DEAN'S OFFICE

Library Advisory Board
Minutes

November 20, 2002
Dean's Fall Meeting
see also LAB Minutes: November 18, 2002

Laura Wright, chair of the LAB, opened the meeting with an update on LAB/LSA's joint effort to have the LT III test revised. Many staff members who took the recent LT III test felt it was irrelevant and outdated. A letter will be sent to Human Resources requesting a task force be formed to investigate means of revising the test. Laura also noted that LAB was still interested in pursuing voluntary nametags for Libraries' employees. LAB will revisit nametags when the fiscal situation has improved.

Susan Anthes spoke about two task forces. The first is investigating the possibility of a one-service-point desk. Nancy Carter is chairing this committee. Comments and ideas about pursuing this idea can be directed to her. The second task force is looking into charging for services. A draft of their recommendations will be sent out soon for comments. Possibilities include charging for ILL, public patrons, a library technology or library use fee (for students), and a coffee shop cart or area. After comments are received, the proposal will be discussed in Council.

Scott Seaman reviewed the current process for supervisor evaluations. Comments are requested once a year. Lucy is sending out an e-mail detailing this. Scott gave an update on recruitment: the Libraries continue to recruit both faculty and staff. Open faculty lines include Acquisitions, Original Cataloging, Maps, ILL, Digital Initiatives, and Engineering. Scott< also reported on the student budget. In the past we have spent $100,000 a year that came from faculty salary savings. As positions are filled, this money is unavailable, and we will need to stick to our budget of $450,000. Student supervisors are being asked to hire as many students with workstudy awards as possible, and to be judicious with using student hours.

Janet Swan Hill announced that permission was received to post for the Head of Cataloging. In the interim, Wendy Baia is acting department head. A memo will go out soon detailing whom to contact about what. The Head of Monographic Cataloging position will be held until a new Head of the Department can be recruited. Two other vacancies in cataloging are still being held to fund the BCR project. Janet also discussed priorities in Technical Services. Materials being sent to offsite storage (PASCAL) are high priority, and among those the highest priority are those coming from areas most in need of shelf space. Currently, there is a project focusing in Engineering. Discussions have begun around a project in Gov Pubs.

Dean Jim Williams spoke of the relationship being crafted between the University of Colorado, the members of the Joint Budget Committee, and the newly elected regents and legislators. President Hoffman has been very active on our behalf. She is focusing her efforts on the following three areas:

1. Enterprise Status for the University of Colorado system. The State of Colorado currently funds slightly less than 12% of our budget. If that number dips below 10% then we would be eligible for Enterprise Status. This status would free the campus to set its own budget, tuition, and enrollment policies.

2. Bonding Authority for the University system. Funding for the building of the Health Sciences Center needs to be secured before the University as a whole can construct needed facilities. It's hoped that bonding authority will allow for normalized construction on the campuses.

3. Quality for Colorado. This program features a tuition increase of $300/year for three years. The increase in tuition dollars coming into CU-B coffers would allow for investment in infrastructure and increased financial aid without an increase in enrollment.

President Hoffman is always trying to promote the image of CU-Boulder and is emphasizing how we can partner with the State to promote economic growth. The Dean suggested we all keep up with developments in State governance. One development that he is currently following is the proposed merger of CU-Denver with the Health Science Center. The Dean would prefer a merger of CU-Boulder with the Health Science Center. He believes such a merger would build upon the strength of the State's flagship institution and have a more beneficial overall impact upon the Colorado University system as a whole.

As for the budget, there was a cut to higher education of $5.5 million for 2002/03 and this will double for 2003/04. The library's share of permanent cuts for 2003/04 has been set at $374,000. The Dean has proposed that this money be made up of the funds no longer being used to rent a storage facility in Louisville ($182,000), a 1.6% decrease in the materials budget ($120,000), and the funds which have been going toward the salary of a security officer that no longer is posted in Norlin ($52,000). It is the goal of the Dean to protect people/positions within the library. As the Libraries no longer has a high number of open faculty positions it will have to find other means to generate funds to make ends meet. The Dean is
looking for ways to do things more efficiently. The Dean has proposed closing the Math/Physics Library and redistributing the collection between Earth Sciences and Engineering. Staff would be reallocated and savings would be used to support Libraries' services. Although faculty and students would have to venture further to enter a library, they would have access to the same materials they have come to count on. The closing of Math/Physics, the implementation of a system of Charge for Services, the movement of Art & Architecture reference duties to the Reference Department, and a selective freezing of positions have all been proposed as means to both operate more efficiently and to generate funds. The Dean expects to hear from the Provost about the Libraries' proposal to meet its allotted funding cut in the next few weeks.

The Dean was also asked to provide an update on Program Review. The Dean expects to receive the Program Review recommendations by the end of this month. He has seen a sneak preview and the report should be largely positive. Unfortunately, the current budget situation does not allow the Libraries to use the report to request increased support for facilities and materials.

The Dean's Reappointment Review will run through January. He hopes that the Libraries will be able to utilize the information gathered through his review and the Program Review to move forward in the implementation of the Strategic Plan. The Core Planning committee will reconvene after the holidays to study the Lib Qual document and chart an appropriate path forward given the new fiscal realities.

The Dean was asked to provide an update on the status of the East Asian Library. The Administration is still holding out hope that Zhijia Shen will return to her old position. The Dean says: "stay tuned."

The Dean next responded to a question of how the possible move to an Enterprise Status for the Colorado University system would impact its employees. The Dean noted that CU-Boulder would still be a State agency and did not think there would be an immediate impact upon classified staff. He hopes, however, that the Libraries would have greater flexibility in setting levels of staffing. He also noted that the current round of budget cuts and a proposed voucher system could take University system's State funding under the 10% level in the near future.

Asked who would make the decision about the future of the Math Physics Library, the Dean replied the Provost should be making an announcement soon. The Dean noted he had been considering the closing of the Library since the proposed joint Science Library had been rejected. Nancy Carter was approaching retirement and staffing levels were low. The current budget situation only makes a difficult situation worse. If the closure is rejected the Libraries will have to work with fallback positions such as shorter hours.

Asked what types of fees the Libraries might charge for services, the Dean told of the $100 per semester the Health Sciences Center charges non-primary users for full access to its collections.

LAB welcomes your comments and suggestions. Please feel free to contact any of its members individually, to leave a note in the suggestion box, or to reach us via liblab@colorado.edu.

Susan Anthes, Public Services
Debbie Hollis, Special Collections
Lorna Kent, Engineering
Suzanne Larsen, Earth Sciences
Helene McHendry, Cataloging
Paul Moeller, Cataloging
Maureen Van Camp, Media
Jim Williams, Dean
Laura Wright, Cataloging