University Library Committee

Minutes

May 3, 2000

PRESENT: Becky Dorsey, Jennifer Greenough, Mary Jaeger, Jeff Ostler, Gina Psaki.

GUESTS: Andrew Bonamici, Associate University Librarian for Administrative Services; Deborah Carver, Associate University Librarian for Public Services & Collections; Mark Watson, Associate University Librarian for Technical Services.

The meeting was called to order by Gina Psaki at 4:05 p.m. The minutes from the January 24, 2000 meeting stand approved as written.

PERSONNEL UPDATE

Andrew Bonamici gave the following update on library faculty searches:

• AAA Reference Librarian - an offer has been extended to candidate Cara List. (update: Cara has accepted and is also serving as acting head of AAA Library)
• Head, AAA Library - The search committee may decide to extend the search as a very small pool of applicants was received. (update: the search will be re-advertised in the fall)
• Eric Dahl has been hired as the circulation manager of AAA Library. Eric has worked in Knight Library Access Services Department for several years.
• Head of Science Library - this search generated a strong pool. Two candidates have been invited to interview. Jian-zhong (Joe) Zhou, from University of Delaware, will be here May 18 & 19 and Patricia Morris, University of Arizona will interview May 25 & 26. (update: Patricia Morris has been rescheduled to interview June 15 & 16).
• Humanities Reference Librarian - approximately 70 applications have been submitted. The search committee hopes to arrange interviews before the end of spring term.
• Science Reference/Electronic Services Librarian search has been postponed.
• Two current reference librarians and one technical services librarian are interviewing at other universities.
• James Fox has accepted the library’s offer of Curator of Special Collections and Archives. James will begin his appointment August 6.
• Head of Systems position is open, as John Helmer has been hired as the Executive Director of Orbis. Sara Brownmiller is serving as interim Head of Systems. Library Administration is in the process of reviewing this position.
• Head of MAP is on hold. Library Administration is having discussions with the Geography Department to explore the benefits and costs of incorporating MAP Library into the Documents Department in Knight Library. There are a number of benefits to this proposal - some being greater accessibility for other departments, more available technology, longer hours of operation, additional staff, and a larger space. The MAP Library currently occupies approximately 1800 square feet. It is recommended that we should have 11,000 square feet for the size of our collection. The space in documents would be about 3400 square feet.
• Rare Books Librarian - this position has been vacant for two years. We will not move forward with filling this position until James Fox arrives.
• Outreach Librarian, formerly held by Jon Cawthorne, has now been vacant for one year. That position is under discussion. Currently, Barbara Jenkins, Head of Reference, is overseeing that position’s responsibilities.
• Serials Librarian has been vacant for several months - it too is under discussion.

The University Library Committee commended library staff for the wonderful service they continue to provide in spite of all the vacancies.

Andrew also announced that the Friends of the Library are again sponsoring a recognition event that honors the library’s graduating student employees.

BIG 12 PLUS

Andrew asked the committee members for their comments on the Big 12 Plus visit. Those members who were able to participate felt it was informative. Andrew stated that the representatives of the Big 12 were very excited about their visit and expect that the UO will be invited to join the consortium. However, the final decision will be made by the Big 12 Plus Board of Directors, who will be meeting in the near future. Everyone agreed that by joining the consortium, it would provide better access to other databases and resources, and could also offer potential areas of cooperation, e.g. with specialized cataloging of foreign languages.

SERIALS CANCELLATION

Deborah reported that the serials cancellation has gone reasonably well. The last list has been sent for finalization to all faculty members who have been involved in the process. She noted that the biggest challenge involves the selection of interdisciplinary titles - making sure one department does not cut a title that other departments utilize. A great deal of time is needed to review these titles. She stated that we will be looking at a new process of allocating fund lines to departments that have a large selection of interdisciplinary titles. Those discussions will take place over the summer, and the ULC will be invovled in further discussions fall term. She added that OUS has put together a proposal for the Board of Higher Education on additional funding acquisitions/materials. We do not anticipate another serials cancellation for at least three years. More collaboration is being done with OSU and PSU, to minimize duplicate titles and purchase electronic journal subscriptions. She added that it is difficult to keep pace with electronic subscriptions - for example, the cost of the web version for Science/Citation index is approximately $70,000/year. Deb has been told that over 80% of ARL libraries have already purchased this index.

FURNISHINGS

Andrew Bonamici reported that the library will receive approximately $200,000 from the house sale in Sequim, WA. This money will be used to purchase furnishings for public areas in the Knight Library. When combined with some additional discretionary gift funds, this amount will fund almost one third of the entire furnishings project. We are in the process of preparing specifications and getting bids from vendors. We hope to have some demos in the reference area before the end of spring term. When they are in place, the ULC will be notified. Comments on the furnishings should be sent to Andrew via email (bonamici@oregon). It was also suggested to have a comments box near the furniture displays, which would make it easy for patrons to provide feedback. Gina asked what funds will be used to complete the furnishings project. Andrew replied that the library has a quasi-endowment fund that George may choose to use.

Andrew also reported that a local craftsman is repairing the bronze grilles on the front doors of Knight Library.

He also announced that Media Services is the recipient of approximately $60,000, generated from the annual telefund special campaign, which is run through the central Development Office. These gifts will be matched for a total of $120,000 for the purchase of instructional equipment.

ADJOURNMENT

The committee was not able to select a chair for next year’s committee, as only two returning members were present. Gina stated that a committee member will be asked to convene the first ULC meeting in the fall, at which time a chair can be selected.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:05 p.m.

Submitted by

Sheila Gray