2003/2004 UNIVERSITY LIBRARY COMMITTEE Final Report

The University Library Committee held three meetings between October and March of this academic year. Among the notable developments and topics were:

• Ongoing discussion of budgetary issues, including the impact of the current hiring freeze and staff reductions; possible closure of the library during intersession weekends; reductions in monograph expenditures; and planned cuts in serials
• Periodic updates on the progress of library fundraising as part of the University Campaign
• Monitoring of the impact on the library of the serials vendor Faxon/Rowcom's financial collapse and ongoing efforts to secure partial reimbursement for the library's loss; discussion of appropriate policies for attempting to replace missing journal issues
• Favorable assessment of the Summit Cascade merger (formerly Orbis Cascade)
• Discussion of the trend toward "open access" journals as an alternative to the subscription-based model; endorsement of the library/ULC taking an active role in informing the campus and initiating discussion on this issue; approval of library becoming a member of the Public Library of Science organization
• Progress report on the initiative to create an "institutional repository" as an alternative way of disseminating intellectual work
• Results of a mini-program review of the priorities and services in Special Collections and the University Archives
• Report on the new process for continual serials review in place of the old policy of periodic serials cancellations every few years
• Report on the initiative to create a UO/OSU Shared Journal Collection to reduce duplication of expensive journals; discussion of policies for sharing journals between the two campuses

On behalf of the committee, I want to thank Deb Carver, the Associate University Librarians, Sheila Gray, and other library staff for their invaluable assistance in the functioning of the ULC.

Val Burris ULC Chair, 2003/2004