SSG-GNARP Contact Partnerships

The contact partnership project was outlined by the Collection Development Working Group (CDWG) in March 1999 and further refined in June 1999. Tasks of the initial (pilot) phase of this project have been the following:

• Identify a manageable and representative range of subject areas, principally in the humanities and social sciences, based upon the DFG Special Subject Collection Areas Plan, adapted to reflect North American collection types and practices.
  
• Identify the German Sondersammelgebietsbibliotheken (hereafter "SSG libraries") according to the "Neuer Verteilungsplan" of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).
  
• For the selected subject areas, identify 3-5 North American libraries with pre-eminent collections broadly equivalent to the SSG libraries.
  
• Set up a framework whereby selected librarians at GNARP institutions are identified to serve as contacts with German SSG libraries in matters concerning identified subject areas and access to relevant national resources.

The intention behind matching SSG libraries with appropriate North American partners in GNARP is to promote an efficient exchange of information relating to comparable collections in Germany and North America. As of 2000, twenty-one subject areas had been selected as representative or particularly promising. These subject areas are in no way limited to specifically "German" or "American" topics, recognizing that the research collections of German and North American libraries are notable in a broad range of subject areas, e.g. South Asia, Africa, journalism, and education, and that closer collaboration between the research library communities on both sides of the Atlantic has potential across the entire disciplinary spectrum.

Contact partners act as information gateways on behalf of their own, but also other collections in their respective countries. It is hoped that through the envisioned contact partnerships, issues of common concern can be expeditiously addressed, collections-related questions quickly answered, and collaborative projects efficiently planned. It should be clear from the outset, however, that the success of this endeavor can only be measured after sufficient time has elapsed for various projects to get off the ground. This means that it is unlikely that there will be a flood of activities ensuing as soon as the contact partnerships have been formally established. Among the activities which this cooperation arrangement would facilitate are:

• collection identification: identifying collections in the other country in the various subject areas
• exchange of bibliographic information (e.g. current acquisitions lists, collection development profiles and statements, reviews of print and digital products, etc.)
• identification of library services provided to visiting scholars
• identification of potential partners for transatlantic resource-sharing projects (e.g. cooperative digitization projects or the cooperative purchasing of electronic resources)
• exchange of acquisitions information (e.g. library-publisher relations and experiences with library vendors)
• identification of funding sources to support joint projects
• facilitating and directing various exchange programs for monographs as well as serials
• directing specific reference questions to appropriate partner institutions

Last updated September 4, 2008