COLLABORATION
Collaboration is essential for the successful integration of information skills instruction into curriculum subject areas. But collaboration is often used to mean cooperation or coordinating, and there's a big difference among the three terms.

Cooperation is informal, with no commonly defined goals or planning effort; information is shared as needed. A library media specialist and teacher in a cooperative relationship work loosely together. Each works independently, but they come together briefly for mutual benefit.

Coordinating suggests a more formal working relationship and the understanding of missions. Some planning is required and more communication channels are established. In a library media program, the teacher and library media specialist make arrangements to plan and teach a lesson or unit, and a closer working relationship is required.

Collaboration is a much more prolonged and interdependent effort. As Winer and Ray (1994, p.24) note, collaboration changes the way we work.

Collaboration moves from:

  • Competing to building consensus.
  • Working alone to including others from different fields and backgrounds.
  • Thinking mostly about activities and programs to thinking about larger results and strategies.
  • Focusing on short-term accomplishments to requiring long-term results.

In summary, collaboration is a working relationship over a relatively long period of time. Collaboration requires shared goals, derived during the partnership. Roles are carefully defined, and more comprehensive planning is required. Communication is conducted at many levels to ensure success. Leadership, resources, risk, control and results are shared. As a result of collaboration, there is a substantial benefit: "More is accomplished jointly than could have been individually." (Mattessich and Monsey, 1992, p. 40).

The levels of collaboration, summarized by Winer and Ray (1994, p.22), are found in the table below.
COOPERATION COORDINATION COLLABORATION

Short term
Informal relations
No clearly defined mission

No defined structure


No planning effort
Partners share information about the project at hand
Individuals retain authority


Resources are maintained separately
No risk

Lower intensity
Longer term
More formal relationships
Understand mission

Focus on a specific effort or program

Some planning
Open communication channels
Authority still retained by individuals

Resources and rewards are shared
Power can be an issue

Some intensity
Long term
More pervasive relationship
Commitment to a common mission
Results in a new structure


Comprehensive planning
Well defined communication channels at all levels
Collaborative structure


Resources are shared

Greater risk; power is an issue
Higher intensity

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