November 30, 2016 Meeting of Library Staff Support Committee

Agenda not yet available.

Becky Burner (Physical Sciences & Engineering), Jim Cotter (Special Collections), Debora Pfeiffer (Technical Services), Dani Postula (Central Access Services), Laura Poulosky (Residence Hall Libraries), Gennye Varvel (Social Sciences)

Library Holiday Party:

The University Library’s Holiday Party is coming up on Tuesday, Dec. 13^th, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center.  Dani will ask Skye about possibly printing copies of our brochures about what LSSC does to bring to the party.  If we do bring them, we will ask John Wilkin (via Kimberly Matherly) to make a brief announcement about the committee at the party, in order to encourage staff to bring us any work questions or concerns they may have.

Update on Technical Services Workspace:

Debora reported that Technical Services staff are settling into their new workspace in Room 1 of the Main Library.  Shelving has been installed and there’s a new fridge for staff use.  There are still concerns about certain logistics of the space, including a door that tends to slam loudly, despite attempts to reduce the noise.

LSSC’s Ideas for Room 220 sought–

As a member of the Library’s Humanities and Interdisciplinary Scholars’ Collaboratory Strategy and Planning Group, Steve Witt has requested that, along with other Library groups, LSSC provide input on how to transform Room 220 of the Main Library into an “interdisciplinary digital scholarship collaboratory.”  Dani will reply to Steve to schedule a meeting for any available LSSC members to discuss this topic with representatives of the Planning Group.  Depending on the timing of this meeting, we may piggyback a brief Dec. LSSC meeting onto it.  Stay tuned for updates from Dani!

Counseling Options for U of I Staff and Students:

During this stressful time of the year, it may be helpful to know about counseling options available to U of I staff and students.  U of I staff can receive free, confidential counseling (as well as referrals to further counseling options, if desired) from the Faculty Staff Assistance Program:  http://fsap.illinois.edu/  Students can find counseling options at the Counseling Center:  https://counselingcenter.illinois.edu/

Administrative Council Report:

Faculty Meeting Report:

Becky shared the following notes from the Faculty Meeting held on 9/21/16:

 2.4       Report of the University Librarian (15 minutes – John Wilkin)

Aligning hiring with budget process. We are encouraged to hire following strategic plans. The Library is not planning for reduction next year. Flat Budget. John clarified that he wasn’t asking for departments to cut back on hourly students. He stated that the summer hourly budget is paid with cash.

2.5       Executive Committee Report and Discussion (15 minutes – Nancy O’Brien)

They had 9+ meetings. She talked about EC/AC shared governance.

3.1       Task Force to Create Promotional Paths for Academic Professionals (20 minutes – Beth Namachichivaya and MJ Han)

80 Faculty/ 80 Academic Professionals in the Library

Library framework for Academic Professional promotion. Starting from scratch. Looked at other colleges like Michigan and Penn State. 2 years proposed promotion goes through process. Has to be approved by Dean. Voluntary to move forward. You do not have to go for promotion. You are ranked upon hiring. Promotion awarded, salary increase & title change (if applicable). Salary increases per rank to be determined at a future date by Dean Wilkin with consultation with Assoc. Univ. Librarian, Assoc. Dean for Business & Human Resources Service Center and the Executive Committee or Budget Group. Start date projected for Fall 2017.

Division reports:

Residence Hall Libraries—Laura reported that the Residence Hall Libraries recently added 51 Playaways (self-contained audiobooks; you only need to plug in headphones to listen to them).  Playaways can be checked out for a four-week period by anyone with an active I-Card and this new collection includes many genres (classics, mysteries/thrillers, science fiction/fantasy, contemporary fiction, and non-fiction).  To find the list of Playaways in the online catalog, just search “PLAYAWAY” as a “Media” search from the Library’s home web page.  The Residence Hall Libraries also now have board games available for one-week check-out to anyone with an active I-Card.  The Residence Hall Libraries will be closed over winter break, but RHL staff will fill call slip requests over break.

 

Central Public Services (CPS)—Dani reported that the latest CPS Division meeting focused on general updates on units’ work within the unit as well as Library Q & A, because there are several new faculty/AP members within the division.

 

Physical Sciences & Engineering, Social Sciences, and Technical Services have not had division meetings since the October LSSC meeting.

 

Faculty Meeting:  Becky reported that the latest Faculty Meeting included a discussion of the benefits of Emeritus Library Faculty, which include the right to attend Library faculty meetings and continued use of Library collections.  A “Guide to Benefits and Services for Retirees” can be found here:  http//www.humanresources.illinois.edu/retirees/RetirementGuide.pdf .  Jim Hahn presented how the smartphone app Minerva 3.0 leads patrons to materials in the Undergraduate Library.

Next LSSC Meeting:

Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, Dec. 22nd, at 11 a.m. in the Main Library Room 225B.