STAFF RESOURCES |
M. Gaunt called for a motion to come to order at 9:15 a.m. The motion was moved by F. Puniello and seconded by K. Mulcahy.
There were no new faculty members or guests to introduce.
M. Gaunt called for a motion to approve the minutes of the November 12, 2010 Faculty Meeting. The motion was moved by K. Mulcahy and seconded by R. Tipton. The minutes were approved by voice vote.
There was no unfinished business to report.
N. Kranich, chair of the RUL Liaison Action Team, gave an update of the Action Team's achievements. Working with the Planning & Coordinating Committee (PlanCo), the Team has identified the top roles for library liaisons, identified new liaison roles for faculty librarians who are not selectors, and determined the necessary skills for fulfilling these new roles. They have also drafted a vision statement, which N. Kranich reviewed with the Faculty. Next steps include:
K. Denda, S. Harrington, and R. Womack also spoke on behalf of the Liaison Action Team. Discussion followed on the next steps in strengthening liaison roles, and also on the progress already made in RUL.
L. Fredenburg reported that 127 RUL staff and faculty members participated in 11 strategic planning focus groups between January and March of this year. The focus groups were presented with four scenarios ranging from the most traditional to the most innovative, which they were asked to rate on a scale from 1-10. L. Fredenburg reviewed the reactions to all four scenarios. What emerged from the focus group discussions was a sense that we need a balance between the immediate and the future, to accept constant change, and to challenge ourselves and our assumptions, while also remembering our history, values, and purpose. Having completed the visioning process, we are now at the stage where we identify goals and set priorities. An open discussion of the scenarios has been scheduled for May 11th.
Due to time constraints, this discussion was deferred to another meeting.
On April 26th, RUL held the "Celebrating Creativity" program at the Douglass Library. The program combined the 2011 Margery Somers Foster Undergraduate Multimedia Awards with a tribute to a distinguished Rutgers professor, Alicia Ostriker. Professor Ostriker is a poet and Emerita Professor of English at Rutgers who recently donated a valuable collection of poetry to the Libraries.
The Latino community is quickly growing in the United States. Rutgers University is taking a leadership role in collecting data and highlighting research and activities related to Latinos, focusing first on New Jersey and with plans to expand to the nation. Content will be preserved in RUcore.
There is no news about the RWJ/UMDNJ merger. The committee has been formed, and RUL is gathering information about the impact this proposal would have on the libraries.
The work of the search committees is nearly completed. Positions will be filled by the end of the academic year.
J. Gardner highlighted progress on the 2010-11 goals for the Planning & Coordinating Committee as follows:
Goal #1) The Planning and Coordinating Committee will provide information and analysis regarding the library faculty to the RUL strategic planning process. PlanCo will research the desired ratio of RUL faculty to staff, identify and describe the kinds of faculty positions needed in the future and what new positions could be created.
The Committee has reviewed current faculty positions and given guidance on three new positions. They could have a role in examining other open positions as they become available. The Committee has also reviewed ARL statistics on faculty/staff ratios in Rutgers aspirant institutions. Institutions that gained in overall staff gained mainly professional staff. The trend is leaning toward adding professional staff lines without the MLS degree.
Goal #2) The Planning and Coordinating Committee will redefine the role of liaisons. Building on the work of and in collaboration with the Liaison Action Team, PlanCo will describe new liaison roles and their importance, and the resources needed to develop skills required to assume new roles.
N. Kranich has attended two meetings of the Committee and has led lively discussions of the new liaison roles. The Committee has added input to the vision statement of the Liaison Action Team.
Staff at IIS have developed a platform, but the blog will not be released for general use until it NetID authentication is implemented. There will be two blogs: a private faculty blog and a public blog for both faculty and staff.
M. Gaunt has asked PlanCo to review librarian leadership programs. The Committee will examine existing programs, their specialties, and how librarians can be selected to participate.
Due to time constraints, T. Glynn reported on AAUP negotiations through email.
M. Gaunt announced results of the faculty elections. Election results will also be distributed via email.
Reports were distributed via email.
Reports were distributed via email.
M. Gaunt called for a motion to adjourn, which was moved by K. Mulcahy. The meeting was adjourned by voice vote.
Following the Business Meeting, an Open Forum was held, entitled, "A Look at E-Books: Challenges and Opportunities for Users and the Libraries." The panel was moderated by J. Niessen.
Respectfully submitted,
Melissa De Fino
Faculty Secretary