WEST Outlines Policy to Guide Vetting of Rosemont Decisions

As a participating program in the Rosemont Shared Print Alliance, WEST is represented on both the Alliance’s Executive and Operations Committees. The decision-making model of the Alliance is based on building consensus among the participating programs and as a part of that, representatives seek input from participating program governance groups and membership. Each program determines how Rosemont decisions are vetted internally.

The WEST Executive Committee, with the support and input of the Operations and Collections Council, has formalized a general policy to guide the vetting of Rosemont-driven documents, policies, and/or actions. That policy reads as follows:

Rosemont actions and decisions shall undergo membership-wide vetting when they constitute a substantive departure from existing WEST policy or strategic direction, or would have a significant and tangible impact on WEST members’ resources and/or operational processes, as assessed by WEST’s governance groups (including the Operations and Collections Council and the WEST Executive Committee). Actions and decisions that do not fall into those categories shall be vetted by WEST’s governance groups only.  All Rosemont actions and decisions will be shared with WEST members on a regular basis for information, comment and feedback.

In practice, this means that WEST’s governance groups would represent WEST members in high-level, principle-driven Rosemont decisions that are well-aligned with existing WEST policy and strategic direction. WEST Executive will provide strategic perspective, while the OCC will anticipate and assess operational concerns. However, if proposed Rosemont policies represent a significant departure from existing WEST expectations or touch specifically on operational activities or endeavors that will impact WEST program or local institution resources, broader consultation with the full WEST membership will be undertaken.

If any WEST member has questions or feedback concerning the above policy for reviewing Rosemont materials, the WEST Project Team would like to hear from you. Please contact Ivy Anderson (ivy.anderson@ucop.edu) or Alison Wohlers (alison.wohlers@ucop.edu).