1. Council was called to order by Prof. Scott at 3:40 p.m. in room 124 Main Library.

2. Main Library renovation update. Wes Boomgaarden, Preservation Officer and Manager of the Main Library Renovation Project, provided Council with an update and report on the progress of the Architectural Feasibility Study now underway for the William Oxley Thompson (Main) Library.

Three (3) open meetings were held on April 4 for Libraries' staff and faculty; University staff and faculty; and students. Two (2) focus group meetings were held April 5, one for graduate and undergraduate students, and one for faculty. Library Council members introduced and moderated each of these meetings in coordination with Prof. Branin and the architects. Chairs of Senate committees -- Academic Affairs, Bookstore, Fiscal, Legislative Affairs, Physical Environment, Research and Student Affairs -- were invited to the open meetings, as was the leadership of Undergraduate Student Government, the Council of Graduate Students, and the Interprofessional Council.

Recurrent themes are common in these open and focus group sessions, and include discussions about the inadequacy of space in the existing Thompson building; problems with the building's infrastructure (roof, HVAC, fire safety, electrical, etc.); concerns about safety and security of collections and readers; concern for the usability of the collections and facility during phased construction and renovation; the Thompson Library as a symbol for Ohio State; and the desire for a functional, comfortable, flexible, and aesthetically-pleasing Library building.

Program planning: In May, Libraries administration and the University's Facilities Planning and Development will meet twice with the project architects from Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbot (Boston) and URS (Columbus) to gather programming details related to existing and desired functional units and purposes within the building. These will include components and space requirements of areas such as user seating, collection size, information services, circulation functions, technical services, and all components and units that might be planned for a renovated library facility. This programming is still in its very preliminary stages, and is informed by the April open meeting process and other input from faculty, staff and students. Another aspect of the planning includes the work underway by the Libraries' Assessment Committee, led by Assistant Director Pat McCandless, an effort that is gathering data about the nature of the users in Main Library to provide data for ongoing planning. The architects will meet with the Libraries Executive Committee on May 3 and again on May 15-16 to gather this necessary, but preliminary, information.

3. Short-term improvements to Main Library. Assistant Director Jim Bracken outlined the progress in making short-term improvements to the Main Library facility. These include:

• the completion of the re-carpeting project, expected in mid-May
• re-painting in public areas throughout the building, an ongoing process
• introduction of the library cafe (contract with JavaMaster Columbus) in room 105
• improvements to the Bookstacks tower, including:
• improved security using video security cameras in the stacks
• improved study spaces to enhance security and to improve quality of study spaces
• re-installed telephones on each level for security and convenience
• an installation of catalog-dedicated personal computers on each level (in process)
• appointment of a four-person Collection Management Team to manage materials selection and transfer to the Book Depository
• improvements to second floor public services areas, targeting moves of Black Studies and Women's Studies areas to more accommodating spaces
• refinishing of 180 existing study tables and over 900 chairs, using the services of Ohio Prison Industries program to provide furniture refinishing at an attractive price.

4. Budget. Director Joe Branin outlined the prospective budget situation faced by the University and the Libraries. Due to the levels of library acquisitions fueled by the Library Materials Index in the past ten fiscal years, the Libraries has moved this past year up from number 19 to number 18 in overall rankings among North American libraries, according to the Association of Research Libraries' annual rankings. However, the budget picture has worsened significantly in the past year and the "Index," which has enabled the Libraries to add 5-8% onto their base acquisition budgets in each of the past ten years, is reportedly being ended. With FY2001/2002 an amount in cash rather than annual rate will supplement library acquisition cost increases. The change from annual rate to cash has longterm and negative implications for the growth and maintenance of the collections. OhioLINK also faces marginally smaller acquisition budget increases which will affect our ability to share purchases and access to databases and collections.

In other aspects of the budget, it is expected that the University's freeze on hiring will have a negative effect on the Libraries. Library Council Chair Michael Scott commented on the Libraries central place in the new Academic Plan, and raised the question of how might the Council respond.

5. Digital imaging. Wes Boomgaarden, Preservation Officer and Manager, Main Library Renovation Project, described the work of the Libraries' Digital Project Task Force to study the infrastructure and other needs to prepare the Libraries for an imaging program. The Task Force has used two collections as pilot projects to inform itself of the issues. The two collections are:

• The collection of the Symposium of Molecular Spectroscopy, part of the Molecular Spectroscopy Archive here at Ohio State. The content consists of the published abstracts from the annual meetings held here at Ohio State since 1946. Each page is being scanned at the Science - Engineering Library and will be made available as page images on the Libraries Web site.
• Our collection of John Foxe's Actes & Monumentes, popularly known as "The Book of Martyrs," published beginning in the mid-16th century, is among the world's best, and supports the research of several humanities scholars on campus. Page images are being created with digital cameras at Biomedical Communications, with supplemental work purchased from the University of Pennsylvania. The images will form the nucleus of what we expect to be a large database of images accessible through the Libraries' Web site beginning this June.

6. Scholarly communication program discussion. Joe Branin spoke of the importance of scholarly communication and recommends that Council consider sponsoring a series of lectures or programs with the target audiences being University faculty and graduate students. After some discussion, Prof. Branin was encouraged to continue planning the program through Council and the Libraries' Lecture Committee.

7. Agriculture Library study. Joe Branin noted that Prof. Bernard Erven of the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Developmental Economics, is leading a group of faculty users through a study of the Agriculture Library.

8. Other. Joe Branin commented upon the controversies in library circles that surround the recent publication of Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper (Random House, 2001), by Nicholson Baker, in which the author is critical of libraries' reliance upon reproductions over originals in library collections. He noted that the Libraries' own Prof. Lucy Caswell, Curator of the Cartoon Research Library, is portrayed as the heroine of the book for her efforts to preserve original newspaper volumes in their original bound newsprint format.

9. Incoming chair of Library Council. An agenda item for the next Council meeting.

10. Next Library Council meeting scheduled for June 4, 3:30 p.m. Room 124 Main Library.

Wes Boomgaarden for
Joseph J. Branin