LONDON’S GLOBAL UNIVERSITY
ARTS AND HUMANITIES & SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL SCIENCES
JOINT FACULTY LIBRARY COMMITTEE
25 February 2016 at 4.00.p.m.
Present:
Prof Richard North
Dr Jeff Bowersox
Prof Victor A Buchli
Ms Vanessa Freedman
Miss Giulia Garoli
Miss June Hedges
Dr Matt Kuldkepp
Ms Jordan Landes
Dr Althea Legal-Miller
Mr Nick Mann
Dr Katie Meheux
Mr Kieron Jones
Prof Jeremy Tanner
Dr Tabitha Tuckett
English (Committee Chair)
SELCS
Anthropology
Library Services
Library Services
Library Services
SELCS
Senate House Library
Institute of the Americas
Geography
Library Services
Library Services
Archaeology
Special Collections
In attendance:
Makeba Adero Secretary to Joint Faulty Library Committee
Matt Mahon Digitisation Officer UCL Library Services (agenda item 4)
Apologies received from: Vanda Broughton, (Information Studies), Ms. Sarah Burn (English
and Philosophy), Janet Horslen (Law), Professor Jan Kubik (SSEES), Dr Fiona Leigh
(Philosophy), Lesley Pitman (SSEES), Dr Emma Richardson (History of Art)
Preliminary Business
1. MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 19 November 2015 were approved as an
accurate record.
Matters Arising
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MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
None.
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Matters for Discussion
3. REPORT FROM UCL LIBRARY SERVICES - June Hedges
RECEIVED
JH gave an update on Library activities based on the report circulated with the papers Library
Faculty bulletin: February 2016.
ACTION: JH to circulate the list of low-cost journals that are being purchased.
4. RESEARCH DATA PRESENTATION - Matt Mahon Digitisation Officer, UCL Library
Services
Mr. Matt Mahon attended in place of Ms Myriam Fellous-Sigrist (Research Data Support
Officer) who had been scheduled to talk to the Committee about Research Data Services at
UCL. Matt delivered an informative talk by way of introduction. Ms Fellous-Sigrist had been
invited to the May Committee meeting.
5. COMMITTEE CHAIR’S REPORT
RECEIVED
Professor North reported that the core library budget would be in deficit in 2018/2019. The
Committee decried the deficit.
During the Examination period the Main, Science and Cruciform libraries would be open 24
hours throughout the week (including the week-ends), at the request of the students.
There were plans afoot to move aspects of the library collection to Kew for delivery to the
campus when required and for others to be moved to a purpose built building in Stratford
East. The collection at Stratford East would match the academic activity that was taking
place there. The central Bloomsbury collection would hold materials that were in high
demand, such as those being used for research. Professor North had received assurances
that the George Orwell collections would not be moved.
Professor North asked for a petition to be circulated by email to all members of the Joint
Faculty in January. A number of the Committee members had not received the email, this
was to be investigated. The results of the survey were to be presented at the Library
Committee the following week.
ACTION: All committee members to identify collections from their subject areas that
they would prefer to remain in Bloomsbury, rather then moved to Stratford East, and
pass them to the Chair.
ACTION: JH to provide Prof Jeremy Tanner of Archaeology with the list of journals
that were no longer be held in the Archaeology library.
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6. PROGRAMME CHANGES - June Hedges
JH had no update to give on programme changes but requested that it be kept on the agenda
as a standing item.
7. ORAL/WRITTEN REPORTS FROM DEPARTMENTAL LIBRARY COMMITTEES,
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND SENATE HOUSE LIBRARY.

Anthropology - no report
 Archaeology
The meeting was scheduled to take place later on in the term.





English - no report
Economics - no report
ESPS - no report
Geography - no report
Greek and Latin - no report
 Hebrew and Jewish Studies
A PhD student had reported to their student rep, their dissatisfaction with the eating and
talking that was taking place in the library and that they were going to stop using the library
to study. The student had been informed that they were within their rights to ask the
students to stop talking or contact the Library Service Assistants so that they could
intervene.
ACTION: Vanessa Freedman to send the wording of the item captured in the minutes
to the Chair.
 History
The Secretary of the Committee presented a written comment sent by Dr Benet Salway
Faculty Graduate Tutor SHS in response to the PRES results for the attention of Library
Committee. The context for the comment was the new café-style layout and approach in the
library.
“Something that could be addressed is the currently relaxed policy towards social interaction
in the library space, giving it more of a café atmosphere and less of a scholarly one. I
understand that the use of libraries as social space is the current vogue …especially in public
libraries, and may be popular with the undergraduate student body, who are, of course, the
majority of users, but it is not conducive to the focused study that PGR students need to do.
In the main library, for instance, restricting drinks to the Flaxman gallery would seem not at all
unreasonable and a greater emphasis on quiet as one leaves that central space to go down
the corridors to the reading rooms, might go a long way toward addressing this matter.”
Members of the Committee commented that they could understand students being allowed
to consume bottled water, but not fizzy drinks even if they were bottled. There was some
discussion about the need for study space for postgraduate students and the hope that this
might be realised in the Education strategy.

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
History of Art - no report
Information Studies - no report
Institute of the Americas - no report
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
Philosophy - no report
.
 Political Science
Students continued to complain about building issues, particularly overcrowding and
uncomfortable temperatures.

SSEES - no report
 SELCS
Dr Jeff Bowersox thanked Giulia Garoli on behalf of the department for her excellent work in
supporting the students.

Slade - no report
 Special Collections
It was reported that there were plans to upgrade the toilets in the Main and Science libraries
during the summer. The sewers have been sealed eradicating problems identified in earlier
Committee meetings. Special collections had supported over 30 classes and were involved
in a number of connected curriculum projects.
ACTION: Dr Tabitha Tuckett to forward report.
Matters for Information
8. To NOTE the date of UCL Library Committee meetings for 2015/16:
19 May 2016
9. Any Other Urgent Business.
None
Distribution: Members of the Joint Faculty Library Committee MA
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