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University
Library Committee Minutes
October 16, 2002, 2:00 PM
The meeting was
called to order at 2:00 PM in the library conference room. The following individuals were
present: Sue Anderson, Lee Daniel,
John Harvey, Donnell Payne, Ellen Page Shelton, Ronald Watson, Sara Sucher, Bob
Seal, June Koelker, Marianne Bobich, and Dennis Gibbons.
Information Items:
Library
Annual Report: Bob Seal
described the highlights of the library’s annual report, including the
implementation of Phase I of the Information Commons, completion of the music
library listening lab, and positive publicity for the library with regard to its
increase in patrons despite a national downturn in use of academic
libraries.
Library
Self-Study Results: Bob Seal distributed the Status Report on Self-Study Recommendations
for the Library. The library
met 33 of 34 SACS criteria (i.e., “must” statements). In its report, the self-study
subcommittee made only one recommendation regarding support for distance
learning and offered eight supplemental suggestions for improvement.
Remodeling of
Periodicals Room: Bob Seal
described the renovation of the Periodicals Reading Room, which includes new
chairs (which are the same as the original chairs), refinished tables, new
carpet, paint, etc. and moving shelves to the east side of the room so that the
windows are more visible. The
committee members agreed that the room looks great! The room will be dedicated and the
donors honored on Nov. 22 at 7 PM.
Paul Boller will speak at the reception.
Update on the
Information Commons: Bob Seal
elaborated on the Information Commons project. Phase I remodeling is complete, the
number of computers has been increased to 100, a website has been created, and
the Information Services help desk has been moved to the library. Marianne Bobich is working on
implementing a tiered reference support system and Bob Seal is working on
raising funds for Phase II of the project, which involves further
remodeling.
Project to
Replace the Library’s Automated System: June Koelker reported on the library’s
efforts to replace its Integrated Library System, which includes the online
catalog. Our 12-years-old system
will be discontinued in 2004 since the vendor has been sold to a
competitor. Six new vendors
have been identified and the library is in the process of evaluating their
products to find the best one to meet our needs, which include interfacing with
PeopleSoft. The library hopes to
select and phase in the new system by summer of 2003 or 2004. Cost could be as
high as half a million dollars.
New Policy on
Access to Information: Bob Seal
distributed the library’s new policy on access to information and guidelines for
staff in dealing with complaints of patrons viewing questionable websites. These policies and guidelines were
created in incidents in the past year. The policy and guidelines describe
procedures for addressing such concerns without censoring materials or hindering
access to library materials or the Internet.
Friends of
the Library Membership for Recent Alums: Bob Seal reported that the Friends of
the Library plans to offer free 2-year memberships for recent graduates of
TCU. Such membership allows
individuals to use library facilities, check out books, and attend various
programs.
Instructional
Technology Grant: Marianne
Bobich described a recent grant project in which 8 nursing students (who are
participating in an online degree program) received Personal Data Assistants
(PDAs) that will allow them to access an electronic textbook and other
utilities. The library staff will
help them to discover ways to best utilize these devices and will evaluate their
use of PDAs twice a semester.
Excellence
in Academic Libraries Award: June Koelker reported that the library
has been nominated for the Excellence in Academic Libraries Award by the
American Library Association.
Discussion
Items:
Library
Materials Budget Formula: Dennis Gibbons distributed copies of and
explained the TCU Library book budget allocation formula. This formula has been in use for
the past 6 years. The committee was
asked to consider whether the weights given to various factors should be
adjusted. As the formula seems to
be working well (there have been no recent complaints), the library committee
unanimously re-endorsed the use of the current
formula.
Policy On
Removal of Books from Carrels: Bob Seal explained the library’s policy
of checking faculty carrels twice a semester for books that are not checked out.
Such books are
problematic because they cannot be located by patrons and may be deemed
missing. Books that are not
checked out will be returned to the library shelves. The committee agreed that this was a
reasonable procedure and recommended that the library do this in a manner that
was most efficient for them. For
example, using e-mail to periodically remind faculty to verify whether the books
in their carrels are checked out may reduce the need for the staff to return
such books to the shelves.
Making
Deliberations Available to Campus Community: One of the SACS self-study supplemental
suggestions for improvement reads: “faculty and students should be made aware of
the library committee’s functions and activities. Committee minutes should be shared with
students and faculty on a frequent basis.”
The committee discussed ways of doing this. Communication mechanisms already in
place include the University Librarian’s and the Library Committee’s annual
reports to the faculty senate. The
committee also suggested that minutes could be made available on the library
website. We will investigate
the best way to do this.
Distance
Learning: The committee was asked to provide input
regarding the library’s role in distance learning. Several points were noted. First, the SACS self-study committee
recommended that entities involved in distance education “develop liaisons with
TCU library staff to advise and consult on reference materials available at
their sites.” It was also
noted that the “My Library” system developed by the TCU library is among the
online resources available to those who are teaching distance courses or
supplementing traditional courses with online components. There is a lack of awareness about
this system and how it relates to other online resources such as eCollege. The library has offered to be involved
with the eLearning committee that was recently established on campus. The committee supported the notion that
a representative from the library be involved in this committee as appropriate
in order better coordinate various resources for online
courses.
The meeting was
adjourned at 3:15
PM. |
