I think two common reactions to among the group were tremendous enthusiasm as well as recognition of the vast scope of this undertaking. There will be a lot of communication about this program, and we will soon begin communicating in greater detail on tasks that need to be accomplished. However, here I want to lay out the project timeline in very general terms.

We are working with the goal that we will have sufficient critical mass in the union catalog to begin wide scale borrowing in January 2006. This is an extremely ambitious implementation timeline, so we will need to be somewhat flexible. In broad strokes, we've come up with a two-level plan: Database construction and Delivery implementation. Our plan for database construction involves five phases:

Phase 1: Preparation and Data Profiling
Phase 2: Pilot Implementation (2 III and 2 Sirsi Libraries)
Phase 3: Addition of current III and Sirsi Libraries
Phase 4: Addition of ALPSC III Libraries
Phase 5: Addition of other ILS system libraries

Delivery also involves several elements:

1. Development of governing policies and procedures
2. Selection of a delivery vendor.
3. Development of procedures and operating agreements
4. Refinement based on experience

Both of these processes are intertwined, and there are points of intersection with the local ILS implementation of the ALPSC group of libraries as well. Much of the work is iterative and many of the decisions that we make can be adjusted as we go along.

I would like to thank the folks who have stepped up to serve on the UBC, most especially Marna Hostetler (USC) who is not only chairing the committee but has immersed herself in the arcane world of InnREACH planning. I\'d also like to thank the libraries that have volunteered to serve as our pioneers.

Rick