PRESENT: Martha Bayless, Deb Carver, Becky Dorsey, Jennifer Greenough, Esther Jacobson-Tepfer, Dan Pope, Gina Psaki, Richard Sundt.
GUESTS: Andrew Bonamici, Associate University Librarian for Administrative Services.
The meeting was convened by Deborah Carver, interim university librarian, at 11:00 a.m. Deb welcomed the members; introductions followed. Three of the members will not be able to serve this year - Jerry Berk, David Herrick, and Marian Smith. The Committee on Committees will be submitting to the President's Office recommendations for three new members.
Deb reported that George Shipman retired as university librarian on June 30. She has been appointed interim university librarian through July 2001. Provost Moseley will be appointing the search committee for this position soon. She added that the ULC will be involved in the interview process.
SELECTION OF 00/01 ULC CHAIR
Deborah asked if any member would be interested in serving as chair for this year's committee. Richard Sundt and Martha Bayless were nominated; both respectfully declined due to other commitments. Gina was then nominated to serve as chair for a second year, which she accepted.
LIBRARY INITIATIVES
Deb reported that the library has put together a master plan (aka library initiatives) for the current year. At a library department heads retreat this summer, the consensus was that it is important for the library to keep moving forward during this year of transition. She distributed, and briefly discussed, the following outline of the initiatives:
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UO Library Initiatives
2000-2001
Service Improvement
Incorporate current web technologies and information delivery systems. Explore client-oriented "portals" that allow individual customization to match the specific needs and characteristics of the library user. Project leader: Brownmiller
Set priorities for processing uncataloged collections. Develop a plan for completing retrospective conversion. Set standards for physical condition of stacks/reshelving. Project leader: Hixson
Use available instruments developed by the research library community to measure service quality. Use data to identify program improvements and marketing priorities for the future. Project leader: Jenkins
Collection Improvement
Purchase appropriate titles from netLibrary and other e-book providers. Provide appropriate access through the online the catalog. Measure the use of e-books and solicit users' reactions. Project leaders: Chadwell, Hixson
Pursue collaborative purchases with other Oregon/Orbis libraries. Consider cost/benefits of replacing equivalent print collections, e.g. science titles represented in J-Stor collection. Project leaders: Chadwell
Adopt policies, procedures, standards for the creation of digital collections. Project leader: Watson
Building Improvement
Create a more comfortable environment which encourages collaboration, high-use, easy integration of technology. Project team: Admin, Manotti
Transform this underused space into an active learning center. Focus on combining in-demand services such as video viewing, access to reserve collections, etc. Project leader: Stevens
Organizational Improvement
Create an expanded mission, which represents a full range of ed. tech support services for faculty. Develop a new business plan representing the most efficient use of Library/NMC skills, resources, and funding. Project leader: Bonamici.
Develop instructional programs that take advantage of interrelated collections (government documents, census data, planning and environmental resources, business resources, and geospatial data). Expand library's GIS services. Project leaders: Stave, Laliberte.
Develop a balanced permanent budget structure. Eliminate operating deficits by reconciling shadow systems with FIS each month. Document Library's efficiency gains, true losses. Propose a strategy to rebuild collections and services. Project team: Admin
Develop a single location for frequently used staff resources, e.g. procedure manuals, common forms, meeting minutes, links to other sites and services on- and off-campus. Project leader: Stambaugh
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Several comments were made regarding several of the initiatives. Esther expressed interest in the gateway proposal, that she would find it very beneficial if the information delivery systems could provide names of new books relating to the user's expertise/areas of interest.
Martha expressed some concern of funding these new initiatives rather than funding books for the collection. Deb responded that there is a separate acquisition budget in place for purchasing materials. She added that for some of the initiatives, e.g. developing a new web-based gateway/portals, will require primarily staff expertise rather than monetary resources.
Martha asked who makes the overall decisions regarding the library budget expenditures. Deb replied that Library Administration puts together the budget after the 4th week enrollment figures are known. The ULC has the opportunity to discuss/respond to major categories of expenditures.
In reference to retrospective conversion, under the initiative Improving Physical and Bibliographic Access to Specific Collections, it was suggested that we put signs at each terminal notifying the user there are still 200,000 pre-1976 records that are not yet in Janus, but are in the card catalog. Another suggestion was to incorporate that statement onto the Janus screen.
Deb stated that libraries routinely collect data on the number of books, journals, staff, etc. An area that has not been widely covered is measuring the library's quality of service. The UO Library, along with 30 other research libraries, will be participating this spring in a service quality instrument developed by the Association of Research Libraries. It consists of a web based survey directed to 600 faculty, 600 graduate students, and 900 undergraduates. The committee expressed concern that some faculty members on campus do not have the necessary hardware/software to complete a web-based survey. Deb will find out if the survey will also be available in print format.
In reference to accessing E-Books, Deb reported that as part of the Northwest library coalition, UO librarians helped to select an initial collection of electronic books. The coalition intends to have approximately 2500 titles by January 2001. The collection, available from netLibrary - a leading e-book vendor, currently features titles relating to the Pacific Northwest, computer science, and reference materials. She added that most of the titles are also available in hard copy. This is a trend in publishing that we expect to see accelerate in the near future. The question was asked if you need special readers to access them; Deb replied that you do not.
Deb also reported that in reference to the digital library initiative, the library has received an endowment, which will be used partly to digitize the East Asian collection. Other specialized collections will also be considered for digitization.
The initiatives under Building Improvements is self-explanatory. Rm. 101, the reserve reading room, is in the process of being refurbished. There has been a significant decrease in paper reserves, due to the availability of web resources and search engines. Esther asked if the building improvement initiatives also cover branch library space issues. Andrew responded that these initiatives address only Knight Library space issues, as the branch space concerns require involvement from other departments.
The New Media Center has been integrated into Media Services. The physical move is complete, but there are still some organizational structure questions to be resolved. The NMC has its own funding source, so no Library or Media Services money has been used.
Martha stated that she does not feel she would support these initiatives over buying more books at a faster pace. She said students in her classes are having difficulty in finding items in the collection. She also added that the library has a very limited Medieval Studies section, which makes it very difficult when recruiting medieval studies students. Deb responded that the initiatives the library has identified are areas that we can make relatively quick improvements on, and do not have a negative impact on our ability to purchase books. Deb added that we can address the issue of not finding books by making sure the user is aware of all the steps to follow when searching for an item. Esther suggested having a search engine that could provide students and faculty with this kind of information.
Becky said it would be helpful to know what these initiatives will cost the library versus what the costs are to build the collection. She added that there is a fine line of buying more and more books and sacrificing quality for quantity; the library's collection will never satisfy everyone.
Deb responded that she will provide information on cost, including the source of the funds. We have information on the amount we spend on books, staff and technology. Compared to our peers, we are ranked high in the number of resources we provide, but low in staffing numbers. Andrew invited the committee members to provide him with their department's comparators and he will put together a comparison of our collection to theirs.
SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING
Deb reported that Matt Ginsberg, a faculty member in Computer Intelligence Research Lab, is proposing that the library cancel all journal subscriptions with Elsevier Publishing. Elsevier is one of the world's largest publishers, specializing in science journals. Deb stated that his concerns are quite legitimate, but that she believes there are other options to pursue in order to gain some control over Elsevier's practices. Deb will provide the committee with some web sites that provide background information on this issue. Matt would like to submit his proposal to the Senate, but has been advised to first discuss it with the ULC. The committee agreed to meet Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 11:00 a.m. Deb will contact Matt to see if he is available at that time. An email confirmation will be sent to the ULC. It was also suggested to invite departmental representatives as these discussions will affect all areas.
SPACE PLANNING ISSUES
Richard expressed concern over the decision to move some of the books from AAA Library into Knight Library. Currently there is empty shelving in the AAA Library. He is wondering if it is possible to move the collection back to the AAA Library. Deb agreed that this suggestion should be considered. She will meet with the staff person in charge of stacks' space after that person returns from vacation. Deb will report back to the committee on the decision.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:10 p.m.
Submitted by Sheila Gray
http://libweb.uoregon.edu/ulc/dir00/001101.html