The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) is an organization whose mission is to promote networked

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

as a way to further the advancement of intellectual collaboration and productivity.

Overview

The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), a joint initiative of the

Association of Research Libraries The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 127 research libraries at comprehensive, research institutions in Canada and the United States. ARL member libraries make up a large portion of the academic and resea ...

(ARL) and

EDUCAUSE Educause is a nonprofit association in the United States whose mission is "to advance higher education through the use of information technology". Membership is open to institutions of higher education, corporations serving the higher education in ...

, promotes the use of digital information technology to advance scholarship and education. In establishing the Coalition under the leadership of founding Executive Director

Paul Evan Peters Paul Evan Peters (December 12, 1947 – November 18, 1996) was named one of the American Library Association's 100 most important leaders in the 20th century for his leadership of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI). His work was interdis ...

, these sponsor organizations sought to broaden the community’s thinking beyond issues of network connectivity and bandwidth to encompass digital content and advanced applications to create, share, disseminate, and analyze such content in the service of research and education. CNI works on a broad array of issues related to the development and use of digital information in the research and education communities. CNI fosters connections and collaboration between library and information technology communities, representing the interests of a wide range of member organizations from higher education, publishing, networking and telecommunications, information technology, government agencies, foundations, museums, libraries, and library organizations. Based in Washington, DC, CNI holds semi-annual membership meetings that serve as a bellwether for digital information issues and projects. CNI also hosts invitational conferences, co-sponsors related meetings and conferences, issues reports, advises government agencies and funders, and supports a variety of networked information initiatives.

History

In 1990, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), Educom, and CAUSE joined together to form CNI to create a collaborative project focused on high speed networking that would integrate the interests of academic and research libraries (ARL) and computing in higher education (Educom and CAUSE). Educom and CAUSE consolidated their organizations in 1998 to form EDUCAUSE, which is now one half of the partnership that oversees CNI. Structurally, CNI is a program of its founding associations with administrative oversight provided by ARL; it is not a legally separate entity. CNI’s oversight is provided by the boards and CEOs of the founding organizations, and a steering committee guides its program.

was the founding executive director
Joan K. Lippincott
also joined CNI as the associate executive director at that time. In 1997,

Clifford Lynch Clifford Lynch is the director of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), where he has been since 1997. He is also an adjunct professor at Berkeley's School of Information. Career and awards Prior to joining CNI, Lynch spent eighteen years ...

assumed the role of executive director, and continues to serve in that capacity as of 2020; Lippincott retired from the organization in December 2019. CNI’s program has included projects in the areas of architectures and standards for networked information, scholarly communication, economics of networked information, Internet technology and infrastructure, teaching and learning, institutional and professional implications of the networked environment, and government information on the Internet.

References

External links

Coalition for Networked Information website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Coalition For Networked Information Organizations established in 1990 Educational organizations based in the United States Information technology organizations based in North America Library-related organizations Scholarly communication