Minutes of February 16, 2005 Meeting

Present:

Katie Anderson, Jeanne Boyle, Patricia Libutti, Tracey Meyer, Jeff Teichmann (recorder), Judit Ward, Marilyn Wilt (chair)

Chair Updates

Marilyn suggested setting up a list serve to present and discuss ongoing projects/issues of the committee in between meetings. The group heartily agreed. Marilyn will set up a list serve.

Marilyn met with the PCWG for a pilot run of the tech training for new employees. The group decided some 'tweaking' was needed. They also decided to create guidelines for the new employee that will include the role/relationship of the unit PC Coordinator. The training session and guidelines should be ready during Spring 2005.

Technical Skills Development Series and other training issues

Marilyn informed the committee that there will be a tech series for the Spring 2005 semester - details to follow.

Marilyn mentioned that other committee's plans to meet RU/RUL strategic goals will have training aspects/components, so there will be other training programs to follow. An example of this would be training on SearchPath that could be coupled with training/information sessions involving Information Literacy and Customer Service.

Draft of Implementation Schedule - Strategic Plan Initiatives

The group reviewed the draft implementation schedule - Creating Our Future - Leading the Way! 2005 - 2006. The order of the programs was deemed satisfactory and was found to cover each of the elements the committee plans to use to support the strategic plan - Discover, Energize, Celebrate.

Several topics/issues were brought up for discussion -

• What is the target audience for each program? All programs, except the mentoring program (open to faculty only), will be open to all RUL faculty and staff. It is possible that the mentoring program will be offered in the future for staff also.
• How do we reach people (target audience!)? The need for proper marketing was discussed. Committee members need to act as ambassadors for the programs.
• How do we promote the sessions? A kick-off type session was discussed, but the need to tie this to another topic was deemed necessary. Possible other topic - forum to discuss draft RUL Strategic Plan.
• If we plan on using 'in-house' (i.e. Library fac/staff) trainers, a train-the-trainer session would be needed - either a refresher or a session for new trainers.
  • Note - RU HR offers two such sessions - Workshop Design for Trainers (new) and Tricks of the Trade (experienced) already.

Several events were discussed in detail -

• National Library Week (April 10-16, 2005). We would like to have our main kick-off event during this week to unveil the upcoming events. Possible ideas:
  • Student Worker Recognition Day - this usually falls in the same week as NLW.
  • Bring Your Child to Work Day - this usually falls in the same week as NLW.
  • Meet your Counterpart (in another RUL unit) Day - It was decided this would work out better if done during an intersession period due to time constraints.
  • Thank-you message from President McCormick. To be posted - in-house, on RUL website, on RU website, RU-TV??
  • Rotating slide show of picturesque library sites - a great idea that was deemed to difficult to produce in a short period of time. Possible future use in the Spotlight on a Library series??
  • Banners, posters, etc from ALA.
  • NJLA Poster Session - Marilyn's idea for a poster session at NJLA (4/13/05) was accepted. The idea was the Creating Our Future - Leading the Way series of programs. Marilyn is looking for volunteers to help.
• Emotional Intelligence series - These will continue through the summer and fall of 2005 to give everyone sufficient chance to attend. The series will/must include self-assessments of EI.
• Brown bag sessions - Typically should be less formal and should be set on a monthly basis to allow for continuing topic discussions.
• Spotlight on a library series - Optimum time frame would be two times per year with a reception to coincide with the first event. It might be possible to have the series completely mapped out prior to this opening reception so that it could be promoted.
• Creativity Fair - Marilyn and Tracey will meet to work on plans for the first fair.
• Book Club - It was determined that a survey should be made to determine interest and the direction the discussion would take.

The Survey Said...

In addition to surveying the RUL faculty and staff about the book club, it was also determined that a survey could be used to collect data for other programs. Marilyn will draft a survey and post it to the list serve or bring to the March meeting for review. The survey will collect interest and data for the following areas-

• Book Club
• Creativity Fair
• Spotlight on a Library
• Meet your Counterpart

RUL Training and Development Web site

While the discussion of the website was tabled for this meeting, it was noted that more prominent links to tutorials, such as Word, End-Note, ProSite, and others available from Net-Library, would prove useful.

Next Steps

Marilyn will set up a list-serve for the committee members (DONE!)

Marilyn will draft a survey and post it to the list serve or bring to the March meeting for review.

The entire team will brainstorm ideas for celebrating National Library Week at RUL.

Marilyn and Tracey will work on plans for the Creativity Fair.

Next Meeting

The next meeting is scheduled for March 16, 2005, 2 pm, Nicholas Rutgers Room, 3rd Floor, Alexander Library, New Brunswick.