Overcoming barriers in the planning of a virtual library: recognising organisational and cultural change agents

INTRODUCTION The University of South Florida (USF) Libraries consist of five separate entities, two located at regional campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota and three libraries located on the main campus in Tampa. These libraries operate in a collegial, cooperative way yet each operates independently of the others. This arrangement allows the individual missions of each of the Libraries to be met while ensuring collaboration and cooperation. The many initiatives within and among the USF Libraries depend upon a reliable and advanced networked infrastructure and on staff, facility and financial decisions focussed on true programmatic cooperation. This paper addresses the interaction between the USF Libraries in defining and realising institutional commitment to its virtual library plan. The USF Virtual Libraries Planning Committee first convened in September 1995. At that meeting, the committee was charged with the task of preparing a proposal for a university-wide virtual library. The committee was comprised of eight librarians, seven representing the USF Libraries and the eighth from Florida Gulf Coast University who provided an “outsider” view of the process. The three USF campuses serve a variety of clientele, ranging from a large undergraduate and graduate research library, an undergraduate and graduate regional campus