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Library Managers

University of Waterloo
Library Managers, October 12, 2011
9:30 a.m., DC 1568

Present: Pascal Calarco, Betty Graf, Jennifer Haas, Sharon Lamont, Susan Mavor, Alex McCulloch, Carl Nagel, Susan Routliffe (Chair), Debbie Tytko, Annette Dandyk (Recorder)

Regrets: Jane Forgay, Christine Jewell, Mark Haslett, Michele Laing, Richard Pinnell, Mary Stanley

1. Chair’s Remarks
• Recognition and Commendation
Anniversaries:
October 1 - Al Smith, Cataloguing, 30 years
October 1 - Cornelia Tiba, Cataloguing, 10 years

2. Business Arising from Sept 21
There was no business arising.

3. Library Review
Managers will create an inventory of activities in each unit:

- tasks will be clustered into tasks/activities
- how many people engage in that activity
- percentage of time spent on that activity if it can be measured
- notes about that area (e.g. more resources needed to be effective)
- skills required to do some jobs

LibExec and three Library facilitators (Alison Hitchens, Kathy MacDonald, Kathy Szigeti) will meet with the external facilitator, Jo Nelson, I.C.A. Associates on October 14 to articulate a uniform process for facilitating sessions and final reports. Managers were asked to put completed inventories on the SharePoint site or send them to LibExec. Mary will contact Managers when the SharePoint site is ready to be used. The inventories will provide fodder for the facilitated self-study sessions.

A two day retreat for the managers, chairs of committees participating in the review and facilitators has been booked at the Balsillie School, December 15 & 16.

4. Library Day
This year’s Library day is scheduled for October 26 and falls during student success week. The structure will be the same as previous years, but the organizers would like to hold it in the Davis Library, the rationale being that it promotes more awareness of the Library. However, concern was expressed that this will likely result in contact with fewer students than if the event remains in the great hall. Susan will take the feedback back to Mary.
Action: Susan

The organizing committee also would like to schedule a drop-in pizza lunch for the casual workers that day. Susan will follow up with Cheryl about the status of the lunch and getting word out to the student workers.
Action: Susan

5. Porter Public Environment Assessment Group
The Porter Public Environment Assessment Group was established in winter 2011 to investigate concerns about the environmental quality of the public areas of Porter, specifically regarding noise levels; saving of seats; and hot/aromatic food. Membership consisted of Susan Arruda, Judy McTaggart, and Jae Min Jin (co-op student). Managers reviewed the summary report and recommendations.

Renovation projects on the 6th and 10th floors of Porter are planned for the near future, making this is a good opportunity to integrate some of the recommendations from the report.

The biggest issue for students is noise. The report identifies the problematic areas and makes two main recommendations:
• Separate areas and use the same language as in Davis: group study; quiet study; and silent study.
• Clearly designate areas according to the desired environment to encourage the desired behaviour, and post signage to identify the area.

Next steps: Sharon and Alex will decide on a plan for distributing the report.
Action: Sharon and Alex

6. Davis Noise Renovation Group
Managers reviewed a progress report on the noise issue from June to August 2011. The report identifies ‘hot spots’. Plants Operations has been asked to bring in acoustical consultants to help define some options.

7. Flextime Review
The ad hoc flextime review committee met over the summer and carried out a survey, which determined that staff are generally very pleased with the new flextime guidelines.

Managers agreed that there was no need for change to the guidelines. Sharon will arrange for the survey to be put on the staff web and inform staff.
Action: Sharon

8. Working from Home Annual Review
Managers reviewed and approved the draft working from home guidelines http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/staff/managers/private/working.html It can currently be accessed from the Library Manager website and will also be made available under Library Information. The WFH template will be added to the guidelines.

After discussion about the period of renewals, it was agreed that renewals could be for up to one year, and to add the following statement: When the arrangement is for one year it will normally be reviewed annually but might be reviewed earlier if circumstances change. Not all agreements will have the same renewal period. Annual agreements will be reviewed during performance appraisals.
Action: Sharon

9. Bereavement Leave
During discussions with casual staff last year, one of the issues raised was the lack of benefits for casual staff. As part of discussions that Alex, Richard and Michele had while drafting the casual staff hiring practices document the issue was raised again. Sharon consulted with HR and learned that UW policy clearly states that casual staff are not entitled to sick leave.

Sharon also inquired about bereavement leave and learned that the Bereavement Guidelines do not state who is covered, therefore allowing the Library to decide whether to extend the guidelines to casual employees. Managers would be comfortable doing so.

10. Around the Table Updates
Debbie
Debbie will be on reduced workload effective Nov, 1, with Monday being her day off.

Sharon
The annual Mental Health Wellness day is October 27. Cheryl will order a supply of t-shirts for staff interested in wearing one on that day (primarily front line staff).

Annette will work with Kate Windsor to schedule a Workplace Accommodation Manager Training session in late November. A second session may be scheduled for supervisors at a later date.

Carl has agreed to continue as interim manager for Facilities. Sharon expressed the Library’s appreciation.

Pascal
Scholars Portal is Friday, December 9.

Alex
Re print from web: the vendor has been having trouble getting Relais Express to work with Windows 7 so no progress has been made to date.

For the first time, uWaterloo ILL is a net borrower instead of a net lender.

Carl (Systems)
The problems with Relais have created an issue for the Systems department as the vendor has relinquished any responsibility except for Relais Express. Systems staff will have to learn how it works and provide support.

The free printing issue has been resolved, although Systems staff are still working to fix the underlying problem.

A campus wide subcommittee is working to make the printing experience the same for students across campus, regardless of where they are printing. The Library will be used as a model. The print servers will likely reside in IST.

The campus experienced toner bombing over the past weekend. Staff are looking at ways to prevent it from happening again.

Carl (Facilities)
The heating repairs in Porter are expected to be finished November 2. There is no information on when the work on the Porter patio might begin. Plant Operations has been asked to deal with Davis heating issues.

Susan R
The Open Access FAQ is ready to be disseminated. The group that has been working on open access week will be promoting the FAQ. Nancy Collins will send a message to all staff in the next day or so. It can be viewed on the staff web http://subjectguides.uwaterloo.ca/openaccess

 

Next meeting: November 2


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

 

 


 


 


 


 


 




 




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October 31, 2011