Chronology of AgNIC and E-Extension Initiatives
1994 – Concept of AgNIC formulated by Iowa State and NAL; planning meetings held at NAL to gain input from multiple agencies and institutions
1995 – AgNIC initiated by NAL and four land-grant universities; receive GSA 1-yr grant
1996 – Current AgNIC governance structure established by taskforce
1997 – AgNIC submits well-received, but unfunded, USDA Fund for Rural Development proposal
1997-2001 – AgNIC partners grow to 42 members with 38 linked web sites
1998 – White House Advisor supports allocation for AgNIC, but funds are diverted to flood relief
2000 – AgNIC Technical Advisory Group designs technical architecture for “one-stop-shopping” interface and establishes standards for terminology and metadata
2001 – Interagency Panel for Assessment of the National Agricultural Library releases “Report on the National Agricultural Library – 2001” which suggests AgNIC as the foundation for a national digital library for agriculture
2001 – AgNIC's distributed technical architecture becomes operational
November 2001 – e-Extension Taskforce white paper prepared by Southern Region of Cooperative Extension
March 2002 – consultants are hired to prepare an e-Extension Business Model
September 2002 – AgNIC Coordinator, Melanie Gardner, meets with principals in e-Extension to discuss potential collaboration
February 2003 – Randy Heatley and Melanie Gardner prepare response to e-Extension (Opportunities for Collaboration to Develop a Digital Land-Grant Information System)
Winter/Spring 2003 – Melanie Gardner participates in e-Extension discussions, but serious consideration for collaboration is not forthcoming
March 2002 – AgNIC submits unsuccessful National Science Foundation grant
September 2003 – Randy Heatley and Melanie Gardner present the “Opportunities” paper at the Galaxy II Extension Conference in Salt Lake City; an AgNIC poster is also displayed
November 2003 – The e-Extension Business Model is published
November 2003 – Barbara Hutchinson and the University of Arizona (UA) Team present AgNIC to Under Secretary of REE, Dr. Joseph Jen, calling for a collaborative national agricultural information system drawing on both AgNIC and E-Extension strengths
December 2003 – UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Dean and Associate Dean take the AgNIC collaborative concept to Deputy Under Secretary of Research, Education, and Economics, Dr. Rodney Brown, and CSREES Administrator, Dr. Colien Heferen at NASULGC. Dr. Brown asks for a follow-up.
January 2004 – UA Associate Extension Director, Deborah Young, suggests hosting an exploratory discussion meeting on possible collaboration in conjunction with the upcoming National Extension Director's meeting to be held in Phoenix.
February 2004 – UA CALS and Library Dean, Carla Stoffle, in cooperation with NAL and the AgNIC Executive Board, hosts a meeting to discuss opportunities for collaboration between AgNIC, E-Extension, CYFERnet, and other web-based information systems. Dr. Brown again calls for a follow-on focused meeting to determine next steps
February 2004 – The AgNIC Portal and Web Services applications become operational
March-April 2004 – UA Library Dean Stoffle spearheads planning efforts for land-grant library director meetings to discuss a possible library community response to e-Extension
April 2004 – A draft concept paper is prepared for library community and e-Extension collaborative pilot studies by Susan McCarthy (NAL) and Barbara Hutchinson (UA)
May 5-7 2004 – AgNIC Executive Board and Coordinating Committee reviewed pilot study proposal and revised it based on collective input, including representatives from e-Extension
May 14, 2004 – UA Dean Stoffle hosts an ARL land-grant library directors meeting to discuss the AgNIC/E-Extension concept paper and follow-on actions to be taken
June 25, 2004 – A similar meeting for other land-grant library deans and directors was organized by NAL in conjunction with ALA
revised August 2004