EIN Administration
Sheila Jackson
The EIN Board has been working with Ellsworth Brown and Robert Croneberger to put in place the next phase of the Electronic Information Network. Marilyn Jenkins has represented Allegheny County Library Association and County government in these discussions. These discussions are the result of the fact that the first phase of the project is nearly complete. Although several sites within CLP need completion and the linked library questions have yet to be resolved, it is clearly time to step back, look at what has been accomplished and design the next steps.
The accomplishments of this project have far exceeded the original dreams--we have finished sooner than expected, with better equipment and better technology than originally planned--and we did it within the original budget. Congratulations go to the entire EIN/CLP staff who worked at a frenzied pace to meet impossible deadlines.
There are a lot of stakeholders in the EIN project and CLP is just one of them. An assessment is needed to see how well the system is serving our needs, and what future visions are. These same questions will be asked of all the other stakeholders--the county libraries, county government, the foundation communities, the citizens of the county, etc.
A team of temporary consultants and an interim project manager have been hired to perform this study. The project manager is Elbert (Elbie) Yarworsky, who has extensive work with systems and systems design. He will be directing the day to day operations of the EIN, supervising the staff and reporting to Robert Croneberger, Mary K. Biagini, Chair of the EIN Board, and Marilyn Jenkins.
In addition, Elbie will be working with the team of Dewey and Kaye, who will be conducting interviews on the assessment part of the plan. It is expected that their work will be completed by March 1st.
Elbie's office is within the automation complex. The Dewey/Kaye team members will also work out of that office. Dan Iddings will continue to be instrumental in the design of the EIN for the future. He was originally "loaned" by CLP to the EIN as Project Manager when one couldn't be found. Dan will also continue in all his other duties as Assistant Director for Networked and Automated Services.