Library Managers, December 19, 2007
9:30 a.m., Davis
Present: Eric Boyd, Betty Graf, Jennifer Haas, Mark Haslett (Chair), Michele Laing, Sharon Lamont, Alex McCulloch, Susan Mavor, Richard Pinnell, Susan Routliffe, Debbie Tytko, Annette Dandyk (Recorder)
Regrets: Allan Bell, Shabiran Rahman, Mary Stanley, Linda Teather
- Chair’s Remarks
- Updates
2007 was a good year for UW and for Library staff and 2008 is expected to be a very busy year. In recognition and as a thank-you every regular library staff member will be given an additional day off in 2008. Recording of the additional day should be handled the same way as the Kresge day, i.e. not recorded with vacation days. Mark will send an email message to staff.
- Around the Table Updates
Jennifer – Angela Madden has been hired by the School of Pharmacy as the contract Pharmacy Librarian effective December 17. She is working with ISR staff to identify collection needs.
Sharon – performance appraisals will be due mid March. In anticipation of a very busy term and to make the performance appraisal process less arduous, the following was proposed:
- We are encouraged by HR to use the form, however only section 1 must be completed. Completing section 2 is optional although most managers choose to complete it.
- In the past couple of years managers have been asked to engage more with their managers before giving the performance appraisal to the staff member. This year, reviewers should at minimum tell their managers if they plan to give someone a rating that is different than the previous year and explain why. If this raises no red flags, the senior manager can read and sign the appraisal after the meeting has taken place.
Sharon has been asked to strike a small ad hoc group to review guidelines and criteria for professional development and travel. She has discussed this with Sandra Keys as president of LAUW.
Eric – work to resolve some heating problems on the 5th floor will be completed soon.
Michele – Linda Finn started her position as Library clerk in the Musagetes Library on December 17. The vacant Library Assistant position may be posted in February and Sara Perkins’ contract will be extended.
Susan R – Abu Dhabi update: based on the United Arab Emirates licensure standards for libraries, Susan has identified relevant documents that we have and has indicated the extent to which they might/might not be suitable for a library in Abu Dhabi, and gave Bruce Mitchell a table outlining this on November 30. While we originally understood that senior administration was aiming to have documentation for the UAE’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research by the end of April, Amit is planning to visit Abu Dhabi in February to show them what we have to date and to get some feedback before documentation is finalized. This has shortened the time frame for preparing the necessary documents. New York University has received licensing permission to set up a University in Abu Dhabi in 2010. Mark will contact NYU’s Head Librarian to see if they have anything that they can share with us.
Action: Mark
Susan M – Special Collections staff participated in or contributed to many anniversary events and documentation in the past year.
Betty – the client upgrades went well and staff were able to return to work sooner than expected. The upgrade on the server is side taking a bit longer; Charles Woods is investigating.
Alex – during the upgrade Circulation Services implemented an offline discharge service that they developed based on a database borrowed from the University of Kansas, meaning they did not have to stockpile 4,000 returned items. They were also able to do holds during the upgrade.
Annette – managers are asked to encourage staff to attend the suicide prevention (QPR) session being offered on three dates in January (January 14, Davis; January 16 or 17, Porter; all at 10:00 a.m.) The training would be of value to everyone, not just front line staff.
- Porter Reno Update
Committee members reviewed the latest floor plan. The plan show three main public areas – one area mainly for research activity (no workstations, quiet study); individual study, possibly similar to the Sims area and with a comfortable seating area; and group activity (situated near the Graphics outlet). The plan is based on feedback from students. The architects have come up with ceiling applications and lighting for the different areas of the 2nd floor, creating a sense of intimacy in the small areas and height in the center from the doors to the portrait wall.
The Porter Reno Group had considered installing an LCD panel somewhere on the 2nd floor as a vehicle for notifying students of upcoming workshops, promotions and events. Nancy Collins contacted other libraries that use them and Retail Services at UW about the value of having an LCD panel. Her report recommends that the Library collaborate with Retail Services or Food Services as they already have arrangements with a software company. As this is a communications initiative, the project will be handled by Nancy and Mary. A panel for Davis will be considered at some time down the road.
- Business Arising from November 21
#1 Around the table: Ad hoc groups on space, student experience, and e-initiatives – Mark thanked all involved, especially the point people. What they have pulled together has proven to be valuable already. Mary consolidated their notes into a two page summary for a meeting with Linda Kieswetter yesterday. Space continues to be a big issue and Mark plans to discuss this further with Amit Chakma. The groups will walk through what they have done to date at the January 16 Managers meeting.
Civil Workplace – there was a delay sending managers their passwords for the Managing Workplace Harassment program because Hicks Morley sold the program to another firm. It is expected that Catherine Fry will contact Managers early in January.
- Infrastructure Committee
Over time, tasks carried out by the Infrastructure Committee have become fewer and fewer and less consistent with the full scope of their mission statement. The current group was concerned about this trend and about their difficulty in recruiting new members. As a result they proposed that the group be disbanded or re-energized (e.g. require managers to designate staff as members of the group).
Infrastructure group members conducted a review during which they looked at projects they have handled over the past few years and grouped them under the three broad areas of their mission statement: physical setting, essential support resources and services, and healthy organizational culture (subdivided by the group as social events or library procedures). At the conclusion of the review they recommended that the Infrastructure Committee be disbanded and the tasks distributed elsewhere as appropriate. One potential issue: in the past Infrastructure served as a venue for people who had an issue and were uncomfortable discussing it with a Manager. Infrastructure would discuss these matters and often handle them without taking them any further. In the absence of an Infrastructure group staff may feel that this is a gap.
Library Managers accepted Infrastructure’s recommendation that the group be disbanded. Further, Library Managers recommended that the decision be reviewed in one year. Sharon will draft a message for staff and send it to managers for review.
Action: Sharon
- Pandemic Planning
UW prepared a general pandemic plan for the campus over a year ago and individual units have been working on plans for their areas. It can be viewed on the web at http://www.secretariat.uwaterloo.ca/
UWPandemicPlan.pdf
A pandemic is defined as an epidemic that affects the population of a wide geographic area, even the whole globe. On campus it has been defined as 30% of staff across campus being sick. The Library has been identified as a high risk area because of the number of staff and the number of people who come into the Library. Susan R, Sharon and Allan have drafted a pandemic plan for the Library. It contains two guiding principles:
- Provide a reasonable level of access to print collections and to electronic resources and services as long as possible
- Minimize risks inherent in face to face contact
The document will serve as a framework, as the Library ultimately will be guided by what the University decides.
Once finalized Mark will forward the Library’s pandemic plan to Bruce; it will also be distributed to all library staff.
Next meeting: January 16, Davis
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January 22, 2008
