Charge for Communications-LIS Services

Background:


The Final Report of the Budget Group Plus raised some key issues to consider when planning Library services to support the fields of Communication Studies and Library & Information Science (LIS).  These include the broadly interdisciplinary nature of research and teaching in these fields, the limitations of current Library spaces, and the rapid demographic shifts in both programs (e.g., the increasing proportion of LEEP students and faculty in GSLIS, the growing undergraduate population as the College of Media shifts from a two to a four-year program . In addition, changes within these academic programs, such as the creation of a CAS Concentration in Digital Libraries in GSLIS, the contributions of both GSLIS and the College of Media to new undergraduate and graduate-level  programs  in Informatics, and the transfer of the Cinema Studies Program from Liberal Art and Sciences (LAS) to the College of Media will continue to shape local practice in teaching and research. The Communications -LIS Services Team is being asked to consider these issues and develop a service profile (or profiles) attuned to the evolving research and teaching needs in each of these fields.

Charge:


The Communications-LIS Services Team will:

  1. Identify how and where to most effectively provide Library services to all disciplines and all communities engaged in the fields of Library & Information Science and Communications Studies giving due consideration to the shifting demographics of  these academic programs, the interdisciplinary nature of these fields,  and the limitations of the available Library spaces.  Submit an interim report outlining these ideas to the University Librarian by October 30, 2008.
  2. Plan the specific steps needed to implement the proposed service profile(s), provide a timeline for implementing these steps, define staffing needs and responsibilities and develop a plan for assessing the effectiveness of the new service profile(s).  Submit an Implementation Plan to the University Librarian by December 15, 2008.
  3. Begin phasing in new service profile(s) during the Spring 2009, with a target completion date of May 30, 2009.
  4. Conduct  a preliminary assessment of the new services, and make future recommendations based on this assessment to the University Librarian by Aug 15, 2009

Membership:

  • Team Leader:  Katie Newman
  • Communications Library, Head:  Lisa Romero
  • LIS Library, Head:  Sue Searing
  • LIS Library, Staff:  Lori Carroll
  • GSLIS Faculty:  Linda Smith (Chair of the LIS Library Advisory Committee)
  • College of Media Faculty:  Brant Houston (Chair of the College of Media  Library Committee)
  • Administrative Liaison:  JoAnn Jacoby



Approved by the Executive Committee:  August 11, 2008; revised August 25, 2008