PALNI Organization

PALNI, Inc. is organized as a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation to provide shared library services to its 24 participating Indiana colleges, universities, and seminaries. Each PALNI institution has a representative on PALNI's 24-member Board of Directors which has overall responsibility for all PALNI legal, financial, and governance matters. The Board of Directors meets approximately four times per year.

PALNI/INCOLSA
Offices

The Board of Directors elects a five-member Executive Committee with responsibility for operation of the organization. The PALNI EC includes a Chair, Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Past-Chair, and meets approximately 6 times each year. PALNI library and project staff work together on PALNI issues through various appointed task forces, including the Cost Sharing Task Force, the Digitization Task Force. the New Services and Products Task Force, and the Systems Services Task Force. In addition, PALNI has more than a dozen active email lists that are used regularly to collaborate and exchange information on PALNI-related matters.

PALNI, Inc. contracts with the Indiana Cooperative Library Services Authority (INCOLSA), itself a non-profit library membership organization, to manage the PALNI Project, to operate and administer PALNI's shared systems, and to act as PALNI's fiscal and contract agent. All PALNI libraries are also INCOLSA members.

The PALNI Project Offices, including project staff and the shared PALNI computer systems, are located at INCOLSA's Indianapolis offices. The project staff are part of INCOLSA's Information Technology Department, and include a Project Director, an Administrative Assistant, three full-time library systems professionals, and two computer systems professionals who are shared with INCOLSA.

PALNI member libraries pay annual membership fees to PALNI, Inc. that cover 100% of the costs to operate and manage the PALNI Project and systems. No State or other non-PALNI funds are used to directly support the PALNI systems or organization, and PALNI funds are not used to support any non-PALNI projects, programs, services, or activities at INCOLSA. However, by sharing computer room facilities, network infrastructure, and staff expertise, PALNI and INCOLSA are able to leverage their shared technology needs, and reduce their technology supports costs from what either organization would otherwise incur on its own.