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Community Needs Assessment Committee • Minutes

Monday, October 21, 2002
9:30 am – 10:45 am
Porter Conference Room 407

Present: Jane Britton, Anne Fullerton, Wish Leonard, Shabiran Rahman, Susan Routliffe (Administrative Contact), Jamie Russell, Heather Schaaf, Alexandra Stathopolous, Rose Koebel (Recorder)

Susan Routliffe issued the agenda for the first meeting of the recently re-constituted Community Needs Assessment Committee, held today.

1. Terms of Reference

Committee members reviewed the terms of reference to ensure that there was a shared understanding as to what they mean. There was some uncertainty about the mechanism for CNAC becoming aware of assessment projects that other Library groups or departments might be undertaking, and how proactive the Committee should be in becoming involved. It was emphasized that when Library departments or committees decide to undertake an assessment project, they must inform CNAC. At the same time, CNAC could take on a proactive role and act as a resource and offer its expertise. It was questioned whether departments could include in their project charter the need to inform CNAC of their assessment project, to ensure CNAC’s early involvement. Susan will look further into this question.

2. Outside Recorder

Alexandra Stathopoulos has volunteered to serve as CNAC’s recorder. The Committee accepted her offer, with thanks.

3. Committee Chair

Shabiran agreed to act as the Committee’s Chair. The distinction between the roles of a facilitator and chair was discussed: A facilitator manages the meeting, ensuring that the agenda is followed, and that everyone has the opportunity to speak. The chair assumes a greater degree of responsibility for the group in a broader sense, ensuring for example, that the group’s priorities are established and managed.

4. CNAC’s Relationship to Susan Routliffe

As the Committee’s Administrative Contact, Susan will monitor group communication via email, but will rely on CNAC to inform or update her as appropriate. The Committee will provide her with an annual report.

5. Frequency and Duration of Meetings and Preparing Agendas

The Committee agreed that initially, it should meet every Thursday at 10:00 am, for a maximum of one and half hours. The need to meet weekly will be reviewed once the group has gained some momentum.

The Committee would like to see an annotated agenda several days before the meeting (e.g., on the Monday preceding the meeting). The Chair will determine the agenda topics, to which Committee members can contribute as well. It would be useful to determine agenda items for the upcoming meeting at the end of each meeting.

6. Keeping Other Staff Informed about CNAC’s Activity

Several ways of keeping Library staff informed about the Committee’s activities were suggested as follows:
· CNAC members report on the Committee’s activities on a regular basis at other departmental or committee meetings they attend;
· Send the annotated agenda to Library staff before the Committee’s upcoming meeting, and invite their comments.
· Issue minutes of meetings to Library staff.

7. Maintaining CNAC’s Webpages

Alexandra agreed to maintain the CNAC’s webpages.

8. Asklib Questions

It was unclear whether an archive of both the questions and answers being sent to Asklib was being maintained. Susan will contact Susan Moskal, who is working with the Ask Us/Tell Us group, about this process. CNAC members would like to continue seeing the questions and answers. Susan will also ask Charles to add Alex to CNAC’s email alias, which will be changed from LibNeeds to LibCNAC. Shabiran will contact Charles about adding LibCNAC to the journal indexes evaluation form, for which she is the contact.

9. First Tasks

First tasks for the Committee will include:
· Developing a template to be used by CNAC and others when developing proposals for assessment projects;
· Considering what assessment projects might be undertaken in the upcoming year and developing proposals;
· Inviting others to consider possible projects and submit proposals;
· Determining how the central repository of information and documents will be maintained and managed.

The discussion turned to the kinds of skills CNAC members should possess for the work the Committee will do. Group members commented briefly on their past and current assessment activities (e.g., surveys, usability studies, workshops/courses, working groups) . Regardless of their level of experience, all Committee members are committed to learning more about needs assessment. It was suggested that members participate in sessions such as Project Management Tools, or online courses such as those offered by ARL, whenever the opportunity arises.

10. Agenda Topics for Next Meeting

Agenda topics for the next meeting were determined as follows:
a) Template for assessment project proposals: Give some thought about what the template should include.
b) Recommended needs assessment skills: Committee members who have had some experience with needs assessment activities can prepare a list of skills and readings, etc. to share with the other members.
c) List of assessment projects:
· Investigate assessment projects currently underway in the Library;
· Send a message to the Library on behalf of the Committee to inform staff that CNAC is working on developing a repository of documents relating to client needs assessment, and to solicit information from those who are undertaking projects. (Shabiran agreed to draft this message; she will send it to CNAC to preview.)
d) Maintaining central repository: Should CNAC’s repository be web-based, and/or include a searchable database? It would be worth exploring how other libraries have created their central repositories of information and documents.

Next meeting: Thursday, Oct. 31, 10:00 am., Porter 224. Shabiran will book LIB 224 to the end of December 2002 for CNAC meetings.

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