1. The meeting was called to order by Lewis Ulman, Chair, and introductions made. He mentioned that the libcouncil listserv provides the Council with an opportunity for discussion between meetings, and he would like to see the Web page for the Council augmented with links to related documents and Web sites. Attendees were also encouraged to send suggestions for agenda items or links to be added to the Web page to him or to Betty Sawyers.

2. Meeting Schedule--The Chair will be teaching a class Winter Quarter at the time that had been scheduled for Council meetings. Alternative times were suggested and the attendees agreed to an alternative time of 2:30-4:00 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month; a message will be sent to all members so that those who did not participate in the discussion would have the opportunity to indicate problems they may have with the time and day. [A message confirming this date and time was subsequently sent.]

3. Library Renovation--The Feasibility Study that was conducted last year determined that it was feasible to proceed with a renovation of the Main Library, and alternative approaches with accompanying cost estimates were presented to the University. Scheme C, featuring an altered stack tower and additions to the existing building, is the option that has been selected by the University, and the process is underway to select a local Architect of Record for the project. Twenty proposals were received, and five firms were selected for interview on December 3; they will be evaluated based on their past work with large buildings, renovation of older facilities, and their experience of working with national firms. [The firm of George Acock and Associates was selected following the interviews on December 3.] Following the selection of the Architect of Record, the selection process will begin for an engineering firm and a construction manager, as well as a national search for the Design Architect.

4. HomeNet--The announcement that the free HomeNet service will be discontinued at the end of June was made early in the year to allow sufficient time for discussion, identification of potential problems, answering questions, and exploring viable alternatives. OIT staff have met, and will be meeting, with a variety of committees and other groups of individuals to discuss the issue. There does not appear to be opposition to the move from the undergraduates, who by and large have already made the move to broadband access, but a number of faculty have expressed concern. OIT is also talking to a variety of broadband vendors and hopes to have information on alternative access available to share with the campus community by January/February.

5. Reimbursement for ISP Use--Most users of ISP's have been paying for the service themselves; the University has paid for access for system engineers and network personnel. An interim policy paper was distributed in 1999, and work is underway on a broader permanent policy covering job-related needs. Copies of the new draft policy will be provided to Council members, and comments and suggestions are welcome.

6. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD)--OhioLINK has been offering the possibility of storing electronic theses and dissertations for more than two years, and beginning Fall Quarter this year, all dissertations are required to be submitted in electronic form; they are currently being accepted in PDF format, which requires the use of Adobe software for their creation. The Libraries has provided workshops to provide assistance to graduate students, and there is also information on the Graduate School Web site. The use of electronic format removes the restriction to only black and white printed documents, and opens the opportunity for including multimedia, etc. The nature of PDF's takes more advantage of the Web, but has two major problems--the software is only available for Windows equipment and the inability to provide appropriate tagging (PDF's are images rather than text) leads to access problems. ADA compliance is also a problem due to the lack of tagging to provide access for the visibly disabled. In question is the length to which we must go to comply with the ADA guidelines. In the short term, discussion is needed among the Libraries, OIT, the Graduate School, and the ADA folks; a Council Subcommittee will undertake the task of developing a recommendation concerning the level of compliance required and a proposed implementation date. Those who would be interested in participating in this effort should contact the Chair.

7. IT Strategic Planning--Strategic planning was undertaken in response to a need as stated in the Academic Plan in order to understand where we are, where we want to go, and how to get there. The need also exists to maximize possibilities in the current economic situation. IT administrators and staff have met with a wide variety of constituents during the planning process; Deans were asked to identify primary stakeholders, and a number of groups were appointed to assist in management and implementation of the process. A Core Working Group has been led by Cathy Bindewald, and each member of the group headed a team which looked at a specific aspect of the plan. (See listing of Executive Sponsors and Organization Chart.) Participants analyzed the current state of technology on campus, and also conducted a future state analysis. To help in this process, they sponsored Technology Days during which they brought in thought leaders from campus and around the country and conducted focus groups in various venues around campus to help identify the issues and develop a vision for the future. Following this analysis, a proposed vision and guiding principles were developed. Twenty seven potential initiatives were identified and are being discussed with stakeholders and others to establish priorities; based on these discussions, they will be rewritten and reviewed again by the stakeholders. A final draft will then be developed and taken to the larger campus community. It is hoped that a final five year plan will be ready for implementation by the beginning of the next fiscal year; the plan will include what it will cost, what and how things will be accomplished, who will be responsible, and timelines for completion. (See the PlanIT Web site for further details.

Members of the Council are encouraged to review the materials on the Web site and provide scores and/or comments concerning the strategic initiatives that have been identified, or provide any other comments concerning burning issues that need to be addressed or things that shouldn't be addressed to Cathy Bindewald.

Action Items:

• Provide suggested agenda items to Louie Ulman or Betty Sawyers.
• Provide suggested information items for inclusion on the Council Web page to Betty Sawyers.
• Provide comments on the proposed policy on reimbursement for ISP use to Bob Kalal.
• Appoint Subcommittee to make recommendations concerning electronic theses and dissertations
• Provide comments on the IT Strateic Plan to Cathy Bindewald.