a hands-on FirstSearch workshop was held at Lycoming College in August 1997. That same year, the SLC began to actively explore the possibilities of closer ties with the North East Bibliographic Center. Four Representatives of NEPBC attended the August 8, 1997 meeting at Bloomsburg University and the SLC Chair scheduled a reciprocal to the next NEPBC meeting. The directors decided at the next SLC meeting that the two cooperatives were too dissimilar for close cooperation but kept the door open for future cooperation, especially in the area of continuing education. The following June, at the invitation of NEPBC, Mary Sieminski volunteered to attend their meeting to brief them on a Mary Jackson workshop they had missed due to bad weather. The Susquehanna Library Cooperative was twenty-five years old in 1997. It was a seminal time, for in that year the seeds of several initiatives were planted that would guide the Cooperative's course for many years. Periodically the SLC, like all organizations, begins to question its purpose, its philosophy, and its practices. By late 1997 the group's cooperative lending policy needed to be clarified, and the Development Committee was reactivated for the assignment. The Committee found that no clear policy on borrowing within the SLC existed but that cooperative lending had to accommodate each institution's primary mission. The member libraries' current lending policies were posted on the SLC Web site in May 1999. Meanwhile, The Development Committee found other work. In November 1998 the Directors charged the Committee with exploring "present and future roles" of the SLC. Enhancing communication between members and fostering staff-to-staff cooperation were key concerns. The Committee fell back on the tried-and-true- surveying the members to assess needs and potential areas for cooperation. Hoping to find ways to involve more staff personnel in the Cooperative, the Committee developed one survey version for directors, a second version for librarians, and a third for paraprofessionals. In February 2000 the Committee reported to the Directors that the SLC was generally deemed successful. Its most valued contributions were the Union List of Periodicals, interlibrary loan, and networking. The surveys revealed much interest in expanding opportunities for staff development with workshops and meetings on timely topics, especially for support staff. The survey results led to the adoption in February 2001 of revised by-laws with a "mission statement" in which "continuing education programs" and "professional development opportunities" replaced "acquisitions." In effect, one of the original Cooperative goals had never become achievable but a new and probably more beneficial one had been realized. 1997 also brought a new phase in the history of the Union List of Periodicals. The printed Union List, while useful to all and essential to the non-OCLC libraries, was somewhat cumbersome and expensive to produce. The Cooperative began to talk about a more accessible electronic version, on CD-ROM or on-line. An LSTA grant proposal in 1999 to develop a Web-based Union List was not funded. Undeterred, the Cooperative persevered on its own and contracted with The Library Corporation to host the Union List on the World Wide Web beginning in the spring of 2000. The 1999 version of the printed Union List was the final edition. Bloomsburg University hosted the SLC's rather simple home page for several years. In November 1997 the Directors began talking about putting the entire SLC directory on the Cooperative's Web site. The Directory had been revised every two or three years, a process that required considerable effort, and like all printed directories it quickly became outdated. Geisinger Health System generously printed many editions but could not reasonably be expected to do so indefinitely. A Web Development Committee began to develop recommendations for a new Web site that would include the SLC Directory, a direct link to the Union List site, and other useful information and resources. In 2000 the Cooperative stepped confidently into the 21st Century by obtaining its own domain name. The Web Committee presented its report to the Directors at Mansfield University in May 2001. The Pennsylvania College of Technology offered to design and to host the new Web site (to which Bloomsburg readily agreed). The new SLC Web site was formally launched in May 2002 and work on its development continues. The Directors canceled plans to print an updated Directory in 2000, in part because the Web directory made it redundant. An era ended for the SLC in 1998 when Bob Bravard, the last of the founding fathers active in the Cooperative, announced his retirement from Lock Haven University. The SLC held its winter meetings in 1998 and 1999 via videoconference at Penn College and Geisinger, with members participating by telephone from Guthrie Health System in Sayre. The Directors deemed the experiments "interesting" and returned to traditional in-person meetings. Over the years the Reader Services Committee went through an evolutionary process that by 1998 had left it unsure of its purpose. While every SLC library was supposed to be represented on the Committee, few members attended. The appointment of two new co-chairs and moving the Committee's listserve to Penn College in 1999 did little to resolve the identity crisis. Even the elements conspired against the frustrated co-chairs, as a snowstorm kept all but a few brave souls from attending an excellent teleconference on licensing electronic resources. Following a detailed review of the Committee's long and august history and a lengthy discussion of its role, in February 2000 the Directors voted to rename the Reader Services Committee the Continuing Education Committee in recognition of the role the group had long assumed. The requirement for each SLC library to have a member on the committee had become unrealistic and was quietly dropped. In February 2001 the Continuing Education Committee hosted an informal "get-together" for Interlibrary Loan staff. The most popular topic of discussion was Ariel, the electronic imaging and document delivery system already in use by half of the Cooperative's members. The Continuing Education Committee considered having an Ariel training workshop but felt the cost would be too high. However, following a demonstration of the system at the Mansfield University Library in May 2001, the Directors decided to seek an LSTA grant to obtain Ariel for the seven SLC members that did not have it. The Directors believed that cooperative resource sharing would be enhanced if all SLC libraries could use the same document delivery system, and every SLC library sent a letter of support endorsing the project. The grant committee developed its proposal but, in one of those unforeseen changes of direction, Susquehanna Health System had to rescind its offer to be the grant applicant. The Directors then voted to postpone the project until the 2003 LSTA cycle in order to allow another library to apply for the grant. The delay also gave SLC an opportunity to collect Interlibrary Loan statistics that could only strengthen the grant proposal. The Reader Services/Continuing Education Committee continued its excellent series of workshops and teleconferences, sometimes in cooperation with other associations. Program topics ranged from copyright to electronic licensing to "Building the Earth's Largest Library." Bucknell University's Jim Van Fleet gave a hands-on disaster response workshop in August, 20001 and the Committee followed up in November with "Disaster Preparedness - Writing the Plan." This program, co-sponsored by the West Branch Chapter of the Pennsylvania Library Association and presented by Penn State University's Sue Kellerman, led to a new project- the development by SLC of a regional disaster response team. When fully realized the team will provide expertise, resources, and assistance to institutions struck by flood or other disasters.
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