INFORMATION ITEM: Centennial Celebration – The Kick-off on September 23rd went well. An HSL Open House event will be held Thursday, Oct 15th – 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. A Centennial purchase for Special Collections will be pursued with money saved up through NEH Funds. The Libraries will try to acquire the purchased item by the date of the Library Society Dinner on April 15, 2016.
INFORMATION ITEM: Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy – The public announcement was made Thursday, October 8th. The Faculty Library Committee had considerable concerns about how the decision was made to locate the institute in Ellis Library and the lack of communication with students and faculty. After several meetings and negotiations (which included the committee, the Libraries, University Administration and the leaders of the Kinder Institute) it was resolved that the opening date of the institute would be moved back to July 1, 2016 (from March 1). This would allow more time for faculty and student consultation as well as the ability to work around student study needs during construction:
- No Construction will begin until after Fall Semester 2015 final exams.
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During the Spring Semester 2016:
- Construction will take place from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. while school is in session.
- During the weeks around final exams and midterms there will be no construction.
“The Nook” will be relocated from the fourth floor to another location at no cost to the library, with no down time to studiers and with the money being refunded to the Student Fee Capital Improvement Committee. Another $100K in renovations will be paid for by campus facilities to create more study space in Ellis Library and the specialized Libraries
INFORMATION ITEM: Student Fee Update – it was announced that this is “crunch” time. Student ambassadors are planning to “table” in the student center and speaker circle between now and the vote. There is a MSA student forum on Thursday at 7 p.m. in 114 Ellis Library.
INFORMATION ITEM: Review of revised Library Policy #4: News Notes – Mike Holland worked with Shannon to update this policy. It brings the wording about personnel and process up to current procedures.
INFORMATION ITEM: Automated Phone system at the Library – LMT discussed the pros and cons of setting up a call tree in the Libraries. The idea is to present one number for patrons to call and from that number the user can self-direct where their call will go. Current calls to to the Admin office and are transferred to other departments. The Admin office is only open 8-5 M-F. LMT resolved to pursue this on a trial basis if the price was very low and the options given to callers was very limited. (No endless call loops before reaching a human voice…)
INFORMATION ITEM: Depository discussion – LMT reviewed several possible UMLD addition plans provided by the architects who built our original space. It was resolved to pursue the one with the most space possible, even though it may be more expensive. The idea being it will be cheaper in the long run and all the space will be needed sooner rather than later. More meetings with University Operations are planned. The project will need to be taken before the Board of Curators. Vice Chancellor of Operations Gary Ward said he would be willing to pitch the plan to the Board when necessary.