USAIN is not part of the National Agricultural Library (NAL), continued Ms. Powell, but rather is a self-funded group whose members are "shapers of information." They are trying to provide equitable access to information by all groups who need it. They have progressed through the "storming and forming" stages and are now entering the "norming" stage.

USAIN genesis and structure. Ms. Powell said USAIN was the brainchild of Joel Howard. His idea was to recruit people of influence to support NAL, targeting those in the land grant network initially, along with many others, some of whom were unprepared to assume roles as elected board members. Board positions require much volunteer time and presented a hardship for members who already had demanding regular jobs.

USAIN uses a committee structure and also includes loosely organized interest groups with the flexibility to focus on specific topics of interest. This feature of having informal groups to explore certain topics was requested by the membership itself, a request that USAIN was able to accommodate.

USAIN membership dues are $250 for an institution. Although having no paid staff is a definite problem, USAIN has been able to focus on many different areas, holding national conferences, with international participation, to explore various informational issues, such as those that relate to rural, electronic, and preservation of agricultural literature. The latter was the topic of a 1991 conference at which participants crafted a "preservation vision" that was formally ratified in 1993. Needing resources to carry out this preservation initiative, USAIN hired a consultant to apply for grant money. With the $900,000 grant it received, the USAIN preservation project is going forward in five states. USAIN has also funded other projects related to its preservation plan, and is currently partnering with Cornell University, as it has in the past.

All considered, continued Ms. Powell, USAIN can boast quite a few accomplishments, even with its limited manpower and resources. But it wasn't always that way. Following a period of relative inactivity - and after it had been in existence for 5 years - a USAIN planning conference was held, similar to the present USEIN conference. The main purpose of the conference was to bring people together to shape the network's future direction. A hired facilitator worked the issues, but the conference results got filed away. USAIN eventually was "reborn" and was formally authorized.

Guiding principles. To survive, any organization must be amenable to change. In USAIN's case, several basic issues had to be decided, which offer guidance for an approach to USEIN.

• Why do we exist? USAIN organizers had to define their audience. Who could benefit from this information network? As an advocacy group, USAIN had to broaden its membership to be more inclusive.
• Partnering with other organizations is a must, but only if the relationship is mutually beneficial.
• USAIN responded to NAL direction and leadership.
• It is important to keep the membership informed and to craft a business plan.

Action plan. USAIN crafted an action agenda, based on several items, such as surveys, past conference results, TQM ideas, and public feedback obtained through the Internet. Regarding USAIN's action plan, Ms. Powell said "if we couldn't articulate it, we didn't do it." She said many people are currently working on tasks related to implementing the USAIN action plan.

One operational aspect of USAIN is that it does not compete with the local public library, which is part of its primary constituency. They are not replacing the library or extension specialist, etc., but rather seek to complement or support them. "We really do believe that we must be shapers of public policy," explained Ms. Powell. (She added that Chuck McClure is very articulate on this topic.) USAIN has a valuable and particular role to play, which is to watch legislation, communicate what is happening, and tell people how to get their opinions heard. USAIN is not a lobbying group, but supports NAL and serves as its customer base. USAIN can give NAL constructive customer feedback to help NAL effectively grow and develop.

Lessons learned. Ms. Powell shared the following "lessons learned" from the USAIN experience:

• You must have a clear vision; but that vision can be changed.
• You need a structure in place for administrative continuity. "Grunt work" makes things happen.
• You must communicate with your membership.
• Don't reinvent the wheel.
• Don't step on toes; avoid unnecessary competition.
• Forge lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships. AGNIC, or the Agriculture Network Information Center, could be a good potential partner for USEIN.

Participant Questions and Comments

Ms. Powell answered several audience questions following her discussion.

Q. How many members does USAIN have?

R. We have 150 members. Membership is low because of the fallow years. USAIN has published a networking guide and other outreach materials to raise awareness and membership.

Q. Is membership composed of individuals or institutions?

R. Mainly individuals; institutional members number fewer than 10.

Q. What is USAIN's main purpose?

R. To serve in an advocacy role for agricultural information. Its major function is advocacy, not service provision.

Q. It sounds like you defined how all the various pieces had to work together before you could develop an effective organizational structure.

R. Yes, you need to define your related groups.

The NLE Perspective

Blane Dessy, Executive Director, National Library of Education

Before beginning the final author plenary, Mr. Dessy wanted to weigh in on USEIN and how he envisions this network. He began by explaining that when NLE was created, it searched for a model to increase cooperation and resource sharing, as it was mandated to do. He likes the agricultural model because of the forum established for bringing people together. However, USEIN's mandate is different. When asked whether he is envisioning USEIN to be like USAIN or AGNIC, Mr. Dessy responded "a combination of both."

NLE operates like any other library that already exists, he explained, with many resources and services, and similar issues to face. NLE also manages the contents of DoED's world wide web information. NLE's mandate further requires that it promote resource sharing and cooperation; hence USEIN was born, conceived as a collaborative organization facilitated by NLE that would aid its agenda by promoting education, addressing particular information tasks, and taking advice and direction from outside professionals (e.g., those gathered). So, USEIN is both different from and similar to NAL, AGNIC, USAIN, etc. NLE sees its role as a facilitative one, bringing people together to talk about the big issues - what can we do together better than we can individually? NLE is not an advocacy organization and does not want those it involves to be lobbyists.

By the end of the day, continued Mr. Dessy, we hope to have made progress toward the following:

• plans for an ongoing structure (e.g., annual meetings);
• identification of tangible projects; and
• advice for NLE staff as to what it should be doing.

[Session II]

[Session III]