Community Engagement Network

The BTAA Libraries community engagement network is composed of over 350 staff and librarians across all Big Ten institutions. This network has grown organically according to affinity, interest, and needs unique to different areas of work (e.g. ILL, collection development, acquisitions, IT, preservation, etc) and now includes more than twenty different groups. 

The groups organize themselves into roughly three categories, falling along a continuum, from more formal to less formal:

Peer groups - Our most formal type of group, the peer groups develop methods and processes in alignment with the strategic directions indicated by the deans/ULs. Their focus and membership tend to be more formally defined in a charter that articulates the group’s purpose, its role in the BIG Collection, and organizing information like membership and leadership (e.g. selection and rotation of chairs). They are, in general, supported by both a dean liaison and a BTAA staff liaison. They are empowered to engage in joint projects within the resources of the group and to request additional resources centrally if needed. 

Communities of Practice - Communities of Practice are semi-formal groups whose primary purpose is knowledge sharing and common problem solving. Groups often meet monthly. Membership varies - some groups have one person per institution while others are open to anyone interested in the subject matter. Central resources primarily consist of communication and document management tools as well as a BTAA staff contact person. They tend to be self-organizing and self-resourced, but have a BTAA staff contact should they need assistance.

Interest groups - Interest Groups are our least formal groups. They often exchange information and share questions through an email listserv or MS Teams, but do not meet regularly. Membership is open to anyone interested in the subject matter.

The network overall is fluid and continually in motion, with groups evolving from one type of group into another and becoming correspondingly more formal or less formal over time.

The Executive Committee acts as the umbrella for the governance of the community.

 Peer Groups

• Collection Development Officers / Electronic Resource Officers (CDOs/EROs)

• Middle East Subject Librarians (Working Group)

• Communication Officers

• Digital Preservation

• Digital Strategies and Technology Services

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

• eResources Accessibility

• Human Resources

• Interlibrary Loan Coordinators (ILL)

• Public Service Directors

Communities of Practice

• Assessment

• Digitization Managers

• eLearning

• Heads of Acquisitions

• Heads of Cataloging

• Instruction Librarians

• Open Educational Resources (OER)

• Preservation Officers

• Special Collections

• Student Success

• University Archivists

Interest Groups

• Access Services

• Heads of Government Publications

• Scholarly Communications

• Shared Print Program Interest Group

• Technical Services Strategy

• Virtual Reference Librarians