Agriculture Network Information Center
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Agriculture Network Information Collective (AgNIC) alliance was formed in 1995 by a group of four land grant institutions -
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
,
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...
,
University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
, and
University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
National Agricultural Library The United States National Agricultural Library (NAL) is one of the world's largest agricultural research libraries, and serves as a national library of the United States and as the library of the United States Department of Agriculture. Locate ...
(NAL). In 1998, NAL assumed the role as “secretariat” to move the partnership forward. Members were committed to creating a voluntary “alliance” dedicated to providing
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
access to quality, authoritative
agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...
information, and specialized reference services. In 2007, with 60 voluntary partners, this vision continues to sustain the Alliance, largely due to its collaborative nature. University libraries affiliated with land-grant colleges—as well as other interested institutions, such as the International Rice Research Institute, the American Farmland Trust, the Agricultural Information and Documentation Service for America ( SIDALC) and the University of Buenos Aires, School of Agriculture, Central Library, are working together with NAL to develop the AgNIC Alliance, its collections and services, and the technologies upon which it relies. Unlike most science and technology disciplines, agriculture has a mechanism for distilling and distributing research to those who need it. Historically, state and local extension staff research topics, synthesize, and prepare information for easy consumption, often on an “as needed” basis. Forming partnerships between libraries and subject specialists has been the cornerstone of AgNIC. AgNIC recently partnered with the United States Agricultural Information Network (USAIN) and the
Center for Research Libraries The Center for Research Libraries (also known by its acronym, CRL) is a consortium of North American universities, colleges, and independent research library, research libraries, based on a buy-in concept for membership of the consortia. The con ...
on Project Ceres, which awards funding for “small projects that preserve print materials essential to the study of the history and economics of agriculture and make those materials accessible through digitization.” AgNIC used to be called the Agriculture Network Information Center but is now known as the Agriculture Network Information Collective


Governance

AgNIC members agreed early in the formation of the partnership to maintain an informal structure. There were long discussions to determine if the partnership was an “alliance,” a “consortium,” or an “association.” By the end of year two, members agreed that each partner institution would be represented with one
vote Voting is the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representative ...
, and the partnership would be considered an alliance. This resulting decision was based on the strong belief that this partnership fit the definition of – a close association of ... groups, formed to advance common interests or cause. The group representing the institutions would be referred to as the “AgNIC Alliance Coordinating Committee.” After more than two years of attempts to discuss issues and develop policy without measurable results, and a fast-growing membership of more than 20 institutions, the partners decided to create an “AgNIC Executive Board”. This board would be elected from and by the coordinating committee. The Board examines and proposes solutions to issues, drafts policy and planning documents, proposes policy for approval by the membership, and visions for the future of AgNIC. The AgNIC Executive Board includes the past Chair, Chair, incoming Chair, three member-at-large positions, and an ex-Officio position reserved for the AgNIC Coordinator from NAL, and one NAL representative.


References

* * {{Cite news , title = Partnering for Improved Access to Agricultural Information: The Agriculture Network Information Center (AgNIC) , first = M. , last = Gardner , author2=Gilbertson, J., author3= Hutchinson, Barbara, author4= Lynch, Tim, author5= McCue, Janet, author6= Paster, Amy , publisher =
Association of Research Libraries The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 125 research library at comprehensive, research institutions in Canada and the United States. ARL member libraries make up a large portion of the academic and research li ...
, url = http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/agnic1.pdf , work = ARL Bimonthly Report 223 , date = August 2002 , pages = 5–10


External links


USAIN Task Force. 2007. Making the Case for a Next Generation Digital Information System to Ensure America's Leadership in Agricultural Sciences in the 21st Century
A Background document sponsored by the United States Agricultural Information Network (USAIN) (PDF)
Inter American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA)
Agricultural databases United States National Agricultural Library Agricultural organizations based in the United States Cornell University Iowa State University University of Arizona University of Nebraska–Lincoln United States Department of Agriculture Organizations established in 1995 1995 establishments in the United States