Minutes of September 15, 2011 Meeting

Present:: Karen Hartman (co-Chair), Laura Mullen (co-Chair), Grace Agnew, Tom Izbicki, Michael Joseph (recorder), Kevin Mulcahy, Janice Pilch, Bob Sewell, Gene Springs, Gracemary Smulewitz, Julie Still (videoconferenced), Mary Beth Weber, Tao Yang
Excused:: Barry Lipinski, Vincent Pelote, and Ann Watkins

Approval of Agenda

Agenda approved

Minutes approved

Laura Mullen, new co-chair, outlined the major tasks to accomplish this year.

T. Izbicki is prioritizing investment in streaming media this year, as well as the replacement of old, obsolescent media, converting VHS to DVD, etc. Grace Agnew noted there is a converter for most old media at Technical Services.
Various subscription packages are up for renewal.
A charge for the Weeding and Consolidation Group has been developed and will be discussed at the first meeting of the group on October 12, 2011.
Proceeds of book sales will go to the library where the sale occurs.
RUL now possesses a collection of Roman coins that documents the entire history of the Republic, up to and including coins with obverse portraits of Marc Antony and the rare Lepidus.

RU Core is adding a 9/11 Collection Portal, which will contain scholarly materials about the attacks and their aftermath. Remembering 9/11 conference organized by Angus Gillespie scheduled for Friday will be video-captured and added to RU Core.
Marianne Gaunt is co-chair (with Anne Ciliberti) of VALE Open-Library System, which is based on Drupal and is API friendly.

Consensus is that weeding and consolidation will deservedly take a lot of our focus in this academic year, that this is the year of weeding. The WCG should coordinate its efforts with other weeding projects, such as the microforms group, and that work should begin first with print serials. The WCG will include the 3 campus coordinators, the LRC co-chairs, Barry Lipinski, Judy Gardner, Gracemary Smulewitz, and Jamie Maguire (DTS).
The WCG will look at extant policies and send out an action plan.

Feedback to Jeanne's office is due 10/15

No. 1 "Promote and advocate for universal access to the world's knowledge . . ." should include a phrase regarding how RUL will expose free materials to the world.
No. 1b "Create open access tools . . ." should include a phrase regarding how we handle licenses, promote rights and interests of our user communities, a phrase regarding increasing our own resources. MJ remarked that increasing our own resources requires us to make space appropriate to housing and using them, and that space was a concern of considerable moment in Special Collections and University Archives.
No. 2 "Support learning and research by providing leadership" should include a phrase about unifying services across the campuses and a phrase about engaging with alumni and providing services to alumni and "other researchers."
No. 3 "Bring distinction to the university and libraries through innovative library research, services, and spaces" should also emphasize "exhibitions" and programs developed to feature RUL's unique resources in Special Collections and University Archives as well as the Institute of Jazz Studies.
No. 3 b "Develop creative and distinctive spaces" should include "and protect" [develop and protect]. T.I. said he would design the building entrance to make it more efficient and expressed a strong sense that Gallery '50 is an inadequately small exhibition space for displaying the Libraries' unique holdings.

T. Izbicki believes that Special Collections must be integrated more deeply into the goals. M. Joseph suggested that SCUA has been partnering with teaching faculty who rightfully see a stake in developing RUL's rare and special collections, and partnerships of this kind should be developed.

Hathi Trust Working Group set up to explore best relationship of RUL to HathiTrust. Group will include Kevin Mulcahy, Janice Pilch, Michael Joseph and Melissa DeFino.

DTS has been putting a significant amount of time into beta testing a usage analysis tool, and would like feedback. Sees potential in the tool providing we make use of it.
Collection Development Training Roadshow is gearing up and visits to Camden and Newark have been scheduled.

J. Still notes Camden has a special collection of artists books of haikus that it will be exhibiting in April, if it gets its display cases back.
Gene Springs notes flooding at Kilmer
T. Izbicki notes he will be on research leave at the Vatican Film Library in St. Louis, but he will be reachable.
T. Izbicki notes no offer has been made in the latest round of the RIS search
K.Mulcahy notes Art Librarian search is also ongoing
L. Mullen gave an invited paper on open access and collection development at the IFLA Satellite conference at the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas in August.