Library Assembly Minutes, May 21, 2013

Present: Kate Anderson, Jack Batterson, Rachel Brekhus, Laura Buck, Jim Cogswell, Sheryl Cullina, June DeWeese  Mike Holland, Anselm Huelsbergen, Ashley Nelson, Ann Riley, Sheena Waggoner, Deb Ward, Karen Witt

Agenda Items

• Data Curation (Ann Riley)
  • Libraries are exploring the issue of data curation.
    • Data curation involves managing research data and the data output from high performance computing.
  • MU Libraries is a member of the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA), and the MU campus is a member of The Great Plains Network, both organizations exploring the issue of data curation.
  • LMT’s staffing priorities (August 2012 PowerPoint) include a Data Curation Specialist.
  • On May 29^th, Kansas State University and GWLA (with an IMLS grant) are hosting the conference “Big Data: From Bits and Bytes to Knowledge and Insights.”
    • Ann Riley has been involved with data curation through MOspace and has been invited to be on a steering committee.
    • Kate Anderson will be a guest on a panel.
    • Some Ellis reference librarians will be attending.
    • Jim Cogswell has invited Gary Allen (Vice President for Information Technology) to speak at the next all staff meeting in August about his data curation plans.
    • Ann Riley and Anne Barker are on MU’s Cyberinfrastructure Council.
      • More and more grants are asking for information regarding a campus cyberinfrastructure plan.
      • The council has recently sent out a survey to faculty and graduate students to help determine MU cyberinfrastructure resources and needs.
      • MU Libraries’ procedure on use of university vehicles (Sheryl Cullina)
        • Sheryl Cullina sent out an email regarding the changes in this policy on May 15, 2013 at 3:11pm to MULIBSTAFF. (Subject line: MU BPPM 6.080 – Use of University Vehicles)
        • The updated procedure will be put on the staff website under “Procedures and Guides.”
        • Updates on the “Recruitment and Hiring of Librarians/Archivists” policy (Anselm Huelsbergen)
          • Anslem presented the proposed revised policy (last updated 1984).
            • Changes were made to streamline the process, revise procedure while keeping policy in place, and reflect input from Sheryl on HR and MU regulations.
            • No great changes were made, but the policy was streamlined, updated, and a few points were added.
          • In response to a question, Anselm explained that the special circumstances mentioned in the revision are defined and regulated by MU’s HR hiring procedures.
          • For the next step in the process, Mike Holland will present the proposed policy updates to LMT for approval.

Director’s Announcements (Jim Cogswell)

• The annual LMT retreat will be held June 20-21.
  • The focus will be on strategic planning and the strategic use of staffing as the Library’s principle resource. Will also discuss what to do with recently announced vacancies.
  • The new RAIS head is expected to be present.
• MU Libraries’ Centennial Celebration
  • Over the summer, Jim wants to form a working group with Matt Gaunt for planning events for the celebration that underscore the Libraries’ importance and centrality.
• Sierra update
  • The MERLIN cluster continues with its indefinitely postponed instillation of Sierra due to concerns and system problems experienced at other libraries.
  • In response to a question, Jim said that looking into a different software has not been eliminated as an option, but there are no current plans to do to.
• The new hire of a Digital Curator position at Journalism is hoped to be announced soon.

Departmental Announcements

Health Sciences and Veterinary Medical (Laura Buck)

• Vet Med
  • The AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) COE (Council on Education) accreditation visit ran from May 20-23, and members have toured and visited the library during their stay.
  • Continuing to get many positive comments about the renovation.
  • HSL (Deb Ward)
    • On June 10^th, Mandi Davis will start as the new Administrative Assistant.
    • Construction has begun on the 1^st floor.
      • Some items are not accessible to patrons due to construction.
        • There are temporary construction doors, and the stacks are closed to patrons. Compact shelving is only accessible to library staff.
        • The journals upstairs are still accessible to patrons.
        • If there are any questions about what is and is not accessible to patrons, please contact Terri Hall. For items not accessible to patrons, there will always be library staff there to retrieve needed items.
    • Water damage along the North wall may be fixed during this construction phase as well.
    • The new information commons area will be used twice a semester, or as needed, as a space for School of Medicine computer-based testing.
    • Over the summer, there will be discussions on ideas for 2^nd and 3^rd floor renovations.
    • Follow the progress or see the plans at https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/renovation

Reference (Rachel Brekhus)

• The Science Librarian 1 year appointment position has been posted.
• Paula Roper and Rachel Brekhus are working with the Missouri State Library on a “Divided Loyalties” exhibit about the Civil War.
  • There will be videos, displays, and town tours.
  • The exhibits will run from August to October.
  • Rachel is organizing a social history and character-driven bus tour of Columbia.
  • The Instruction Committee has developed questions for English 1000 instructors who wish to incorporate questions about research into their assignments.
    • This will prepare students for participation in the Undergraduate Research Paper Contest, as they will already have answered questions about their research practices.
      • The Undergraduate Research Paper Committee is working on clarifying judging guidelines due to no award being granted this year.
      • MU’s Celebration of Teaching was held May 21-22.

Administration (Sheena Waggoner)

• All student workers, besides 2, are currently gone.
• Applications from students wishing to work at the Libraries over the summer have been gathered into a folder for supervisors interested in hiring students for summer work.
• Some phones in Administration are temporarily not working due to storm related power outages.

Branches (Ashley)

• A GLA is filling in at the Engineering Library during Michelle Baggett’s maternity leave.

Technical Services Retirements (Ann Riley)

• Karen Darling is retiring July 18^th.
• Hunter Kevil will be retiring July 30^th.
  • Ann will be filling in for Karen’s position until a new person is hired, and Karen and Hunter’s positions will be combined in the new position.
  • A new Digital Services Department is being developed.

MULAC (Kate Anderson)

• MULAC is providing information to LMT for their retreat
• Work on the travel policy and performance appraisals for Librarians and Archivists continues.
• MULAC has asked the Ellis Library Space and Facilities Advisory Committee to looking into locations for large instruction spaces.

LMT (Deb Ward)

• E-Learning Library Liaison Position.
  • A committee has been formed, and a posting is being worked on. It is hoped that the new person can start by the fall semester.
  • The position has been officially approved by the Provost for full funding for three years by the Information Technology Committee.
  • Please refer to an MULIBSTAFF email sent on May 17, 2013 at 3:06pm (subject: E-Learning Library Liaison Position Moving Ahead) for more details.
  • Annelise Freeman has been virtually collaborating since last summer and virtually meeting at least weekly with Deb.
    • Annelise is working on a final report with experiences and information gathering elements to pass on to the new person.
    • Annelise has also been working with Rachel Brekhus and Ashley Nelson on a MOBIUS presentation.
    • Ten million dollars in funding for collaboration between the MU School of Medicine and CoxHealth and Mercy health systems in Springfield has passed the Missouri house and senate and is awaiting approval by the governor
    • On May 30^th, branch library heads are meeting to discuss mutual interests and issues affecting MU branch libraries.

Ellis Library Access Services (June DeWeese)

• The fax module for ERes has been eliminated due to low usage.
• Starting in the Fall:
  • Based on the results of a patron survey, patrons will receive reminder emails 3-5 days before items are due.
    • Judy and Felicity are coordinating the notices.
    • There will be a $20 processing fee for every MOBIUS book that goes to billed status.
      • Other libraries are starting to do this as well.
      • There will be a $20 fee for late ILL items handled through Ellis ILL.

New RAIS Division Head

• Update: Jeannette Pierce was announced as the new RAIS Division Head via email on May 22nd.
• There will be a transitional meeting with a forum and discussion of transitional issues.
• Sheryl and Sheena explained the process of criminal background checks.
  • HR fills out an online request for a national background check, then an email is generated for the candidate to enter their additional information into the form, then the national check is run (typically taking 24-72 hours).

Library Assembly Business

• New officers and elections.
  • Laura, June, and possibly others are ending their 3 year appointments.
  • Sheryl will coordinate an email ballot for each department’s election. It will include everyone’s name in that specific department.
  • Judy Maseles has been invited to the next meeting to talk about the new staff webpage design.
  • The next Library Assembly meeting will be held on June 18^th instead of the 25^th.