| OCR Text |
Show ACADEMIC PIONEER: VISION STATEMENT August 1, 1999 Academic PIONEER is Utah=s digital library for higher education. It is the electronic complement to and counterpart of traditional academic library services in Utah. It offers digital library collections and electronic services to the students, faculty, and staff of the member libraries of the Utah Academic Library Consortium regardless of their location C on campus, at home, across the state, or around the world, and beyond the academic community, to the citizens of Utah. Academic PIONEER incorporates all traditional library functions C selection, preservation, organization, access, search, retrieval, interpretation, and instruction. Academic PIONEER constitutes the foundation for cooperation and collaboration among libraries in higher education and is a continuation of existing initiatives. Academic PIONEER is also a new environment, supporting new services and experimentation. Characteristics Academic PIONEER=s holdings combine unique, locally digitized collections, carefully selected licensed access to commercial databases, cross-platform bibliographic access, and appropriate guidance to and evaluation of selected world wide web resources. Holdings include all formats that enhance access to information. Academic PIONEER provides seamless access to library resources across the state, while reflecting the unique characteristics of each participating institution. Academic PIONEER will be recognized for the quality of both its resources and services. In addition to supporting the electronic counterparts of campus-based library services C such as reference, reserves and instruction C the access provisions of Academic PIONEER will include remote patron authentication, protections for patron privacy, and appropriate adaptive technology. Academic PIONEER will provide leadership in accessing traditional and electronic resources and services. The continuing development of the knowledge and skills of the librarians, staff and student assistants are central to this leadership role. This leadership will also result from a commitment to innovation. Assumptions: Academic PIONEER=s full text/image holdings and services will develop incrementally, building on the individual and collective priorities of participating institutions and available funding. Academic PIONEER will remain sensitive to the careful selection of both commercial products and the digitization of unique materials owned by UALC institutions which are of high interest to the public and higher education communities and to the citizenry of the state. Academic PIONEER will provide mechanisms to assure the fullest possible protection for the rights of library users to use digital materials consistent with respecting intellectual property rights, copyright and licensing restrictions. Academic PIONEER will remain highly sensitive to and dependent on developments and trends in telecommunications, hardware and software; and its hardware, software and data structures will strive to meet accepted technical standards, where such standards exist. Standards will be employed to enhance services and resources, but not to constrain innovation. Academic PIONEER planning, evaluation, and policies are the responsibility of the Utah Academic Library Consortium. Participating institutions retain policy authority for their own activities, staff, technology and funding. Demonstrable accountability will be a central component of the design and provision of Academic PIONEER services and resources. Partnerships with the State Library, the State Historical Society, State Archives, Utah=s public libraries, other regional, national and international academic libraries and private partners will be important to the development of Academic PIONEER over time. |
