Annual Report of the Library Council, 2001/2002

Phil Smith

Immediate Past Chair

 

 

The major discussion items for Library Council during the past year have involved the renovation of Main Library; the Libraries’ budget; digital initiatives being undertaken by the Libraries, including involvement in the development of an OSU Knowledge Bank; and the potential realignment of Library Council to form a new committee.

 

Main Library Renovation—Preparation for the Main Library renovation project continued, with Library Council being kept apprised of progress with status reports given at each of the meetings held throughout the year.  Council members introduced each of the open meetings that were held in October by the architects conducting the Feasibility Study.  The Feasibility Study was completed in January 2002, and plans for the project are currently on schedule. The selection process for the architect of record is underway, and finalizing of the Memorandum of Agreement and selection of the design architect will follow shortly. 

 

Library Council has long been an advocate of the renovation of the Main Library, and both current and past members of the Council share a sense of satisfaction that this long-awaited goal appears to be coming to fruition.

 

Budget Issues—Library Council was kept informed of the constrained budget picture for the Libraries throughout the year.  The loss of the annualized Library Materials Index increase was of particular concern.  This increase, designed to maintain the Libraries’ purchasing power in the face of inflationary increases in the cost of library materials, was provided for 2001/2002 in cash, rather than annualized funds.  As the year unfolded, it became clear that there would be no Materials Index increase—even cash—for the 2002/2003 fiscal year.  This loss necessitated the implementation of a serials cancellation project, which resulted in a 3% reduction in the amount of funds used for journal subscriptions. Members of Library Council and the faculty at large were widely consulted during this process.

 

The loss of budget funds and the need to help pay for salary increases with internal funds necessitated reductions in all other areas of library expenditures as well.  Faculty and staff vacancies that occurred during the year were left vacant, and there were reductions in the amount of funds available for the purchase of supplies, services, and equipment.  The outlook for 2002/2003 continued to be bleak, with the continued inability to fill faculty and staff vacancies, a 10% reduction in the funds available to hire student employees, a cut in the funds available to purchase new equipment, and significant decreases in funds available to purchase supplies and services.

 

Digital Initiatives/OSU Knowledge Bank—University Libraries has long been in the forefront of providing access to new materials being published in digital form, both through its own efforts and as a partner in OhioLINK.  The same has not been true, however, in the area of digitizing existing materials—particularly in the Libraries’ Special Collections—to make them available for teaching and research.  Identification of what should be done, as well as finding the resources to meet the challenge, assume significant importance.

 

Early in his tenure as Director of Libraries, Joe Branin was asked to become involved in a campus-wide effort to propose the development and implementation of an OSU Knowledge Bank.  The organization and description of Knowledge Bank components has been recognized as a logical extension into unpublished materials of the Libraries’ traditional activities involving the published scholarly universe.  A large number of databases and files currently exist on campus, and the provision of uniform access to that data will make possible the streamlining of record keeping, the sharing data and research, as well as reducing duplication and saving money.  It is anticipated that the new Council on Libraries and Information Technology could serve as a catalyst and provide oversight for the Knowledge Bank project.

 

Realignment of Library Council—The Chair of the Senate Steering Committee asked the Council to discuss the issue of realigning Library Council to form a new committee that would encompass information technology.  A representative from the Office of Information Technology attended Council meetings to provide input to the discussion and answer questions that might arise.  In view of information technology’s compelling influences on library service, as well as an overriding factor in virtually all campus operations, Library Council expressed support for the establishment of a Council on Libraries and Information Technology.

 

A subsequent request was received to discuss the inclusion of issues/activities formerly handled by the Bookstore Committee under the purview of the new committee.  This proposal was discussed extensively and rejected on the basis of incompatible operations and potential conflicts of interest.

 

Library Council subsequently sent forth a resolution supporting the constitution of a new Council on Libraries and Information Technology with proposed changes to the text of Faculty Rule 3335-5-482 to reflect the expanded responsibilities of the Council.