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MLRRS all meeting 12/11/01 10-11:15am in room 122
Recorded and embellished by Bracken
- Discussion and explanation of contents of General Staff meetings 11/28/01 in relation to MLRRS.
Bracken prefaced the discussion (for 25 minutes!) by exhorting the group that, yea, though the budget is tight, MLRRS must nonetheless continue initiatives to improve Main Library begun in better times (just last year), like complaining about cleaning (and the lack of it) thru Building Services channels; refinishing furniture (and pitching that not worth refinishing); making great signs (and abating old signs that lead nowhere); developing new study areas (like those just completed on 4, 5, and 10, and in development on 11--and 9); investing in new services (such as chat ref); funding faculty and staff participation in workshops, seminars, conferences, etc.; and weeding, weeding, and more weeding; and also find new ways to improve the place and its services. Although some of the changes in/decisions related to personnel and facilities (detailed below) might be seen as set backs and/or steps in the wrong direction, MLRRS must keep its activities focused on doing whatever it will take to reach the final common goal. In short, MLRRS must continue to strive to provide top quality services and collections that will win the recognition and support of students, faculty, and the community who will deliver us into a fully renovated Main Library. Amen.
PERSONNEL
- BSL librarian: Linda Krikos agreed to serve as acting BSL librarian until internal search for a replacement is completed. Bracken has submitted both the job description and the list of search committee members (including a teaching faculty member recommended by the chair of African-American and African Studies) to HR. The position is to be listed immediately, with a 1 January 02 closing date (clarification by Bracken: 1/1/02 is a bogus date; the date will be determined by the Search Committee when it reviews the job description; but the closing date should be shortly). The plan is to fill the position as promptly as possible; at the same time, Bracken anticipates that Linda Krikos will oversee BSL thru the completion of (1) the move of BSL from 210 into 240; and (2) the serials cancellation project. Bracken says that dumping the completion of these projects on anyone new to the BSL position would have been unfair. Bracken emphasized that this is a real search. Any interested faculty are encouraged to apply for the position.
- Entry level Reference librarian: This has been corrected simply to Reference librarian (scratch entry level). This is Marge Murfin’s replacement in ISD. The search will be internal. Bracken has submitted both the job description and the list of search committee members to HR. The position is to be listed immediately, with a 1 January 02 closing date (clarification by Bracken: 1/1/02 is a bogus date; the date will be determined by the Search Committee when it reviews the job description; but the closing date should be shortly). The position was originally drafted by Nancy Courtney and Bracken as a “digital reference” position with responsibilities for developing the ISD web site as well as coordinating "Ask a Librarian" and forthcoming chat reference services, in addition to providing strong support of reference in the social sciences and serving as a collection manager for selected funds. It was a big job. It also reflected the direction of the department: where we want it to go. The revised job description omits the web and electronic stuff but emphasizes expertise in social sciences. The position will also serve as a collection manager in areas to be determined by interest, knowledge, and need. Any interested faculty are encouraged to apply for the position.
- EES and WEL librarians: These positions are being held open for fiscal reasons. Searches for replacements will be opened when there is money. Neither the WEL or EES libraries nor librarians have been eliminated. In the meantime, Bracken has (1) asked a member of the MLRRS faculty to consider taking on the responsibilities for maintaining the WEL and EES operations, including signing Donna and Miroljub’s time slips and overseeing the reading rooms and collections. Bracken is also (2) asking specific MLRRS faculty about their willingness to assume additional responsibilities for collection management for selected subjects. To date, everyone that Bracken has asked to take on more work has been receptive but formal agreements on who will do what have yet to be struck; that is, Bracken hasn’t put anything in writing but he will. Bracken is also doing the rounds among the several WEL teaching departments trying to meet with chairs to explain when, what, and who might do happen in relation to WEL and management of their collections. Bracken has explained (1) and (2). To date all have been understanding of the Libraries' situation (and equally concerned about the serial cancellation project).
- ETC position: Replacing Bracken was approved last Spring (along with the replacement for Marge) but was essentially derailed by the budget crunch. Bracken will continue as ETC collection manager but he is looking for ideas about distributing ETC work to willing MLRSS colleagues; and, actually, some of this has already happened. Kathy Dean has been the collection manager for speech and theatre since AU 2001; Bracken met with the chairs of both departments on these changes and they were understanding. Also Graham Walden has been the collection manager for communication since AU 2001. Any faculty interested in figuring out how to help extricate Bracken from ETC are encouraged to contact him.
- MIC librarian (what’s this?): Effective 1 January 2002, Mel Ankeny, in addition to his responsibilities as reference librarian and collection manager for sociology, will be responsible for supervision of the Microforms Room (MIC) and Periodicals Room (PRR) within the Information Services Department. Jan Wagner, Mary Ries, and John Dai will report to Mel and Mel will continue to report to the Head of ISD. Mel's duties will include overseeing day-to-day operations of PRR and MIC as well as what amounts to "collection management" related to the various formats of materials received in these areas. His work will include decision-making, in consultation with the AD for MLRRS, the Head of ISD, and appropriate collection managers, about the disposition of materials, equipment and technologies, and the physical arrangement of MIC and PRR. It’s hoped that this change will give us better control over stuff that is not completely under MLRRS’s control.
FACILITIES
- Gov Docs area in 130 (what’s going on?): Sherry Engle and Andy Krutko are making an improved Census area in ISD. Docs for disposal have been moved to the barren but clean area of 3A (thanks to Mel Ankeny) until disposition in SU 2002. Sherry and Andy plan to bring down Census stuff from deck 4 to develop the ISD Census collection. And students love the new study tables with nearly a window view in ISD.
- BSL/WMN move: Cheryl Mason-Middleton says that it is progressing nicely, thank you. WMN largely moved into 240 shelves on 12/10. Shelves for BSL being assembled as we speak.
- General discussion of what we (specifically MLRRS) can do to make money and/or save money AND make MLRRS better. Bracken tried to facilitate and record, but he does neither well, let alone both at the same time.
MAKE MONEY
- Ask the Friends to operate a used books store (to sell off gifts, etc.) via the web.
- Charge non-OSU folks who use the Libraries a user fee (Sherry says there will be gov docs compliance problems with this).
- Review and renegotiate Java Master contract to get more money to fund security and cleaning.
- Put a stationery store (to sell supplies, etc.) in Main Library; contract a service to do this or get the Friends to do it.
- Increase Friends' membership fee.
- Charge Interlibrary Loan fees.
SAVE MONEY
- Enforce the food and drink policy. Folks say that this will save on cleaning of MAI, damage to materials, loss of materials, etc. How to accomplish this? Increase security. Even though this will cost money, the group saw this as ultimately saving money.
- Put security (a "special person" who does nothing else) at the Circ gates (move the Info desk and rearrange the area to do this) to stop food and inappropriate drink containers from entering the library as well as to respond to gate alarms when non-desensitized library materials go out.
- Ask HR to provide staff training sessions on how to correctly ask folks to take food and drinks elsewhere, say "No," and otherwise enforce the food and drink policy.
- Close Main Library earlier.
- Cut interim (between term) hours.
- Close all libraries for state and national holidays (such as MLK Day, Veteran's Day, etc.).
- Cut internal staffing hours in Main Library (at locations like MIC).
- Allow staff to work less than fulltime (at less than fulltime pay).
- Use more work study students (when and if you can find them; here having direct contact with the Financial Aid Office is crucial).
- Enforce and collect all library fines.
- Cannibalize an Assistant Director position.
- Close one or several department libraries.
NOT SURE IF MONEY IS MADE OR SAVED
- Allow faculty to take 9 month contracts (no one said faculty should take a pay cut, however; but this will allow faculty to win grants to pay their summer salaries in lieu of raises).
- Another security idea (not food and drink related): feed live video from stacks cameras to the pc at Info Desk so security can monitor stacks (rather than surf).
Several other suggestions of a more sensitive nature (folks named names) came to Bracken after the meeting. Brakcen will convey these. Bracken encourages anyone with suggestions about making or saving money to forward them to Joe Branin, any AD, or a supervisor.
The following document was distributed via email to MLRRS prior to the meeting to foster discussion:
For Discussion: Toward Goals for MLRRS 02/03
12/11/01
- Things "completed," or in progress, or in the works, in 00/01: we know how to do these things; it's just a matter of time and/or $ to accomplish more. Should we cut back on any of them?
Examples:
- keeping the place clean(er), better lighted, more secure
- making signs
- putting phones and pcs in the stacks
- creating study areas/painted and carpeted in the stacks
- reviewing/weeding "orphan" collections
- refinishing furniture
- Things that can't be done (too much $ and/or too little time, or otherwise off our table):
Examples:
- building offices/move reading rooms into stacks/wing rooms
- taking back OIT lab/Javamaster space
- Things that need to be done/tried, but do not fully know how to proceed (things that are more than merely time and/or $; in fact, a lot of it isn’t time and/or $; this isn’t the problem: we just don’t have a good idea yet on how to proceed, but proceed we must).
Examples:
- decide what to do with the Info Desk area (keep it as is; make it a combo of stand up/sit down pcs; make all stand up pcs; remove all pcs and make it a lobby/lounge; make it an e-café; make it a user ed lab; make it an exhibit area; others?)
- improve physical arrangement of 140 (MIC/PRR)
- reorganize stack arrangement by weeding and shifting (classes L, M, N, Q, R, S, T to 11; E and F to 6; DS to 2; PT to 2A; etc.)
- develop a viable in-house continuing education program for all OSUL faculty/staff
- others? write in your favorite “we oughta do”
Jim Bracken (bracken.1@osu.edu)
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