There has been much discussion within IGeLU during 2010/11 on the future of the MetaLib Product Working Group, and in particular the need to consider its relationship with the Primo PWG.
The discussion has been driven by the maturity of the MetaLib product; the difficulty of finding new recruits to serve on the PWG; and the emergence of the Primo Central Index and MetaLib+. The two groups have a common interest in resource issues, and in the Primo front-end.
The subject was discussed again at a combined MetaLib/Primo business meeting at the Haifa conference last month, where a unanimous decision was made to join the groups together to form a double PWG, rather than to merge. This was felt to be a better solution than either fully merging, or continuing as separate groups, as it underlines the need for the communities of both products to continue to have separate voices, but to work together on common issues within a framework of mutual coordination, cooperation, and support.
The details of the new joint Primo/MetaLib PWG have yet to be resolved, but Mandy Stewart (Primo) and Jeremy Acland (MetaLib) will provide join coordination, with Lukas Koster acting as the liaison with the IGeLU Steering Committee. Group members will have product-specific responsibilities. There will be a joint face-to-face meeting for the two groups early in the new year.
All in all this is a highly satisfactory outcome to what has been a difficult question to resolve. Could a join Primo and MetaLib PWG be a precedent to a new structure within IGeLU that is flexible, and able to evolve in the light of its URM, URD2 and data services orientation?
Watch this space!
Jeremy Acland, Mandy Stewart, Lukas Koster