Minutes of May 10, 2013 Meeting

Present:

Joseph Abraham, Stephanie Bartz (recorder), Kayo Denda, Joseph Deodato, Mary Fetzer, Judy Gardner, Melissa Gasparotto, Tom Glynn (chair), Melissa Just, Mei Ling Lo, Megan Lotts, Kevin Mulcahy, Jill Nathanson, Andrew Ruggiero, Jane Sloan, Eileen Stec, Therese Triumph (guest-remote), Tao Yang

1) Agenda

Adopted as sent.

2) Chair's report (sent via email)

• The User Services Council decided at its meeting to arrange for a trial of LibGuides CMS, which Mei Ling demo'd for NBISG and for the Council in January. Thanks to Mei Ling for her work on this.
• Marcie Anzsperger offered two RefWorks workshops in Alexander in March, in addition to the ones she offers in CTAAR instruction spaces. The attendance wasn't spectacular, but Nancy thought it all went well and CTAAR probably do more of them in the New Brunswick libraries in future.
• Mary Beth Weber reported to the Users Services Council in February on Resourse Description and Access (RDA) implementation. RDA is the new cataloging standard that will replace AACR2. It includes new or modified MARC fields. In terms of public services, probably the most important change will be that parts of the catalog records will be easier for our users to understand. For example, illustrations rather than ill. Colleagues in cataloging have been trained in RDA, and currently some records being added to the catalog are still AARC2, some are RDA, and some are hybrid.
• LISSA, the Library and Information School Association, held a job fair on April 19. There were two panels, on one academic libraries and one on youth services, followed by one-on-one mock interviews and resume reviews. The academic libraries panel was arranged by SCARLA, the Student College, Academic, and Research Libraries Association. Marianne, Nancy, Caryn Radick, and I were there. I encourage NBISG to stay connected with SCARLA in future (one of our goals in 2011-12).
• The Instructional Community of Practice (ICOP) met with colleagues from UMDNJ in March. One thing we addressed was how and what kinds of instruction statistics are recorded in the various libraries in both institutions. We also discussed the possibility of a purchasing or developing room scheduling software that will also record statistics. Tibor mentioned at USC that IIS is looking into using Zimbra for room scheduling and that it may be possible to customize it to record statistics.
• Lately at Alex we've had considerable trouble with a guest user we call the "Titanic patron." We call her that because she claims, I think, to be writing a book about an ancestor who died on the Titanic. We always try to help outside researchers as much as we can, but this woman wastes considerable time and causes considerable disruptions at the desk. She interrupts us when we're helping students, tries to read her poetry to us, and comes back with what seem to be the same or very similar questions over and over. If she shows up at other libraries, what we've told her at Alex, as firmly, but as kindly as we can: "We've already showed you how to do this. Now you have to go to a computer and do it yourself." I think it's important to each other informed of possibly disruptive users at our libraries and to have a have a consistent response. Please email me if this person tries to monopolize your time at your reference desk.

3) AUL for RIS report

• Representatives from the CIC were here on Monday. Rutgers is already considered a member although no dues will be paid until July. We've not yet been added to mailing lists, etc., but representatives from the Rutgers University Libraries will be participating in CIC related meetings at ALA. The Libraries will also begin participating in UBorrow and article delivery as soon as the necessary processes can be implemented.
• ILL services are also being looked at in relation to the UMDNJ integration. The UMDNJ libraries will likely adopt existing RU Libraries policies.
• New information regarding faculty vacations is available. Faculty members should contact their local administrative assistant for details.
• The new Chemistry/Physics Librarian, Laura Palumbo, starts on Monday, May 13. There will be a reception for her in the administrative suite at Alexander Library on Tuesday at 2:00.

4) Review of fire drill practices

Information on procedures for each library building (e.g., where library staff are supposed to congregate in the event of an evacuation) as well as staff obligations needs to be clarified and made widely available to both existing staff and new staff as they arrive. The emergency manual should include the information and copies are available in various locations, but the basics need to be more easily accessible. Tom will contact Lila Fredenburg to ask that the Libraries Health and Safety Committee address the issue. Signage, e-display slides, and updates to the NBL Toolkit were all suggested as ways to make the information more easily accessible.

5) Survey on library services relating to internationalization

Melissa is in the process of completing a survey on "Mapping Library Contributions to Internationalization on US Campuses." She requested and received input from the group. Kayo also has a previously answered version of the survey that she'll forward.

6) Review of NBISG Mid-year Report

• Tom asked for comments on the report distributed via email as well as suggestions for inclusion in the annual report. The new e-display at the Art Library and the availability of LibGuides CMS were suggested as additions for the annual report.
• Review of 2012-2013 activities:
  • The new telephone number for reference in New Brunswick will be prominent when the new Libraries website goes live. Tom will also talk to Harry Glazer about incorporating the number into publications.
  • The NBL Reference Toolkit is fairly well established and feedback indicates that it's used by new RAs early on, but not as much as they gain experience. There is currently no editor for the LSM section and it's largely the RUL-wide and Alexander sections that are being maintained. Information on Fire Drills will be added to the Emergencies section when that information becomes available.
  • New teaching tools include LibGuides CMS and the videos that were created for English 201.

7) Review of instruction in 2012-13

• Changes were implemented in the handling of English 201: Research in the Disciplines instruction during the past 2 semesters. Videos were created to correlate with in class instruction; sessions with librarians were reduced to one (new instructors are allowed two); RIOT was split into separate components to allow delivery of each piece when needed; and a single LibGuide was created incorporating assignments and supplementary material to reinforce video instruction.

Most of the changes worked well. The program coordinator incorporated the LibGuide into the class site; guide use was high; the Libraries were able to meet the demand for instruction; library instruction was spread out over 6 weeks instead of 2; and many instructors went through the guide before bringing their classes to the library.

One of the things that needs additional work is getting instructors and students to see the importance of the information the Libraries provide about searching the Internet. This was one of the least used sections of the LibGuide. It was suggested that instructors should be provided with copies of some of the literature that illustrates how poor Internet searching often is.

There are 38 class sections scheduled for the fall (there were 41 in the spring).The videos and the guide will be updated to reflect the website redesign and any other changes that occur before then.

• In the broader context of instruction:
  • Some of the principles applied to English 201 may be useful for other large groups of classes (e.g., English 301 and 302). Videos can be incorporated into LibGuides, etc.
  • Pre- and post-testing for assessment purposes needs further consideration. There are other ways to do assessment and the new Instructional Design Librarian will be a key player.

8) Instructors' requests for use of instructional spaces

• The classroom in the Douglass Library is being scheduled for the use of instructors who need to use library resources to do a follow-up session after a library instruction session. There was some discussion of whether the same policy should be applied to other library classrooms. The consensus was that an internal policy should be set that will allow for one follow-up session which can be arranged through the librarian who taught the initial session, but only after week 7 of classes. This should prevent the rooms from being overbooked during the height of library instruction season, but still allow instructors an opportunity to bring their class together for a second hands-on library session.
• The Douglass Library has two new rooms with restricted scheduling options in Bookroom.

9) Video services

There have been a variety of developments at the University with regard to video. OIRT, for example, has staff that can video classes and put the videos in NJVid. OIRT is working closely with SAS.

Library developments include:

• Media Clip Service (which allows instructors to place video clips on reserve for class use);
• Streaming media services;
• Purchases of Digital Streaming Licenses (DSLs) along with DVD versions of videos;
• Search box for finding online videos (in the Media Collections LibGuide);
• Audio/video search option on the Libraries site;
• OIRT has agreed to add information about library video services to the Sakai site.

10) Announcements

• The Libraries were well represented at the faculty awards event on Wednesday. Fewer than 35 awards were presented and 2 of them went to library faculty, Tao Yang and Bonita Grant.
• The Service luncheon also took place on Wednesday. Four library faculty with varying years of service were included. Kevin Mulcahy (30), Wen-Hua Ren (20), Karen Hartman (10), and Katie Anderson (10).
• Voting for the Google Doodle contest for students ends today. The theme is "My best day ever" and one of the 6-7 grade entries represents the theme "A visit to the library."
• There will be no meeting in June unless something arises that warrants it. If needed, Tom will send a Doodle poll to schedule. Combined NBLF/NBISG/NBCG meetings begin in the fall.