Skip to the content of the web site.

UW Library Electronic Data Service

MINUTES OF THE MEETING, MARCH 29, 2004

Present: Christy Branston, Jack Cooper, Sandra Keys, Richard Pinnell (Facilitator), Judy McTaggart (Recorder)

Regrets: Shabiran Rahman

  1. Minutes of the Previous Meeting: February 2, 2004: Approved.
  1. Business Arising:

Previous Business Arising, October 29 th minutes:

Sandra noted she has not yet started the project of updating and putting the complete list of local cd-roms on the TDR site. She reported the Guelph presentation has been given and she will also submit Richard’s GIS information request to the Training Committee as a possible session for the Fall term.

Previous Business Arising, November 26 th minutes:

Richard noted he spoke with Mary Stanley and the May issue of “News at Your Library” will be devoted to EDS. Richard also asked the group if the idea of having a panel of experts to examine new data sets for errors was practical. He questioned whether faculty have time to do this. The group agreed it was not practical to examine all new data sets; however, some – the General Social Survey, for example – may be candidates. Action: Richard will take the issue to OMG.

Business Arising, February 2, minutes:

Item 3, Upcoming Conferences: Richard reported TDR will provide funding for the following: Amy Chan and Richard – $500 each to attend ACMLA, Sandra Keys – $500 to attend CAPDU; and Carol Perry - $500 to attend IASSIST. He also noted that policies and procedures for obtaining travel funding from TDR and how these funds are distributed among the three universities needs to be defined.

Item 5, TDR Report: Richard noted the Usability Study has been delayed for the time being and may be considered after NESSTAR has been implemented. He also reported Christy has been subscribed to the TDR web board. Jack offered to provide a refresher on how to use the web board at a future meeting.

  1. Advisory Committee Meeting:

Richard asked the group whether the Advisory Group meeting is a useful forum and if it is serving the purpose for which it was intended – or, should EDS re-think what it is doing? He cited the poor track record in both attendance and feedback and noted that although EDS has tried several stances, there has been no improvement. He questioned whether EDS should continue with the next meeting or disband it and, if the Advisory Group meetings were discontinued, what are the options? The following suggestions were made:

  • Faculty could be informed of what we are considering and their feedback solicited
  • Liaison librarians could be consulted and asked for their input
  • A “who we are and what we do’ article could be included in the May issue of “News at Your Library”. Later on, perhaps, this could be done as a “Spotlight” session
  • A survey of people on the Advisory Committee mailing list could be conducted to obtain information on their needs

There was further discussion about possible agenda items if it was decided to have the next meeting. The group decided that, due to lack of agenda, the next meeting should be deferred until further notice. The group also agreed that the following were good ideas to follow up on:

  • conduct a web survey of people on the Advisory list
  • focus on Liaison librarians for promotion and informing faculty of new data sets
  • submit a “What’s New at Waterloo” column for the Data Links newsletter. Sandra volunteered to write this column for the next issue. Action: Richard will take this to OMG
  1. UWEDS Account

There was discussion about whether the UWEDS account is still active. Action: Richard will follow through to ensure that it has been discontinued. It was noted that all data set requests should now go to LibEDS not UWEDS. Christy stated she needs to get access permission from Marina and then she will remove the link for data set requests on the bottom of the EDS page and also make sure that LibEDS is on all the pages.

  1. Data Links In the Fall

The editing and production of the Data Links newsletter was discussed. Currently, both are done at Guelph; however, Shabiran has indicated she would be willing to assume the editing function again. It was suggested that, since Guelph has no objection to performing both functions, it might be better for EDS to contribute more to the newsletter rather than taking back the task of editing. The following contributions for the next issue were offered:

  • Jack is willing to write an article on web surveys detailing what services are available at all three universities
  • Sandra and Christy will submit the profile on Christy that was written for “News at Your Library”
  • Sandra will write the “What’s New at UW” column listing the new acquisitions

Action: Richard will discuss the editing function with Shabiran and he will take the contribution suggestions to TDR

  1. Facilitator for Future Meetings:

There was agreement that the facilitating function should rotate among Christy, Sandra, Shabiran and Richard. The sequence of rotation should be alphabetical – beginning with Christy on May 3 rd. Action: Judy will compile a facilitator’s schedule and book rooms for the first Monday of each month for the rest of the year (up to December, 2004)

Judy McTaggart

August 3, 2005