University Librarian's Cabinet: Minutes of the June 20, 2006 Meeting

Present:

Boyle, Fultz, Gaunt, Golden, John, Mullins, Puniello, Tehrani, Zapcic

Absent:

Agnew, Sewell

University Librarian's Report – Gaunt

• Mary Page will work with selectors to coordinate cancellations while Sewell is at home recuperating.
• The new Center for Race and Ethnicity under development will work to facilitate research collaboration and education on matters of race and ethnicity in contemporary American life in America, in New Jersey, and throughout the world. We will explore opportunities to contribute Libraries' expertise and content.
• The Digital Media Working Group will meet on Thursday.
• Cabinet has been invited to attend the Planning and CoCo meeting tomorrow; the agenda is focused on how the reorganization may impact the faculty structure. The major goal is focusing on how the administration and faculty structure can come closer together. The university requires only three faculty committees: Appointments & Promotions Committee appointed by the dean, Committee of Review; and Planning Committee to provide advice to the dean on long-term planning for the university in programs, services and collections. Need to consider an appropriate structure to accomplish our work.

Report from All Units on Budget Planning Status – All

• University: still no news related to the budget; the university is hoping for a restoration of a maximum of 50%.
• Libraries: we have spent all of the year-end funds; we have increased the number of computers to 150; these will replace the computers in the Information Handling Labs and a number of staff machines across the libraries. We will include SIRSI, PALCI, Palinet, postage, UPS, and Luna maintenance in year-end invoices. Mary Page is handling collections; we have some flexibility since the cancellations do not have to be done by July 1; Page will work with the selectors to develop criteria and a priority list for next year; will implement cancellations when we know if additional funds will become available or as the final invoices arrive. VALE databases were renewed. Books will be purchased on non-state funds.
• Travel: Because ALA comes at the end of the year, Hendrickson and Gaunt reviewed travel to determine the professional development allocation so that librarians can make travel plans. It was decided that units would get their normal faculty and staff allocations. However, the only additional travel funds will be for those representing RUL at appropriate meetings or for specific travel/learning activities. Fund-raising travel will proceed as usual.
• Boyle noted that as a way to communicate with Libraries' faculty and staff and our users, budget messages were put on the Libraries' web site; will update as needed. Cabinet members should keep Glazer apprised of any impact related to the budget in terms of hours, services, personnel changes, etc.

Report on RLG Annual Meeting – Gaunt

• Gaunt attended the annual meeting in New York City on June 16. Distributed handouts to Cabinet from the meeting: "RLG-Programs Prospectus" and "OCLC Programs and Research Division – A Selection of Current Initiatives." At the annual meeting on Friday, it was voted to change the corporate bylaws; RLG is a corporation; the corporation will remain for about five years; the ownership will be Columbia, New York Public, and Huntington Library. There was much discussion from the museums and archives community; most had no relationship with OCLC at all; the RLG academic libraries were using OCLC. Many questions about transfer of records into WorldCat, especially special collections and archives; the message is everyone will have to work together to make the transition. Shares will still be in there; there will be a separate RLG program within OCLC; hoping to expand rather than contract. We are paying our same dues for this current year. There will be a Shares round table at ALA.

Report on VALE Retreat – Gaunt/M. John

• Gaunt and John attended the VALE planning retreat on June 8; John prepared an electronic summary of the meeting and a chart summarizing the planning retreat proposals that called for new ideas for VALE; John did a good job in putting together the information. Gaunt discussed with Cabinet the section on "Voting on VALE Initiatives." Karen Avenick facilitated the discussion and will prepare a summary report; the discussion went from basic to more visionary. The 1st initiative was negotiating with aggregators to customize "bundles". Universal borrowing was the 2nd initiative where faculty and students from other institutions can borrow from all institutions with a borrower card, rather than going through ILL. It is thought that this would impact Dana because of the other universities in that area, but did not think it would have a major impact. If we want to be visionary, it was thought that with assistance from the state, we should be working on a borrowing card for the state of New Jersey; should be investigating one online catalog. Cooperative collection and last copy was 3rd on the list; nobody talked about a remote storage facility; there is discussion on who within New Jersey would be responsible for last copy. The 4th initiative was on sharing books more fluidly, there was some discussion we might want to do unmediated borrowing, but was not explored in much depth. Sharing books more fluidly conjures up a PALCI for New Jersey, and that e-books should be considered. Whether we should move from volunteer to a more sustainable organization for VALE was ranked 6th on the list of initiatives; right now we pay very little for infrastructure; if we want to do anything visionary, we may have to pay for it; it was agreed that we should remain a volunteer organization. Advocacy was ranked as 7th, but it is thought that advocacy and communication should continue. Online tutorials would be something we could all benefit from. The institutional repository for theses was ranked 9th; there was one specific proposal submitted at the retreat on developing a New Jersey digital repository for masters' theses of VALE member institutions' graduate programs in education.
• The organization of the Council and the VALE Steering Committee were discussed. There is a task force to determine if changes are necessary. Cabinet believes both could stay as they are.

Update on Reorganization – Gaunt

• Organizational change in reporting and assuming new duties will begin on July 1. Boyle and Puniello will assume new roles. Tehrani will continue to report to Acting AUL/IRS until the position is filled permanently, at which time she will then report to AUL/CDM. Boyle and Gaunt will continue to share responsibilities for human resources and budget. New Brunswick collections services, programming, and network staff and two SCC librarians will report to AUL/DLS. ILL, Shipping and Receiving, and Imaging Services staff will become part of the AUL/IRS responsibilities. Communications staff will report to the UL. Filling permanently the AUL/IRS is the top priority.

Announcements

Golden:

• Golden made a proposal to OIT to get some replacement computers for public machines in the Paul Robeson Library as OIT updates their computer labs.
• Rutgers University will expand its degree offerings at Atlantic Cape Community College beginning in September. Rutgers faculty at the ACCC Mays Landing campus will teach two new programs – an undergraduate degree in liberal studies and graduate courses in education. In addition, the Camden School of Business will be expanding its MBA and Hospitality Programs.

Zapcic:

• Zapcic and Ron Becker will travel to Washington, D.C. next week; Becker is making a presentation to the NJ congressional delegation about archiving and how they should be preparing their papers when they leave office; will visit donors to the library while in D.C.
• Zapcic attended a foundation staff meeting last week; announcements included upcoming vote by Boards of Trustees and Governors on new endowment minimums for the campaign and assessments on gifts. The Foundation is proposing that a percentage of funds raised would go back in to the Foundation to fund activities.
• Foundation President Carol Herring has decided to begin reporting figures for gifts using two totals, one including gifts in kind – for internal purposes, and one excluding gifts in kind – for official, external reports.
• Joan Barry will be stepping down from her current position; the Foundation is looking for a replacement; Barry will assist the new person during the transition.
• Zapcic attended the meeting at the Douglass Library with the donor for the Multimedia Resource Lab. Zapcic noted that the quality of the presentation and the team approach sets a standard for future presentations to donors and potential donors for space-naming opportunities.

Boyle:

• Boyle met with Public Services Council yesterday; we are supporting the recommendation that we end the ROARS service; the last time was used Dialog was in January 2005.
• Boyle and D. Voorhees are looking at various options for replacing our copiers; Voorhees made a presentation to Gaunt and Boyle; combined with raising our copying fee to 15 cents and reducing our fleet with new technology available, it appears to be very cost effective to replace all our public and administrative copiers. Voorhees will schedule meetings with Golden, Mullins and Puniello to explain where new machines would be located; looking at an August 1 time frame.

Mullins:

• Working on an NEH grant for the preservation and access improvement of our oral history collection of jazz; working with professor at SCILS on a metadata component; hopefully will be ready for submission on July 25; the old NEH grant closes in September.

Tehrani:

• Gaunt, Zapcic, and Tehrani attended a meeting at the Douglass Library on June 15 with the donor for the Multimedia Resource Lab; The Task Force for the Creation of a Multimedia Resource Lab put together an excellent proposal, enthusiastically received by the donor.
• A donation for preservation from Professor Maurice Lee was used to send Alexander Library books to be treated for mold and purchase a copy machine for poster-sized images for Special Collections and University Archives.