LAC Minutes
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
8:30 a.m. – Library Conf. Rm.
Present:
John Evans, Sylverna Ford, Ed Frank, Mary Freilich, Annelle Huggins, Linda Hyatt,
Elizabeth McDonald, Tom Mendina, Betsy Park, Bess Robinson, Perveen Rustomfram
James Singleton, Stacey Smith, Inez Todd
Absent: Anna Neal
1. ILS Update – Annelle Huggins
Now that the implementation process is complete, Paul Gahn, Chair of the Implementation
Advisory Committee will give committee updates in lieu of Annelle Huggins giving an ILS
update at future LAC meetings.
2. Learning Commons Update – John Evans
The holiday schedule for the Learning Commons is being worked out and will be posted on the
library’s website and entrance doors. Security will be in place during the hours when the library
is closed and Learning Commons is opened. The library doors will not be unlocked by security
on Saturday mornings without the present of library and/or Learning Commons personnel.
The third printer has been installed. The software for the printer is being tested to make sure it is
operating correctly. It appears that the boxes under the walkway are the seating furniture that will
be installed in front of the library. Everyone is reminded that smoking is prohibited in the area
under the library’s overhangs and will be enforced once the outside furniture is in place.
3. University Buyout Plan – Dr. Ford
Nine library employees (1 faculty and 8 staff) applied and were approved for the University’s
buyout. According to the University anyone who applied for the buyout will be approved unless
their Vice Provost or Dean considers the individual as indispensable to the department. The
University exceeded their financial goal from the buyouts. December 31 is the official
separation date for employees approved for the buyout. Dr. Ford will advise department heads
today of library employees who have been approved for the buyout.
It seems that the University will need to give back 5 to 6 million dollars in the early part of 2009.
The expectation is that our budget will be down in the next fiscal year. The University is working
on a plan for permanent budget reductions. It is expected that the University’s budget will be 10
to 15% lower in 2010 than this year’s budget.
It is possible some of the buyout positions will be cut permanently so there is a need to prioritize
the library’s vacant positions. A special LAC meeting will be scheduled next week to talk about
vacancies and prioritizing of positions that were affected by the buyout. The LAC will also
discuss the planning of a group party before the holidays for library employees who are leaving
as a result of the buyout.
LAC Minutes - November 25, 2008
Page 2
4. ASERL Federal Depository Project –Dr. Ford
Dr. Ford attended ASERL’s Fall Membership meeting last week, and she brought back four
documents which were distributed to the LAC for discussion. The first attachment was a draft of
an ASERL Federal Depository pilot project. ASERL Libraries have been talking about coming
up with a plan for making the depository program more manageable by creating “collections of
excellence” in certain libraries. The plan is for ASERL libraries to work together to create a
cooperative collection that will allow some of the libraries to weed their collection and move
materials around to make them available. Part of what they are doing is coming up with some
models for the future of the depository program. ASERL libraries are asked to contribute funds
over a two year period to support the pilot project. They are working on hiring a person part-time
to coordinate the work. It is possible this project will move forward considering there was a lot
of interest and support at the meeting.
5.
ASERL Digitization Project – Dr. Ford
An ASERL Digitization Project description was the second document distributed to the LAC.
This topic has been discussed at several ASERL meetings since most of the libraries are
involved in some form of digitization. A collaborative Civil War digitization project was
proposed as a means of capitalizing on resources already in some libraries. Basically anything
published or created between the years of 1850-1865 that could be construed in any way as
relating to the war will be candidates for inclusion in this project.
6.
ASERL and SCOAP3- Dr. Ford
Sponsoring Consortium for Open Access Publishing in Particle Physics (SCOAP3) was
distributed as the third document. SCOAP3 will specifically focus on providing open access for
publishing in High Energy Physics. Libraries that subscribe to publications that fall under this
umbrella will be asked to pool their resources. Instead of paying the publisher for the specified
publications, the money will go to SCOAP3. SCOAP3 in return will negotiate with the
publisher to provide online access to the publications. The idea is to make the collections more
accessible and to generate long-term savings for participating libraries. This is an attempt to
help maintain cost while providing broad access resources for students and faculty.
7.
Training for Liaison Librarian – ASERL – Dr. Ford
The last ASERL document was a draft of a program to provide training for library liaisons. A
number of discussions have taken place at ASERL meetings about the changing nature of the
liaison’s role in libraries and the fact that many librarians accept this role without any
preparation or understanding. ASERL is considering a proposal to create a program that will
examine the liaison’s role and prepare librarians to take on the changing role. There was a lot of
support for the concept. ASERL is looking at putting together a planning group to fund the
proposal, and if funding becomes an issue libraries will be asked to contribute. The Dean will
ask someone in our library to be a representative in the planning process.
LAC Minutes - November 25, 2008
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8. Added Agenda Item - Dr. Ford
The final document distributed to the LAC was a copy of a memo which was emailed to the
Dean related to our ASERL status. Some statements of error were in the memo. There have
been many discussions on campus about the libraries funding and membership status with
ASERL. Some people have addressed their concerns to the Provost and President. In
responding to these concerns there has been a tendency to blame the library because of our lack
of funding. Betsy Park and Perveen Rustomfram have been working on a fact sheet that relates
to our current membership status with ASERL and it will be posted on the libraries website.
The fact is that the library has been historically underfunded. The $150,000 that was supposedly
given to the library to specifically spend on books did not happen. We had a $50,000 increase to
our budget in the last fiscal year with no stipulations for spending the money on books. The
money was added to our acquisition’s budget and because our subscriptions and databases were
already in the hole, there was no way the money could have gone exclusively to purchase
books. The money was used to pay for print subscriptions and electronic resources. Based on
our current estimates we are $40,000 short to pay our known bills this year. This includes
allocated dollars and money available from TAF.
A lengthy discussion followed regarding a report that was prepared by last year’s Library
Allocation Committee that the LAC felt should be posted on the library’s webpage. The library
has no ownership to the report because the committee is one that was appointed by the Provost.
Ed Frank has received the report and will forward it to the LAC. Dr. Ford will respond to the
memo which was emailed to her. The Faculty Senate will meet next week and Ed Frank will ask
that the Library Allocations Committee’s report is made public to the campus.
9. Libraries Interest Concern TLAC – Bess Robinson
Bess Robinson is the library’s representative for the Teaching and Learning Advisory
Committee. The committee is not scheduled to meet again until January. This topic was
postponed but will be discussed at the next LAC meeting.
Announcements
J. Singleton - Squirrels chewed through wires to cause problems with HVAC on the third floor.
Linda Hyatt - The next scheduled LSSA meeting is Wednesday, December 3
at 10:00 a.m. and it will be a Christmas celebration.
S. Smith -
Asked if anyone had completed the Student Online Conduct Survey. She
experienced some problems while trying to complete the survey.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:15 a.m. The next scheduled LAC meeting is Tuesday,
December 9, 2008. Mary Freilich is scheduled to bring the refreshments.
Prepared by: Inez Todd
Approved by: Dr. Sylverna Ford