Why NOVELny?
Although the Internet and other technologies provide online information, only NOVELny provides the high quality, reliable, accurate sources of electronic information New Yorkers need.
Because of the open nature of the Internet, much of the information it accesses is neither accurate nor up-to-date. Other valuable information is available only at a cost from commercial publishers, and much information still remains to be digitized.
At the same time, many people lack the resources to access the Internet. While the ability to obtain information is essential today, much of the electronic information that is available is complex. Consumers need trusted navigators to find accurate, valid information that is sorted from the sea of less relevant data.
NOVELny helps close the digital divide by making electronic and digital information accessible via the local library as well as remote locations such as home, school or office. This means that all New Yorkers, regardless of economics, geographic isolation or disabilities have access to the information they need.
Origins and Components
A detailed history of the planning and implementation of the NOVELny program can be found in the historic documents below, available in the NYS Library Digital Collections.
Final Report of the Regents Commission on Library Services, Meeting the Needs of all New Yorkers: Library Service in the New Century:
The Board of Regents, at their July 13, 2000, meeting, adopted the Final Report of the Regents Commission on Library Services, Meeting the Needs of all New Yorkers: Library Service in the New Century, as Regents policy. Recommendation 1 in this report is to: "Create NOVEL, the New York Online Virtual Electronic Library, to deliver high-quality, reliable digital information to all New Yorkers."
As stated in the Final Report of the Regents Commission on Library Services (July 14, 2000), NOVEL consisted of four components:
- Electronic resources purchased on a statewide basis to provide significant economies of scale;
- Shared electronic catalogs of the holdings of all types of libraries, including the high-quality, specialized resources held by New York's academic and special libraries;
- Opportunities for libraries to digitize their unique collections; and
- Enhanced opportunities for high-speed network access that will enable libraries to deliver all the benefits and features of NOVEL.
A fifth component -- a NOVEL user interface (or portal) that integrates the services and resources brought together under NOVEL -- was added in the NOVEL Plan, Libraries Expanding Information Access for New Yorkers in the New Century (August 15, 2001).
NOVEL New York Online Virtual Electronic Library: Libraries Expanding Information Access for New Yorkers in the New Century:
From 2002 to 2012, a NOVELny Steering Committee existed for the purpose of implementing the NOVELny Plan, NOVEL New York Online Virtual Electronic Library: Libraries Expanding Information Access for New Yorkers in the New Century. The committee was comprised of library leaders from a broad spectrum of libraries and systems throughout the State.
Doorways to information in the 21st century: every New York library an electronic doorway library:
Doorways to Information in the 21st Century: Every New York Library an Electronic Doorway Library is the third statewide library technology plan. The first plan was published in two parts. Libraries and Technology: A Strategic Plan for the Use of Advanced Technologies for Library Resource Sharing in New York State was produced in 1987. Technology and Access: The Electronic Doorway Library was issued in 1989 as the operational part of the plan. The second technology plan, The Electronic Doorway Library: Meeting the Information Needs of the People of New York State, was published in 1993.