Communication and Collaboration in the Orbis Cascade Alliance

Abstract

The Orbis Cascade Alliance is a consortium of 39 academic libraries located in the Pacific Northwest. The Alliance has continued to add libraries to its membership and expanded services with the migration to Ex Libris’ Alma and Primo. With libraries spread across three states, getting everyone on the same page can be a challenge. The Alliance has made strides in the past couple of years in how communication and training happens across members. This presentation will describe how the Alliance uses teams, standing groups, and project groups to facilitate training and to work on collaborative projects. We will also discuss other strategies such as hackfests, workshops, open calls, and other in-person meetings to give people the chance to network and learn from each other in person. This presentation will show how a large consortium communicates effectively with its member libraries and how member libraries work together.