Library Office Notes

Present:  Paula Kaufman (chair), Margaret Chaplan, Tim Cole, Richard Griscom, Beth Sandore, Sue Searing, Mary Stuart, Leslie Troutman, Beth Woodard

Paula Kaufman welcomed the new members of the Executive Committee:  Beth Sandore, Richard Griscom, Beth Woodard, and Sue Searing.

1.  Elections of Vice-chair and Secretary

Tim Cole was unanimously elected Vice-chair of the Executive Committee.  Margaret Chaplan was elected Secretary of the Executive Committee by acclamation.

2.  Visiting Committee Assignments

Several suggestions for Visiting Committee assignments were made.  Paula will check with the people involved and inform FRC of the results.  The Chair of FRC will keep a current list of Visiting Committee Assignments on the FRC website.  EC will inform FRC regarding any changes.

3.  Committees

Nina Davis' resignation from the Library created a vacancy on the Exhibits Committee.   Paula Kaufman will contact the person suggested to fill the vacancy.

A motion was unanimously approved to change the Composition of the Exhibits Committee by deleting "a Faculty Member" in the second sentence, resulting in the following wording:   "The Chair is appointed by the University Librarian with the advice of the Executive Committee."  Paula will invite a member of the committee to be chair.

The CPC charge will be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.

The PAC Subcommittee of the Gateway Committee is now the PAC Team under ISCC.    The Composition will be as follows:  "Membership includes representatives from the User Education Committee, CPAC, Central Reference, and the Library Systems Office plus others appointed by the University Librarian on the advice of the Executive Committee, the Library Systems Director, and the Chair of the Team.   Members serve two-year terms and may be reappointed.  The Team Chair is appointed by the University Librarian."

4.  FRC Draft Assessment Model

The FRC hopes to present to the Faculty later this fall a Draft Assessment Model that will incorporate changes in Library Faculty Assessment procedures.  Beth Sandore explained the current draft and the FRC's thinking regarding faculty assessment.

Some EC members were in favor of waiting for the final approval of the Campus directive, currently under consideration by the Council of Deans, that will mandate an annual review with qualitative feedback for every faculty member.  Other EC members felt that the Library should move forward with its own plans to improve faculty evaluations and assessments in order to implement fairer and more accurate evaluations of the librarianship component of our job performance, comply with a directive from the Provost's Office, and facilitate the work of the FRC.

Concerns were raised because a portion of salary increases depends on the reviews, and EC members who served on FRC during the past year felt that the current process does not provide an adequate measure of performance in the area of librarianship, and questions arose about the process and the results.  Another concern was raised about adding what might be considered an administrative review element to the Library Bylaws-required FRC "peer review" process.  The suggestion was made that administrative reviews could be conducted separately and should not be something done by FRC simultaneously with Bylaws-mandated peer reviews.

The following points about the assessment process were made during the discussion by the EC:

1.  Many faculty want feedback, but some feel that supervisory evaluation is not the way to get it.

2.  Goal-setting ought to be an exercise to link individual performance to the Library's strategic plan.

3.  Peer evaluation is very important, but no concrete suggestions for revising the model were forthcoming.

4.  Supervisors need to get feedback from staff and from faculty who report to them [as well as from those to whom they report].

5.  There was concern expressed about the campus' imposition of faculty review criteria and about the need for the Library to respond to Comm. #21 by implementing the proposed changes.

6.  It was suggested that in place of soliciting supervisory assessments we might do a better job of instructing faculty about how to write good annual reports.   Conversely, it was pointed out that a major problem with the current process is that one's evaluation hinges on one's writing ability rather than on actual performance.

7.  Some faculty want regular feedback on their performance in the three areas.

8.  Some faculty find the current system of peer assessment to be "fatally flawed" and are eager to try something different.

9.  FRC needs more objective input on performance in the area of Librarianship, but no consensus about what that might be.

After a discussion of the issues involved, Paula thanked EC for their comments.

The meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

Present:  Paula Kaufman (chair), Margaret Chaplan, Tim Cole, Richard Griscom, Beth Sandore, Sue Searing, Leslie Troutman, Beth Woodard

Absent:  Mary Stuart

I.  Approval of the Past Meeting Minutes

The minutes of the July 11, 2000, meeting were approved as corrected.  Because of lack of time to incorporate the many revisions received, the August 28, 2000, minutes will be considered for approval at the next meeting.

II.  New Business

A.  Appointment of Assistant Map & Geography Librarian

The discussion of the appointment raised the issue of Library needs for expertise in digital materials and collections and whether this should be addressed centrally or whether expertise should be developed at the unit or division level.  After a specific discussion of the needs of the Map & Geography Department, the EC approved the request for a full-time Assistant Map & Geography Librarian by a vote of six in favor with one abstention.  Names of members for the Search Committee were suggested, and Paula Kaufman will follow up on this.

B.  Head of Human Resources as ex-officio member of search committees

The EC approved a request from Human Resources Head, Cindy Kelly, that she be an ex-officio member of every Search Committee and be invited to attend all formal meetings of such committees.  The EC approved having the Head of Human Resources as a non-voting, ex-officio member of every Search Committee; she will attend meetings at her discretion.  It was noted that this had been a routine practice in the past.

C.  Geology Librarian position request

When consulted, the Head of the Geology Department gave the opinion that the Geology Librarian position could be filled by a half-time librarian; however, Greg Youngen, currently the Acting Head of the Geology Library, told the division that he could not continue to fill both of his positions on a permanent basis.  The EC recognized that it will be very difficult to do a search for a half-time faculty position.  The division has proposed a search for a full-time librarian who could also assist with digital projects for PSED, and the EC voted unanimously in favor of the division's proposal. A Search Committee was suggested for the position, and Paula will follow up on it.

D.  Circulation position

Betsy Kruger has requested a second permanent professional position in Circulation rather than filling the vacant LOA position.  Everyone agreed that the vacancy needs to be filled, but it was unclear at what level of staffing.  A faculty versus an academic professional position for Circulation was discussed as well as the possibility that an academic professional would be needed even if there were a second professional position.  Paula will discuss Circulation staffing structure and the job responsibilities of the proposed Assistant Circulation Librarian with Betsy Kruger.   The EC approved the appointment for an Assistant Circulation Librarian, and Paula will follow up on a Search Committee.

E.  Agenda for Faculty Meeting

The EC discussed the agenda for the upcoming faculty meeting on Sept. 15.   Although a report on how the EC makes decisions on filling positions was considered, no additions were made to the agenda.  The EC will report on this at a future faculty meeting.  The agenda discussion raised again the question of the need for a Staffing Study and the difficulties related to doing a study, such as agreement on minimum levels of service and models of service delivery that would be applicable for all the types of units in the library.  It may be prudent to wait for the AUL for Services to define these needs.  Paula recommended that the EC formulate what they want in a staffing study in upcoming meetings.

F.  Draft Charge for CPC

It was discovered that the draft charge distributed to the EC was not the new draft charge, but the current one, so EC agreed that it should be put on the agenda for the next meeting.

G.  Proposal to create permanent faculty position of Kolb-Proust librarian.   This agenda item will be discussed at the next meeting.

III.  Old Business

A.  Bylaws changes eliminating DUL section and references to DUL

Bill Maher, as chair of the Bylaws Committee, has been asked to follow up on amending the Bylaws to reflect the current administrative make-up of the Library.

B.  Annual reports of standing committees

Annual reports of standing committees were discussed.  Since committees can make budget requests, it was suggested that annual reports should be linked to budget requests and written jointly by the outgoing and incoming chairs.  They will report on the academic year, August 21-August 20, and will be due by September 1.  A suggestion was made to have a one-page form available for the reports.

C.  Reviews of AULs and other senior administrators

This will be on the agenda for another meeting.

D.  Announcements

Margaret Chaplan handed out a document, "EC Staffing Actions, September 1, 1999, to Present" for reference.  She asked EC to send her changes and corrections.

Sue Searing has agreed to watch over the Women's Studies Library while Beth Stafford is absent for two months.

The meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

Present:  A. Conrad, J. Gammon, T. Hooker, H. J. Kim, P. Lindell, L. Roberts, E. Schroeder, D. Walter,  G. Witte

Guests:  Cindy Kelly,  Bob Burger

I.  Minutes of the August 9, 2000, meeting were revised and approved.

II.  Reports

A.  Admin. Council--Posted on LibNews.

B.  Faculty meeting--No meeting.

C.  Library Reconfig.--No meeting.  Revised timeline has not yet appeared.

D.  Strategic Planning Committee--Discussion regarding feelings that the Plan may be too structured.  Looking into alternative approaches for encouraging involvement and initiative among all Staff.

III.  Updates/Announcements

A.  Certificates--They have been printed and are in the Personnel Office, awaiting the instructor's signature before going to Paula Kaufman for signature and disbursement.

B.  Morale document--Has been posted to the web.  LSSC will review in six months to see where things stand.

C.  ILA Reaching Forward South Staff Conference--The Library Administration and Human Resources Office are again sponsoring 13 UIUC staff delegates.  Names of delegates will be announced on LIBNEWS-L and in LON.

IV.  New Business

A.  Tony Hooker announced his departure from the Library and LSSC to a position in Admissions and Records.  Hyon Joo Kim was appointed to fill the post of Vice-Chair until the regular officer elections in February.  He is polling his division to locate someone to fill until the regular division  election in December/January.

B.  It was decided that for FY 2000/2001, LSSC will prepare an annual report of activities.  Jane Gammon (Transcriber) will begin compiling items for the report.   The annual report will be presented to the Committee by the  Transcriber in May of each year for comments and corrections.

C.  Gil Witte will draft a proposal to revise the voting structure due to recent minor changes within the Library structure.

D.  Diana Walter will be the back-up representative to Administrative Council.   She will attend in the event that Alan Conrad is unable to.

E.  Discussion regarding recommendations/endorsements tabled until the next meeting.

F.  Committee members were reminded that they need to check their e-mail on a regular basis (preferably three times daily) to keep informed of any last minutes announcement/calls for decisions.

G.  Hyon Joo Kim gave a brief report on her experiences with ALA.  She will work with Pam Lindell to schedule a brown bag lunch to share her experiences with all staff.  Time and date to be determined.

H.  Reminder about policies and procedures updates being conducted by Bart's office.

V.  Talks with Guests

A.  Bob Burger announced that he will be on sabbatical leave from November 21, 2000, until August 20, 2001.

B.  The schedule for Library Staff awards was brought up.  Cindy Kelly will inquire about status.

C.  Tony H. proposed the creation of a budget for the Committee.  Cindy K. suggested we review last year's expenditures to determine needs. Eileen S. and Carole K. will draft a document.

D.  Cindy K. reported on the following

1.  Classes beyond introductory will be Library task specific.

2.  The new Multi-Cultural Librarian position will be in the Undergraduate Library and will assist multi-cultural students.

3.  Briefly discussed the state-wide call to add the library clerical series to a list of civil service descriptions to be reviewed.

4.  Commented on the success of the Staff Retreat.

5.  Pam Lindell introduced discussion regarding the new format for position interviews for faculty and academic professional positions.

Respectfully submitted,

Jane Gammon
Transcriber