panel -
30 New Economy, New Partnerships: New DocShare
Keiko
Pitter, Whitman College
Marion Smith, California State University, Dominquez Hills
Gil Gonzales, GoCampus
DocShare, born at SIGUCCS User Services '95, has gone
one step further in its evolution to take advantage of the new digital economy
and partnership opportunity. DocShare is a consortium composed of staff members
at higher education institutions who produce computer-related documentation and
newsletters. Members share their own publications in exchange for the
opportunity to use other institutions' productions. DocShare provides a Web
site, a discussion mailing list for members, and a search engine to help
members find just the right publications.
A presentation at SIGUCCS '99 revealed that, in order
to meet the changing needs of IT staff, DocShare needed to expand its services
and features. After examining and evaluating operational feasibility, the
DocShare Consortium voted to transfer the DocShare title and service to a
higher education community building company located in Palo Alto, California.
The panel will discuss how organizations (a non-profit
and an Internet company, in this case) build new relationships to grow and
improve service, then solicit interaction with the audience about the future
direction of such a partnership. This session will also serve as an update to
the DocShare membership.
Audience
* Current DocShare members (staff from over 50
institutions, most of whom attend SIGUCCS),
* IT staff who write documentation
* IT staff who are interested in establishing partnerships with .com companies in order to improve service.