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Library Managers

University of Waterloo
Library Managers, June 1, 2011
9:30 a.m., DC 1568

Present: Betty Graf, Jennifer Haas, Sharon Lamont (Chair), Susan Mavor, Alex McCulloch, Carl Nagel, Richard Pinnell, Debbie Tytko, Carolyn Vincent (Recorder)

Regrets: Annie Bélanger , Eric Boyd, Annette Dandyk, Mark Haslett, Michele Laing, Susan Routliffe Mary Stanley

1. Chair’s Remarks
• Recognition and Commendation
There were no anniversaries to note.

• Updates
The deadline for the Access Copyright Interrogatories is Friday, June 3rd.

UW hosted 39 Dutch and Flemish Librarians on Tuesday, May 31st. Alex and Sharon conducted tours, Jennifer and Nancy Collins did presentations, and a luncheon was provided at Davis in the ICR lounge.

2. Business Arising from May 18
Carl contacted IST to schedule two training sessions for Microsoft Outlook Calendar Training. The sessions will be held on the morning of June 17th and the afternoon of June 20th. This first round of training will be addressed at heavy Calendar users. Carl will send an email to LIBAdminPlus and ISR. If the sessions are not full, Carl will open them up to all Library staff.

Action: Carl

3. Group Study Rooms
Alex has been chairing the Group Study Room Planning Team. Part one of their mandate was to develop a document that describes the features of a well-equipped study room at UWaterloo and provide space and cost estimates for the various features.

The research confirms that the key things to get right are not high technology but the basics, such as good lighting, user-friendly furniture, air circulation and so on. There should be a mixture of small (4 person) and large (6 person) study rooms, with the larger rooms allowing for flexible use of furniture.

For one larger room, a Media:scape table from Steelcase is recommended. This table allows students to easily share their laptop screens by displaying them on a large screen, like the Porter study booth.

Next Steps: An audit will be done on the size of the study rooms we currently have. Alex will develop a chart to add to the document. Work will proceed on designing and constructing new Porter 10th floor study rooms according to the recommendations of the report.

Action: Alex

4. Porter Noise Report
Alex presented the report of The Porter Public Environment Assessment Group, which was established in winter 2011 to investigate concerns about the environmental quality of the public areas of the Porter library. The work focussed on: noise; saving seats; and food.

The noise level analysis was derived from information gathered from three assessments conducted during the 2011 winter term. The user survey indicates that 78% of Porter library users experience noise disruption ‘sometimes’ ‘often’ or ‘always’. Staff observation, however, assessed that even at peak periods the noise level in most parts of the building is ‘medium’ or ‘low,’ with the Main floor, 5th floor, and group study tables being occasional exceptions. Nevertheless, the impact of noise disruption experienced by users was significant enough to merit large numbers of patrons taking action, including often leaving the library.

Sharon thanked the members of the Assessment Group for their work (Susan Arruda, Judy McTaggart, Jae Min Jin).

Some key recommendations of the report:
• Separate group areas from individual study areas and from areas that allow for quiet interactions between two patrons.
• Designate study areas according to the desired environment: silent; quiet (area where two patrons can converse using low voices); group study.
• Conduct another assessment of the noise levels in Porter after incorporating the above recommendations to determine if reorganization changes addressed noise concerns.

Action: Sharon will discuss the report with Susan and Mark, and then Sharon and Alex will meet to discuss next steps.

5. Flextime Review Process
The flextime trial began July 1, 2010 and now it is time to review the process. The proposal was put forth that the ad hoc group reconvene. Three members (Annie Bélanger, Linda Finn and Karen Shantz) will have to be replaced. Feedback will be gathered over the summer and recommendations based on the feedback will be brought back to the managers group for review in early fall.

6. Around the Table Updates
Sharon
Sharon will be off work from Thursday, June 9th and back on Monday, June 20th.

Richard
Richard will be away two weeks in July and all of August.

Carl
IST is investigating harmonization of IT help desks and is trying to determine a common pool of services provided to students. Bob Hicks is investigating technical support. Carl will report back to the managers group once more information is known.

Next meeting: June 15


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

 

 


 


 


 


 


 




 




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September 17, 2011