NB Libraries Associate Director Annual Report, 1998-1999

Francoise S. Puniello
1998-1999 ANNUAL REPORT
June 22, 1999

This has been a most interesting year as the New Brunswick Libraries mature as a unit and I form my role within its context and that of the Rutgers University Libraries. There are so many issues and so many projects that this is a very exciting time to be in the library field and to be a part of this organization. I am extremely busy and quite happy to be so. Below are outlined some of the areas that I have been involved with.

FACILITIES

CAPITAL RENEWAL & RENOVATION PROGRAM FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
The New Brunswick Libraries submitted 5 proposals under this possible funding source. For each one, after consultation with appropriate resources, I wrote the proposals. Ryoko Toyama or I met with the outside consultants who prepared a cost analysis of the projects. They are:

• Annex- finish the shelving and redo the HVAC .
  Estimated cost $2,209,581
• Douglass Library (D21)- to construct the vision of a digital library
  Estimated cost $9,331,578
• Alexander Library- Basement humidification system
  Estimated cost $ 451,191
• Kilmer Area Library Renovation
  Estimated cost S 94,790
• Library of Science & Medicine- fill-in overhang
  Estimated cost $1,729,339

ALEXANDER LIBRARY

• The elevator to the fourth floor was finished. Still to be resolved is the possible enclosing of the shaft. A section of the ceiling in the reference room was replaced with more reflective tiles to see if it would improve the lighting, It does and we will do the whole ceiling as soon as funding is found. Patio '50 was finished and was much appreciated by the class.
• I am chairing a Lobby Committee whose goal is to make the lobby area a more inviting and gracious place for patrons and potential donors. Other members are Doris Hawkins, Ruth Simmons, Antoinette Peteet, and Jazmine Faherty. Hopefully we will begin to do a series of changes in late spring including the possibility of some art work from the Zimmerli.
• I worked closely with Susan Crane, chair of the Ernest McDonnel Medieval Studies Seminar room committee, to design and furnish the room in the space formerly occupied by the Lexicon. It should be quite lovely with custom built bookcases and tables, chairs, and rug. We are hoping it will be finished in late fall.

ANNEX

• I co-chaired the Annex Working Committee with Farideh Tehrani. We will have our final report completed in a couple of weeks. We redid the Policies and Procedures manual which has been approved by the SAC'S, we started a weeding project of the duplicate items in the Annex, we have made proposals on the security and preservation needs for the Annex as well as the Sage collection. The Annex, in the last year has been cleaned up most helpfully with the cooperation of the Systems Department and TAS. A big problem this year, in addition to the needed new HVAC system is the leaking roof. We had two major leaks which, were it not by the quick response of the Facilities department would have led to a major disaster.

ART LIBRARY

• The construction of a large addition to the Zimmerli Museum has had an impact on the Art Library. We had in the beginning of the year a series of meetings to insure that the view out of the two story arched window, a major architectural element of the library, was appropriate. When construction started a couple of weeks ago it became apparent that there was a need for better communication during the construction phase so I organized a meeting so that the staff could meet the construction staff and hopefully be more fully informed on building issues as it affects them.

CHANG LIBRARY

• Due to increased use of the building and in order to make it more apparent to patrons where to get help a new reference/information desk was constructed in the central area. Installing electric/data/telephone fines turned out to be a major challenge which was accomplished with the support of funding from Vice-president Engle.
• Since there will now be two librarian lines at Chang to assist with public service and to develop the collection, a new office is being constructed. I chaired a group which studied the space and conferred with Donna Cryan on space needs. We then had a design developed by facilities management. Construction will start next week.

DOUGLASS LIBRARY

• A committee of librarians, faculty and staff have been working on a new plan for the development of a concept document for the Douglass Library to create the first digital library for the Rutgers University Libraries. This digital initiative, The Douglass Library for the 21st Century (D21) will not only make the Douglass Library a cultural center for the campus but will make it a place where the entire New Brunswick population can come for assistance in the use of our resources and in the creation of digital projects. Building on the existing collection and service strengths, the library will extend the traditional concepts of library service, especially in the areas of performing arts and women studies, to incorporate the use of computers and media technology which will lead to student and faculty collaboration in new and exciting ways. Media Services will be transferred from the Kilmer Area Library and merge with Music Media. The development of a digital women's archive coupled with the creation of a women's resource room will strengthen library services to the women's studies community.
• The HVAC system upgrade is in the adjustment phase. While the construction is finished the system is not yet balanced. This was a long awaited and needed improvement to the Douglass Library facilities.
• With the help of Interior Design I changed the former directors office into a conference room with the purchase of a large conference table, 14 chairs and a credenza. This will now be use as a gracious place to work with potential donors.

KILMER AREA LIBRARY

• Preliminary discussions have begun on the future of the library. The transfer of Media Services permits the development of some long needed services such as interactive instruction areas and corporate business services. This library will be student oriented with some creative suggestions such as the development of an Internet Cafe. This process will continue in the fall with the involvement of the community.
• The rewiring of the building funded by the Reinvesting in Rutgers funds is now complete as is the installation of a new phone system. We are now seeking funding to install voicemail.
• I take particular pleasure that the spaghetti-like mass of bare wires is finally removed from the Collection Services area making it a more inviting place to work.

LIBRARY OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE

• Jackie Mardikian, with my support, finished going through the final punch list from the library construction. I am happy to say that with Ms. Mardikian's push, the list is finished, except for the work on the PA system, which has been ordered. We were lucky to discover that some extra construction funds were available, so, in addition to the PA system, we are funding the equipment upgrades to the electronic classroom, and a voicemail system.
• The construction barely touched the space needs of the science libraries. In order to plan comprehensively for the needs of science researchers in the next ten years the New Brunswick director will soon be forming a committee, which I will chair, to begin the process towards a concept document for more space to meet the strategic plans and needs of Rutgers University.

SERC II

• The Science and Engineering Resource Center was completely remodeled this summer. The enlarging of the staff space with an attractive service counter, the addition of a patron lounge and four study rooms as well as some new furniture and carpeting has made this a much more attractive place for students to study.

RUNet 2000

• I had many meetings with the staff from the RUNet 2000 project. The four major libraries have been designated as "A" buildings and will be among the first to be wired. We are also required to provide space in each building to create an equipment room to house servers and other equipment to run the system. I have worked with the staff in each building to designate video drop locations in each site. The libraries will then be in a position to use the network to demonstrate the power of RUNet 2000 by such projects as "The Douglass Library for the 21st Century".
• Jeanne Boyle and myself organized a presentation for the Rutgers University Libraries State of the Library where we explained what is RUNet 2000. We also arranged demonstrations of the many resources that librarians are already creating on the Web. We received very positive response from the staff.

FACILITIES DATABASE

• Scott Hines, who I hired and directed, has finished the first rendition of the Facilities Database. He creatively used an Arcview geographical database paired with a Microsoft Access database so that he could pair a visual map of each building with a text database. In order to complete this he visited every room in every building associated with the libraries. He worked with the libraries' administrative assistants and the Facilities Management department of the University to help build the database. Ron Jantz provided technical knowledge. He is now in the process of training staff in each location in the process of updating the files and Mike Giarlo, System Support Specialist, will provide back up support to the database. Scott Hines has done an excellent job with this database.

DEVELOPMENT/EXTERNAL SUPPORT/EVENTS

MARY H. DANA WOMEN ARTIST SERIES. Dr. Joel Lebowitz gave an endowment of $145,996 to support the series in honor of his wife Estelle Lebowitz. The money will be used to have a color catalog each year and to support the Estelle Lebowitz Visiting Artist-in-Residence Lectureship which Ferris Olin developed. Ms. Olin and I also selected one of Estelle Lebowitz's paintings for the Douglass Library.

BEATRICE McCARTER ENDOWMENT. Beatrice McCarter, a former employee of the Art Library, left her entire estate of $456,773 to the library. I served on the committee of faculty and librarians who advised the New Brunswick Director on the best use of the funds for the first year.

SISTERS in CRIME. Sisters in Crime, the women's mystery writers association, donated its paper to the Douglass Library. In recognition of that donation, which came with money to process the collection, Douglass College and the University libraries jointly sponsored a wonderful event on October 29 which included writers participating in classes with students, workshops in the afternoon. I was a member of the committee and the Friends of the Libraries and the Douglass Alumnae Association sponsored a tea, in the Douglass Library, to honor the writers and to have the formal donation ceremony. The day culminated with a panel discussion with several of the writers.

Gladys Brooks Foundation Proposal. Along with Amy Kirner and Ferris Olin I helped write a proposal made by Douglass College to the Gladys Brooks Foundation for the development of a women in the arts endowment to be used for books and compact shelving. We still have not heard if we were successful in our request.

Elizabeth C. Stanton Family Visit. Two great grand daughters of Elizabeth C. Stanton (one from France and one from the American branch) visited the Douglass Library on July 14, where Stanton's papers are housed. Keith Jones prepared an extensive program for the day. Concurrent with an exhibit on the 100 anniversary of Seneca Falls curated by Ferris Olin, this event generated quite a bit of media coverage.

April 10 University Wide Open House. I organized the New Brunswick Libraries events in support of this university wide recruitment effort. While many people came to the libraries, the events were not well attended. I think the majority of the attendees are parents and prospective students who have a different agenda for that day. In the future we will just be available in an open house mode.

World Week. April 5 - 9, 1999. 1 arranged for Lourdes Vazquez to do a poetry reading as the Libraries contribution to the World Week. Faculty, graduate students and the community came to her reading. It was a wonderful event.

Patio '50 Dedication. I worked with Harry Glazer, Jazmine Faherty, Kelly Smith and Inta Sams to have a successful dedication of the newly redesigned patio. It was a lovely day and we received many positive comments from the class of '50.

RUL/SCILS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

• I served on the Diversity Committee which developed this internship. Lonnie Johnson was our successful candidate. Jana Varlejs and myself are mentoring him and meet with him once a month. I am also responsible for developing his assignments. His first semester he worked in Access Services under Farideh Tehrani. Second semester he worked under Jia Mi at the Kilmer Area Library learning technology applications in libraries. This summer he is working in Technical and Automated Services where he is doing a rotation through acquisitions, database management, cataloging and systems. This coming fall he will work on collection development under Dr. Robert Sewell. I have but only received positive feedback on his performance.

COORDINATOR OF SERVICES FOR USERS WITH DISABILITIES

• During the year many service issues arise for services to patrons with disabilities. I deal with them as they arise, coordinating individual needs with the librarians and staff. We had a series of four workshops entitled "Better Service Through Disability Awareness" at the New Brunswick. Newark and Camden campuses. Javier Robbles was the facilitator. The program received very positive evaluations and a couple of staff said it should be required for all staff.
• We received designs for an accessible elevator for the Douglass Library as well as for lifts for the double tier stacking in that building.
• From my participation in the midwinter American Library Association Academic Librarians Serving People with Disabilities discussion group I was quoted in the March 1999 journal American Libraries on our services and patrons. I was also interviewed and my comments will be included in the American Research Libraries Transforming Libraries Series volume on innovations and facilitated access to research library services and resources for people with disabilities.
• I continue to try to make our online catalog, IRIS, accessible to patrons with disabilities. I met this year with the PAC committee and they spent some time ensuring that our database is compatible with users of voice synthesizers and braille readers. Our catalog is now completely compliant.
• I represented the University Libraries at the campus wide orientation for students with disabilities.

STAFF TRAINING/DEVELOPMENT

• New Brunswick Libraries worked with the Central Personnel staff to identify staff training needs which the department then offered. The prime need expressed by staff was for more basic assistance in using computers efficiently. I worked with the New Brunswick heads for a more intensive in house program for the spring which included using outside training resources.

EXTERNAL REVIEWS

• I represented the libraries in two external departmental reviews this year: French and Dance. I enjoyed meeting the reviewers and learning more about the departments.

UNDERGRADUATE COLLEGE LIAISON

• I continue to communicate with the various undergraduate college deans. I make it a point to meet individually with each dean at least once a year and I participate in college meetings and committees as much as possible. For example I was a speaker at the Mason Gross School of the Arts orientation as well as being a guide at the one in the Douglass Library. As a Douglass Fellow I have been elected to the University Senate.