2012-13 Council on Libraries, Information Systems and Computing (LISC)
Minutes
February 4, 2013
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
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Attendance: Elizabeth Gaffney, Chair; Jean Guyon; Evgeny Dikarev; Eliot Rich; Bill
Ziman; Cary Gouldin; Mark Wolf; Debra Dickerson; Mary Casserly; John Delano;
Kimberly Van Orman
Guests: Carole Sweeton, ITS Client Support Services
Christopher Bischoff, Office of Campus Planning
1. Report from the Chair: Elizabeth Gaffney
Elizabeth reported that the Responsible Use Policy Resolution was passed by the
Senate and signed by the President. She also reported that two LISC members
would not be returning and that she will let the Senate Secretary know. This also
leaves openings on both of the LISC Sub-committees. Elizabeth let Cary know she
is welcome to join one of the sub-committees. The December 11, 2012 minutes
were put to vote and unanimously approved by the Committee.
2. Dean of Libraries – Mary Casserly
New Library Guide for Faculty. Mary handed out the new Library Guide, which
was previewed by the LISC Library Committee in November and published on the
Libraries’ web site last week. The purpose of the guide is to provide faculty with
quick and streamlined access to the library web pages that support teaching,
research and promotion and tenure. The guide is a work-in-progress and any
suggestions for improving it are welcome. An announcement about the availability of
this guide was sent out via blast e-mail to all faculty last Thursday. Mary asked that
the members take a look at the guide and contact the Library with any suggestions.
The URL is http://libguides.library.albany.edu/faculty.
University Library Renovation Project – Phase 1. The first phase of a multiphase
renovation project, which seemed to be stalled for a while, is moving along. Last
week Mary and others met with the architects and Campus Planning to review the
Program Verification Report on the project. Originally, it was believed that the project
would include expansion and reconfiguration of the entrance to the University
Libraries; but money is not available for that, so the project will include replacing the
front doors. The project will also include updating electrical, data and lighting. Work
will probably not start until next November. In the meantime, updating of the HVAC
system in the University Libraries was supposed to start in January but has not. This
is a separate project that will result in energy savings but no real improvement in
LISC Meeting
February 4, 2013
functionality.
Head of Library Systems. Dean Casserly indicated that she and her staff were in
the process of interviewing 5 candidates for this position which has been vacant for
a couple of years. They hope to be able to offer the position sometime this month
and have the new Head on board before the end of the spring semester.
3. Presentation on Lecture Center Issues – Christopher Bischoff; Carole Sweeton
Elizabeth is a member of the Provost’s Classroom Advisory Committee. Bruce
Dudek had sent around a letter to some faculty trying to rally people to let the
Provost know they were unhappy with the state of the lecture centers and the
planned pace of renovations to the LC’s. John Delano raised this issue with
ELizabeth and requested it be placed on the LISC agenda.
In response to John’s request, Elizabeth has asked Chris and Carole to speak about
some of the issues regarding the current state of the Lecture Center classrooms,
and other classroom issues. As background, the Classroom Committee makes
recommendations based on their walk-throughs and observations. The LC’s have
not been updated in quite a while, but these renovations require money and would
have to be taken off line for a semester or more in order to perform the renovations.
The campus does not have the extra classroom capacity to close a LC for extended
periods of time. The Office of Campus Planning has been working with the
Classroom Committee to help with developing plans, timelines and estimates for the
upgrades.
Elizabeth welcomed Chris and Carole to the meeting. Their presentation included
topics such as Lecture Center facts, existing conditions of the LCs, technology
upgrades project, and the Lecture Center in fiscal management plan. A more
detailed description is included in these minutes.
CAC_Presentation
The presentation concluded with questions and comments from the LISC members.
One of the major complaints which came out of a faculty focus groups about the
LC’s was the lack of windows in the doors in the back of the LC. Students can’t tell
whether a LC is occupied without opening a door, and this can be disruptive. Chris
explained that the asbestos in the old “fire doors” makes it impossible to just add a
window, and replacing them would cost approximately $250,000 which is prohibitive.
Other issues discussed included weak PowerPoint visibility, lack of dual projection
screens, need for “mute” projection to hide notes, difficulty in holding group
discussion because of the layout of the rooms, and the lack of Wifi access points to
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LISC Meeting
February 4, 2013
accommodate all the students in LC-7, as well as the poor Wifi coverage in the office
areas which house the Computer Science Department. Elizabeth thanked Chris and
Carole for their presentation. The Classroom Committee is trying to address some
of these issues, but any comments or suggestions are welcome and can be directed
to Elizabeth.
4. Adjournment
Elizabeth concluded by asking members to send her any agenda items they would
like to discuss at the next LISC meeting scheduled for March 4, 2013. There being
no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
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