Calling All UVM Libraries' Bloggers

The Dean's List has a new sidebar feature: links to blogs created by libraries people. Check out what's happening in Winona and Toni worlds by clicking on their links. If you'd like add your work-related blog to the List, please email it to Nancy.Bercaw@uvm.edu.

B/H Outside Maintenance

The Northeast corner of B/H will be fenced off for Maintenance over the next few days, according Sal Chiarelli, director of Physical Plant.

Dean's Office Under Construction

The Dean's Office will be under construction off and on for the next five or six weeks. Mara's door is being moved today and as a result Nancy has half a desk. There's more to come. In the end, the space will be more user and visitor friendly.

Hot Day, Cold Cone

Ben & Jerry's has given us some buy-one-get-one-free coupons for ice cold cones and smoothies. Come to the Dean's Office and grab one to help you through this heat wave.

Update on B/H Gas Emergency

The Physical Plant folks have found the source of the odor that shut down B/H Library for little over an hour this morning. After Vermont Gas, and Burlington Police and Fire ruled out natural gas as the cause, UVM's Physical Plant went on the hunt. They discovered that the battery backup for the emergency lighting, located in room 064 , has deteriorated due to age and as a result has been giving off fumes. These fumes were then picked up by the air handling system and distributed to the rest of the building. Physical Plant is currently replacing the offending batteries with a fresh set.

Entry to Bailey/Howe Partially Blocked

If you walked from the Watertower parking lots to Bailey/Howe this morning, then you are aware that the sidewalk (just outside the building) is blocked off due to construction. Pedestrians can circumvent the problem by walking through the garden area to the right of the sidewalk. Access is not restricted if you approach B/H from the old bookstore side.

New Employee on Tuesday

Ryan Edmonds, the new Library Support Senior in the Circulation Department, joins UVM Libraries on Tuesday, May 22. Ryan takes over for Greg Anderson, who is starting his new career as a Radiology Technologist. Ryan's main responsibilities include stack maintenance and oversight of public service operations during weekend and evening hours. For the past two years, Ryan has been a shift supervisor at Starbucks providing their legendary service in store locations around Burlington. Ryan holds a BA from Yale in comparative literature. She developed and implemented the archival filing system for the Yale Glee Club. In addition, she implemented a new sorting system to increase efficiency at Yale's Sterling Memorial Library as a student staff member. She is very excited about coming to work at UVM. Paul Philbin will show her around on Tuesday.

Dean's Council Minutes, May 15

Dean’s Council Minutes: May 15, 2007

A Meeting of the Dean’s Council was held on Tuesday, May 15 in the Dean’s Conference Room.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Mara Saule, Jeff Marshall, Paul Philbin, Birdie MacLennan, Keith Gresham, Peter Blackmer and Marianne Burke

ABSENT: Selene Colburn, Nancy Bercaw

I. FY 08 Budget Parameters and Resource Allocation

Department chairs discussed the methodology for assessing faculty and staff performance.

II. R2 Next Steps

After Thursday’s discussion, Mara will create work groups based on categories that need further consideration.

III. Standards for Accreditation

UVM is preparing for its 10-year reaccreditation, which encompasses 11 different Standards. Mara is chairing two Standards Committees: Library and Other Information Resources; Physical and Technological Resources. She asked department chairs to recommend names of people in their areas who might participate on University accreditation teams. Visit http://www.neasc.org/cihe/cihe.htm for more information on the accreditation process and standards. UVM’s visit is scheduled for spring 2009.

Thursday Open Forum

In preparation for the post-R2 Open Forum, Thursday, May 17 from 8:30 to 10 a.m., Mara has asked that all libraries faculty and staff:
1) Re-read the report (if you need a copy, Nancy can print one for you).
2) Think about which recommendations are "no brainers" and which ones are "no way."
3) Consider which categories of recommendations should be further explored.

Post R2 Open Forum

As part of the followup from the R2 Report last Thursday, there will be a libraries open forum on Thursday, May 17, from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. in the Staff Lounge. Coffee/tea and pastries will be served. All libraries faculty and staff are encouraged to attend and to discuss the report generated by R2.

Odor in B/H: The Gas Has Passed

This morning, there was a strong gas odor in B/H. Peter notified Service Operations (Physical Plant) and they are assessing the source(s) of the problem. As of 9:30, the smell had dissipated, but nevertheless, the Risk Management office is in the building testing the environment for fumes. The meter is showing that the main floor is has no detectable contaminants. The remaining 3 floors are currently being tested.

R2 Today

From 1:30 to 3:30 in the Staff Lounge, R2 will present the results of their study of UVM Libraries. Refreshments will be served. The R2 Report will be handed out after Rick, Ruth and Hester share their presentation. Your comments are welcome here.

Visitors from Beijing Normal University

Today, 21 deans, chairs and senior administrators from Beijing Normal University visited UVM Libraries. Mara welcomed the group, along with UVM Professor Jeufei Wang, with a lecture on library management. Peter followed with a discussion about financial resources and Paul provided a tour.

Congrats to Marianne Burke

On Thursday, May 3, Marianne Burke became a grandmother to McKay Gilbert, who came into the world 22 inches long and weighing 7 pounds 14 ounces.

Talk about Communicating!

The Libraries' Communication Team wants your input during the Libraries Forum, from 10:30 to noon, on Wednesday, May 9th in the Bailey/Howe Conference Room. Hear about the work of the Libraries’ Communication Team and talk about developing key messages about the Libraries. If you have questions, please email Selene.Colburn@uvm.edu.

R2 Update: Rick, Ruth and Hester agreed to have their presentation videotaped next week for those who can't attend the session. Wes Graff will send a videographer to the event.

Today in the Dean's Conference room, Selene and members of the Communications Team will be testing a few sample libraries "taglines" on students to get their reactions and comments. They will get sandwiches in exchange for their time. One of the taglines, for example, is "UVM LIBRARIES: Ask us anything." In the next Libraries Open Forum, Wed. May 9, faculty and staff hear these taglines for themeslves and find out about student favorites. The project is a work in progress. Someone recently suggested the following tagline, which gave us all a very good laugh: "UVM LIBRARIES: We don't always do it by the book."

With a sense of purpose and a sense of humor, "The Dean's List" is designed to share news and views from the Office of the Dean of Libraries.

Dean’s Council Minutes
May 1, 2007

A Meeting of the Dean’s Council was held on Tuesday, May 1 from 9:05 to 11:05 a.m. in the Dean’s Conference Room.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Mara Saule, Jeff Marshall, Paul Philbin, Birdie MacLennan, Keith Gresham, Selene Colburn, Peter Blackmer and Nancy Bercaw

ABSENT: Marianne Burke

I. R2 Updates

Keith Gresham suggested that R2’s presentation be videotaped for the benefit of faculty and staff not able to attend the May 10 open forum, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the staff lounge. Dean Saule will seek R2’s approval. Next steps for implementation of the R2 Report were discussed, including holding a libraries-wide retreat in early June and convening working groups around categories of recommendations.


II. Dean's Office Blog

Nancy Bercaw unveiled “The Dean’s List,” a blog designed to share news and views from the Office of the Dean of Libraries. Dean’s Council minutes will now be distributed via the blog, which has been created to improve communication flow to and from the Dean’s Office. The blog will be continuously updated, so readers are encouraged to refer to it frequently for ongoing info and announcements.


III. Budget next steps

Budget materials are due by May 11 to Peter Blackmer, who has until May 28 to provide all FY 08 info to Financial Analysis and Budgeting (FAB).

IV. Provost's scholarly activity project

The Provost Office has launched a new initiative to track aggregate numbers of faculty scholarly activity (i.e., how many peer reviewed papers, grants and presentations have been made by UVM faculty per year). Dean Saule asked the Council to keep track of this information, by category of scholarly activity not by individual, from their department so the Libraries can provide the numbers to the Provost’s Office. The information may also be useful for the upcoming Libraries Annual Report and in general.

V. Department Head Evaluations

Dean Saule will be scheduling Department Head evaluations in the coming weeks.

VI. Updates around the table

Selene Colburn updated the Council on the Communication Team’s plan to conduct a focus group at the end of the week with students to test several “tag lines.” She also encouraged everyone to nominate staff for the Delmar Janes Excellence Award for which there will be two winners, and faculty for the Excellence in Research Award and/or the Excellence in Educational Mission Award. The deadline is Friday, May 11.

Birdie MacLennan was part of a “field trip” to see the Remote Storage Facility (aka Deep Space) and reported that it has been exceptionally well done and organized. She also commented that short-term coverage has been established for Bea’s position. Chris Krupp and Wendy Gunther will each provide 50-percent coverage until June 30.

Jeff Marshall was also part of the “field trip” to Williston and his concerns that it wouldn’t be easy to use were alleviated. The facility is user friendly to the point that it has shelving for irregularly shaped materials. Marshall is working with Elizabeth Hassemer to complete on a grant called “The Literature of Agriculture,” which is administered by Cornell. He also said that Chris Burns recently made changes to the Special Collections website making it more friendly and attractive.

Paul Philbin reported that the position of Library Support Senior has been filled and the new hire, who will work from 2 – 10 p.m. doing stack maintenance and providing evening supervision, will start on May 21. He also noted that Lyman Ross recently attended a Voyager group meeting where he learned that no new significant upgrades are forthcoming for the Voyager OPAC. The future look of the catalog lies in Ex Libris’ new product line called Primo. In other news, Philbin has been asked by the Provost to study the feasibility of vacating the Rowell Production Studio to space in Bailey/Howe and Lafayette.

Keith Gresham and the Info and Instruction Department has relocated temporarily to the 3rd floor, room 302, due to a dramatic surge in dust and grit in their offices. Physical Plant will clean the HVAC (Heating, venting and air conditioning) system this summer in an attempt to resolve the problem.

Peter Blackmer explained that the ducts in Bailey/Howe have not been cleaned in 40 years and, while this is a step in the right direction, it may not be a definitive solution.