Library Services Committee Meeting
May 7, 1996
Present: Allen, Benson, Cleaver, Cohn, Holder, LeClercq, Lipovsky, Zuraw
(Mabrouk)
Absent: Daine, Hewett, Lally, Perry
Professor Cleaver called the meeting to order at 10:00 am in the rare book room
of the library. The first item for discussion was the approval plan with the
allocation to departments. Prof. LeClercq reported that the vendor would be on
campus June 11-12 to profile each department. The information would be used to
determine what books would be sent by the vendor. She also noted that space
would be set-up for departmental representatives to review the new books as
they arrive. The allocation suggested follows the old formula, but there is
no guarantee that the vendor can match it exactly.
Professor Allen made a motion to try the plan for a year and do an evaluation
at that time to determine if the plan should be adjusted and\or continued. The
motion passed unanimously.
Professor Cleaver reported that the survey results would be sent to each commit
tee member and would be available to any faculty who wanted to see them.
In preparation for next year, the committee elected Professor David Allen as
the new chairperson.
The committee recommended that both an undergraduate and a graduate student be
added to the committee.
Library Services Committee Meeting
March 28, 1996
Present: Benson, Cleaver, Daine, Lally, LeClercq, Lipovsky, Mabrouk
Absent: Allen, Cohn, Hewett, Holder, Perry
Professor Cleaver, chairperson, called the meeting to order at 11:00 am. The
meeting began by hearing about some of the changes taking place in the library.
The third floor has been opened, furniture is being refurbished, and carpets
cleaned.
A gift of $25,000 has been received to fund the purchase of several PC's for
the library. A formal presentation and acknowledgment will be made on Friday,
March 29, 1996.
Prof. LeClercq , director of library services, reported that vendors would be
making presentations about the approval plans discussed at the last meeting.
Committee members were urged to attend the presentations. Data has been
developed to identify the most important publishers for each department.
Some book money will be saved for departments who purchase book from publishers
not included in the approval plan and for special programs.
Prof. LeClercq indicated that another seminar in conjunction with the friends'
program is planned for fall semester. She is seeking the names of individuals
who might be speakers.
Library Services Committee Meeting
January 25, 1996
Present: Allen, Benson, Cleaver, Cohn, Hewett, Holder, Lally, LeClercq,
Lipovsky, Mabrouk
Absent: Daine, Perry
Professor Cleaver, chairperson, called the meeting to order at 11:00 am. The
first item on the agenda was a welcome to Angie W. LeClercq, the new Library
department head.
Ms. LeClercq reported on the activities with which she had been involved since
her arrival on January 1. A major amount of time had been devoted to the
preparation of the Mid-Year Budget review Angie gave a copy of her report to
the members of the committee. Results of the faculty survey and other budget
information were included in her presentation.
The committee decided to distribute the remaining $100,000 book funds to the
departments so that the budget review committee would know the great need for
the library money. To distribute the money, the old allocation formula was
used.
It was reported that the library had received an additional $40,000 for the
purchase of books. This money came from General Poole's office. Most of this
was spent for books on new programs in criminal justice and psychology.
Ms. LeClercq described the plans for a Library "Friends" program and the plan
to have an invited speaker to kick off the campaign.
Angie introduced the idea of an approval plan whereby a company would send new
books when they first appear. The choice of books would be based on a profile
established for the college. This would require at least $100,000 up-front
money. One of the benefits is a 20% discount from the book company. Members
of the committee had some concerns, but felt we should give it a try. One of
the things this would guarantee is that the money would not be taken from the
library budget late in the year. Angie indicated she had discussed this idea
with Gen. Poole and Dean Reilly.
The committee was very pleased to have Angie LeClercq as the new head
librarian. She was the committee's first choice among the candidates and the
committee feels fortunate to have attracted such a professional and experienced
person.
Library Services Committee Meeting
October 31, 1996
Present: Allen, Benson, Cleaver, Cohn, Daine, Holder, Lally, Lipovsky, Mabrouk,
Nath
Absent: Hewett, Perry
Professor Cleaver, chairperson, called the meeting to order at 11:00 am in the
rare book room of the library. The main item on the agenda was the interview
of the third candidate for the position of Library department head.
After the interview, agreement to send out the faculty survey was made.
Professor Cleaver agreed to send it out on e-mail with a few copies going to
each department for those individuals who wanted hard copies.
Library Services Committee Meeting
October 17, 1995
Present: Allen, Benson, Cleaver, Daine, Holder, Lipovsky, Mabrouk, Nath
Absent: Cohn, Hewett, Lally, Perry
Professor Cleaver, Chairperson called the meeting to order at 11:00 am. The
main item on the agenda was the interview of the second candidate for the
position library department head. Since the interview lasted an hour, no other
business was conducted.
Library Services Committee Meeting
October 5, 1995
Present: Allen, Benson, Cleaver, Cohn, Daine, Hewett, Holder, Lally, Lipovsky,
Mabrouk, Nath, Perry
Professor Cleaver, chairperson, called the meeting to order at 11:00 am. The
main item on the agenda was to interview a candidate for the position of
library department head.
After the interview, a short discussion of the recent budget memorandum from
General Poole and Vice-President Lyons about the possible reduction of library
funds ensued. Professor Cleaver submitted a draft of a reply to the memo.
Professor Allen agreed to assist with rewording and presentation.
Library Services Committee Meeting
September 22, 1995
Present: Allen, Bowman, Cleaver, Cohn, Daine, Holder, Lally, Mabrouk, Nath
Absent: Hewitt, Lipovsky
Professor Cleaver, chairperson, called the fourth meeting of the year to order
at 11:00 am. A major portion of the meeting was devoted to a discussion with
Frank Grisham, who was the outside consultant hired to evaluate the library.
Some of the issues discussed were:
1) The need to get a new library head as quickly as possible.
2) The need to enhance communications with other state libraries.
3) Access versus ownership. There is still a need to provide traditional
services as well as new technologic advances.
4) Library needs to provide training on usage.
5) There is a danger of spending too much time planning and not accomplish
anything.
6) Attitude of administration: The library committee needs to educate
administration and faculty on needs and purposes of the library.
7) Collection: Has some strengths and some weaknesses, but generally not
adequate.
8) Budget: Library may have to seek funds from sources other than the general
budget of the college.
Mr. Grisham urged the committee to state the needs of the library and to be
strong advocates for the library. He indicated that faculty support was
absolutely essential for library improvement.
Library Services Committee Meeting
September 15, 1995
Present: Allen, Cleaver, Cohn, Daine, Holder, Lally, Lipovsky, Mabrouk, Nath,
Mays
Absent: Benson, Hewett
Professor Cleaver, chairperson, called the third meeting of the year to order
at 2:30 pm in the rare book room of the library.
The discussion on the allocation of funds to departments for the purchase of
books was resumed. Anje Mays, a member of the library faculty, brought
incomplete results of a study she was doing on how allocations should be made.
She was considering number of faculty, number of majors, and number of students
taught among other factors. Since the study was not complete, the committee
postponed making a decision on the allocation until the study was completed.
There was again concern that the library might lose the funds if they were
not spent quickly.
Another draft of the faculty survey was presented by Professors Lipovsky and
Daine. There was general agreement about the questions. Professor Lally
volunteered to help write the heading to help motivate faculty to answer the
survey. The committee agreed to send final comments to the authors by e-mail.
Professor Cleaver indicated that the consultant, Frank Grisham, would be at the
next meeting and wanted the committee to prioritize their concerns about the
library. The committee didn't come to consensus, but listed several concerns.
1) How do we settle the issue of ownership versus access? 2) Space is a problem
for the library, both for the shelving of books and for study space.
3) How can we get the administration to make financial commitment to the
library?
Library Services Committee Meeting
September 7, 1995
Present: Allen, Benson, Berson(Hewitt), Cleaver, Daine,Holder, Lally, Lipovsky,
Mabrouk,Mays, Nath
Absent: Hewitt
Professor Cleaver, chairperson, called the committee's second meeting of the
year to order at 11:00 am. Items of business discussed were:
1) Library Book Budget - The committee decided that the money allocated for
books be spent as soon as possible to prevent losing the funds. Agreement was
reached to allocate $100,000 to departments based on past year's formula. It
was decided to obtain more information on library needs and uses by departments
before the remaining $100,000 could be allocated. Some fear was expressed that
the library might lose the funds if the money was not used quickly.
2) Professors Daine and Lipovsky presented a draft of a faculty survey about
the services and adequacy of library facilities. The chairperson agreed to
seek specific comments from faculty about the lack of library facilities
causing classroom difficulties with library assignments.
3) Professor Cleaver reported that he was now a member of the library head
search committee. He noted that several good candidates have applied.
4) Questions and discussion items for the consultant, who will visit on
Sept. 21-22, were discussed.
Library Services Committee Meeting
August 31, 1995
Present: Allen, Benson, Cleaver, Daine, Holder, Lally, Lipovsky, Mabrouk, Nath
Absent: Cohn, Hewett
Professor Cleaver of the Mathematics\Computer Science department called the
committee's initial meeting of the Fall, 1995 semester to order at 11:00 am.
The first order of business was the election of Professor Cleaver as
chairperson for the 1995-96 AY. A brief discussion of the purpose of the
committee and the anticipated work for the 1995-96 AY led to the following
suggestions for action..
1) The faculty be surveyed to find their needs and wishes for the
library. Professors Daine and Lipovsky were appointed the task of
developing a faculty questionnaire.
2) A letter be written to General Poole to ask why the leak, which
causes the library to keep some books covered with plastic, was not
repaired last year. It was noted that the leak has been there for
several years and there was a promise that it would be repaired last
year.
The discussion then turned to the consultant who will make his second visit on
Sept. 21-22. A question was raised as to why the consultant was brought here
in early August when several members of the committee were not on campus. It
was noted that the consultant wants the committee to prioritize its perception
of library needs. Committee members were asked to check with their departments
to find specific instances where the lack of library support has caused
problems in the classroom, both undergraduate and graduate, or for individual
research. Professor Cleaver agreed to collect the information and convey it to
the consultant. It was mentioned that it is possible to get a "comparison of
holdings" for our library when compared to similar institutions. The
chairperson agreed to e-mail the consultant to get more information about how
the procedure works. The committee decided that the best time to meet with the
consultant when he returns was Thursday, Sept. 21 at 11:00am.
A question was raised as to why no one from the library services committee was
on the library head search committee. Professor Cleaver agreed to talk to
Professor White, chairperson of the search committee, about adding more members
to the search committee.
The last item of business was the presentation of a proposal by Professor Mays
of the library staff on how to allocate funds to the departments for the
purchase of books. The library has approximately $200,000 to spend this year.
After some discussion, it became clear that more time was needed to study the
proposal and make recommendations.
The next meeting of the committee will be Thursday, September 7 at 11:00am in
the rare book room. The prioritizing of library needs and the allocation of
departmental funds will be the main items on the agenda.
Charles E. Cleaver
Chairperson