Present: Christy Branston, Judy McTaggart, Jim Parrott, Susan Routliffe (Chair), Mary Stanley, Jackie Stapleton, Melanie Watkins, Rose Koebel (Recorder)
Regrets: Helena Calogeridis, Richard Pinnell, Linda Teather
Guest: Susan Bellingham
Minutes of Previous Meeting
The minutes of the meeting of April 15, 2003 were previously approved by
e-mail and distributed to Library staff.
Environmental Scan
Christy took "Factors which may Influence Reference Service" to
the May 2nd ISR departmental meeting for discussion on the items
we've identified for inclusion in the scan. She reported that she was able
to address most of the questions raised during that meeting. However, it
was suggested that one issue was missing from our document: accessibility.
Melanie will add this to the Legal Issues section of the scan. The Committee
felt that the scan now captures the necessary factors. Aspects of the scan
will be further explored when ISMC begins to implement the reference review
project.
Charter for an Assessment Project
ISMC continued to develop the Project Charter for Focus Group Discussions
with Library Users/Potential Users about Reference Service.
Project Purpose: The Committee agreed with the wording formulated at the last meeting. While it was felt that the three questions noted are consistent with finding out what our users need and expect, it is anticipated that some answers given in the course of a focus group discussion may require further probing. The facilitator would need to be adequately prepared to utilize a subset of questions if this were the case.
Context: Leave wording as is.
Project Scope: ISMC will determine the details of the Project Scope following research on the following questions:
What is the optimum number of groups? How do we determine when/if additional groups are needed?
What is the optimum number of group members? What should the composition of the participants be?
How and when will participants be recruited?
What personnel/training preparation will be required?
What will the focus group methodology be?
As a start to gathering some background information to guide us in developing the Project Scope, Mary agreed to obtain statistical information on the current student population from the Institutional Analysis and Planning office. Melanie and Susan R. will consult the literature they have on conducting focus groups.
Next Meeting: May 27, at Porter. Topics for discussion: presentation by Janet Wason regarding Ontarians with Disabilities Act; background information for Project Scope for assessment charter; focus group questions.