University
Library Committee Minutes
April 19, 2001
The meeting was held in room B21 of the library and started at 3:30 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Arnold Barkman.
Present: Arnie Barkman (Accounting), Steve Woodworth (History), Pam Marcum (Physics), Donnell Payne
(Computer Science), David Gouwens (Religion). Ernest Couch (Biology), June Koelker (Library), Francis Polisetty
(Graduate-MBA), Bob Seal (Library), Ellen Page Garrison (Ballet)
Absent: Anderson, Douthey, Jost, Edge
Comments by Bob Seal regarding storage space
He addressed the issue of lack of shelf space. Over the past several years, shelves and furniture have been rearranged to more efficiently use space, some 50,000 volumes of old periodicals have been moved offsite, yet storage remains tight and even more items will have to be moved offsite. With over 1200 periodicals available full text on line, a possibility exists of at some point eliminating paper versions of such journals. Such a move is not on the immediate horizon and would not be taken precipitously. There are many concerns over the integrity of the archives and long term access that have to be satisfied.
Seal indicated that these on line journals are supported by both commercial publishers and non profit organizations, and that he has greater confidence in the viability of the organizations sponsored by libraries and foundations that are committed to scholarship. For example, he mentioned both Academic Press and Elsivier as examples of private concerns that he would want to continue getting print versions of their journals. He also provided examples of sources of journals for which he would feel comfortable discontinuing the print versions. The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) is a society which he believes will be around for a long time and the TCU Engineering Department has no problem about accessing the IEEE journals on line. In fact, the engineering faculty has already approved eliminating some 50 IEEE journals in print form in exchange for obtaining access to some 106 IEEE journals on line. The Ohio network (OCLC) has archived many items, has storage in salt mines, and has over 32 million items in its data base.
Most of our discussion dealt with the JSTOR journals. JSTOR now has 212 titles available and is constantly adding more. (For a list of available JSTOR titles go to the Library Web page or go to
http://www.jstor.org/cgi-bin/jstor/listjournal?frame=noframe&config=jstor
JSTOR is sponsored by the Mellon Foundation and 60 research institutions. It maintains 2 sites in the US and 1 in Europe. It cost TCU $30,000 to join JSTOR and it costs $7,000 per year for access. Given the broad university support for JSTOR, Seal has confidence that JSTOR will exist for the foreseeable future.
Of the 212 JSTOR titles, TCU currently has 112 in print versions, and these occupy about 1900 linear feet of shelf space. Seal asked for committee input about the possibility of only keeping the most current 4 years worth of these journals, unbound, on the shelves, and discarding the older issues. This would save binding costs and free up shelf space.
As part of the process of researching this possible plan of action, Seal is talking to area libraries at UT Arlington, SMU, North Texas, and Texas Woman’s to 1) see what their thoughts are, and 2) investigate the possibility of each of the 5 institutions retaining 20% of the JSTOR titles so print version backup would exist. Seal emphasized that these discussions are at the talking and thinking stages, and are not about to be implemented without feedback from the Library Committee and the TCU faculty.
Following up on a related item, Seal mentioned that this committee had previously approved the discarding of some 20 dead titles from offsite storage that were available on line. So far he has not heard a single negative comment from anyone regarding that action.
He further said that even if the old JSTOR titles were discarded, space would still be a problem, with 18,000 books, and 11,000 journals added each year. . A new building will provide some relief but it is a lower priority item than other building projects on campus.
Question from Barkman
Barkman asked if the proposed legislation UCITA discussed at our Feb. 22, 2001 meeting would have any impact on TCU if we were to discard journals more than 4 years old and then wanted to access those as part of inter-library loan programs.
Koelker responded that UCITA was not introduced in Texas this year, and that the momentum behind the bill seems to have abated after having been rejected in some states. With JSTOR being an “archival based service” which does not compete with currently available journals, she saw no problems.
Library usage
Seal reported that our library statistics reflect nationwide trends in that the number of books that circulate is down, and the number of reference questions is down, but those received are more complex, compared to the past 5 years. On the other hand, the number of library patrons is higher than ever because of the computer lab, the café, and the presence of the intensive English lab.
MBA issues from Polisetty
He reported that the MBAs were interested in obtaining various types of materials from the library such as software training books that reflected the latest versions rather than obsolete versions. They would also like to have training materials on CDs and would like to have review materials for professional exams (such as CPA, CFA) available. They also would like greater access to solutions manuals and wondered about library acquisition plans for E-books.
Koelker responded that the library has a couple of thousand E-books already. Seal replied that solutions manuals and review materials are typically considered to be “consumable” items by publishers and there would be copyright implications were such materials made freely available. As for computer support materials, some are available to faculty and staff, but he will discuss the student availability issue in a meeting he will soon be having with the computer center people.
Friends awards banquet
Seal reported that the Friends of the Library held its first biannual book award banquet on April 10th, and it was a great success. A $5,000 prize was awarded to the guest speaker, Stephen Harrigan, for his New York Times bestseller The Gates of the Alamo. The turnout was great, and the speech was very thoughtful. Next year the banquet will not feature a book award, but will provide an interesting speaker.
Security concerns
Seal reported that in light of the recent theft of artifacts, security has been tightened. The recovered items have been moved to an area for which there is only one key which itself is kept in a secured location. Seal hoped that a new system which has been in the works will be ready by the fall semester. It will include motion detectors, cameras, and door alarms.
Closing remarks
Seal thanked Barkman for his service as chairman, and Barkman thanked Seal and the other committee members for their conscientious service during the year.
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