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University
Library Committee Minutes
September 28, 2000, 3:30 PM
The following are the nminutes of our meeting of
Thursday Sept. 28 at 3:30 in the lower- level (basement) conf. room of the
library, number B21.
Submitted by Arnold Barkman, committee chair
Present: Alcevedo-Leal, Anderson, Barkman, Couch, Douthey, Edge, Garrison, Koelker,
Marcum, Payne, Seal
Not present: Gouwens, Jost, Polisetty, Woodworth,
Welcome and introductions:
Welcome faculty and student members of the committee. Attendees introduce selves.
Library cafe update:
The cafe opened Sept. 11 and will have its official opening Wed. Oct. 11 at 3pm. It was a
$40,000 project; a gift paid for half. It appears to be quite successful judging from the
lines of students. Seal noted that it helps make the library a more "welcoming" place to
be. Barkman noted that it has not been well publicized; that many students do not know
about its being open. Seal mentioned that Marriott was planning to put up some signs
advertising it.
Electronic overdues letter:
Seal reported no faculty feedback regarding such notices which he interprets as "good
news." Most complaints are from graduate students who don't check their TCU e-mail
accounts frequently because they have other providers and have not taken the steps
necessary to forward their TCU mail to their primary provider.
Library budget update:
Seal is satisfied with the overall 5.9% increase which will allow the library to keep up
to date; there was $5000 additional for student wages to make the library more wage
competitive and less likely to lose experienced help. Such losses have been a concern.
TCU seems to do very well in terms of university support relative to our peer
institutions. However, "moving to the next level" will take considerably more resources
than are now available.
Moving periodical titles offsite:
The library for several years has been short of space and has been
renting space in a storage facility in downtown Fort Worth. Retrieval time has been satisfactory. However,
add1t10nal space w1ll be needed, so a move is planned to a larger storage unit. Seal
would like to give increased attention to those periodicals which are available full text
on-line. JSTOR now 106 titles which are available from the library web site. Hard copy
now occupies 600 shelves in the stacks which could be made available by moving those
journal off site. Neither faculty nor student members voiced concern about having
"lesser" access to the print versions. Couch asked about storage environmental
conditions. Seal responded that the temperature and humidity control off site was
actually better than in the library. Barkman asked if a survey of dept. chairs regarding
print vs. electronic would be useful.
Draft mission and vision statements for the
Library:
Seal distributed copies of the Library's mission
statement and vision statement and asked for comments. Some committee
comments were made regarding some of the wording, but in general the
statements were deemed to be appropriate. A question arose about borrowing
privileges for former graduate students. It was pointed out that one could
join "Friends of the Library" or gain access by virtue of being a faculty
member elsewhere.
Mission Statement: The Mary Couts
Burnett Library provides information resources for inquiry, intellectual
discovery, and the development of life-long learning skills in a
user-centered environment.
Vision Statement: To be a
dynamic gateway to global information for a diverse academic community.
Core Values:
Access - Optimal,
uncensored, and equitable access-whether independent or facilitated-to
worldwide information and services
Integrity -
principled, attentive to ethical considerations, and respectful or
confidentiality
Service - Excellence, inclusiveness,
and dedication in serving our diverse stakeholders
Innovation - novel, flexible, and creative approaches
to services and resources Environment -comfortable, safe, and convenient
spaces conducive to study, work, teaching, and research
Scholarship - knowledge management, promotion of
information literacy, and support for intellectual endeavor
Teamwork - superior results through cooperation and
mutual respect
Resource sharing - expanded opportunities through collaboration with internal and external
partners
Laptops and wireless computing:
Ten laptops are available for use anywhere within the library. The question arose of , dual
platforms, Macs vs. PCs. Seal indicated some problems existed with Macs that were be1ng
studied by the systems people.
Judaica Library:
There has been a gift of $250,000 and a plaque in the reading room will acknowledge that
gift. The library is starting to acquire materials; some already exist in the Brite
collection. Seal noted that some of the books, in Hebrew, could be handled by the catalog system.
Other business:
The question arose of whether students seem to be noisier in the library than they used to
be. Bob responded that the main floor is designated as a "not a quiet area" and it is OK
if students study together as groups. The basement is a quite area.
An interesting discussion involved the issue of student's desire of having a 24 hour study
space available. Access to books would not be necessary; rather what is wanted is a quite
space to read and study. Barkman suggested student center might be a more appropriate
space in terms of being located closer to the dorms and being less isolated than the
library, might be better in terms of security. Couch asked if we could afford it; Seal
mentioned that the library already is open 100 hours each week. Alcevedo-Leal suggested
that student government pursue this with the administration; that an initiative from them
might be more successful than an initiative from faculty or the library. Edge mentioned
this issue could be brought before students in a survey of students to be taken in a forum
Wed. Oct. 1, Constituency Day.
The library has received a $20,000 grant from the Texas Treasures program. The money will
be used to support an achivist part-time for a year to catalog our collection of Amon
Carter's personal papers.
Proceeds from the estate of a TCU alum will be used
for the renovation of the music library.
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