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University of Delaware Library/Statewide K-12 Partnership
Providing Online Resources and Training: UDLib/SEARCH

EDUCAUSE '99
Long Beach, California, Track 4, Friday, October 29, 1999, 8:15AM- 9:00AM, Rm 201, Convention Center
(Web Proceedings submitted in HTML format)

By Sandra K. Millard, Ed.D., M.L.S.
Assistant Director for Library Public Services and Program Director, UDLib/SEARCH
University of Delaware Library
181 South College Avenue
Newark, Delaware 19717-5267
Email: skm@udel.edu
Phone: (302) 831-2231
Fax: (302) 831-1046
University Web: http://www.udel.edu
Library Web: http://www.lib.udel.edu
UDLib/SEARCH Web: http://www2.lib.udel.edu/udlib-srch/

UDLib/SEARCH is a unique partnership between the University of Delaware Library and state K-12 education in Delaware. UDLib/SEARCH provides access to 16 full text databases via the Internet on the state network to all Delaware public high schools and middle schools, and training for teachers and librarians. Using $30 million in state funds, Delaware is the first state to wire every classroom in all public schools to the Internet, and UDLib/SEARCH is one of the first statewide applications on that network. This collaboration has served to further strengthen the partnership between the University, the state, and the education community.

Introduction

UDLib/SEARCH is a University/K-12 statewide partnership in the state of Delaware between the University of Delaware and state K-12 education. It is a partnership program in which the University of Delaware Library provides access to 16 online full text web-based periodical databases and related database training for educators in all Delaware public high schools and middle schools with state funds. The current funding level from the state for FY2000 is $487,500 covering 61 schools. Funds have been requested from the state to expand to include all 97 public elementary schools for FY2001.

Background and Environment

All public K-12 schools in Delaware were wired to allow access to the Internet via one state network at state expense of $30 million over a three-year period completed in 1999. Schools and districts were responsible for purchasing equipment, providing staff to support the computers, implementing school based programs using the network, and training teachers in basic Internet use. Some state funds supported these activities, however most were largely the responsibility of school districts and local schools. Without this network, UDLib/SEARCH could never have existed.

Delaware is a small state with less than 700,000 citizens. There are 30 public high schools, 31 public middle schools, and 97 public elementary schools in the state of Delaware. Public schools received about 65.9% of their support from state funds in Fiscal Year 1997. In FY 1999, the Public Education budget—funding for K-12 education via the Department of Education--was $637,513,900.

The University of Delaware is a state-assisted Land Grant, Sea Grant, Space Grant, Urban Grant, Carnegie Research II University. It is the largest higher education institution in Delaware and the only large research university. For fiscal year 1998, total operating revenues were $409.2 million, including $85.0 million (approximately 21%) from state appropriations. Delaware draws the largest percentage of its students, 37%, from the state of Delaware. Fall 1998 enrollment totaled 21,346. The University of Delaware is expected to play a key role in provision of public service related to education in the state.

The University of Delaware Library includes the Hugh M. Morris Library, where the main collection is housed, three branch libraries located in Newark, the Agriculture Library, the Chemistry Library, and the Physics Library, and a fourth branch library, the Marine Studies Library in Lewes, Delaware. The collections of the University of Delaware Library parallel the University's academic interests and support all disciplines. The University of Delaware Library provides online electronic access via subscriptions to more than 150 Library Networked Databases via its library web site including: journal article references and abstracts; full text electronic articles; a full text encyclopedia; government information; electronic journals; maps and many other items. The Library Networked Databases contain hundreds of thousands of full text articles, references, and summaries of the contents of journals.

The University of Delaware Library is the largest library in the state of Delaware, and the only large research library. The Library serves the public by providing open walk-in access to all members of the public. Library services to K-12 schools include free loan of books and provision of photocopies to school libraries, access to web-based subject web pages and non-subscription resources, provision of tours to school groups, and most recently, provision of databases and training via the UDLib/SEARCH program.

The Library's experience in negotiating license agreements and providing access for 150 networked databases was expertise it felt it could offer to the state in providing statewide access to databases for K-12 schools.

Development of UDLib/SEARCH

University of Delaware President David P. Roselle and Provost Melvyn D. Schiavelli, appointed an Education Partnership Task Force in March 1996 to determine the perceptions of education and policy leaders in the state about the University of Delaware’s role in public education, and to make recommendations how to strengthen the University's role in partnership with the state in K-12 education.

The Education Partnership Task Force met individually with thirty education leaders in the state to discuss the University-public education relationship, the perceptions of education and policy leaders about the role of the University of Delaware in public education, and how this relationship can improve K-12 education in Delaware. The very first recommendation of the May 1997 Education Partnership Task Force report from the University of Delaware was to make a very visible tangible commitment to Pre-K-12 education in the state of Delaware.

The development of the UDLib/SEARCH program began with a desire on the part of the University of Delaware President David Roselle and Provost Melvyn Schiavelli to strengthen the partnership with the state by providing a new tangible statewide service to state K-12 education.

The University of Delaware Library developed the plan that ultimately became UDLib/SEARCH. The Library was aware of the needs of school libraries, and met with various constituents to gain information and develop a proposal. UDLib/SEARCH was designed to meet a clear need for information resources required by schools. The average number of current print periodical subscriptions in Delaware public middle schools averaged just over 30, and the average number of current print periodical subscriptions in public high school libraries in Delaware is 53. A 1998 survey in Delaware showed that an average of only $8.20 per pupil expended on middle school library collections in Delaware public schools and $12.50 per pupil expended on high school library collections in public schools. These expenditures do not include the investment by the state of Delaware later via the UDLib/SEARCH partnership. Through UDLib/SEARCH alone, expenditures by the state of Delaware for database and training average increased by $8,000 per school in FY99.

Once the UDLib/SEARCH program plan was developed, political and financial support was sought from the State Department of Education, Governor Thomas Carper, the General Assembly and Joint Finance Committee, school librarians and the state library association, the State Librarian, and the Office of Telecommunications. After more than a year of discussion and consensus building, state funding for UDLib/SEARCH was approved in the amount of $210,000 for year one as part of the State of Delaware Department of Education budget allocation in July 1997. This $210,000 was then passed through to the University of Delaware Library to operate this program. In July 1998, the state again approved funding as part of the State Department of Education K-12 Pass-through budget, and increased it to $452,000 to continue the program to high schools and to expand the program to all Delaware public middle schools. The success of the program was recently shown in the funding of year three in the amount of $487,500 to continue services and access. One important reason for its success is that UDLib/SEARCH provides a tangible service to public schools in the state. It makes effective use of a newly implemented statewide network, provides equity in access to needed research resources for students, and provides related online database training for teachers. It has also strengthened the relationship between the University and K-12 education in the state, and became a program the University could point to with pride.

Implementation of UDLib/SEARCH

Database selection, license negotiation, procurement, and technical access implementation

Through the UDLib/SEARCH program, the University of Delaware Library, with state funds, negotiates license agreements and purchases database subscriptions for all public Delaware high schools and middle schools. The databases selected are those recommended by an Advisory Board consisting of school librarians, UDLib/SEARCH staff, and a representative from the state Department of Education. The vendors providing the databases include Britannica, World Book, Gale (all the DISCovering and Exploring series plus Expanded Academic ASAP and Student Edition), SIRS/Mandarin, and EBSCO.

UDLib/SEARCH Databases for High Schools and Middle Schools

Encyclopedias
Britannica Online
World Book Online

Magazine and Journal Articles
DISCovering Authors
DISCovering Biography
DISCovering Multicultural America
DISCovering Science
DISCovering U.S. History
DISCovering World History
Expanded Academic ASAP
EXPLORING Poetry
EXPLORING Shakespeare
Middle Search Plus - EBSCO
Primary Search - EBSCO
SIRS Discoverer
SIRS Government Reporter
SIRS Renaissance
SIRS Researcher
Student Edition

Ongoing database technical support, communication, troubleshooting, and training

UDLib/SEARCH staff do all communication with vendors and state network staff to implement access to the service. The main point of contact in the schools is the school librarian. All schools in Delaware are connected to the state network. The program provides centralized statewide access via the Internet to what is now a collection of 16 full text periodical and encyclopedia databases.

The Library provides all Delaware public high schools and middle schools with individualized training, technical assistance, communication, troubleshooting, and workshops for all issues related to UDLib/SEARCH access. More than 2,000 teachers were trained during the first two years. The Library provides related training for all teachers and librarians in all public high schools and middle schools in the state of Delaware.

The staff most involved with the program are the Program Director who is also the University of Delaware Library Assistant Director for Public Services, and the two Training Coordinators--one for High Schools and one for Middle Schools. The University Assistant Director for Library Computing Systems also is the liaison with vendor technical staff and state network staff to troubleshoot access problems. All UDLib/SEARCH staff are librarians. A UDLib/SEARCH web site was created by the Training Coordinators to provide easy access to databases and a communication vehicle with users. One of the first immediate tangible results of this innovation was to increase the average number of periodicals accessible in every public school from an average of less than 50 in print to more than 1,000 in electronic full text form through access to online periodicals. One result was equity for each school when gained access to exactly the same set of online resources more than 55,000 students in 61 middle schools and high schools.

Measuring success of University/K-12 partnerships

Is UDLib/SEARCH a successful partnership? Education leaders in the state, school librarians, and teachers expressed their belief that it was. The education research literature identifies factors which contribute to success of University/ school collaborations. Did UDLib/SEARCH also share these elements of success? It was important to study, because the continued success of this program and others depend upon it.

Elements of successful university/school collaborations

Factors which contribute to the success of university/school collaborations show up repeatedly in the research literature of university/school collaborations. A review of that literature showed that the following are elements of most successful university/school collaborations:

1. Effective leadership and commitment from top administrators.
2. Clear focus, good planning, and mutual interests.
3. Action and activities focused on change.
4. Careful selection of sites and staff.
5. Effective interpersonal communication.

How did UDLib/SEARCH compare?

1. Effective leadership and commitment from top administrators

The commitment to university/state education partnership by top leaders at the University of Delaware and in the state was the impetus for the development of the UDLib/SEARCH partnership, and the continuation and growth of the partnership is dependent on the continued support and commitment of these same top leaders.

2. Clear focus, good planning, and mutual interests

An important aspect to UDLib/SEARCH program design and implementation was clearly defining the focus of the program plan and implementation. UDLib/SEARCH was based the idea was that all schools should have access to the same databases, and that the University library was an appropriate and experienced leader to implement this access and provide related training. Planning involved gaining consensus from all interested parties, and making sure that the program met both the needs of the schools and the needs of the University.

3. Action and activities focused on change

The literature of University/school collaboration emphasizes the importance of paying attention to activities, not goals, in initiating a collaboration. Researchers repeatedly emphasized the shared ownership of problems, and making sure that universities work with schools rather than impose a solution onto schools. It was key in the UDLib/SEARCH partnership to provide a service that the schools wanted and needed, and to do it in a way that made the online resources available in a simple and consistent manner.

4. Careful selection of sites and staff

Choosing sites and staff carefully is particularly important in successful technology partnerships. Researchers studying the common features of successful technology partnerships found that choosing people and sites carefully was identified as one of the most important components of success. In the UDLib/SEARCH partnership, the site selected in year one in 1997 was all public high schools in Delaware. This site was selected because all public high schools had newly installed network connections to the state computing network providing access to the Web, clusters of networked computers for students access, active school libraries with experience with databases in CD-ROM and other formats. The partnership offered new, larger state funded databases of full text online periodicals and encyclopedia. All databases were made available to every high school via the new Web connections.

5. Effective interpersonal communication

A partnership is in its essence, personal--whether between two large organizations, or between two individuals. One of the strongest elements of the UDLib/SEARCH program is the personal and individualized communication between the UDLib/SEARCH staff and the school librarians and teachers via phone, email, and in person. It is this personal service that the schools praise and appreciate.

Measuring how Delaware education and policy leaders defined successful University/state K-12 partnerships

Strong positive relationships between universities and the state are vital. The beliefs of education and policy leaders often set the tone for whether the organizations are seen as strong partners. The University of Delaware cares about its relationship with the state, particularly related to public education.

An important measure of success for this program was what education and policy leaders believed about it. One purpose was to strengthen the relationship between the University and state K-12 education leadership.

The Dean of the University of Delaware College of Human Resources, Education and Public Policy describes the relationship between the University of Delaware and state K-12 education in this way:

My sense is that we’re in a new chapter in that history, but we’re not fully there yet. We’re turning the pages to that new chapter that is going to be written by a different kind of engagement of higher education in relationship to K through 12 if we’re successful--one will be that it will be grounded in the preparation and support of teachers, but won’t be defined and limited by that. I believe we are starting to do that in higher education now—to practice what we preach. I believe that we are trying to do that at the University of Delaware. My sense is that it took a lot of courage from the leadership of our University to actually do what some people talked about--that is to bring together programs that deal with the challenges facing children of families in schools and communities--and not just to talk, but to actually do it.

University of Delaware leaders include the University of Delaware President and Provost who asked for development of a new program to benefit Delaware schools, the Director of Libraries who was responsible for oversight of the program, the Dean of the College of Human Resources, Education and Public Policy who supported the program in communications with other leaders. State of Delaware leaders directly involved and interviewed included the State Secretary of Education, the State Director of Telecommunications in the State Office of Information Services, the State Librarian communicated support to others in the state as a major public library institution. School leaders interviewed included the Superintendent of the largest school district in Delaware, Principal of a southern Delaware high school, the several School Librarians who were also officers of state library organizations.

The questions asked of those interviewed centered on these major areas:
How do education and policy leaders in Delaware who are affected by the UDLib/SEARCH program define partnership? Are university/statewide K-12 education partnerships different in Delaware? Which examples of successful partnerships do they provide and why did they believe these were successful? What do these leaders believe are the most important elements of a successful university/state education partnership? Why are partnerships between the University of Delaware and statewide K-12 education successful? What do these leaders feel about the UDLib/SEARCH partnership? If they believe it was successful, why?

What did education and policy leaders in Delaware say about partnerships?

Use of the word partnership signifies a set of beliefs

Simply using the word "partner" has significance. What does the act of simply using the word partnership signify in university/K-12 partnerships? Using the term partnership can be the first step in signifying a new set of beliefs and intent by those using the term—in this case the University of Delaware speaking of their intent with regard to state K-12 education. The act of using of the term partnership could be interpreted as the first act of partnership.

Provost Melvyn Schiavelli of the University of Delaware describes the use of the term partnership this way: “More than anything, I think, just the signals that you send out and the words you use are important. You’re inviting people, so partnership implies you’re going to be cooperative as opposed to being uncooperative. We’re just saying we wanted to be involved and it was in our interest to be involved.”

Partnership can mean quite different things to those using the term, and several leaders identified times when two organizations defined partnership very differently.

The following elements were mentioned by Delaware education and policy leaders as characteristic of successful partnerships between organizations.

Each partner:
1. Gains something and has self interest.
2. Works together toward common goals.
3. Agrees to contribute so both partners gain.
4. Brings something to the table and wants something from the other.
5. Understands someone often has to take the lead in any partnership.
6. Needs to be on the same page--partnership is more about process.
7. Receives mutual benefit and accepts mutual risk.
8. Shows flexibility.
9. Accepts responsibility to work toward common goal.
10. Believes that whoever initiates the partnership has more to offer.
11. Willingness to accept and give friendly and constructive criticism.

Administrators seeking funding for programs need to understand, define and recognize partnership and apply the criteria to, in this case, a requirement for inter-agency collaboration. The top Education Advisor to the Delaware Governor explained further:

"You’ll notice that most funding in education now calls for some kind of collaboration or partnership--either inter-agency, or between nonprofit and public schools, or between the private sector and the public sector."

"It’s like signing a collaborative agreement. I don’t think you will convince me that a partnership represents equity. I think in any agreement among two organizations, someone has to lead. Traditionally in all partnerships that I’ve been in, someone--some part of a partnership, some organization--took the lead. In this case, I do believe it is the University."

"There are really probably no real secrets here or format to be found. You’re probably looking more at process, and that if you can get everybody going on the same page, you’re likely to have a success. But the secret is how you get them on the same page."

Communication

The results of the interview showed that a common theme in the responses of leaders interviewed was that communication was the most important element of successful partnerships—communication among partners and about the partnership to stakeholders.

The State Budget Director talked about his perception of communication between the University and the state:

"Go back and look at the budgets. If you look at the last couple of years you’ll see most of the new things they propose are in fact partnerships or supportive of public service kind of programs.”

"It might not have happened if the University demanded to be ‘it’. The choice of the University to be willing to say that was a major, major piece. If you would have said, ‘Well I want the money in the University budget…we’re going to run the whole thing. But it’s the fact that the President and Provost don’t care where the money is. They’re happy to work jointly—a partnership. This was very very important to this thing moving forward. It wasn’t the University trying to take something over. It made it a lot easier to sell—took away a major potential impediment. That’s a very powerful thing."

The recurring theme was that interorganizational partnerships begin with two individuals, one from each organization.

Absolute equity not always required

The Secretary of Education commented on the elements of successful partnerships:

"Partnerships don’t necessarily need, in my mind, to be defined in terms of equity in details to be successful. But they have to establish a comfort level, and I think that’s exactly what this project has done. There’s a high degree of comfort, there’s a high degree of interest in the project. So therefore it’s successful. So I think the relationships--the comfort level and the trust--is probably much more important that saying you have fifty percent of the control of power in making decisions, because that isn’t the issue. The decisions are probably best made where they are [in UDLib/SEARCH] at the University level at this point, in terms of what’s going forward.”

"What I found the legislature asking most is – ‘Are people really using this? How many people are being positively affected by this?’ And they [the legislature] are actually getting down to, on almost all programs, ‘What’s the cost per person affected?’ So the more people or students, teachers, you have accessing a program or an initiative, and somehow benefitting from it, the lower the cost per use is, and right now, that’s a high priority in the minds of legislators. If you have a very expensive initiative, but it really only benefits a small population, the cost is obviously going to be high and they’re going to wonder if it’s really worth the value."

Communication patterns and relationships among policy and education leaders are different in Delaware on a statewide basis than in other states because of the small size of the state. The Presient of the University of Delaware responded this way to the question of whether Delaware is different:

“I think so. It’s different in a sense of being manageable size-wise. That matters less than the fact that the players know one another. If you’re unhappy you can make it be known right away....
Delaware’s different -- Viva la difference!”

The State Budget Director commented that : “The range of solutions is probably narrower, [in Delaware] because we don’t have as many. [In Pennsylvania there are] six universities in Philly and three in Pittsburgh.” The University of Delaware is the only large research university in Delaware. This fact both puts more pressure on the university to participate in partnerships and also provides it with more resources from the state in support of partnerships....In a big state, you may have a hell of a time just finding out whom to talk to, and what do they know about you? Why are you talking, and why should they listen to you? --as opposed to being in Delaware we’re small enough, you know....In a small state when you, in fact, have a [program] and it works, it’s easier to add to it…so the difference is the people know you, you made all these connections. People even know who you are so you don’t have to start back. All that makes it easier. If you’ve done things well, then people say, ‘Okay, we’ll give them another responsibility.’ It doesn’t necessarily have to be 100% logical. As you move forward, and as you succeed, it compounds upon itself.

The State Librarian of Delaware, also a successful initiator of partnerships in the state, commented on the importance of credibility:

"If you are credible, if you are doing good things and you are providing good services-- people want to build partnerships with you. That gets known very quickly. People’s faces immediately tell you about the likelihood, or what their impression would be of that organization. Candidly I think that one of the great strengths of the University Library, is that it has such a good reputation…they have great credibility. They do what they say."

University Director of Libraries Susan Brynteson commented on the informal network and its importance in a partnership:

"Well, it probably is somewhat different in that it’s size means that the same person often can take on different roles and wear different hats in different arenas. It’s not unusual in Delaware to meet someone at another function, where the person has a different role. Delaware has no secrets, it’s much easier to work together, one has many more contacts. The informal network can make things go rapidly and effectively.”

The University Provost commented:

“Delaware is different, period... in the sense that you run into the same people all the time, and things get done,” snapping his fingers, “like that--overnight....In Delaware the decision-makers see one another more often. It always struck me that in the first year I was here I met the Governor more times in one year than I had met the Governor of Virginia in twenty-five years.”

Lessons of size and transferability of lessons to other collaborations

The issues and lessons related to size of the state of Delaware do not mean that the success of the collaboration between the University of Delaware Library and state K-12 education cannot be transferred to other collaboration programs. The lessons learned can be transferred to collaborations in other states, and also for programs between Universities and large schools, school districts, or county systems. The principles and practices of good collaborations transfer well.

Delaware Education and Policy Leaders' Perceptions of UDLib/SEARCH

University Leaders’ Perceptions

Comments included:

“I think it’s terrific. It’s got one of the fundamental elements of partnership—sharing what you have, what you know, what you can do with others. That’s what the University has been doing more and more of. It’s always done a lot of it, and it’s doing more.”

“I think it’s great… We heard about it from the Governor—he said good things! I think the most important thing was that we weren’t overtly looking for something for ourselves. We were willing to share our expertise and energy"

“Good! The Governor is happy with it I know. "

State Leaders’ Perceptions

State Librarian: “Well I certainly do think it's successful! . I have no doubt based on the politics and the technology and the expertise—that the University Library is the only agency in the state that could have delivered this project. I do think it is extremely successful and I really commend the University and the University Library for stepping into what could have easily been [a problem]. But I think there was an opportunity here, and the University was willing to step up and deliver it. I think it’s very successful. The difference is that you’re delivering a product and service-- not just an academic exercise. The computer is or is not connecting to that service. In some ways I think that’s new for schools and libraries—to be delivering those kinds of extremely measurable, on-time, on-task outcomes.”

Governor's Education Policy Advisor: “I can say, that when I do hear about it [UDLib/SEARCH], I hear about it in glowing terms....When a school uses UDLib/SEARCH, on Parents’ Night…brings the parents in, and actually shows the parents what the kids can do to access this information—that’s a very effective communication tool. The same with teachers.”

"Sure. I mean it’s, it’s basically a free service, which the school systems can always use. Then the school system has to make the decision about how well or how much it’s going to take advantage of that."

"Oh, well I think it’s been an absolutely fabulous tool," exclaimed one school librarian. "I can’t say enough positive things about it--we do use it here quite a bit."

Another school librarian had this to say: “The thing is, all of this centers around our curriculum. UDLib/SEARCH centers everything around what the kids have to do in school--their assignments. What we have to do though is continuously tell them. You still have some students who will come in and heard about it by word of mouth, even though they’ve been here since ninth grade--but then you get a lot of kids who come in who transfer in. Students come into the library and initially want to go out and search the Internet for some sort of biography. At that point we [in the library] say 'Well why do that? Why don’t you just go to the [Gale DISCovering Biography] biography database we have on UDLib/SEARCH?' The student will answer: 'Well I’m new to the school, how do you do that?' So then we have to just go through it. But once we show them, then they seem to fall in line. But I think in looking at everything that’s offered, and the mere fact that you [the University of Delaware UDLib/SEARCH administrators] all have asked us what we wanted, that that helps out a great deal."

University leaders influenced by Governor, Cabinet and Governor’s Staff

The Provost explained his perception about UDLib/SEARCH:

"If we had put it up and the teachers were either, (a) left to flounder or (b) thought it was useless [the response would have been negative]. The people who are in a position to cause things to happen don’t have the time to worry about the details of the implementation. So their view of a cooperative venture is determined you know, probably exclusively, on the positive side, by people coming up to them and saying, ‘Boy this is really good.’ They have no idea what ‘really good’ means. They have no idea whether that person is a judge of ‘really good.’ But you get five ‘really goods’ ‘attaboys’ or ‘attagirls’ then the chances are the next time that person says I think we want to do this…you’ll say well they did a good job the last time. It’s back to that people relationships.

“In anything that is directly related to classroom instruction, I think it is the teachers who can really tell us,” explained the Education Policy Advisor to the Governor said. “Secondarily, I would say parents. I mentioned to you that I have a middle school student. Although he’s just begun middle school, and a junior in high school. Regarding UDLib/SEARCH-- I would want to go home and also ask them.”

“Whose opinion would I take [related to a partnership like UDLib/SEARCH]? Oh my!” laughed a school principal He continued: “My opinion this year might be different than it might be last year, even more different next year. My daughter’s opinion would be very important. She’s a ninth grader this year. If she wanted to do research, this would be something that I would ask her.” He then described how he evaluates programs as Principal and earlier, as Assistant Principal, using as a model how he might evaluate a teacher:

"As an Assistant Principal, sitting in the classroom evaluating the teacher, I would project out three children. I would project each one of them trying to learn in a particular setting. One is an advanced learner, one is a slow learner, one is in the middle. I try to project that, and then as far as whether or not they could use something like that [like UDLib/SEARCH databases] I’d probably let them play with it. I have umpteen people that are willing to give me advice, and some I take in particular areas more so than others. So it would just be more my feeling than anything else. I would also probably ask if it’s [UDLib/SEARCH databases] being used. I would ask my Department Chairs, Are people in your department making good use of this, and I would ask why or why not. Is there a problem with it, is their department just not familiar with it. The term papers and research are pretty heavy duty by the time you hit twelfth grade. Those twelfth graders are pretty hammered with it. But I think that more than anything else it would probably be student reaction that would sway me."

Conclusion

The UDLib/SEARCH program, now in it's third year of operation, has proven to be a successful model of a University/statewide K-12 collaboration to provide a well-defined technology based service. The reasons for it's success are that it provided a direct, tangible service to the state of a product selected by those involved, the recipients of the program used the services and products and communicated their positive feelings to others. The positive reactions were heard by education leaders and policy makers, who believed in response that the program was successful. It met its initial goal of strengthening the relationship between the University and the state education and is a model for future programs. UDLib/SEARCH offers a model for University/statewide K-12 education collaboration that can be scaled for large and small interorganizational collaboration by applying the lessons learned.