A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Session I: Moving USEIN From Vision to Practice

Plenary with Authors 

- Moderator: Jane Kolbe; Authors: Patricia Libutti and Jo Ann Carr

Patricia Libutti

Ms. Libutti began, noting that the two papers featured in this section concern mainly (1) who we are as a constituency and (2) what methods, structures, etc., must be put in place for these broad constituencies to relate to each other. The issue, she continued, is one of collaboration and partnership, words that mean something different now than they did 15 years ago in the library/business world. Now, collaboration must be viewed in terms of a continuum, with cooperation at one end and partnership at the other. Cooperation does not produce changes in social structures, as people work in parallel to achieve goals. Next is collaboration, which does produce organizational and structural change. Finally, there is partnership, which Ms. Libutti called the most intense and influential kind of social organization and one that can be either casual or formal. Partnership means "definite change" in the two or more interacting groups.

Jo Ann Carr

Ms. Carr noted that while the agricultural network provides a good model for NLE, major differences exist in that an educational information network must bridge the lifelong span of participation by its constituency, who have broadly diverse needs. Ms. Carr summarized these needs according to three types of libraries serving important roles and offering services at several different education levels.

School libraries. Ninety-seven (97) percent of schools have libraries, with larger schools tending to have larger libraries. But size does not influence the presence of key components such as training and staffing levels, a factor to figure prominently when considering the role of school libraries in USEIN design. Ms. Carr stressed the need to look also at the role of private schools, where religious affiliation has an impact on library availability. The network capacities of these libraries must be identified.

Public libraries. USEIN designers must consider how public libraries interact with adults and children and what the services are. Services to schools are not as pervasive in this setting. Resources must be strongly considered and more participation with schools encouraged.

Academic libraries. These libraries have huge client groups to consider. Education and curriculum libraries must be examined in depth. Inherent characteristics include geographic distribution differences, with teacher education more heavily concentrated in the Midwest and education "players" more heavily concentrated in private and smaller colleges. This situation demands that an education network consider how to work through agencies where one individual may be serving the needs of many educators-in-training (e.g., one person manning a curriculum center).

Kû12. This group represents over 44 million students in over 86,000 schools. Considerations include school staffing levels, which are often small in comparison to the populations served. USEIN must accommodate this situation to be useful.

Colleges and universities. Over 2 million students are in education; seven percent of these are in schools of education. The school population demographic is much different from that of the mostly white/Anglo faculty being trained to work with it. This fact must be taken into account when designing USEIN.

Professional associations. Of more than 6,000 organizations, 300 are focused on the elementary level and 1,500 on higher education. USEIN must look at the role associations might serve in reaching individuals who currently do not actively participate in a professional association.

Other. The participation of publishers and producers in this network requires an examination of roles to determine where they are parallel with and different from those of professional organizations.

Different levels for different partners. The education information network under consideration is diverse in terms of client groups and levels of participation and involvement available for individuals. An important group not reflected among conference participants, noted Ms. Carr, is the consumer. Participants must consider how to involve these end users, as they will be integral pieces in the delivery of educational information.

Patricia Libutti

Ms. Libutti's paper depicts a "hub" for educational information, with several different spokes going out to different users, such as K-12 school, library, academic (higher education), etc. She said a "spoke" is needed to connect with the commercial sectors, that the construction of educational web sites involves linking with the appropriate nonprofit commercial groups. Further, general public representation must also be considered, as much of what the education world does is reviewed, discussed, and publicized in public arenas. This circumstance must be considered as enthusiasm is generated for USEIN, and key tasks (indicated in the "hub" graphic - Libutti, p. 20) must be performed to reach these groups.

Two contingencies. Participatory partnerships involve both users and contributors. Users may include representatives of the diverse USEIN users, who can serve an advisory or evaluative role, offering recommendations on how to improve the network. Contributors could include providers of information deemed relevant for USEIN linkage, with a likely task being the provision of information necessary for linkage or pointer.

Invisible partners. So-called "invisible" partners must be made partners in reality.

Jo Ann Carr

Returning to Mr. Ely's architect metaphor, Ms. Carr said the task of constructing USEIN could be viewed as constructing a log cabin, with the USEIN piece integral to growing the cabin into a wonderful, blended estate.

The approach taken, she continued, must be supportive of the BHAG, or "big, hairy, audacious goal, to support the vision for the future. If what is being constructed now will be an integral part of the ultimate product, then it must address different levels of partnership, cooperation, and collaboration within a diverse and pervasive client and partnership group.

Participant Questions and Comments 

Participants had the following questions and comments following the author's panel presentation (Q=question; C=comment; R=response)

C. The public library serves children mainly in individual, not connected, settings, which is how electronic assistance is offered as well. This is something to consider when designing USEIN.

C. USEIN needs to consider, too, the potential impact on home schooling of children. The public library provides needed support for this education option. USEIN must be accessible to those who conduct information searches in less sophisticated ways.

C. Only 35 to 38 percent of public libraries have public youth librarians and media centers. Rural public libraries are deprived and getting worse. Library science education in university schools of education is less attentive than it should be to youth and school library services, and schools are not graduating enough people to fix the problem. Schools of education are terrible about giving instruction on how to teach students and assist youth. Someone must educate people to educate people.

Q. What is your definition of education information, the market, and the secondary market? We as participants in this process need guidance on the ultimate goal of this network. Is it intended mainly for use by information professionals or end users, or the entire range of students and other potential users that have been outlined here?

R. [Pat Libutti]: It may cover a variety of formats, but education information means anything that nurtures the education needs of students. This definition covers a huge tract of ground, but as we must deal with this broad definition as we tackle this "beast."

R. [John D'Amicantonio]: I like to think of this as a customer-based product. And certainly there is a lot of information that falls under the rubric of education information. USEIN must include and reflect that broad range.

C. We need to focus on problems that USEIN can solve. For example, USEIN probably cannot solve the low numbers of library professionals, but it can, in a distributed mode, help improve or update the content that stimulates students at all levels - which should be its primary focus.

C. In an effort to be inclusive, there has been a sacrifice of focus. We must know who can expect what: students, parents, educators, schools, and libraries. We must get decisive about what we can do for each group, or our recommendations will be nebulous.

R. [Blane Dessy]: We can talk about an ideal focus in the small groups. Contribute your perceptions, as we want a shared goal. I do not wish to color or influence your perceptions, and ask that you decide the level of focus needed.

Breakout Group Reports 

Blue Group: Session I

The Blue Group's discussion was wide-ranging, vague, and broad, yet thorough. The group saw the customer as the whole universe, but tried to narrow content. The following highlights emerged from the discussion.

• USEIN should be higher in the hierarchy than NLE.
• USEIN could be a gateway.
• We must change the thinking toward technology information.
• Information could be layered in a useful manner.
• Designers should take advantage of what is already out there, adding intelligence and creativity to better use and access it.
• The focus should be on the "what," not the "who," on both a fee and free basis.
• "Go where the puck is going to be."
• User feedback is needed.
• NLE should facilitate collaboration among partners and with users. "Participant" might work better than "partner."
• There are many security issues to consider.
• An automated tickler file of questions could be incorporated to answer users' frequently asked questions automatically.

Green Group: Session I

Describing its discussion as a "stream-of-consciousness" exercise, the Green Group generated the following points for consideration.

• Who the audience is must be determined, with care taken not to exclude important groups, but to target post-secondary constituents as the primary audience.
• The Access for All report contains a good mission statement and discussion of audience for NLE.
• NLE and USEIN were viewed as the same - that is, as the core of this information clearinghouse.
• The same audiences were seen for USEIN as for ERIC.
• ERIC and NLE have some of the same "magic words." The main difference is that USEIN seeks to build on ERIC and other organizations' current efforts to produce an expanded and better ERIC. There is also a potential role for a national-level capability that transcends state boundaries.
• On the "parent" issue, a National Parent Information Network already exists. The core issue is "What will USEIN do that is different; what don't people know that they need to know?" Marketing, then, becomes a big issue.
• Added to the four "A's" should be aggregation and analysis.
• How would one determine or identify gaps and develop solutions? What is the Federal role, and how can one lead in to partnerships and contracts? This question calls for consideration of offering incentives, developing standards, or creating the hybrid library, with both traditional and high-tech offerings. Other potential considerations include contracted agreements with private industry for products and services, establishment of clearinghouses, and the need for private-sector involvement. Federal versus private-sector involvement is a distinction worth considering.
• Another factor is people resources - how can they be linked and what is their willingness?
• Priorities must be established to help planners "get their arms around" this big idea.

Yellow Group: Session I

The Yellow Group confessed it came up with more questions than answers. These are summarized below.

• What is USEIN supposed to be and where is it going? Work must be done to bring all the various databases together.
• Maybe USEIN should be called a provider network.
• Again, regarding duplication, what is already out there must be the focus.
• We need to establish finite projects on which we can work and succeed.
• What is USEIN's role? A situation analysis is needed.
• Where there are gaps, and should USEIN fill them?

Orange Group: Session I

The Orange Group also produced several questions, along with some recommendations.

• Who is the audience?
• How do we make sense of all this information? This question again raises the issue of access.
• NLE and USEIN are not tools for the schools. Teachers and educators should be the primary audience.
• USEIN must be clearly defined.
• A multitude of formats is needed for USEIN.
• NLE should serve as the "umbrella" for this information network.
• USEIN should be a mechanism for bringing partners together, with direction and need as considerations.

Red Group: Session I

The Red Group also struggled with how to get their arms around this network idea. It looked at a connective structure from a variety of angles and models. Their ideas are summarized below.

• Regarding information access, who belongs? Children are learners and need to learn how to learn, after all.
• Dissemination should not be just a one-way mode.
• USEIN would generate the knowledge as well as provide ways of looking at it, facilitating a two-way contribution to the network.
• Archiving issues must be addressed.
• Standards and interoperability of system design must be taken into account.
• With regard to organization governance, change should be sought through a site-based management organization, where all here are part of the site.

Direction Sought for Breakout Sessions

Before breaking, participants requested more definitive direction from the conference organizers. They suggested that they be given a specific question to tackle in the breakout sessions, along with specific relevant tasks to address. They generally desired some basis of consensus, i.e., an identification of issues cutting across the various groups, to more quickly arrive at convergent thinking. Another disagreed with this approach, warning that too many issues had yet to be explored. Others felt the agenda did not sufficiently reflect the range of topics in the papers, such as networking between various types of organizations, forming strategic alliances with the private sector, or devising approaches to work projects.

To address these concerns, Mr. Dessy asked that participants note additional issues they wished to explore as part of the next day's agenda.
-###-

[Opening Remarks]

[Session II]