NB Collection Group Meeting
Friday July 19, 2007

Attendees:  Kayo Denda , Howard Dess, Rebecca Gardner, Tom Glynn, Sara Harrington, Karen Hartman, Helen Hoffman, Treveni Kuchi, Mei Ling Lo, Jacki  Mardikian, Kevin Mulcahy (chair), Jim Niessen, Patricia Piermatti, Jane Sloan, Gracemary Smulewitz, John Sheppard, Farideh Tehrani (recorder),

Agenda approved

• Minutes from the February and March 2007 meetings were approved with slight revisions from Jim Niessen.

Chair's report

• Kevin distributed three spreadsheets detailing our state funds, non-state funds, and approval plan.  It was a difficult year, starting with database and journal cancellations during the summer, limited monograph funds throughout, and significant cuts in the approval plan.  We spent out our state money ($2,993.307) and have a remaining encumbrance of $173,288).  We spent $1,138,812 of the available $1,320,904 in non-state funds, with an additional $81,271 encumbered, so we made effective use of our non-state resources.  It was observed that we spent $290,915 of non-state money on current periodicals, and in response to questions Kevin noted that when selectors have an endowed fund, they have the option to commit a portion of annual interest to subscriptions they would otherwise not be able to add because of our flat budget.  We made a series of major adjustments to our YBP approval profiles in the fall, and the effect was evident in the last six months of the fiscal year.  We reduced our expenditure from $417,296 in the final six months of FY 2006 to $184,374 in the equivalent six months of FY 2007, a decrease of $232,922.  We also reduced the average price per book from $48.56 to $37.66 (reflecting a cap on prices and a move to paperback preferred), and we reduced the number of books required from 8593 to 4896, a cut of 3697 books.  We have thus switched the approval plan to a more affordable rate of expenditure, but we do not have any stable source of funding for it in the coming year.  It was also noted that we were able to keep the plan going in FY 2007, even with all our reductions, only because of $100,000 from NB below-the-line funds, and several contributions from Central.
• Initial budget projections for the year indicate that we will be able to fund all current fixed costs, with money to cover the expected inflation rate.  All subscription/standing order funds will be given an allocation equal to last year's expenditure, and the inflation increase will be pooled in a transfer fund, and distributed as needed.  This approach, used during FY 2007, makes the process easier and more predictable.
• NBCG authorized the chair to write two letters to the university librarian during the year--the first identifying problems with funding (especially with regards to the approval plan) and the second expressing concerns about the resources committed to ordering and processing books and other materials.  As a follow up to the first letters, we invited Marianne Gaunt and Bob Sewell to an NBCG meeting, which featured a good dialogue on funding issues.  While we did not see a direct response to the second letter, additional resources were committed to year-end ordering and processing which served to alleviate the problems faced in previous years.
• Kevin reported on the CDC meeting of July 17 and noted major structural changes in the Cataloging Department which is now Cataloging and Metadata Department, with a number of new or altered sections: Asian and Non-Roman Languages; Continuing Resources (formerly Serials); Digital Projects and Gift Cataloging; Special Collections Cataloging; Special Formats Cataloging; and Batched Processing and Controlled Vocabularies.  There are a number of open lines being recruited and some reassignments, which will be reflected on the web page.
• CDC is planning for a number of e-book trials in the fall.  It's possible that we might be able to find a plan that might work for us, especially in areas like the sciences, business, and some professional schools.  Demonstration dates will be announced, and all are encouraged to attend.

Team leader reports

• Rebecca Gardner reported that the science selectors are very interested in exploring the possibility of electronic book packages.
• Distributed Technical Services
• Gracemary Smulewitz talked about J Client, the ordering process for continuations and serial replacements, and Better World Books.
• J Client - J-Client training will be held this fall for selectors - covering fund and order information and particularly tool bar changes.  Mary Page and Gracemary will provide training and documentation. The changes are not that significant but a review is necessary. 
• Continuations and Serial Replacement orders requests should be sent to the Serials Team email, which is "RUL_serials@email.rutgers.edu."  Single issue serial orders -There recently has been an increase in the number of serials being ordered as single issue firm orders. In many cases Rutgers has a subscription for the title at the time of the order but the title has not been recognized as a serial. These titles are not monographic series.  They are issues of an annual or a serial.  In some instances the title that was ordered has been represented in catalogs etc as a themed publication and deceptively looks like monograph or it is simply a serial continuation.  In some cases they have an ISBN and an ISSN.   One way to determine if the item is a serial is when the title is found in GOBI see if there is a series # on the record and if there is, check IRIS for the series name.  It just may be a serial.  Other single-issue orders have been purposeful.  It is sometimes desirable not to subscribe to an annual, especially a Reference item, but to order a single volume as a firm order when needed.  The title may even be ordered every other year or less frequently.  It is a way to save money and to still have the resource with relatively up to date information. There isn't a problem in purchasing this way but the record management of the holdings has to be treated as a serial.  Please try to put these types of requests through the Serials Team, RUL_serials@email.rutgers.edu. This way the title is searched and if a record exists it does not get sent to serials cataloging unnecessarily but is added to an existing record and the holdings are reflected appropriately. 
• Better World Books - We are shipping out to Better World Books at the beginning of August.  It is our third shipment to them. There are over 100 boxes to be shipped.  We have been receiving quarterly commission checks from BWB since our first shipment. 
• CD-ROMs from the SCC - Jane Sloan’s discussion item was provoked by a request to move all humanities CDs from the SCC, because they are not being appropriately maintained or adequately accessed.  Discussion revealed that the original concept of the "Humanities and Social Sciences Data Center" as a public service/access unit is now more than ten years old and in need of updating.  NBCG unanimously agreed to recommend that NBLF appoint a task force to revisit the mission and functioning of this center and its collections.
• Gift Cataloging and Preservation Issues - Farideh reminded us about the libraries gift policy and their cataloging which was updated and distributed to all selectors in 2006. Followed by several meetings chaired by the AUL for collection Development to discuss the issues concerning the gift acceptance. Farideh also announced the establishment of the Preservation office and work area in second floor of Alexander library.
  

Planning Issues
At the end Kevin briefly touched on some planning issues--possible strategies for getting additional funding--including working with departmental chairs to raise the issue of additional library funds as part of packages for new hires; new subject guides (including both missing science guides and some interdisciplinary guides called for by CDC--for example, climate change, immigration, transportation); possible training or continuing education needs for selectors; involving NBCG in marketing initiatives to provide a more balanced and realistic notion of the selector's role; and exploring ways of moving more of our reference collections to digital form.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:40 AM.