Present: Jane Forgay, Betty Graf, Jennifer Haas, Mark Haslett (Chair), Susan Mavor, Alex McCulloch, Carl Nagel, Susan Routliffe, Mary Stanley, Debbie Tytko, Annette Dandyk (Recorder)
Regrets: Eric Boyd, Michele Laing, Sharon Lamont, Richard Pinnell
1. Chair’s Remarks
• Recognition and Commendation
August anniversaries:
August 12, Agnes Zientarska-Kayko, Porter ISR, 15 years
August 19, Alex McCulloch, Circulation Services, 25 years
August 20, Mark Haslett, Library Office, 15 years• Updates
Jennifer’s term as a member of PSAG (OCUL Public Services Advisory Group) is coming to an end and she will be stepping down at the next meeting. Mark thanked her for her work on this committee.Mark had lunch with Doug Peers, the new Dean of Arts on July 29. The Dean is presently spending a lot of time focussing on the Stratford initiative.
A TUG Digital Humanities workshop is being coordinated by the TUG History departments for September 30 and October 1.
Reminder: Friday, August 19, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., Sean Van Koughnett’s presentation about student services.
2. Business Arising from July 20
There was no business arising.3. Library Review, all staff meeting
An all staff meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 27.Mark emphasized that the Library Review in no way changes the Library’s ongoing commitment to “no layoffs”.
Mark outlined again the key steps:
Step 1 – Establishing an overall framework & identifying broad themes & issues to explore as we look forward.
Step 2 – Self-study; intended to be both exploratory and educational with teams established for each theme.
Step 3 - Strategic directions, values, our view of the future
Step 4 - External reviewStep 5 - Final report to Provost & Associate Provost, Resources
Mark also noted that:
o Undertaking the Library Review is in part due diligence
? It is something we should simply do as we move forward
? The Provost, President & 6th Decade Plan all call for such reviews
• The Library is providing campus leadership
• The framework and timelines provide us with the opportunity for integrating and dovetailing our work with multi-year planning now underway in the Facultieso We want to stay focused …
? Listen to our users
? Act on what we hear
? Maintain a strong service ethic
? Look forward; Stay ahead of the curve…
? Be flexible, innovative, …o In brief, this is:
? due diligence
• building on strengths
• engaging with our users
• engaging with each other
• strategic & forward-looking4. Around the Table Updates
Alex
Interviews for the two vacant full-time positions (Weekend Supervisor/Trainer, and Evening Supervisor and Technical Support) are scheduled to start next week.Circulation staff will undergo training for Relais Express in the next few weeks. Relais Express is print from web software that delivers journal articles to the user’s desktop. No commitment has been made to when we will upgrade to it yet, although many Ontario universities plan to do so in the fall. The outcome of the training will help decide when that might occur.
Pascal
Chris Gray was able to finish a ‘proof of concept’ of the Ares to Desire2Learn integration. Details and timelines for how this will be rolled out are still being discussed.Chris Gray spent a few hours working with a new technical contact at LAC (Library and Archives Canada), and was able to have LAC successfully harvest the vast majority of UWSpace theses/ dissertations.
Tomorrow Pascal and Systems staff will brainstorm and do gap analysis from the perspective of identifying things they do, identifying opportunities and things they should or would like to do, and how to tie in to the Library review.
Pascal had an introductory meeting with Bob Hicks of IST about the proposal to provide IT support for students in Porter and Davis, funded by IST. A broader meeting about it will follow.
Next week he will meet with Martin Timmerman about Unix support.
Jane
Pascal has been invited to the August 26 Porter ISR departmental meeting.Carl
Facilities:
A detailed schedule has been laid out for the heating repairs to 2nd floor. Alternative locations are being found for displaced staff during the renovation, which is expected to take approximately six weeks.Carl met with Jennifer, Sam Gibbon, and Ben Colussi to talk about numerous heating issues in Davis. Finding a solution may be a challenge, as many previous attempts have failed.
Systems:
Carl has learned that the power outage on August 20 may be longer than five hours. Carl will arrange for systems and servers to be shut down prior to the power outage, and will use the time during the outage to install some UPS cards. Pascal will send email messages alerting Library and TUG staff. Davis will likely remain open during this time, although some services will be interrupted.Systems had thought that the unified move to Active Directory was imminent, but it hasn’t happened. Carl will call IST to investigate, and inquire when it might occur.
Systems staff are readying the Relais Express stations. They hope to receive more training and documentation than they had been receiving from IBM.
Susan
Susan gave an update on the Copyright situation. In July Geoff McBoyle sent a message stating that effective August 31, 2011 the University would no longer have an agreement with Access Copyright. This has resulted in major implications with respect to copyright rules.The Library has been updating the copyright FAQ, and has also prepared a document that focuses specifically on copyright for instructors. One of the biggest implications of pulling out of the Access Copyright agreement is that instructors may no longer make multiple copies to hand out in class.
Susan, Wish Leonard, Jane Holbrook (CTE) and others have received many questions from faculty who want to ensure that they are doing the right thing.
The Library has not yet communicated broadly to library staff, although, in the context of questions raised by faculty in Pharmacy and Optometry Susan has discussed the changes with Angela Madden and Kathy MacDonald, and will do a session for ISR staff at a departmental meeting. A general session for staff may be scheduled at some point.
This matter will likely be discussed in a number of forums such as Senate, Senate Grad Council, Senate Undergrad Council, and Faculty Council. Mark asked Jane and Jennifer to find out when the next faculty council meetings will be in the fall term. He or Susan may attend and give a brief presentation. Other opportunities for getting the word out include meeting with the Federation of students, and something in news@ your library.
Mary
With the introduction of the new Student Life Office, Student Life 101 has become a weekend workshop for incoming students, instead of a one day event. During the weekend, student leaders will take students around to various student areas; unfortunately the Library was not asked to provide a script. The Library presentation had always been very well received at Jumpstart Fridays, but that program has been cancelled. At some point Mary may talk to Sean Van Koughnett to express our concerns.Last week Mary attended a meeting about the Lipdub project that uWaterloo is planning to do this year. Lipdub is a video comprised of a large group of individuals lip-synching to a song with the original song dubbed over it. It is fun for the students and raises school spirit. At this point the Library does not have a role, and Mary does not know if they will choose to come into the library.
Mary is working with Susan Mavor on the launch of the Westmount book, which will be this fall, likely October.
Susan M
Susan has received the proofs for the Westmount neighbourhood book. Grant money has been received from several sources.Special Collections will again participate in the local Doors Open event, on Saturday, September 17. This year’s display will be called Doors Open Through the Photographer’s Lens. It will highlight the inside and outside of other locations on this year’s tour.
Jennifer
The uWaterloo Library, along with other research libraries, is involved in an ARL e-sciences institute. Jennifer and Kathy Szigeti are part of the Waterloo team who will work on a number of assignments about e-research data. One other campus member will join in the project. They are currently working on the first assignment, and will eventually develop a capstone project. This program dovetails with a variety of other North American projects.Mark
Eva Dodsworth is approaching completion of her book and it may be published in November.
Next meeting: Aug 17