Synergy in action

Abstract

Over the last two decades, institutions of higher education have frequently embraced the "One-Stop-Shopping" concept where information resources are concerned. If not outright merging, campus technology departments and library services have found themselves working in close collaboration, slowly but steadily forming a symbiotic relationship with a greater dependence and reliance on each other for support and mutual survival. Consequently, it has become vital to find common ground between computing and library services, two institutional entities that may possess similar, but often very different mission statements, job performance expectations and departmental goals, all the while occupying the same facility and competing for the same space and resources.In this paper, the authors will discuss the collaboration of Northwest's Owens Library Services and Information Systems Department, and how this relationship has provided greater opportunities for supporting and enhancing the library and technology experience of campus users. In addition, the authors will discuss the services offered and methods deployed by both departments independently and in cooperation with each other to generate the kind of synergy needed to create successful clientcentered computing labs.