COMMITTEE:
MEETING DATE: October
15, 2008
PERSON PRESIDING: Tom
Douglass
REGULAR MEMBERS IN
ATTENDANCE: Juan Daneri, Patrick Valentine, John Heilmann, James Wirth, Anoush Terjanian
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: Larry Boyer, Beth Winstead, Jeff Coghill, Dorothy Spencer, Margit Schmidt, Stephen Charron
ACTIONS OF MEETING
Agenda Item:
Approval of minutes from 9-17 libraries committee meeting
Discussion:
None
Action Taken:
Motion to approve minutes was approved.
Assigned additional duties to:
None
Agenda Item:
Report to the committee by Dr. Larry Boyer
Discussion:
Space Planning
Dr. Boyer presented a summary of current activities in the Joyner library. After presenting a brief overview of the library, Dr. Boyer addressed the issue of space planning. He cited the following reasons for requiring space planning:
o There has been a substantial increase in student body
o Updates are needed for new technologies (it has been 10 years since last update)
o Collections have expanded and there is limited space
o Meet needs of patrons, including group study rooms, quiet study spaces, and student/faculty centered services
o Improved access to special collections
Food/Beverage Policy
Dr. Boyer then discussed the food/beverage policy of the library. Currently, food and beverages are allowed in all areas of the library, with the exception of special collections. Dr. Boyer and the other librarians noted that there have been minimal problems. Dr. Boyer further stated that students expect and demand these services
Anoush initiated a discussion for the food/beverage policy. She expressed concern about students and faculty having food and beverages with the materials. She provided anecdotal evidence of situations where individuals were endangering library materials with food and beverages and expressed concern about damage to collections. Anoush suggested separating food and library locations through the library. Dr. Boyer and the other librarians stated that there has been no evidence for damage to collections.
Anoush also expressed concerns about the inability to search the catalog from the second floor. Tom identified that there may be different faculty and student needs. After some discussion of these issues, the committee agreed to have Dr. Boyer continue the presentation and state questions and concerns at the end.
Additional Space Planning Information
There was a company hired in Spring 2008 to plan and implement the space planning initiative. Faculty and student input were invited to provide feedback about space issues in early Fall 2008. Anoush requested the minutes from that meeting and Dr. Boyer stated that he would forward a copy of the minutes to the committee.
The Space Planning Design Team is working on a proposal, which will be presented in December 2008. The library will seek approval and funding in 2009.
Tom questioned availability of off-site storage for some of the materials in the stacks. Dr. Boyer stated that the UNC-libraries are looking at off-site storage options, but that they would likely be located in the Triangle area. He further stated that ECU could rent space for $150,000 or more, which may work as a short-term solution but would not be cost effective in long run.
Members of the committee questioned current use of areas in the library (e.g., common areas, study areas, etc.). Dr. Boyer stated that the library keeps data on all library activity. The committee requested summary information on head cuts and Dr. Boyer agreed to forward a summary to the committee.
Members of the committee questioned if the Joyner collections were comparable to other universities. Larry stated that our facilities and collections are equal to or better than comparable state universities (e.g., UNC-Greensboro)
Strategies to reduce the collections
The library plans on substantially reducing print versions of journals, reducing to only popular titles (e.g., Life, Time) for hard copies. The library aims to switch all additional journal titles to an electronic format
There was a substantial discussion on the process of removing titles from the library. Dr. Boyer stated that there was a period where a substantial number of items were added to the collection to “pad” the number of items in the collections. Dr. Boyer stated that the current policy is to have subject specialists identify the titles to be discarded. These specialists typically have a level of expertise in the subject area (e.g., bachelor’s degree in the subject) and a background in library science. Anoush expressed concern about the lack of communication between the libraries and the faculty and requested that faculty receive a list of items that are being considered for removal. Dr. Boyer and Dorothy Spencer stated that it would be cost-prohibitive to send lists of books to faculty to review items that will be removed. They further stated that, historically, they receive minimal faculty input on these types of issues.
Juan expressed further concern about current library policies and stated that faculty input is needed when making these decisions. Juan stated that faculty have the expertise and knowledge of materials in the collections and need to be consulted when making these decisions. Larry continued to express concern that it is cost-prohibitive to send lists of items to be discarded to the faculty.
James expressed concerned about process of discarding the items based on age alone. The librarians and Patrick assured that there are a number of criteria that are used to discard items. Items are not discarded based on age and use alone. Larry further assured the committee that there are discrete guidelines for discarding the items.
Dr. Boyer then discussed reductions in the stacks. The majority of the items (60-80%) will be discarded because they are/will be available electronically. He stated that a smaller percentage will be “weeded” and assured that these decisions are made judiciously
Larry urged members of the committee to view a short video summarizing the automated retrieval system, which allows access to material in the stacks. All libraries committee members promised to watch the video. James expressed concern about the automated system and potentially not having direct access to the collections in the stacks. Dr. Boyer stated that the automated retrieval system is a powerful tool that will assist with browsing. He further stated that there will be access to a large percentage of the stacks.
Tom identified and summarized two major points from the discussion:
There was consensus among the committee members that these were the major issues that need to be addressed.
Anoush questioned why there was an external company hired to complete the space proposal instead of the ECU department of space and planning. Dorothy stated that an outsourced company was the best option given the specialized nature of the project. She further stated that an ECU member is present on the committee.
Action Taken:
1. Dr. Boyer agreed to send the minutes from the Fall Space Planning meeting to the libraries committee.
2. Dr. Boyer agreed to send data on head counts and patron use of the Joyner Library
3. Dr. Boyer agreed to have members of the libraries committee meet with individuals from Joyner library to discuss the weeding policies
4. Dr. Boyer will send each member of the library committee a short video summarizing the Automated Retrieval System. The committee members agreed to watch the video.
Assigned additional duties to:
Agenda Item:
Laupus Library report by Dorothy Spencer
Discussion:
Dorothy Spencer provided a summary of current and pertinent activities in the Laupus Library:
NEXT MEETING: November 19
ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED: Revisit goals of the Libraries Committee for 2008-09
Respectfully submitted,
John Heilmann