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Library Pipeline is a new, all-volunteer nonprofit that is dedicated to supporting structural changes by providing opportunities, funding, and services that improve the library as an institution and librarianship as a profession. * Website: https://www.librarypipeline.org/ * Twitter: https://twitter.com/librarypipeline/ * Volunteer form (the initial call for volunteers went our earlier today: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1n5j9T9xhfJMCV9feVZZ1M2ajK5HfofWKGvtP5ANbyps/viewform We're structured like DPLA: we have an advisory board, mainly to make sure the committees aren't undermining each other, but almost all of the work will take place within the committees (what DPLA calls workstreams). This way of doing things, called the Constellation Model, should feel familiar: it's borrowed from the way open source projects tend to operate. Why is this is relevant to code4lib? One of the committees, Innovation and Startups, is only going to be successful if people who know library tech really, really well get involved. Here's the charge for that committee: Innovation within LIS We are inspired by incubators and accelerators and believe the library and information market, though mostly dormant, could support several dozen for-profit and nonprofit start-ups. The catalyst will be mitigating founders’ downside risk by funding six months of development, getting them quick feedback from representative users, and helping them gain customers or donors. We are committed to advising and either directly or indirectly funding library-related for-profit or nonprofit startups that have the potential to help libraries better serve their communities and constituents. We anticipate providing assistance with business plans and grant applications, as well as with networking, both in finding potential funders and partners, as well as developers, outreach specialists, technical writers, and others with domain expertise. Part of our ongoing sustainability will be achieved by receiving finder’s fees, a percentage of overhead, or an ownership stake, as appropriate, when working with for-profit companies. When working with nonprofits, we could serve as their fiscal agent, lead partner, or provide grant management services, while charging a lower overhead fees than universities and other organizations that typically serve LIS-related nonprofits. The Innovation within LIS Committee will: * Put out a call for volunteers by early June 2015; * Select from among its members a chair and vice chair or, alternatively, co-chairs, along with a basic organizing and communication structure, by the middle of July 2015; * Review its charge and request that the Library Pipeline board make any necessary amendments by the end of July 2015; * Conduct an environmental scan by the end of October 2015 to assess the greatest needs conducive to innovative activities within LIS, as well as important needs that can be met quickly—the low-hanging fruit; * Create basic budgets for the needs it identifies, and share its work with the Governance and Sustainability committee in order to help create fundraising priorities and plans, along with methods for assessing its effectiveness. Some clarifications, just because I want to make sure I'm not misrepresenting where we are in the process: * We don't yet have funding. We've come close, but haven't yet received a grant. So one of the tasks this committee will do is help us improve the case we're making to funders. * We don't yet have our 501(c)(3). We're planning to work with another nonprofit that will serve as our fiscal agent while we put in our application. We hope you'll help us with this work--either on the committee described above or one of the others. If you have questions, I'm happy to answer them. Brett