Skip to Main Content

PALNI Onboarding Manual: Before Your First PALNI Board Meeting Checklist

Overview of the structure of the PALNI consortium, resources available to you, and how you can connect with support and colleagues

Before your first PALNI Board Meeting

1. Get Access:

  • Sign up for the Directors listserv, Google Drive, and Dropbox by contacting Kirsten Leonard (kleonard@palni.edu)
  • Sign up for the PALNI intranet (Community) by following the below link.

2. Learn about PALNI:

3. Be Prepared:

  • Review documents found in the Director’s Google Drive or in the DropBox folder.
  • Dropbox - Kirsten Leonard will send out a link to the new folder before the Board Meeting
  • Google Drive Meetings Folder

4. Culture & Communication:

  • Get to know PALNI community, both PALNI staff and people at other libraries - you are not alone!
  • If coming from a large University environment into PALNI’s small, private group of schools, expect a big culture shift. Collaboration is central to who we are. No single institution holds the power in meetings or discussions.
  • All directors are encouraged to speak at board meetings; share your opinions and ask questions
  • Online communication is open and responsive as well - ask questions and start discussions on the listserv or the Community Space

5. Participation:

  • PALNI libraries have committed to deep collaboration to work together to meet local needs. Groups serve to jointly address both new demands on ongoing ones. We benefit from working together and sharing local solutions with the group to meet local needs more efficiently, to provide new services, and impact the information industry.
  • Expectations for your involvement (and your staff’s) in PALNI is simply “serve as you can and as your interests and professional development decree”. Participation can vary by time, project, and method. Maintenance of effort from each organization is expected. PALNI is flexible and will adjust PALNI strategic plan or action items as priorities shift.The professional development gained from colleagues is a significant benefit of PALNI. Also, library staff who participate as steering members or Admin teams in PALNI groups are eligible for $1500 in professional development support to attend conferences approved by the AD/ED in support of PALNI strategic goals. Funding is limited. We also provide mileage support for in-person attendance at PALNI meetings. Carpooling is highly encouraged to save money and to provide more opportunity to interact with colleagues.