DEAN’S COUNCIL MINUTES: May 26, 2009

Present: Mara Saule, Jeff Marshall, Birdie MacLennan, Selene Colburn, Peter Blackmer, Nancy Bercaw, Jeanene Light, Marianne Burke

Absent: Paul Philbin and Tina Kussey

General Announcements

There will be an All-Staff Meeting on Tuesday, June 9, from 9-11 a.m., in the Staff Lounge. At that time, Selene will introduce the new templates incorporating the libraries’ logo. Mara will then make announcements, share updates, and outline the vision for the libraries based on the Strategic Plan. Afterward, the action steps for the Strategic Plan will be discussed in small groups. Beverages and snacks will be served. Everyone is encouraged to make arrangements to attend.

Dean’s Office Suite

The Dean’s office suite is undergoing renovations to accommodate Selene, Tina and Birdie. Lyman and Marci’s former space will house Allan Howard from academic computing services. Allan provides statistical support for grad students and faculty, and his position is being incorporated into the B/H “learning commons” model.

Furthermore, a door is being added to Dean’s Suite to improve security of offices and files in particular.

Cataloging and tech services are entering the planning stages to ensure that their office space supports their workflow.

FY10 Budget

Peter is building the new budget, which is due next Tuesday. University-wide staff salaries will be increased by 2-percent. Staff salary guidelines can be found at http://www.uvm.edu/~ofabweb/FY10Salguide.pdf.

Pandemic Planning

Mara is on a small planning group that meets weekly to discuss the impact of a pandemic on UVM and academic support services in particular. In the event that campus closes and courses are taught remotely, how would the libraries provide support?

Comings and Goings

Thursday, May 28 was the last day for Diann Varricchione, who stepped in to assist in the Dean’s Office while Nancy worked on accreditation. She will be missed. Nancy has returned to her original role as the Dean’s assistant and is back in her original location.

Friday, May 29 is the last day for Lisa Schrad, who filled in so efficiently and effectively in Information and Instructional Services for the past nine months.

Trina Magi returns from sabbatical on Monday, June 1. We hope that she will talk about her work in an open forum.

Robin Katz takes her post as the Digital Initiatives Outreach Librarian on July 6.

What's Your Summer Reading List: A Guest Post by Dan Desanto

For this guest-post, I thought I might write about something incredibly informative, like a statistical journey through the UVM Libraries. Then, I thought it would be better to do a piece that is entertaining, like “Name-the-baby-DeSanto” contest. I went on to toy with the idea of focusing on a resource, office, or event. In the end, though, I wrote something that is marginally informative, not very focused, but hopefully entertaining. The key though, is that it is INTERACTIVE! So please contribute in the comments section!

I thought I would share my summer reading list, since everyone in the library seems to be reading interesting things, and I always enjoy talking about books with people around the library. Then, you all could share your planned summer reading, suggest books, and make it easier for the justice department to track what you read. Granted, I’ll probably do what I do every year and read three New Yorkers and half of a novel, but with better intentions, I give you my low-brow, not very organized, mildly interesting summer reading list:

Sea of Poppies - Amitav Ghosh

A few years ago, I read Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines, which I absolutely loved. I tend to read a lot of Indian writers, and the things that attract me to Ghosh are the same things that attracted me to (the much better known) Salman Rushdie: multiple story lines woven through generations, the trauma of schism, and fascinating relationships between characters. The book takes place in 1838 Calcutta, and the story revolves around a former slave ship named the Ibis and its new multifarious inhabitants. I’ve been looking forward to reading this book ever since I heard it profiled on NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98804204/story/story.php?storyId=98804204

Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street - Michael Davis

I first saw this on the Bailey Howe new book shelf. Since then, I’ve seen it pop up on lists and reviews everywhere. The book covers the history of Jim Henson’s Sesame Street, complete with photos and interviews. Laura Haines and I were talking about this book and a time in the first season or two of Sesame Street when Oscar the Grouch wasn’t garbage-can-bound; he had legs and the power of locomotion. And then there was the pivotal episode where we all found out that Snuffleupagus wasn’t imaginary and that Big Bird wasn’t delusional. From flipping through it, there seem to be some very interesting sections dedicated to Henson’s decision making process and how those decisions shaped the show we’ve come to know. All this, peppered with tales of cast parties and “more risqué” muppets will hopefully make this an intriguing summer read.

The Golem’s Mighty Swing – James Sturm

This graphic novel is set in the 1920’s and tells the story of a Jewish baseball team trying to eke out an existence by going town-to-town and taking on the local team. The ball players encounter anti-semitism in every town, during every at-bat. I’ve heard this book-talked a few different times, and the story seems fascinating. From my brief perusal at Google Books, the illustrations also appear to have a sharp eye for subtlety and period detail. Since we don’t own this book, I’m counting on Daisy to lend me her copy (ahem). This should also be a quick read for those of you looking for plane or beach material.

That about rounds out my list for the summer. What are you all planning to read?

And now, as part or our new guest blogging feature, Dan gets to pick the next blogger!

Caption Contest, Anyone?

Overdue Libraries News

The University’s Accreditation inadvertently stole some attention from the University’s Libraries. Here’s the latest news from Bailey/Howe and Dana Medical—and all the folks inside.

Just for clarification…

Birdie MacLennan is Director of Resource Description & Analysis (RDA), with responsibilities for cataloging and metadata services, including descriptive and subject cataloging/metadata of library resources in the libraries catalog and to support discovery of digital collections in the CDI.

Tina Kussey is Director of Acquisitions, Preservation/End Processing, and Collection Development. As chair of the Serials Implementation Team, she is coordinating the merging of University Libraries’ continuing resources processes. This group has recently focused on developing a draft work flow for processing University Library e-resources.

Peter Blackmer has been named Assistant Dean of Libraries to bring his title in line with other school/college financial and human resources managers.

New hires…

Ben Sandoval has a one-year appointment as Library Assistant Professor and Digital Informatics Coordinator within Dana Medical Library...Tom Schmiedel has a one-year appointment as Library Assistant Professor and Content Development Librarian within Dana Medical Library...Robin Katz has accepted the position of Library Assistant Professor and Digital Initiatives Outreach Librarian within Bailey/Howe, staring July 6.

The Search is on…

There are two searches underway: Digital Initiatives Librarian; and, Director of Information and Instructional Services.

Promotions…

Congratulations are in order for Daisy Benson and Chris Burns who have both been promoted to Library Associate Professor, as well as Birdie MacLennan who has been promoted to Library Professor.

All-Staff Meeting...

On Tuesday, June 9, 2009, 9-11 a.m., in the Staff Lounge, Mara Saule and the Dean’s Council will host an all-staff meeting. In addition to enjoying coffee and bagels together, the agenda includes reviewing the Strategic Plan and making decisions about how to put it in motion despite budget and staffing constraints. We will also remember Milton Crouch and take some time to share our memories of him.

New Faculty Advisory Committee/Staff Advisory Committee...

In an effort to improve libraries-wide communications, Mara would like to create a Faculty Advisory Committee and a Staff Advisory Committee. If you are interested in serving on such a committee, please email her directly and copy Nancy. Mara is interested in getting news and views from a variety of libraries sources, and looks forward to meeting with these groups as soon as they are formed.

Budget Updates...

Pending approval by the Board of Trustees on May 16, there will be a 2-percent salary pool for staff, and a 5-percent for represented faculty. The Acquisitions Budget will be increased by 5 percent.

The Milton H. Crouch Faculty Award...

Milton Crouch’s passing gives us pause to remember him and reason to honor him. Peter Blackmer has suggested naming one of the Faculty Awards after Milton Crouch.

Obituary for Milton Crouch

From Mara--

Many of you have already heard the sad news of our beloved Milton's passing, yesterday afternoon at 2:30 pm at the Vermont Respite House in Williston. As the long-time director of public services in Bailey/Howe, and dedicated advocate for libraries everywhere, Milton left an indelible impact not only on the Libraries, but UVM as a whole. There are no arrangements at this time, and a full obituary will appear in tomorrow's Free Press. http://www.legacy.com/burlingtonfreepress/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=127027351

This is such a deep and personal loss for all of us.