News Release

VALE : A Virtual Academic Library Environment Delivers Academic Information to University Communities Through the Internet VALE, a statewide electronic network linking 45 institutions of higher education, known as a virtual academic library environment, has jumped onto the information highway and currently allows students and faculty in New Jersey universities access to scholarly materials online in four separate databases. The network was initiated by John Gaboury, associate vice president for library services and information technology at William Paterson University, and Anne Ciliberti, collection development librarian of the University's Sarah Byrd Askew Library, who developed and shepherded the project from its inception to approval. They presented the idea to Rutgers University and other institutions across the state who enthusiastically endorsed the concept. After a two-year period of collaboration and shared leadership with Rutgers, which included fund raising, VALE officially debuted online in December. Gaboury chaired the Task Force consisting of representatives from community and state colleges, research universities and independent institutions who presented the proposal to the Technology Advisory Committee of the State Commission on Higher Education who released the initial $500,000 from the New Jersey Higher Education Technology Infrastructure Bond Act. A matching $500,000 came from the institutions in the network and the New Jersey State Library contributed another $100,000 for a total of $1.1 million in funds. The funding supports the creation of a "seamless network of access to shared electronic information resources throughout the state," Gaboury explains. New Jersey is one of a handful of states in the country who share a statewide database in this way. The online databases include ABI Inform (business); CINAHL, allied health and nursing; PsycINFO; and Periodical Abstracts. They are housed on servers located at Rutgers University and Seton Hall University and are made accessible by a common search engine, SiteSearch, supplied by OnLine Computer Library Center, Inc., which provides technical training and end-user support. Another component is the purchase or upgrade of local web-accessible workstations at each participating institution that are sufficient in number to provide high-end computer users quick access to the servers. Recent proposed legislation may support state funding to make VALE available to New Jersey's public libraries in the near future and provide additional electronic resources. For more information about VALE go to the web site at http://www.valenj.org. ### Release date: April 28, 1999 For Further Information, contact: Mary Beth Zeman, Director Office of Public Information 973-720-2966 Barbara E. Martin, Newswriter 973-720-2949 Back to News Releases