Agenda

March 4, 2009

Meet in Goldberg Conference Room

• Announcements
• Comments from the Dean
• LibQUAL+ 2009 update and Post LibQUAL+ 2006 Survey Change Implementations (Sue)
• All-Staff Meeting on Thursday

Minutes

(Regrets: Beth, Martin, Tracy)

1. Announcements:

• Council members welcomed Annette Williams to her first LC meeting. Annette joins the group at the recommendation of Dr. Giuse of the Biomedical Library, and takes the place formerly held by Frances Lynch.
• Holling announced that Jacob Shaub will begin his position as Music Cataloger next week.
• Bill announced the public beta release of the new interface for the Revised Common Lectionary (http://lib11.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/ ).
• Jody mentioned that we now have over 3 million bibliographic records in ACORN.

2. LibQUAL+ Update: Sue announced that the IRB has approved the LibQUAL submission and that the survey is set to run March 10 – 31. She distributed two handouts: a list of Talking Points, which includes information to assist staff and other survey supporters in responding to questions they may receive about the survey and also includes a list of donors and incentives; and a copy of the flyer which will be posted across campus to encourage participation (for additional copies of these documents, please email robyn.harris@vanderbilt.edu ). Additionally, if any LC members have information on changes implemented as a result of the 2006 survey, please send that to Sue or Robyn. The Library will be making a donation to Second Harvest Food Bank for each survey response; an amount has been budgeted for this donation but LC members also discussed the possibility of placing donation boxes at library entrances, and perhaps taking monetary donations from individuals for this effort. Sue will be visiting various campus groups to market the survey to students, faculty and staff – she will talk to Library staff at the All-Staff Meeting, and visits will be made by Connie and/or Sue to the Faculty Senate and the University Staff Advisory Council, among other groups. Because this is the first time the survey has been open to staff members, it is important to encourage their participation. Connie asks all Library Council members to encourage their staff and other groups/individuals to participate, stating what an important and critical tool the survey results can be toward our planning process for the future. A high response rate will help show the campus community the important role of the Library to the University as a whole, and will also help the Dean express the Library’s needs as she communicates our planning efforts to University administrators. Our target is 4,000 – 4,500 responses; to help us reach this goal, please encourage participation and spread the word about the survey.

3. All-Staff Meeting on March 5: Connie has invited all Library staff to a meeting this Thursday. The format will be a combination of a social gathering combined with a business meeting. The hope is to create a sense of community across the library system; Connie stressed the importance of openly communicating current news and plans with staff. At this first all-staff meeting, Connie will comment on her plans during her first few months as Dean, mention that staff will begin receiving invitations to small group meetings with her, and will have a brief moment of recognition for groups and/or individuals. Lisa Shipman will also discuss the budget, giving an overview of next year’s proposed budget and discussing areas of increase and decrease, and Sue Erickson will discuss the LibQUAL+ survey, describing the survey and encouraging participation by all Library staff. If possible, we will serve refreshments. Handouts will be distributed at each all-staff meeting, and these documents should be made available in electronic format and posted for staff to access afterward. Connie asked LC members to help her determine how to go forward with these types of meetings in the future, requesting advice for future topics and input on staff perceptions of such meetings. The LC will discuss the all-staff meetings afterward to share feedback and comments about each meeting.

4. Comments from the Dean: During the next several LC meetings, Connie will be discussing aspects of a number of different things she will be working on over the next few months and will discuss details on how she and the LC will work together on some of these things. Connie discussed some things she will begin working on in the immediate future:

• She plans to have informal meetings (coffee, etc.) with deans and other administrators, and has already accepted invitations to some appointments and will be sending invitations to others.
• In an effort to increase the Library’s visibility and foster relationships she will be sending notes of appreciation and recognition to individuals on and off campus (including students). These contacts will be gathered from a variety of sources.
• Library staff will also receive note of appreciation/recognition. In addition, staff will be sent thank you notes and get well & sympathy cards. Connie will rely on LC members to contact her with recommendations for these correspondences.
• She plans future meetings such as regular all-staff meetings (roughly twice a semester, or as important information needs to be communicated to staff), individual meetings with LC members, and meetings with LC members and their staff. Council members will receive meeting requests over the next several weeks.

Please call or email Connie with suggestions for topics to discuss at future Library Council meetings.

Robyn will add a discussion item for Professional Development for Staff to the next LC meeting on 3/11/09.