2007-08 Council on Libraries, Information Systems and Computing (LISC)
Minutes
January 25, 2008
3:00 – 4:30 p.m.
AS357
Attendance: Lawrence Raffalovich (chair), Debra Dickerson (support staff), Carol Jewell,
Fan Pen Chen, George Berg; Carolyn Malloch; Bill Ding; Frank D’Andraia; Antun Milas,
Sairam Chinnam; Lisa Trubitt (guest)
I. Call to Order
II. November 30, 2007 Minutes were unanimously approved.
III. Reports
A. Report for Director of Libraries (D’Andraia)
Frank reported that the LISC Library Committee met again on January 24, 2008. The
members of the Committee reviewed the current budget situation.
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Second year of no growth budget.
Drop in overall ranking.
Need to articulate the issues with faculty and administration.
$5 million spent annually on library materials.
$500 thousand shortfall.
No budget deliberations as of yet.
Victoria Vonarx had concerns with the implications of a continued flat budget.
Trend in library budget and no growth has exacerbated, and Library is not in a
position to cut back.
The US dollar is weak and we buy a lot of European publications, which in the
long term, is costing us more.
The Library Committee will meet again after the budget meeting with Sr.
Staff.
Renovation of Library will be costly, since new outlets need to be installed to
keep up with the never ending growth of technology.
University Library will be operating 24 hours and open two weeks (one additional week).
The door directly across from the Podium leading to the Science Library is open.
Frank also mentioned to Lisa Trubitt that he would like to get on the Student Advisory
Board’s agenda for a future meeting.
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January 25, 2008
Library is on verge of electronic only publications and reviewing the best case for
UAlbany.
Frank put together a packet (on file with these minutes) for Senate’s review, which
reflects the flat budget.
Frank thought it would be helpful if a letter from the Chair of LISC was sent to the
Senate regarding the Library’s budget and express the implications of no growth, not
being able to get contemporary information, etc. Frank will forward the minutes of the
Library Committee to Larry for distribution to LISC.
B. Report from Chief Information Officer
No report from the CIO.
IV. Old Business
A. E-Mail as official means of communication with Students:
Larry reported that the consensus is to go with the current policy (Attachment 1).
Revisions of the policy in retrospect were counterproductive. The Committee
voted unanimously to adopt this policy as is.
B. IT Usage Policy Committee:
Larry nominated Christine Haile, CIO, as Chair of the ITUPC Committee. The
nomination was seconded and approved.
C. Library Committee Membership:
Another Council member is needed on this committee. Carolyn Malloch
volunteered to serve from LISC.
V. New Business
A. Proposed Revisions to ITPUC:
Lisa Trubitt, Assistant to the CIO, represented Christine Haile on this item. Lisa
distributed a copy of the “Proposed Revisions to the Information Technology
Policy Usage Committee” (Attachment 2). The revisions were made to broaden
the responsibilities and scope of the ITPUC. George Berg added that the ITPUC
should represent the academic faculty and student concerns. Larry moved to accept
the new language as is and forward to the Senate. This motion was seconded and
approved.
B. Academic Integrity:
An Honors Code resolution was brought up at the last Senate meeting. One issue
referred to LISC involves teachers receiving papers from students with pieces of
information copied from the Web but claimed as their own work. There is
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January 25, 2008
commercial software available to check the data against original documents for
cheating and/or plagiarism. LISC discussed whether this software is preferable to
Google. No-one present knew of any evidence that commercial software is superior;
on the contrary, commercial databases must be continuously updated, while Google
does that as a matter of course. The consensus was that virtually all faculty are
familiar with Google, which is available to all at no cost. No action was taken.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m.
Attachment 1
Email as an Official Means of Communication with Students
Policy Statement:
Effective fall 2005, email will be used as an official method for communicating
with students. This policy stipulates that the University can convey relevant
academic and administrative information to targeted student populations via their
UAlbany email account. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves
with the content of messages delivered to them in this format.
Scope:
This policy pertains to all graduate, undergraduate and non-degree students.
UAlbany email accounts are assigned to students when they become eligible to
enroll for courses, and will be designated as the student's official email address for
the purposes of University email communications.
Responsibility:
Students are responsible for checking their University email accounts
frequently and consistently, and for familiarizing themselves with the
content of University messages. Because correspondence may be time-sensitive,
students are encouraged to check their accounts daily. Use of the official UAlbany
email account provided by the University is strongly encouraged. Students may opt
to redirect email to an account of their own choosing, but do so at their own risk.
The University does not guarantee delivery to forwarded addresses. Errors in
forwarding, messages returned 'Mailbox Full' or 'User Unknown', or failing to check
email are not acceptable excuses for missing official University communications.
The University is responsible for exercising discretion regarding the use and
content of email messages. Student information should only be shared with
employees of the University or its agents with a legitimate educational interest in
that information. All faculty/staff must be familiar with the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to ensure the content of email messages is
consistent with those guidelines. For more information, see the section on FERPA
in the University's Undergraduate Bulletin. Additionally, all messages should be
compliant with the ITS guidelines established in the companion to this document,
Student Email Policy Guidelines for Use.
Privacy:
The University cannot guarantee confidentiality in electronic communications to
students.
Procedure:
The Office of the Chief Information Officer shall establish guidelines and
procedures as may be appropriate for the implementation of this policy. Please
refer to these guidelines for more information.
Attachment 2
Proposed Revisions to Information Technology Policy Usage Committee
Proposed Title: The Information Technology Committee
Revised Charge:
The Committee shall consist of at least 6 but not more than 8 members, with at least 3 from the
Council. It will be chaired by the Chief Information Officer or designee.
The Committee shall review and make recommendations on IT services in support of the University's
academic programs and goals. The Committee's work addresses a wide spectrum of information
technology matters including planning, infrastructure, service delivery and quality, access and
security, and new technologies. They shall examine current trends in information technologies which
may influence IT services and changing University priorities, emerging academic programs, and new
information needs. The Office of the CIO shall consult with the Committee on matters of IT policy.
The Committee shall submit all recommendations for approval to the Council. Policy changes are then
brought to the Senate if approved by the Council.
Rationale for Change:
The Chair of LlSC and the Office of the CIO propose revisions to the LlSC subcommittee known as
the Information Technology Usage Policy Committee. The goal of this revision is to broaden the
scope of the Committee's charge and create a group with responsibilities for campus-wide IT.
Revising the charge allows the Committee to assume an expanded role in shaping new directions for
IT on behalf of the University community. Confining the scope to IT policy issues limits the ability of
the group to examine a wider range of academic and programmatic IT matters. Broader
responsibilities will enable this group to provide valuable input for strategic planning, examining
trends and exploring new directions for campus technology needs. The revised charge makes the
responsibilities of the subcommittee similar to those of the LlSC Library Committee. This balance
better reflects LlSC's broader charge to examine campus-wide matters of the Libraries and information
technologies.
The Information Technology Usage Policy Committee is part of an historical legacy predating the
appointment of a CIO. For the past several years, the Committee has had little business, so they have
met sporadically. It has also been difficult to staff. A broader charge would give the Committee new
opportunities to explore the technology needs of the campus. Assigning the CIO or designee as
permanent chair-parallel to the Library Committee --lends continuity to the group, which is important
for long-term planning, history and information sharing.