The Library Project Review Process (LPRP) enables Yale University Library staff to submit proposals for projects that require resources (staff, space, funds, etc.) beyond what the proposing unit can provide. Project ideas can involve but are not limited to exceptional acquisitions, cataloging, access services, preservation, and digitization. Projects that would fall under the purview of the Library’s information technology guidance process are outside the scope of this process.

Any Library staff member may put together a project proposal. Project proposals may range from small pilots to the first step in applying for a major grant. Library Executive Committee (LEC) welcomes submissions of possible library projects at a variety of stages of development, not just formal and fully-formed proposals.  

The LPRP sponsors can help you work through drafts of project ideas and identify strategies for success which will lead to a stronger final proposal. Working with an LPRP sponsor through the steps in the Project Planning Guide will ensure relevant stakeholders are also brought into the discussion at a very early stage.  

The purpose of the review process is to be sure that for any given project:

• it is consistent with the Library’s mission, vision, & community values
• all the departments/units that will be involved are aware of the project and have agreed to the commitment required to successfully complete it;
• the Library has not over-committed its resources or capacities; and
• the Library is not in competition with itself for Library or University resources or grants.

Getting started; a checklist for gathering information needed to write a project proposal.

• Roles and responsibilities
  • Project Sponsor -- the person the Project Lead reports to with regard to the project, whose role is to offer support and assist with problem-solving. When a group (committee, working group, etc.) proposes a project, the chair of the group will be the sponsor.
  • Supervisor -- the person the Project Lead or a Project Contributor reports to in the course of their regular job duties.
  • Project Lead -- the person who submits the project proposal, approaches and seeks permission from supervisors of all Project Contributors, manages the project, and reports on progress.
  • Project Contributor -- a person who provides expertise, staff time, facilities, equipment, money, or other resources to a project.
  • LPRP Sponsors – Senior library administrators designated by the University Librarian to oversee the LPRP process and provide guidance and feedback to the Project Lead on their development of a project proposal.
• Create a rough outline of the idea
  • Identify scope
    • Collection(s)/service(s) and/or library locations involved;
    • Estimated item count, e.g. pages / folios / photos / objects (if relevant)
    • Services
    • Departments/units affected
    • Resource requirements such as, staffing, use of consultants, space, supplies, etc.
  • Consider possible funding sources
  • Identify desired outcomes
    • Identify target audience; Yale faculty and student interest must be described and addressed
• Discuss with supervisor(s) and get permission to proceed
• Set timeline for investigation, interviews, and proposal preparation 
• Identify intellectual property issues
• Digitization projects: conduct a review of titles to determine whether or not digital files exist elsewhere
• Contact possible participating library units/departments in order to discuss the project
  • Share the outline of the project and its desired outcomes in advance of meetings with potential participating library units/departments
  • Identify their potential needs/participation in terms of space in which to work, skills needed to complete the work, and availability
  • Get their agreement to participate
• Draw up an initial list of tasks (participating units/departments can help with this) and if possible, at this stage, identify milestones involved in the proposed work.
• Establish a sustainability plan

The above information will be used in writing the project proposal.

1. Using the information gathered while working through the checklist write a narrative:

• Describe collection(s)/service(s) and desired outcomes such as having a collection cataloged, preserved, digitized, etc.
  • For collection based projects include a description of the collection—subject(s) and format(s); identify location(s) of collection.
    • Include estimated item count, e.g. pages, folios photos, objects, digital files, floppies, etc.
    • Identify the intellectual property/copyright status of materials involved if appropriate to project; i.e. digitizing project
    • Collections proposed for digitization: indicate whether a review has been made to see if it exists in digital form elsewhere.  If so, state why current digital files are inadequate. 
  • For service based projects include a description of the service(s) and explain whether it is new or enhances existing services.

• Include a justification of this project discussing the value of this work and how it meets Library goals;
  •  Identify target audience; describe any Yale faculty or student interest.
• Describe all required resources for the project; such as, staffing, use of consultants, space, supplies, etc.
• Describe all the units or departments that are required and have agreed to participate in the project.
  • Include the list of tasks agreed upon by participating units/departments
  • Lay out the timeline for project and identify milestones of the proposed work.
• Include a sustainability plan for maintaining the collection / project / work after all tasks are complete. 
• Identify funding sources.

2. Develop a communications plan; work with the Director of Communications and Marketing to obtain guidance on the plan

3. Develop a budget; work with Library Business Office to obtain information that may be required

4. Develop job descriptions that may be required; work with the Library’s Human Resources Generalist.

5. Circulate the draft to all participating units / departments once written.

6. Polish the draft based on feedback from participants.

• The final proposal should include documentation indicating approval from:
  • the Project Lead’s supervisor
  • the Project's sponsor, and
  • the appropriate supervisor in each unit or department that has agreed to contribute staff time or other resources to the project.

Follow the links in the bulleted list above for sample templates.

7. Submit proposal by completing the proposal form.   The form will serve as a cover sheet.  You will need to upload a PDF of the proposal including the budget and any relevant appendices such as job descriptions. General format for written proposal:

• One inch margins, with page numbers and a header or footer to identify the proposal
• Maximum of 6 pages, double spaced for the narrative
• Font size of 12 point
• PDF file name:  <last name of submitter>_<project name>.pdf

For an example of a proposal with all of the above elements, see "Omeka: A platform for online exhibitions."

For any questions please contact a member of the lprp-sponsors@mailman.yale.edu.

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Who to contact:

• IT work:
  • Consult with Library IT
    • Project lead is encouraged to submit a Service Now request to LIT early in the project drafting process describing the IT resource needs. The request can be a general description of the anticipated IT component for the project. 
    • If the IT component is significant enough, the project may need to go through the information technology guidance process.
• conservation treatment project:
  • Consult with Conservation & Exhibition Services
    • Request and schedule an assessment of the physical condition of the proposed materials; factor in time to conduct assessment if multiple locations are involved.
    • Discuss and quantify conservation needs
• cataloging project:
  • Consult with the Resource Discovery Services Catalog Management Unit for general collections cataloging projects or Beinecke Technical Services for special collections cataloging projects
    • Share list of proposed materials
    • Evaluate level of existing description
    • Estimate level of effort needed to bring description up to acceptable standard, if necessary
    • Identify any specialized resources required that are currently not available
• digitization project:
  • Consult with Digital Reformatting & Microfilm Services
    • Request and schedule an assessment of the physical condition of the proposed materials; factor in time to conduct assessment if multiple locations are involved.
    • Discuss and quantify conservation needs, if any.
    • Request a determination on manual, robotic, or specialized scanning.
    • Request a determination on whether the work will be outsourced or handled in-house
  • consult Best Practices for Selection Criteria; see LibGuide for Digital Initiatives for Best Practices documentation
  • identify the copyright status of the collection, e.g. public domain, in copyright, or restricted.  Consult the Cornell Copyright Center and their listing.
  • conduct an environmental scan to determine if the selected material has been previously digitized and consider:
    • Does the quality and / or completeness of the existing digitized material suggest that new digitization is justified?
    • Is the existing digitized material considered open access?
• Consult with your supervisor for suggestions regarding other resources that may be needed such as:  Human Resources or Library Business Office.

Inside Yale

• Office of Sponsored Projects
  

   

• Grants & Contracts Policies, Procedures, & Forms
  

   

• Human Subject Research
  

   

• Manuscripts & Archives Record Retention information
  

   

• Policy 1105 Retention of Financial Records
  

   

Outside Yale

• What Is Project Management? (on JISC website)

When ready to submit your proposal, click on this link for the Proposal Submission Form. Please note that on the form you MUST fill in the 'Funding Source' at each level. Where not applicable simply put NA.

These proposals were approved under the previous Library Project Review Committee process