"MU Libraries' irreparable moldy books will be available online"
Columbia Missourian, April 3, 2014
"University of Missouri Faculty Council gets update on moldy books"
Columbia Daily Tribune, April 4, 2014
"MU Libraries' irreparable moldy books will be available online"
Columbia Missourian, April 3, 2014
"University of Missouri Faculty Council gets update on moldy books"
Columbia Daily Tribune, April 4, 2014
Bernadine Abbott Hoduski Founders Award
Marie Concannon, Regional Librarian for Missouri, is the recipient of the 2014 Bernadine Abbott Hoduski Founders Award. This award recognizes documents librarians who may not be known at the national level but who have made significant contributions to the field of state, international, local or federal documents.
This award is presented to Marie for her talent for turning challenges into win-win opportunities that have directly benefitted libraries throughout the state of Missouri. Her leadership and creative collaboration with selective depositories resulted in a distributed Regional and Sub-Regional model whereby other institutions accept regional responsibilities for housing collections and providing service and training. This partnership with six Missouri depository libraries is a key example of how she has worked to strengthen the Missouri depository network, increase public access to collections and ease space concerns at the Regional library.
Her thoughtful, inclusive leadership and vision has engaged and invigorated the depository libraries of Missouri. Multiple letters of support commented on her commitment to providing regular conferences and training along with her gift for making librarians and staff at all experience levels feel supported and their input valued. To quote from one letter “She has a very nice way of being persistent about the value of libraries and library services. She works well with others, and she knows how to focus attention on the right kinds of things.” Marie’s effectiveness as a champion of government information as well as her implementation of an innovative collaborative model of depository partnerships are illustrative of the broad professional contributions that embody the principles of the Hoduski award.
This was submitted to Faculty Council yesterday.
Background
In October 2013, MU Libraries staff members discovered mold growing on books and bound journals in the Libraries’ secondary offsite book depository, in underground caverns north of I-70 in Columbia. The mold growth likely occurred due to inappropriate environmental conditions, specifically a spike in both temperature and humidity in July and August. A private environmental recovery company was retained to investigate, and they reported that the entire collection of some 600,000 volumes is presumed to be contaminated.
Because mold is destructive to printed materials, any volumes to be retained for use in the library collections must be treated to remove the mold before they can be used. Over the past several months, library staff members have been determining what portions of the contaminated volumes should be treated and retained and what portions must be permanently withdrawn and destroyed in order to remove any chance of contaminating other collections of print materials.
In order to meet the considerable costs involved in addressing this disaster, the MU Libraries will be using a special insurance fund established eight years ago to deal with such losses. However, estimates to decontaminate the collections, and to obtain new and more secure storage for materials retained for use, amount to far more than the current total on hand in the fund.
Disposition of Collections
MU Libraries staff have identified three broad categories of materials to guide decisions in prioritizing items either for mold remediation or for permanent withdrawal from our collections.
Category 1 – rare, distinctive and scarcely-held items to be treated and retained.
Examples in this category include:
· Materials published prior to 1871
· Materials that have unique characteristics or that form part of a distinctive collection
· Materials that have local significance or value
· Materials held by 10 or fewer libraries worldwide (as determined by OCLC analysis)
· Materials with distinctive characteristics (e.g., non-English language works; graphic arts, illustrations or photographs; mathematical formulae; etc.)
Category 2 – multiple copies or readily accessible items that may be withdrawn permanently.
Examples in this category include:
· Materials duplicated elsewhere in the MU Libraries, or in UM Library Depository.
· Materials duplicated at one or more of the other three UM System libraries.
· Materials duplicated within the MOBIUS consortium of Missouri libraries.
· Materials not in MOBIUS, but readily available via interlibrary loan from Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA) and other regional partners.
· Materials duplicated electronically in trusted digital repositories of academic journals and books (e.g., JSTOR, Hathi Trust, etc.)
· Federal documents published post-1950. (Other libraries in the state have generously offered to replace mold-damaged copies with documents from their collections.)
Category 3 – decision deferred until more information is gathered and consultation is completed.
Materials not immediately placed into categories 1 or 2 will be retained until final decisions can be made either to retain or to withdraw permanently. We will be leasing a new space in which to hold these volumes while awaiting final decisions on their disposition. Because we are committed to having MU faculty assist in selecting materials to be salvaged and retained for our collections, having this holding space is essential.
Recent Developments
The MU Libraries have received many expressions of sympathy and support since news of the mold outbreak was released. A special fund has been established to assist in salvaging the thousands of books and journals that require special treatment to eradicate the mold. Individuals can contribute to the “Collection Enhancement Fund” via the MU Libraries website at the following site:
https://donatetomu.missouri.edu/givedirect/GDItem.aspx?item_id=117
In March, a grant proposal was submitted to a major private foundation seeking assistance in pursuing the plan to remediate contaminated volumes. We expect to learn in early June whether the proposal is accepted for funding.
With guidance and approval from MU Facilities Planning and the UM Procurement Office, steps have been taken to obtain a contractor for treatment of volumes identified for salvage and to secure new and environmentally stable storage space for treated materials.
After a search of suitable above-ground storage facilities in close proximity to the MU campus, three potential sites were selected for further review. From these three, a preferred facility has been selected and negotiations for a lease are nearing completion. We expect to have the lease signed soon and preparations underway to take occupancy on or about May 1.
Proposals from mold-remediation contractors were solicited over the past two months, and eight bids were received on March 14. A preferred bidder has been identified and negotiations are now underway with the contractor. We expect to have a contract signed on or about April 1, with work to commence by the middle of the month.
Future Plans
This disaster has underscored the need to pursue purpose-built, environmentally secure space for long-term storage of our physical collections. Since 1997, the UM Library Depository (UMLD), the primary storage facility used by MU and the three other libraries of the UM System, has worked flawlessly in this capacity. Located on LeMone Blvd., off Highway 63 in Columbia, the UMLD contains about 1.2 million print volumes, which are used by the four UM campuses and are also available to all libraries in the state via the MOBIUS network. The facility was designed to accommodate an addition which would double the space of the original structure when it reached its maximum limit. Approaching that limit in 2006, a request was made to the UM academic officers to consider funding the UMLD addition, but that option was deemed to be cost-prohibitive. Instead, leased storage space, in the caverns north of I-70, was judged to be the preferred course of action.
The MU Libraries proposes to work actively with the campus administration to return the construction of the UMLD addition to the priority list for capital projects. The MU Faculty Council and the Library Committee have both expressed support for this option, and it is our hope that this request will be put before the University Board of Curators early in the new fiscal year.
Submitted by Jim Cogswell, Director of Libraries
April 3, 2014
Notable meetings from the calendar of Jim Cogswell, Director of MU Libraries
Monday, March 31st
3:00-5:00 p.m. – Council of Deans, Memorial Union
Tuesday, April 1st
2:00-4:00 p.m. – Library Management Team, Ellis Library
Friday, April 4th
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. – MOBIUS Board Meeting, Columbia
5:30 p.m. – MU Capital Campaign Cabinet Reception, Gwynn Hall
INFORMATION ITEM: LMT welcomed guest Development Director Matt Gaunt and Grant writer Chris Montgomery to discuss the possibility of applying for foundation grants to fund an endowed Preservation Officer for MU Libraries.
· Discussion ensued about various foundations and specific details about their grants.
o All the grants include a required “match” of funds (typically from fundraising).
o The possibility of partnering with various University and/or external entities was explored and the pros and cons were weighed. (Brainstormed examples of potential partners that may be interested in such an effort include: Mizzou Advantage, Office of Research, UM System, MOBIUS, State Library, State Archives, etc.)
§ Pro: The creation of a high profile preservation lab or center that was a regional or institutional resource seems like it would embody the collaborative spirit that MU Administration wants to promote.
· Might be appealing to foundation to show broad impact potential.
· Could possibly offer services to the region for a fee (or as a member of a consortium) as a way of being financially sustainable.
· Better facility and higher profile might attract stronger candidates.
§ Con: Having to share a preservation officer who is badly needed within MU Libraries might dilute the goal and lessen the benefit of acquiring one.
· Also, generally speaking, donors like to see local impact.
o It was resolved that MU Libraries would plan to apply for various grants as well as consider making the Preservation Officer and well equipped preservation facilities a part of the upcoming capital campaign.
§ Topic will be revisited again in the near future.
o It was further agreed that the support of the Chancellor and System Administration will be crucial to meet the preservation needs of MU Libraries and to realize any potential for taking on a regional leadership role.
§ Buy in and support are needed to:
· Complete of the UM Library Depository.
· Create a state of the art preservation lab (possibly as part of UMLD facility).
· Make the creation of a preservation center a potential target of large-scale giving.
INFORMATION ITEM: Jim Cogswell and Ann Riley met with a Faculty Council Ad Hoc Committee to discuss the mold situation. A further expression of concern on the part of the faculty took place as well as a request to be informed and to have a chance to offer input for the solution/remediation decisions.
· Jim and Ann agreed to share with the group a calendar of when actions to address the mold infection will likely take place as well as examples of the lists that will be shared with the faculty to review the items that will potentially be “permanently de-selected”.
· They also agreed to share with the group the cost of destruction (per book) and also volunteered to share the calculation of the cost to not only remediate but to store and maintain items in the collection (per book).
INFORMATION ITEM: Renew Mizzou Update – the 20 computers that were in the 114 area that were scheduled to be moved to the Fourth Floor of Ellis Library have instead been removed all together by the Department of IT. The computers, which originally came to Ellis due to the closing of a DoIT computer lab elsewhere on campus, were already considered out of date and to soon be rotated out of use. The Library Technology Service will try to identify other computers to designate for student use and make available on the Fourth Floor as they can.
For two weeks following Spring Break (March 31 – April 12) three graduate students from Ellis Reference will be roving throughout Ellis Library several hours per day (and some night /weekend hours) assisting users in the stacks. These graduate students – who usually answer questions seated at the Reference Desk – will instead spend their Reference Desk shift “on the move!” This will be a two-week pilot project with the hope of an extended version during the fall semester. The graduate students will wear library badges and carry an iPad so they can answer questions quickly and efficiently. With changes from Renew Mizzou starting to occur, this seems like an ideal time to take Reference assistance into the stacks to the users!