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Library Managers • Minutes

Library Managers , December 21, 2004
10:00 a.m. , LIB 407

Present: Lorraine Beattie, Susan Saunders Bellingham, Eric Boyd, Betty Graf, Mark Haslett (Chair), Sharon Lamont, Jim Parrott, Richard Pinnell, Susan Routliffe, Linda Teather, Debbie Tytko, Annette Dandyk (Recorder)

Regrets: Michele Laing, Shabiran Rahman, Mary Stanley

Guest: Bruce Mitchell

  1. Planning for Fiscal 2005-2006

    Campus wide budget reductions of up to 3% are anticipated in 2005-2006 and will have significant implications for the Library. Bruce Mitchell provided some context: enrolment targets were not met this fall; tuition fees are frozen; and, the University needs to put significant funds into the pension plan. An unknown is the Rae commission and what the government will act on. This uncertainty makes it difficult for institutions to plan budgets, hence the advisory to assume a 3% cut.

    Other financial considerations for the Library include:

    • there are no scheduled retirements in the Library in 2005-2006 or 2006-2007;
    • IBM is selling its PC division. How this will impact the Library with respect to the UW @ IBM alumni fund raising program is unknown. It was originally hoped that the gift from IBM could help fill the gap created when Library IT budgets were cut several years ago;
    • significant expense may be incurred to address ongoing airflow handling issues on the 3rd floor;
    • an unanticipated expense will occur in 2005-2006 to sustain the OC UL Scholars Portal project. UW’s share will be approximately $35,000 in 2005-2006;
    • there are potential expenses for CRKN (Canadian Research Knowledge Network, formerly CNSLP) membership; the cost is currently unknown;
    • the Annex is filling up quickly and it is projected that it could be at capacity in late 2007 or 2008. Expenses to build an addition would be so prohibitive that the possibility of compact shelving is being explored.

    When the positions for Director, Organizational Services and Associate University Librarian, Information Management and Systems Services were posted it was anticipated that 2005-2006 would be steady state, i.e. no budget cuts. The impending cuts create extreme uncertainty and after discussions with Bruce Mitchell and Human Resources it was decided that the Associate University Librarian posting would be withdrawn.

    An all staff meeting will be scheduled early in January 2005.

  2. Planning for the 6th Decade ( Bruce Mitchell)

    The goal is to have the 6th decade plan ready for the decade beginning in 2007. UW’s 50th anniversary and the end of Campaign Waterloo will also occur in 2007. The intent is that each academic and academic support unit would complete a self study in context of overall achievement of academic excellence. The Senate Long Range Planning Committee (SLRP) will provide the oversight of the plan and has provided a template that units can use as a basis for their work.

    Units are asked to submit their reports to SLRP by April 30th. Draft plans, highlighting the items of most importance should be submitted to the appropriate associate provost prior to that, allowing enough time to review and rework the document.

    Once the Senate Long Range Planning Committee has received the submissions from across campus they will begin the process of sifting the information, which may take as long as one year.

    The Library’s Timeline:

    • an all staff meeting will be scheduled the week of January 10th to inform staff about budget issues and the 6th decade planning process;
    • the Library Managers group will work as a whole to develop an initial draft by March 1; it will be distributed to all library staff for input;
    • the next to last draft will be submitted to Bruce Mitchell by April 1 for review and input;
    • the final report will be submitted to SLRP by April 30, 2005 .
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August 2, 2005