Budgets have been submitted to the Provost’s Office. There may be some possible relief from cuts, especially to Collections, but details are not yet finalized.
Some Security staffing has been moved to Student Enhancement Fee funds, freeing up some other funds in a helpful way.
The Chancellors Office and Provosts Office have asked units not to release information until they have reviewed every unit’s submissions. The goal is to have one big announcement, rather than a string of smaller announcements dragging the process out over the course of weeks.
Some of the cuts will come from Collections, as well as some positions being kept vacant.
New phone plans will be more economical, with further information to come.
A meeting was held with the Space committee about Ellis lower level construction. The State Historical Society should move out sometime in late 2019.
The new furniture for the Information Commons will be installed in Late June or Early July. The Student Enhancement Fee funded it, and signage celebrating that will be placed in that area.
Question: Will the Bookmark Café be open over summer?
The Bookmark Café should be open during its regular summer hours, with limited interruption due to the Lowry Mall steam tunnel work.
Question: Is there an interim Provost while Dr. Stokes is Interim Chancellor?
Garnett Stokes will remain as Provost as well as Interim Chancellor until new announcements are made.
There will be no public sessions for the new Chancellor candidates.
Public Meeting about the FY18 Budgets will be held on Monday and Tuesday 5/15-16. They will be both open to the public, and livestreaming. An email was sent by the university about the sessions.
Voting for MULSA officers will begin soon. Please consider running, and please vote.
Celebration of Service Luncheon will be Thursday 5/18 from 11:30-1:00. Please attend.
Question: Did anything come from the budget suggestions submitted by staff?
Several suggestions about budgeting were made and passed on to other parts of the University. Cooperation across all four campuses on shared and shareable projects was a notable suggestion made. Cross training within the Libraries was also suggested, and will be considered.
An evaluation survey for Interim Director Anne Campion Riley is currently open until 5/12. Please complete it if you are able.
New Business
Phone transfer – Kathy Peters and Ernest Shaw
New phone cut0over to occur on 7/25.
This has been a long running project, including an audit of all almost 200 lines coming into Ellis, as well as assessments of service needs. Thanks to all staff for allowing their space to be invaded for that process.
Call types (long-distance, international, etc.) will be tied to the physical phone, so there will no longer be a need for Watts codes for calling. Voice mail will be sent directly to a user’s email. New speed dial options will be available. Conference calling of up to 8 numbers will be available. All units will be new, and capable of speaker phone access. Caller ID with names will be available, and correct.
Trainings will be available, with details to be sent out closer to the cutover date.
There will be a service disruption on the cutover date, but this will be minimized as much as possible. Details will be distributed closer to the cutover date.
Open Positions – Sheryl Cullina
Two positions at HSL Circulation: 1 open through 5/24. The other will be filled by part-time positions.
Business Support Specialist II in ACTS: working on references for candidates now.
Head of Instructional Services: Interviews have been completed.
Associate Director for SCARaB: Accepting applications through 6/10. The Search Committee will be chaired by Corrie Hutchinson, and include Michaelle Dorsey, Kelli Hansen, Anselm Huelsbergen, Tim Perry, Sandy Schiefer, and Anne Barker.
Engineering Librarian: Accepting applications through5/15. The Search Committee will be chaired by Deb Ward, and include Kate Anderson, Michelle Baggett, Gwen Gray, and Karl Hammond of the College of Engineering.
Results of the SAG Survey – Noah Hartsfield
There were 58 responses; many were from people who had attended meetings.
Overall, they were positive, and constructive.
Most notable result: No respondent who had attended a meeting said that the meetings should be discontinued.
Some common themes:
The Director’s Report section was popular; Face to face time with Ann was seen as a positive.
The time commitment was significant, efforts to keep the meetings to only 1 hour are prompting changes to the structure of the meetings.
Non-Library guest speakers were incredibly divisive, almost 50/50 on if they should be continued.
Changes to the SAG meetings:
On a monthly basis, meetings will continue to include a Director’s Report, pre-submitted issues (like this month’s updates on the phones), and a Q&A section.
Guest speakers are being kept, but are being reduced in frequency to about once a quarter. Guest speakers will rotate with Division Head Reports, and an inside-the-Libraries guest speaker, who will discuss how various parts of the Libraries function, and projects some parts are working on.
Upcoming Events
Sheryl Cullina:
Call for Committees will be going out shortly, please consider nominations, and running.
MyPerformance assessments are due by mid-June. Please complete you sections, and supervisors, please complete the assessments of those you supervise.
Celebration of Service luncheon is Thursday 5/18 from 11:30 to 1:00. Please attend.
Kathy Peters:
Lowry Mall steam tunnel repairs are scheduled to begin in late May. The Lowry Mall should remain passable, and the north door to Ellis and the State historical Society door should remain accessible throughout the project.
Some refrigerators will be placed in the hallway of the ground floor. These will be locked, and are part of the equipment for the Bookmark Café. They will be moved to allow the steam tunnel to be partially rerouted through Ellis, and replaced at the completion of the project.
Deb Ward:
The construction around the School of Medicine is nearing completion.
The Health Sciences Library would like to host an open house to show off the new area and new furniture, date TBD, likely in July.