2. The Minutes of the February 9 meeting were approved as written.

3. Joe Branin shared a slide presentation he has prepared concerning the proposed renovation of the William Oxley Thompson Memorial (Main) Library building. [This slide presentation has been made available on the Web.]

The entire project will cover a span of at least eight years, and will be accomplished in five phases--1) Academic Feasibility Study, 2) Architectural Feasibility Study, 3) Obtaining University and State funding, 4) Detailed Architectural Design, and 5) Construction. It is anticipated that the total project cost will be in excess of $60M; chances for obtaining State funding will be enhanced if ca. one third of the final cost can be raised from private sources. This project has been identified as the University's top fund raising priority for the next two years.

Before full renovation can be undertaken, there are some short term projects over the next two years that could significantly improve the appearance and functionality of the building at a cost of ca. $2M. It is anticipated that a portion of the required funds could be from one-time funds made available from the Libraries' existing budget, with the remainder requested from the University. The most serious problems that would be addressed are overcrowding and inadequate maintenance of the building.

Functions, services, and collections will be reviewed to identify those that should be housed in Main Library, along with identification of possible alternative locations for those which could be housed elsewhere. Any buildings that are scheduled to be vacated should be investigated as a possible alternative location; floor loading capacity could be an issue, however. Moving additional materials to the Book Depository is also a possibility. The current facility has space for 200-300 thousand more volumes, and the next module should be ready for occupancy by the time full capacity has been reached in the current facility.

The Academic Feasibility Study is currently underway. Joe Branin is meeting with as a wide a variety as possible of occupants and users of the Main Library building to brainstorm ideas about the services, functions, and collections that should be housed in the Main Library building. He has begun with meetings with the library personnel, and he and Wes Boomgaarden are scheduling meetings with the Council on Physical Environment, the Council on Student Affairs, and the Council on Academic Affairs. They will be happy to meet with any other groups of faculty, students, or staff to discuss this issue. Members of Library Council expressed an interest in attending these meetings as well.

Council members suggested that something be added to the Libraries' homepage on the Web that would point to a location where ideas and suggestions could be submitted, as well where people could look for information and status reports on the renovation.

Various suggestions were also put forth concerning fund raising ideas, such as putting the slide presentation seen today on a CD-ROM and sending it out to alumni, including fund raising literature in the packets sent out to sell season tickets to football and basketball. Also important in this effort are word pictures that can depict the symbolism and centrality of the Libraries to the academic enterprise.

4. Joe Branin also reported that he had been asked to submit a budget request dealing with mandates for spending over the next two years. The six requests that were submitted covered 1) continution of the Library Materials Budget Index, 2) one-time funding to cover short term renovation projects for Main Library, 3) a digitizing project to make unique materials available on the Internet, 4) additional personnel for fund-raising, 5) funding to cover the anticipated increase in the Minimum Wage for student employees, and 6) equipment to meet ADA requirements.

5. Council members reiterated their interest in being involved in the Academic Feasibility Study portion of the Main Library renovation project.

6. The meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p.m. The next meeting will be held on April 12; suggestions for Agenda items should be sent to the Chair via e-mail (case-smith.1@osu.edu).

Elizabeth Sawyers for
Joseph Branin