New York State Library

NOVELNY: New York Online Virtual Electronic Library

Background information on the NOVELNY Initiative

NOVEL Steering Committee

• Membership
• Minutes of Meetings

NOVEL Initiatives

(excerpted from the full NOVEL Plan, Libraries Expanding Information Access for New Yorkers in the New Century, August 15, 2001, also available in: Word and PDF)

NOVEL Proposed Budget

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NOVEL Background Information:

• Origins
• Component parts
• Comprehensiveness
• Frequently Asked Questions:
  • about the NOVEL program
  • about NOVEL Databases
• NOVEL Database List
• Join the "NOVEL-L" e-mail discussion list
• Related sites
• Statewide Forum, May 17, 2001
  • NOVEL Forum Presentation
• September 2002 NOVEL press conference: NOVEL Press Release
• NOVEL Seminar on Library Portals, November 7, 2002

The NOVEL Initiatives

Initiative I: Increase Access to Electronic Resources on a Statewide Basis.

Initiative II: Expand Resource Sharing in New York State to Improve Electronic and Traditional Access to Library Resources for All Users.

Initiative III: Develop a Coordinated Program for the Digitization of Information Resources in New York Libraries and Other Repositories.

Initiative IV: Enhance the Availability of High-Speed Telecommunications for New York's Libraries Across All Regions of the State.

Related links:

• Statewide Wireless Network (SWN) from the New York State Office for Technology [.PDF file]

Initiative V: Develop a NOVEL User Interface (or Portal) that Integrates the Services and Resources Brought Together Under NOVEL.

Related links:

• Seminar on Library Portals

Origins

The Board of Regents, at their July 13, 2000, meeting, adopted the final report of the Regents Commission on Library Services, Meeting the Needs of all New Yorkers: Library Service in the New Century, as Regents policy. Recommendation 1 in this report is to: "Create NOVEL, the New York Online Virtual Electronic Library, to deliver high-quality, reliable digital information to all New Yorkers."

Component Parts

As stated in Meeting the Needs of all New Yorkers (July 14, 2000), NOVEL consisted of four components: (1) Electronic resources purchased on a statewide basis to provide significant economies of scale; (2) Shared electronic catalogs of the holdings of all types of libraries, including the high-quality, specialized resources held by New York's academic and special libraries; (3) Opportunities for libraries to digitize their unique collections; and (4) Enhanced opportunities for high-speed network access that will enable libraries to deliver all the benefits and features of NOVEL. A fifth component -- a NOVEL user interface (or portal) that integrates the services and resources brought together under NOVEL -- was added in the NOVEL Plan, Libraries Expanding Information Access for New Yorkers in the New Century (August 15, 2001).

Comprehensiveness

NOVEL is intended to encompass all types of libraries: public, school, academic, and special libraries. NOVEL will enable all of New York's libraries to make digital information from their collections available to users in their homes or offices.

Related Sites

• Regents Commission on Library Services
• New York Knowledge Initiative

E-Mail Comments

Fact Sheet on NOVELNY [in .PDF format]

Back to the NOVELNY page

Last reviewed and modified on June 5, 2007 -- asm
URL: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/library/novel/backgrnd.htm