December 5, 2013 Meeting of Area Studies

Agenda not yet available.

IAS Staff Meeting

December 5, 2013

 Announcements:

1. The UGL will have therapy dogs on March 16 from 2-4pm.
2. We have a GA that is in need of more projects. If you have a project that you have been postponing, this would be a great opportunity to get some help. She is particularly interested in public service and web services. You can add your project on the Wiki or contact Mara.
3. A strategic meeting was held before Thanksgiving break to discuss the proposal for the library faculty and academic employees’ retreat. A dozen proposals were submitted. Steve offered to head a roundtable discussion, if the IAS proposal is chosen.
4. The IAS Service Desk is now using Schedule Source to create schedules. This is the same program that the virtual and reference desk use. Copies of the desk schedules are available on the G Drive, Wiki, and at the Service Desk. If you would like a copy emailed, please contact Lisa Renee. Audrey, Opubo, Jung-Won, and Sonal will be contributing one shift to the desk to help make up Ryuta’s hours. Beth Woodard may offer selected topics from the fall GA training for new desk staff.
5. Steve and Lisa Renee will work together on finding a date and venue for a staff/student IAS holiday party.

Discussion:

1. SAWBO is a University of Illinois initiative to create educational animated material for developing countries. The material will use voice overs and will address health issues such as malaria. They have asked for the Africana Library to host materials and help support the project. SAWBO has identified a need for assistance on how to catalog and process their materials. Atoma has spoken with Michael Norman from CAM. Michael would like to be a invited to our meeting when SAWBO presents. Possible date is December 19.
2. The Water Campus Project is working on a global initiative to train NGO’s and communities on how to enhance water quality in countries. Wells are sometimes dug but then have no follow up for testing and maintaining safe drinking water. This project was brought to Steve’s attention through the Web Archives Project. This may provide an opportunity for strategy and initiatives from Subject Specialist regions. This is also part of the Campus Strategic Plan for programs that address health, environmental, and energy resources.
3. The planning meetings for the Summer Workshops for 2015 have begun. These meetings have included the Directors and Associate Directors of REEEC as well as the Directors of Africana, South Asia, Middle East, East Asian, and Slavic. The discussions have included capacity, how to draw people to the unique collections, thematic ideas, manuscripts, and suggestions for other areas. There is an effort to broaden the offerings for participants which could include interdisciplinary and cultural events. Some logistics include adequate trained staff to be able to address the advanced research inquiries of participants, space, and coordinating throughout the disciplines. REEEC will again handle the application process for the participants. This is usually held the last week of July and first week of August.

Reports:

1. The International Reference Librarian Search Committee-Not much to report due to holiday breaks. There has been a significant emphasis on research, which is supposed to consist of 30%. Non-tenured faculty should adjust schedules accordingly.
2. IAS Reference and User Services-The IRB application is completed and will be submitted tomorrow. The first phase of usability testing will include a brief survey and card sorting activity. The committee will meet early in the new year.
3. Collection Development Committee- ProQuest discount purchases must be made by December 20^th. Database deadline is February 1. EBSCO will eventually handle all database traffic. Committee is looking at the number of turn-aways that happen with this database.
4. Research Publication Committee-Will meet tomorrow. Funds are running out so now is the time to turn in any applications for this fiscal year.
5. ASEEES Conference-Large conference with international presence. Kit attended a Title VIII meeting. They are trying to identify who at the State Department is not aware of the need or is deliberately blocking. Also broadening approach to expansion for other areas.
6. Travel Report-Yoo-Seong traveled to China to visit book vendors that claimed they had North Korean material. 1/3 of the books had ISBN numbers. The collection development focus will be speeches of great leaders, literature and history, and books that are not found elsewhere in order to build a unique collection.

Next meeting is December 19 at 10 am.