Abstract
The University of South Florida Libraries are currently carrying out a system-wide virtual library project. The University of South Florida is the second largest university in the Southeast and the 15th largest nationally with more than 37,000 students. USF currently offers the most extensive distance learning program in the State University System. The libraries are committed to utilizing innovative technology and creative ideas in the delivery of library services. In order to undertake a project of such magnitude, the directors of the USF Libraries convened a committee of eight librarians to develop a plan that would serve as a road map to the technological future for the multi-campus USF library system. The plan was developed over the course of nine months without the use of an outside consultant. The resulting document numbering over one hundred pages was entitled The USF Libraries Virtual Library Project: a Blueprint for Development. The key components to this project are: collections and content, interface and infrastructure, organizational structure, and services.
The poster session will describe the process used in the development of the project, will track progress toward implementation, explain how the current organizational structure within the USF Libraries is changing as a direct result of this virtual library initiative, and report on problems and issues that the committee faced in the course of this virtual library project. The purpose of the poster session is to serve as a guide for other academic libraries attempting to develop and implement their own virtual library project.
CITATION: Metz-Wiseman, Monica; Grohs, Kim; Hanson, Ardis; Neville, Tina, and Ed Sanchez (1996). A Blueprint for Development: The USF Libraries Virtual Library Project. Poster session presented at the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Annual Meeting, Nashville, Tennessee, April 1997. [http://www.fmhi.usf.edu/library/projects/acrl/abstract.html.
