November 3, 2022 Meeting of Library Faculty Meeting

Time and Location of Meeting

November 3, 2022

Agenda Details

Agenda

AGENDA

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Library Faculty Meeting Agenda
November 3, 2022

3-4:30 pm
via Zoom

  1. Call to Order
  2. Standing Items
    2.1 Adoption of the Agenda
    2.2 Approval of the Minutes of the June 2022 Faculty Meeting
    2.3 Introduction of New Employees
    2.4 Executive Committee Report & Discussion (15 minutes – Kirstin Johnson)
    2.5 Report of the University Librarian (15 minutes – John Wilkin)
  3. Discussion items
    3.1 (30 minutes – Discussion of the Library Council Implementation Report & Proposal – Joe Lenkart)
  4. New Business
  5. Announcements
  6. Adjournment

Minutes Details

Minutes

MINUTES

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Library Faculty Meeting
November 3, 2022

3-4:30 pm
via Zoom

 

Call to Order – 3:02 pm — ~60 participants

— Secretary of the Faculty Kit Condill asked if these meetings were typically recorded.  Dean Wilkin decided to proceed with recording this meeting.  Clara Chu suggested the transcript function as an alternative.

1 Standing Items

1.1 Adoption of the Agenda

— No additions

1.2 Approval of the Minutes of the June 2022 Faculty Meeting –

— Motion for approval by Nancy O’Brien, seconded by Laila Hussein Moustafa

1.3 Introduction of New Employees
— Elias Petrou (Librarian for Classical, Medieval & Modern Greek Studies) was introduced by Paula Carns

— Rachel Miller-Haughton (Preservation Outreach & Engagement Librarian) was introduced by Jennifer Teper

1.4 Executive Committee Report & Discussion (15 minutes – Kirstin Johnson)

— EC has met 8 times since our last faculty meeting, some held without John Wilkin due to his travel schedule.  EC is an advisory body to the dean, and continues its discussion in the dean’s absence, reporting these discussions to him or her at subsequent meetings.  Minutes of all meetings are available on EC’s webpages.

— Reminder of current EC membership as of 8/15/22:

— John Wilkin (Chair), Mara Thacker (Vice-Chair), Sarah Williams

(Secretary), Chris Wiley, Joe Lenkart (Faculty Meeting Agenda Committee representative), Bill Maher, Kirstin Johnson, MJ Han, Kelli Trei (Search Liaison)

— Please bring potential EC agenda items to any EC member (especially Mara and/or

Sarah), and they will work on adding them to future meeting agendas

— The AULs, directors, and co-chairs of LSSC and LCP continue to meet with EC once a month to discuss shared concerns.

— The LSSC and LCP co-chairs were involved in EC discussions of the Library Council Implementation Team (LCIT) report and proposal and how to proceed with those recommendations.  A new questionnaire has gone out via e-mail and is soliciting additional feedback on LCIT and inclusive governance.  Given that we are waiting for a new dean sometime in the next few months, it makes sense to wait until they arrive before implementing any major LCIT-related changes.  In the meantime, however, transparency, communication, and ensuring that staff are supported and enabled to participate in committees like the Library Council remain important.

— EC meetings will be open to all, hopefully beginning in early 2023.  Portions of these meetings relating to private or confidential matters must remain closed, however.

— EC reviewed the final report by the Study Space Planning Group

— EC reviewed and awarded two Innovation & Seed Funding proposals.  December 15th is the deadline for applying for the next round.

— EC charged a committee for a faculty member’s 5-year unit head review,

— EC approved the following position descriptions: Digital Humanities Librarian, Information Sciences Librarian, Newspaper Content Coordinator Visiting AP.

— EC charged search committee members for the following positions:  Head, Math & Computer Sciences Library;  University Archivist;  Visiting Assistant/Associate Archives & Literary Manuscripts Specialist.

— EC conducted interviews and made a recommendation for Interim University Archivist.

— A request to review FRC scoring was received from a faculty member.  EC asked the co-chairs of FRC to meet with the faculty member to discuss concerns.

— EC received information from the dean regarding the review process for nominations for named professorships.

— EC discussed several confidential personnel issues.

— EC approved changed language clarifying the Library’s emeritus/emerita process and charged a small group to review the policies and recommend possible updates.  Emeritus status was also recommended for two retiring faculty members.

— EC discussed policy language on acting and interim head appointments with the overall goal of clarifying (rather than changing) the policies.

— EC discussed specialized faculty roles in the Library.

— EC appointed Peer Review Committee members for untenured faculty.

— EC met with the Provost today regarding the process of appointing an interim dean and possible candidates for that position.

— Dan Tracy:  Please elaborate on the “specialized faculty” discussion.

— Kirstin Johnson:  We do have a few people in this type of position right now, but our bylaws and other governing documents don’t really address people with this status, so we should be sure they are included.

— John Wilkin:  A task force will be appointed to work on definitions of all types of faculty, APs and staff and to change the bylaws accordingly.

— Dan Tracy:  The last time we had a new dean, the units and/or divisions prepared materials for them to review, explaining who they are and what they do.  Are we doing something similar this time?

— John Wilkin:  Annual reports would work very well for this.

— Sarah Williams:  We have not discussed this yet, but we can add it to our agenda.

— Bill Maher:  Yes, annual reports would be great for this, but the new dean will be very busy, so we should (also) prepare something much shorter for them – 1-2 pages.  EC should talk about this, and also discuss what constitutes a “unit” of the library, since there are entities (Student Success, Public Engagement, etc.) that the new dean will want to know about, but that may not be classified as a “unit.”  EC should also discuss what kinds of orientations the new dean would benefit from, especially to facilitate discussions of serious matters in the Library.

 

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

— The interim dean will be announced before December 1st.  Our AULs and directors are doing a great job of putting us in a good place to be prepared for this transition.

— Susan Breakenridge has prepared numerous “Letters on File” to maintain continuity through the dean transition in terms of some of the Library’s existing financial commitments.  For example, we have made a commitment to the Director of DEIA (Victor Jones) to fund the diversity residency program for three years via the Juanita J. & Robert E. Simpson Endowment.

— New position requests will not be entertained until the new permanent dean is in place, but replacements for people leaving existing positions may still be approved.

— The AULs and directors have the annual report process well in hand, and you should be hearing from them before the end of the month.  This is very important information for the new dean.

— My role in the annual promotion and tenure process is continuing per the usual calendar, so the dean’s letters to campus will all be sent before the interim dean starts.

— The Library’s Budget Report is being prepared with extra attention to detail and clarity for handing things over to the new dean.

— All timetables for preparing administrative documents for the new dean are being followed and are on schedule.

— There is a new federal guidance from the White House’s Office of Science & Technology Policy re:  openness of products of federally-funded research (the OSTP “Nelson Memo”).  This is something we need to be aware of due to its possible implications for research on this campus.  I have reached out to HELIOS (Higher Education Leadership Initiative for Open Scholarship) to provide support on this question, and they are doing so.

— No additional questions.

 

 

2 Discussion items
2.1 Discussion of the Library Council Implementation Report & Proposal (30 minutes — Joe Lenkart)

— John Wilkin asked whether Joe Lenkart is leading this discussion as an individual faculty member or as a member of EC.  Joe confirmed that he is doing it as an individual faculty member.

— Joe Lenkart:  On October 6th, the Library Council Implementation Team (LCIT) published its report and proposal.  A healthy discussion (or series of discussions) on these issues should take place, including among the library faculty as a group.  Today’s discussion is not about the process (which Kirstin Johnson and Mara Thacker have already covered), but is more generally about governance issues, including the multiple classifications among library employees, the rights and privileges associated with faculty status, and the meaning of “shared governance.”

— Meeting participants were invited to start posting their thoughts on governance/shared governance/faculty governance on an anonymous Google Jamboard.

— Comment from the Jamboard:  Governance = How decisions are made in our institution;  Shared Governance = All groups within the institution have a voice and influence over the decisions that are made;  Faculty Governance = The faculty’s place in this decision-making process.

— Bill Maher:  We are probably not all thinking of “governance” in the same way.  What is “governance” as opposed to “administration”?  That’s important, but what’s most important right now is inclusion.  Hopefully we’ll coalesce around specific problems to be solved in the months to come.

— John Wilkin:  Thanks Bill, inclusion is very important.

— Scott Schwartz:  Who will be leading these discussions going forward?

— Joe Lenkart:  I’m open to suggestions.  It has been a while since we discussed these issues.  The Faculty Meeting Agenda Committee plays a role in determining what we discuss in our meetings.

— John Wilkin:  Having EC, LSSC and LCP meet jointly has been very productive.  Inclusion is already happening, and these three groups will advance it under the new dean.

— Dan Tracy:  It would be a good idea to have a series of smaller conversations among faculty, APs, staff, and all three groups together.  We should also have a session that clarifies how decisions are actually made in the Library.  It’s confusing (especially for new employees), because there are also other places and groups where decisions are made – CAPT, unit heads, AULs, etc.

— Bill Maher:  Agreed, having more informal small-group conversations is a great idea.  We can’t just delegate everything to existing bodies.

— Jessica Ballard:  Yes, there are gaps in understanding that could be filled with sessions like the ones Dan suggested.  The pandemic disrupted things and a re-orientation process would be good.

— Bill Maher (via chat):  Yes, the isolation and then the caution about who is around one has certainly created some challenges to connecting with people.  With COVID we all spent a lot of time guarding our surroundings, and that has probably bled over to how we relate to each other.  So some special approaches, especially multiple approaches seem to be in order.

— John Wilkin:  Let’s shut this down for now, but agree that it would be fruitful to continue these conversations.  Let’s do it.

— Joe Lenkart:  Thanks everyone, your comments are appreciated.  Informal discussions are also a possibility.

— John Wilkin:  What about having these discussions in the Library Hangouts rather than in faculty meetings?

— Comment from the Jamboard:  Governance:  if the dictionary is right that “govern” comes from a word meaning “to steer,” that might help us recognize that we can’t all steer, and that we may want to steer things in different directions.

— Comment from the Jamboard:  Governance:  Participatory Governance—https://teh.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/TEH-Publication-Participatory-Governance-12_2020-FINAL-1.pdf

— Comment from the Jamboard:  Shared Governance:  Furnishes a channel for direct and concerted communication between the library employees and the Dean of the Library – https://fac.illinois.edu

— Comment from the Jamboard:  Shared Governance:   Who is sharing the governance?  Who gets a seat at the table?

— Comment from the Jamboard:  Shared Governance:  What is the mechanism to implement the idea of shared governance?  Are we going to see more people involved, or a selected group of people?

— Comment from the Jamboard:  Faculty Governance:  For new faculty, what “faculty governance” is (and its importance) may not be clear or obvious.  How are we introducing new faculty to this so they can participate effectively?

— Comment from the Jamboard:  Faculty Governance:  In the talk about governance being about faculty matters, are “faculty matters” only about appointments, promotion, etc., or should it include us as agents of education?

— Comment from the Jamboard:  Faculty Governance:  Decision on scholar services to the University

— Comment from the Jamboard:  Faculty Governance:  Advise the dean on the formulation and execution of college policies and appointments – https://www.bot.uillinois.edu/cms/One.aspx?portalId=6949498&pageId=69961 (= Statutes – Board of Trustees (uillinois.edu), Article III, Section 2f)

 

3 New Business

— No new business.

 

4 Announcements

— Erin Kerby:  In my capacity as Chair of the Research & Publication Committee, please apply for an RPC grant.  Reach out to myself or another RPC member with any questions.

— Bethany Anderson:  The next Women in Science lecture is on Thursday, November 10th from noon-1.  Dr. Monica Fabiani will discuss her research on cognitive neuroscience.  Register at https://go.illinois.edu/WomeninScienceNov2022 .

— Bill Maher:  Bethany, can you tell us about the ATALM conference you recently went to?

— Bethany Anderson:  Yes, the annual Association for Tribal Archives, Libraries & Museums conference was in Temecula, California, and it was wonderful.  Chris Prom, Courtney Richardson, and I presented and got to meet with some of the tribes whose materials are part of the Doris Duke Native American oral history project we’ve been working on for a few years.  I highly recommend this conference.  https://www.atalm.org/node/533

— Cait Coker:  The RBML Holiday Open House is happening on December 8th.

— Laila Hussein Moustafa:  For those who are interested in AI in Africa, there’s a talk on November 29th:  https://illinois.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SObuKs81SWenIS48y7MXEg

— Chris Prom:  The Scholars Travel Fund and the Campus Research Board have a lot of funding and are available to support your research.  Happy to answer any questions you may have.

— Celestina Savonius-Wroth:  I wanted to remind everyone that the Library Research Travel Grant (funds for researchers to come here to use our collections) is accepting proposals until Dec 5:  https://www.library.illinois.edu/hpnl/blog/call-for-applications-2022-2023-research-travel-grant/

 

5 Adjournment at 4:06

— Motion to adjourn by Nancy O’Brien, seconded by Laila Hussein Moustafa