LIBRARY LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
PLANNING RETREAT
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE COMMUNITY ROOM B
MINUTES
JULY 16, 2015 (9:00-12:30)
Present: Dean Connie Foster, Deana Groves, Brian Coutts, Jonathan Jeffrey,
Eric Fisher, Jennifer Wilson, Kristen Peterson, Sara Volpi, Haiwang Yuan,
Bryan Carson and Jan Renusch
Introductions: Introductions around the table and the new Literary Outreach
Coordinator Sara Volpi.
Dean’s Report/Announcements: Connie noted important dates:
-New Faculty Orientation – August 17, 18
-Kick-off – August 19, 2015, staff will meet 9:45 – 10:15; faculty and staff
will gather for kick-off 10:30 – 11:30; Lunch 11:45 – 12:30; faculty will
meet 12:45 – 1:15; possibly a group photo outside.
-President & Provost meeting with Deans, Dept. Heads & Directors, August 21
-No LLC meeting on October 26 due to ALMA training.
-Summit Awards – November 5 – table for 10. Jonathan will send information on
volunteer nominee
-HODA – November 6, 2015, table for 8
-Homecoming Reception in Commons – November 7, 2015
-Follow up on renovation projects: Glasgow Library in progress – lighting
updated, carpet replaced, circulation desk relocated; Jackson Gallery
repainted, new lighting, and bronze plaque to be installed. The Reference
Room furniture to be delivered soon.
-Budget – Carry Forward funds will be minimal this FY. The student
assistants’ budget was over by $24,000. Faculty travel additional funds of
$300 will be available if needed.
-Action Plans reminder for department heads.
-Kick-off program suggestions – ALMA peek, past events, intro of student
scholarship recipient, statistics
-DLSC hosts Holiday Party this December
Department Library Special Collections: Jonathan shared Goals for 15/16:
Personnel
-Redistribute office associate shared responsibilities, effective Sept. 1,
2015.
-Look for and encourage staff to attend free or low-cost training events that
will be beneficial to them and the university.
Physical Plant and Equipment
-Work on the Break Room to make it more hospitable to our faculty/staff.
-Work with Brent Bjorkman to resolve the catering situation and the
appropriate set-up spaces for events in the KY Building.
-Relocate unused shelves from a hallway to the Toy Room.
-Complete Jackson Gallery renovations. Cases, seating, sign installation.
-Investigate procurement of a new digital microfilm reader.
-Investigate procurement of a Book Eye scanner.
Collections
-Complete retroactive cataloging of the Manuscripts Collection and remove the
old card catalog.
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-Begin a massive project to re-catalog the 1971-1988 Folklife Archives
projects, approximately 1,200 items.
-Help the KLRC to develop goals for TopSCHOLAR entries.
-Add at least 100 transcriptions to TopSCHOLAR over the next year.
-Hold an open discussion with possibility of implementing a new policy
related to cell phone cameras and digital cameras in the Reading Room for
printed material.
-Identify a collection from premium space in G-8 to new shelving in Toy Room.
Programming
-Work with Brian for the Kentucky Live! speaker Dr. Jane Olmstead in
September.
-Host a Peccha Kuccha related to Civil Rights in conjunction with National
Archives Month and the Nelson Mandella Quilt Exhibit.
-Sponsor an African American female speaker as part of Black History Month.
KHC Chautauqua performer who portrays Alice Dunnigan, a journalist and Civil
Rights activist and author. Try to co-sponsor with the African American
Museum.
-University Archives will help celebrate Women’s History Month by
coordinating a reunion and possible concert related to the chiefly female
Gemini bands from WKU led by Doc Livingston in the 1960s and 1970s.
-Sponsor a building faculty and staff creative contest to use catalog cards
from the Manuscripts catalog in some type of art project, similar to HelmCravens book project.
Department Library Technical Service: Deana gave the following report:
Systems Librarian
The search for new faculty Library Discovery and Integrated Systems Librarian
is underway. It is no longer a coordinator position.
Search Committee: Uma Doraiswamy (Chair), Eric Fisher, Laura DeLancey, and
Joe Shankweiler. Begin review of applications on September 1st with a start
date of January 1, 2016.
-DLTS furniture is fully installed. Due to loss of Bib Access staff position,
the vacant work station will be occupied by the new Systems Librarian.
TopSCHOLAR
-Currently revising TS and SW promotional pieces. Working to get
dissertations in Proquest
-NKU Librarians visiting on August 6th to learn about our successes with
TopSCHOLAR.
-Todd Seguin is developing a plan of action for more outreach for repository
and faculty web sites. Todd spent summer gaining knowledge; in October will
be attending the Bepress Repository Manager Certification Course in Berkeley,
CA.
ALMA
-Nelda will be working part time through December 2015 to help with new
system implementation.
A project kickoff meeting was held on July 7, weekly meetings will be held
with ExLibris, Morehead, Murray, and UK. The WKU team will also hold weekly
meetings. A three-day on-site workshop is scheduled for October 26-28. GoLive
date is January 20, 2016. Deana created an Alma LibGuide for library
personnel to stay informed of progress.
Department Library Public Service: Brian gave his report on DLPS Goals and
Achievements in 2015:
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Regional Campus Libraries
With a strong desire to provide equivalent access to students on regional
campuses, especially since this was mandated by SACS, we worked to provide
enhanced access to collections and enhanced collections at all of the
regional libraries.
WKU-Glasgow
WKU Glasgow launched a new McNaughton Leisure Reading Collection and began
replacing and updating older materials. Non-circulating children’s materials
were cataloged for circulation. At the request of the Campus Chancellor we
hosted an encore Kentucky Program in the fall to complement National Library
Week celebrations in April.
Brian worked with the Dean and the librarian on Phase II of a planned
multiphase retrofit/renovation of the library space which was approved for
funding in June, 2015. Work is ongoing. Special workshops and tutoring were
made available in the library prior to the spring exams. The librarian
participated in a city wide “Leadership Program” and was appointed to the
Glasgow Public Library Board.
WKU-Owensboro
In Owensboro we provided additional shelving for expanded collections and are
in the planning stages for a new McNaughton Leisure Collection which we hope
to launch in the spring of 2016.
We have had very preliminary discussions about the possibility of an expanded
space for the library. The librarian promoted an encore “Far Away Places”
program on “War and Remembrance in Russia” in November and helped plan a
series of events as part of the City’s “World War I”
Commemoration.
WKU-Elizabethtown
The desire to have the part-time librarian positon converted to a full-time
position was not realized but funding for a 25% increase in hours was
approved. We held our first faculty meeting on the E-town campus last fall.
In April, the Dean, Daniel Peach, Eric Fisher and I with our campus librarian
met with the E-town Chancellor and the Provost and Librarian from the
Community College to discuss a possible move of our library to space in the
Community College Library.
Helm-Cravens Library
-Added compact shelving on the eighth floor to expand capacity of literature
collections and to acquire endcaps to stabilize stacks and to improve the
aesthetics of the library. Expanded entrance from the Cravens causeway into
the Helm Reference Room and planned a new study area with furniture scheduled
to arrive in the summer.
Some problems with one of the chillers for the Helm Library were discovered
and repairs were scheduled for July.
The MARCIVE initiative continues, although the elimination of our part-time
Law Librarian position will slow progress.
VPAL
Major improvements were made in organization and display of DVD collection.
Additional display units enable us to separate specific collections. The
entire collection was placed in alphabetical order for the first time. Films
were organized by language group. More of the music CD collection was
displayed publically, leading to expanded circulation. The lab was opened for
general computer use with mixed success. A window was added in one of the
VPAL staff offices to improve staff sight lines.
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ERC
The entire collection was mapped for STACKMAP and collections expanded with
special emphasis on global learning. Partnered with Teacher Education to host
a second season of workshops and displays on MakerSpaces in the spring and
partnered with the Kentucky Reading Association for a joint program last
fall. The greatest current needs are to fund new textbook series since the
state has stopped funding this, and the collection is not current.
Research Instruction
To respond to the campus goal of Fostering Academic Excellence—the department
committed to working with other campus units to develop a proposal to
increase student learning, expand critical thinking and to support the
Quality Enhancement Plan. The department also committed to improve teaching
skills. A workshop was held in the fall to highlight new interactive learning
techniques. LibGuides II went live in the late spring for enhanced displays
of resources for what is now one of the major outreaches to the campus
community, used almost 300,000 times last year. WKU ranked third in the
number of searches on KYVL databases among public universities with 2.4
million, following NKU and UK.
DLPS Series and Programs
The department continued to host an off-campus speaker series which, since
its founding, have promoted more than 170 separate programs. It also helps
coordinate the annual Evelyn Thurman Awards and is involved in planning the
Kentucky Writers Conference, and Faraway Flix. Brian served on the Planning
Committee for Tales of the Unexplored Series on Ecuador which involved
hosting two speakers for three programs and showing two independent films.
The Dean’s office served as one of the series sponsors and the Accounts
Specialist managed the grant and sponsorship funds.
Oral History Initiatives
Through the considerable efforts of Lisa Miller, a major oral history of the
library and librarians was completed with the interviews added to TopSCHOLAR
and to the statewide digital library collections. A second major project
focusing on the life and career of Evelyn Thurman was also completed. Some
highlights of the latter project were shared at the Evelyn Thurman Awards
Luncheon. Early discussions have taken place about a project to interview
former garment workers employed by Union Underwear.
Weeding Collections
A task force chaired by Katherine Pennavaria developed a strategy for timely
withdrawal of obsolete materials to make space for new materials, to make the
collections more inviting to patrons, and to allow space for additional
seating of on-site patrons.
Cravens Ground Floor Storage
Shelving was installed and major print indexes and other sources were moved
to create additional study space in the Helm Reference.
GOALS for 2016
-Continue to promote interactive learning techniques in Research Instruction
-Incorporate goals of the new QEP into Research Instruction
-Work to expand instruction to departments not currently involved
-Explore locating reference locations outside the library
-Look at repurposing existing spaces in the Helm-Cravens Library for both
collaborative learning and quiet study
-Explore staffing options and create a list of part-time employees willing to
fill in during illnesses or absences of existing staff.
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-Continue to promote building improvements which meet functions and
environmental quality for faculty, staff and students. Perhaps retrofit one
floor of the Cravens building each year.
-Partner with other campus units to foster academic excellence and to assist
the university in recruitment and retention
-Mentor new faculty in developing research projects suitable for publication
Library Staff Council: Jan gave an update on the council’s activities. One of
the projects being discussed is open house type events for the different
areas/departments in the libraries so that we can all become better informed
about work in departments other than our own. They will take place early in
the fall semester, mid-September through early October, with the focus on one
area each week. Each gathering will last 30 minutes and will include a
presentation about the particular area/department. Time being considered is
4:00 – 4:30 pm so that evening personnel can be included.
-The LLC asked the staff council to map out weeks and areas with a defined
schedule; to have the events occur over a year’s time rather than condensing
them into a month; have department heads and coordinators lead the tours;
schedule DLTS for the spring semester due to the ALMA conversion.
Instruction/Grants/Assessment: Bryan gave an update on the LibQual spring
survey. Complete results should be forthcoming in time for the Kick-off.
-The Research Council is now the Office of Research and Creative Activities.
-At the dean’s request Bryan will be working on 30-minute sessions on topics
for students in the library or in other locations; research instruction for
transfer students, adult students, Gatton Academy students and undergrad/grad
students.
Marketing: Jennifer gave an update on marketing activities:
Library Poster Campaign
-Review list of previous colleges and ideas. Explore new units/areas.
Jennifer mentioned Business and University Colleges have not yet been
represented. Jennifer will touch base with Kirk Atkinson re: Business
College. Once the main colleges are represented, we can start on new
departments on a second round with the colleges.
Projects in process for completion
*TopSCHOLAR brochure
*SelectedWorks insert
*KLA newsletter – Jennifer has received some points to put in the
statewide newsletter but needs any other comments by next week.
*Subject Specialist Library Faculty updates
*Friends materials – there was discussion about ease of online giving.
Jennifer agrees the website needs to be reviewed and revamped
so she will further investigate.
*SOKY Reads promotional materials, Evelyn Thurman materials
*Welcome Back Tent with giveaways on the first week back to campus suggestions to make sure it doesn’t conflict with other campus fairs or
large events
*Communication Team and Plan – Connie suggested that the Council review,
“Communicate and Connect” and consider good candidates for a committee, and
discuss in August
*Graduate Student Open House – Jennifer mentioned this has been discussed in
previous years and was wondering if we might consider having one in the
Libraries.
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Development: Kristen gave updates on various projects:
Updates – A $10,000 Dean’s Fund for Excellence started; $135,000 bequest for
unrestricted library use documented.
A new member on LAC – Jane Baker from Glasgow
2016 goals - Expand SOKY Book Fest donors and maintain the current donors
-Find sponsors for SOKY Reads, Fall into Books, and KY Live! and Far Away
Places speaker series.
-Visit Dept. Head semiannual meetings
Library Systems Office: Eric gave highlights from the LSO:
-The cycle time for future faculty PC replacements will change from 4 years
to 5 years.
-Technical Support Services (TSS) has announced a new program that allows
departments to procure a gently used desktop computer for $100.00. Payment
guarantees TSS will maintain the computer for one year from installation
date.
-All of the new DLPS full-time staff PCs have been installed. The older model
780s will be used to replace older student PCs and other possible locations
(Topcat kiosk PCs) depending on the quantity needed.
-DLSC is scheduled for replacement of their full-time staff PCs. An updated
list of the quantity needed will be provided once it is confirmed that
funding is available.
-The VPAL lab PCs will be removed before the fall semester starts. The
instructor podium, PC, screen, projector and tables and chairs will remain as
an instructional/training room, without hands-on training. Power will remain
at the tables, so users with their own devices can keep them powered or
charge other devices.
-Daniel Pawley will be working to revamp/changes to the Soky Book Fest
website.
-The following items were taken and left at the Glasgow library for use in
speaker events: podium, microphone and speaker setup, a projector and screen
and laptops are already available there.
Kentucky Convergence Conference
WKU is hosting the Kentucky Convergence Conference Nov. 12-13.
Kentucky Convergence is the single event that brings together professionals
in information technology, academic libraries, online learning, and
instructional design from all the public and private colleges and
universities in Kentucky. The theme for this year’s conference is “High
Performance in Higher Education.” Sessions at the 2015 Kentucky Convergence
Conference will focus on innovations in instructional technology, best
practices for higher education technology support, current issues for
academic librarianship, shared concerns for Kentucky institutions, and
advances in online learning and instructional design. Early-bird registration
for the conference is now open, at a special price of $125 through August 31.
http://kentuckyconvergence.org/registration/
Web & Emerging Technologies: Haiwang reported that thanks to intensive
internal training on the OUCampus content management system and the
establishment of the Library Systems Office and with the help of the Web &
Emerging Technologies Committee, there has been a smooth work flow and
division of labor in the development and maintenance of the Libraries’
website, the largest on WKU campus.
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Haiwang has fixed the broken links found on the home page, the department
pages, as well as the pages of major library units. The faculty and staff
pages have been kept up-to-date with the constant changes of library
personnel, thanks to the department heads that kept providing updated
personnel information.
Social Media Committee
Chaired by Shaden Melky, the Social Media Committee made marked progress in
engaging users via Twitter and Facebook. They are adapting to the users’ need
by making timely changes as in the case of switching from Pinterest to
Instagram. They gave a well-attended training workshop to the Libraries’
faculty and staff and planned to give more in the coming year.
Smartphone App Platform
As the university is moving from the current smartphone app platform to a new
one, Haiwang and Eric will work closely with the related University IT expert
to develop a user-friendly library component that will also feature a search
function based on the new library system.
Petting Zoo
Haiwang and Eric will explore the idea of a library technology petting zoo in
the coming year.
Future Plans
-Improve website to adapt to the implementation of the new library system
ALMA. Per the discussion at the LCC retreat meeting, the link TOPCAT will be
deactivated with a brief explanation to drive users to the One Search box.
-Haiwang is considering a usability study designed for improving the
Libraries’ website.
Literary Outreach: Sara shared her top priorities:
-Secure headliner for Book Fest
-Amp up social media (add accounts – Instagram, Snapchat; be more present on
Twitter and Facebook)
-Find sponsors
-Potential partnership with Kentucky Women Writer’s Conference (WKU
Libraries/WKU English Dept.)
-Location for KY Writers Conference might be modified this year, with
workshops occurring in the South Campus area rather than the Knicely Center.
-Invite other campuses around the community to attend Book Fest
-Sara will be attending a virtual YA conference to learn more about YA
books/publishing.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 pm.
For the Council,
Jan Renusch
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