Planning from the Middle Out: Phase 1 of 2CUL Technical Services Integration

The Columbia and Cornell University Libraries’ partnership is now in its fourth year. Its composite acro-nym (2CUL), which condenses a doubling of the two participating libraries’ initial letters, in itself reflects the very nature of the collaboration’s strategic purpose: a broad integration of library activities in a number of areas – including collection development, acquisitions and cataloging, e-resources and digital management, and digital preservation. In what is perhaps their boldest, most ambitious 2CUL initiative to date, the two libraries have begun planning for and have taken the first steps towards an integration of their substantial technical services operations. In this paper, the authors outline the goals of 2CUL Technical Services Integration (TSI), report on the first phase of the work, reflect on what they have learned so far in planning for this operational union, and look forward to the next steps of the project in which the two institutions will initiate incrementally the functional integration of the two divisions. The period covered in Phase 1 of TSI is September 2012-December 2013.