Article from ILA E-News, December 14, 2010

On Tuesday, 14 December 2010, representatives of the Illinois library community met with Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White to present an action plan for statewide cooperative services, such as delivery and other priorities.  Secretary White agreed to consider awarding an LSTA grant to support the effort and requested that a formal request for funding be submitted to the Illinois State Library by the Illinois Library Association (ILA).

Based on information and resources identified in the Future of Illinois Library Cooperation planning documents, the group requested funding to analyze current delivery needs and prepare a formal RFP/RFI to identify best practices and service models, culminating in an implementation plan to redesign delivery in the most efficient and cost effective manner.  The project will intersect with on-going work of the regional systems and other consortia.

The request for funding will be submitted to the Illinois State Library in December with notification anticipated in early 2011.

Attending the meeting were: Illinois Secretary of State Chief of Staff Thomas Benigno, Oak Park Public Library Executive Director Deidre Brennan, ILA President Gail Bush; Illinois Secretary of State Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Programs and Policies Terri Coombes, Illinois State Library Director Anne Craig, Chicago Public Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey, Illinois Secretary of State Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff Jacki DiCianni, ILA Executive Director Robert P. Doyle, ILA Legislative Consultant Kip Kolkmeier, Chicago Public Library First Deputy Commissioner Karen Danczak Lyons, and Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White.

Download/view the planning documents for Future of Illinois Library Cooperation.