LIBRARY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
4 October 2006
Minutes

Attending: Paul Gherman, Flo Wilson, John Haar, Roberta Winjum, Marshall Breeding, Jody Combs, Tracy Primich, Holling Smith-Borne, Celia Walker, Sharon Weiner

Absent: Martin Cerjan, Bill Hook, Juanita Murray, Lisa Shipman

Visitor: Frank Wcislo, Dean of the Commons, Professor, Department of History

Council members met with Professor Frank Wcislo to learn about plans for the Commons and to discuss opportunities for the library to support the goals of the Freshman Commons. Dr. Wcislo is charged with re-imagining, re-conceptualizing, and re-envisioning the Commons. The project encompasses ten houses, five of which are renovations of existing buildings and five are new constructions, all on the southeast corner of the campus. It is a $150 million project that will house 1600 freshmen students beginning fall 2008 (in fall 2007 nine of the ten residences will house sophomores). A Faculty Think Tank is being created to support programming for the Commons.

Dr. Wcislo is working with students, faculty and staff to plan for next year’s programming and to recruit ten faculty members to live in the college houses, mentor the students, and serve on a deans’ council. Faculty will work with students in a variety of programs to encourage communications and collaboration among those groups.

LMC members asked how the library’s skills, resources and technology might be utilized by the Commons. Opportunities for library collaboration discussed were:

1) One or two librarians might serve on the Faculty Think Tank

2) Library staff with special interests may submit proposals to the Dean of the Commons for workshops for approximately twenty students. Examples of workshop topics include: automobile repair; opera, and gourmet cooking;

3) The library might assist in the creation of a Freshman Commons Portal;

4) We can continue to think of ways that the library can support the wireless environment of the Commons. The hallways in the houses are wide and will accommodate groups of students sitting and working together. There might be some additional way that the library can support their work.

The Freshmen Commons is interested in forming an alliance with the Library to support the evolution of the Commons. Librarians’ natural curiosity and intellectual expertise would foster the program. LMC members agreed to discuss these ideas further.