University Librarian's Cabinet: Minutes of the August 26, 2003 Meeting

University Librarian's Report – Gaunt

NJEDge Conference: There has been limited response to the call for ideas for the eLearning/Libraries track for the October NJEDgeNet conference that was placed on the VALE and New Jersey Library Directors' listservs. Gaunt had suggested six ideas, which she will bring to the subcommittee working on that track. If some of these ideas are not selected for the concurrent sessions, they can be converted into an electronic poster session.

VALE FIPSE Grant: The reviewers' comments on VALE's unsuccessful FIPSE grant for the development of shared information literacy tutorials across New Jersey academic libraries have been received. The planning team to determine next steps will review the comments. Comments will be distributed to Cabinet for feedback. It would be a great success to have external funding to pursue this concept, as it is beneficial for RUL.

Meeting on Library Affairs: In anticipation of the arrival of Executive Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Philip Furmanski, AULs Boyle, Sewell and the University Librarian met with Karen Stubaus, who will be working directly with Dr. Furmanski, to review the Libraries' budget situation in the context of our aspirations, history, and current planning. The need for base budget support was emphasized as most of the Libraries' costs are continuing rather than one time. Dr. Stubaus reiterated that Dr. Furmanski is very interested in understanding the Libraries' situation and will be discussing this with the University Librarian as soon as he comes to campus.

Senator Harrison A. "Pete" Williams, Jr. Archives: There will be a reception on September 22, 2003 hosted by the Libraries and SMLR to raise awareness of, and funds for, the processing of former New Jersey Senator Harrison Williams' papers. The Libraries have the archive but have been unable to process them because of the volume of manuscripts. Senator Williams was responsible for shepherding through Congress much major legislation related to the health and safety of workers that is with us to this day. The availability of these primary records would enhance scholarship in many disciplines.

The details to finalize and submit the working budget were completed and forwarded to University administration. Our agreed-upon reductions were submitted along with an impact statement for each category (salaries, collections, below- the-line). We need to receive sign-off before implementation. The instructions for completing the working budget indicated that a new manual would be distributed concerning a variety of issues regarding budget matters and the use of funds in various categories. One item of interest is regarding the return of lines and the ability to request that they be returned when funding becomes available. Gaunt will distribute whatever additional information is received.

A vision for the libraries in the new public research university system was discussed. The four subcommittees (North, Central, South, and System-Wide) for IT/Libraries are and will be discussing this. The Rutgers Libraries have maintained that an integrated system composed of the three institutions' libraries is the most forward thinking and advantageous approach to support the vision described in the Vagelos report of an excellent public research university system for New Jersey. Three factors alone weigh against any other model: the history and future prospects for higher education funding in New Jersey, the challenges of de-constructing what is in place and developing three autonomous libraries, and the costs associated with supporting redundancies. Cabinet reviewed the compilation of institutional assets and the major needs for implementing the new model. Grace Agnew is on the system-wide subcommittee, Jeanne Boyle is on the Central subcommittee, Gary Golden and Jim Nettleman are on the South subcommittee, Lynn Mullins is on the North subcommittee, and Gaunt is co-chairing the Working Group.

Agnew:

Agnew spoke at the University of Oregon Library on August 25 as part of their staff development lecture series. The title of her talk was "The Heart of the University or the Central Nervous System? The Digital Repository and the Evolving Role of the Academic Library."