The Annual Meeting 2011

By Chris Krupp

Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, 9 – 10:30 a.m.

The directors’ reports were collected and made available online, in advance of the meeting. At the meeting itself, (following refreshments), Mara spoke. Then she and the directors answered questions from the audience.

Comings and Goings

Mara welcomed this year’s new library personnel: Sarah Gordon, Alice Stokes, Tom McMurdo, Sally Blanchard, Aaron Nichols, Arron Thomas, and Fred Pond. Amber Billey will be joining us in December. Nancy Bercaw was welcomed back. This year we said farewell to Peter Blackmer, Wichada Sukantarat, Lida Douglas, Shiela Phillippe, Robin Katz, Sybil Schaefer, and Bonnie Paquette. Kathy Bohan will be retiring at the end of this month.

University Trends

Mara said that the theme for this year is Transformation. Our core values remain, but we are rethinking our relationship with our clients and our collections. At the University level, the Strategic Initiatives Project (SIP) is underway – this is a mandate to find $12 million in new revenues, and to reallocate $24 million. Five committees have been formed: Research, Student Success & Satisfaction, Diversity & Internationalization, Net Revenue Enhancement, and Cost Reduction & Productivity Enhancement. -- Question: Do the new Chinese students on campus impact our library operations? A: Mara and Alison are looking into this. There are certainly implications with cultural differences and language skills. – Question: How can staff get involved with SIP? A: The Staff Council has heard a presentation on this, and the students are also engaged at their own level. -- Question about timeline for implementation of SIP policies? A: Some of the more concrete proposals will be quickly put in place, but the ones that are hard to define will take longer.

Mara said she is chairing a committee to explore academic-related technologies on campus. The committee is examining priorities for investments across campus. These expenses are funded by the technology fee that is charged to each student. Mara reminded us that we can suggest library-related uses for these technology funds.

Planning is underway for the FY13 budget. The Libraries are asked to identify a 1% contingency reduction (about $75,000). We might or might not need to actually carry out this reduction but we need to be prepared – we’ll know more in May. It’s not clear where in the budget this money would come from. We need to identify challenges we are currently facing, and how we will address them with our current resources.

Libraries: Trends and Initiatives

..We are taking a leadership role on campus with our Digital Initiatives projects – digitalized newspapers, the CDI, and the Institutional Repository. Question: Can we get a definition of “institutional repository”? Mara said that this would be a collection of digital or digitized material, including University-related reports, publications, theses and dissertations. These would be made searchable on Google.
..We are seeing a continuing strong emphasis on curriculum and pedagogical issues, including student writing and information literacy.
..We are rethinking our public catalog - how we access the information, through Primo, SFX, and web redesign.
.. We are studying the preliminary information for the proposed Learning Commons, and studying its feasibility. The architects will show us some conceptual slides on Nov. 16. It is not yet clear which programs would be included, or how Bailey-Howe would be reconfigured as a result. It’s possible that a 50,000 sq. ft. building might be built on as an addition facing Davis, but there’s no firm design yet.
.. We successfully emptied the former Cook Library, a complex and massive undertaking.
.. Fundraising for the new Billings Library is well underway, and there’s an increasing feeling of optimism that this will actually happen.
.. The infrastructure (heating and air) of Bailey-Howe needs upgrading, but the expense and inconvenience are major factors.
.. Multimedia and “new media” are emerging as student priorities.
.. The Vermont Integrated Curriculum is a four-year medical curriculum, divided into three stages: classwork, clinical work, and advanced integration (which is teaching, research, and preparation for Medical Boards)

Questions and Discussions

Question: What about the Governor’s press conference yesterday? A: Mara said this probably had two purposes. First was to ask people to put aside concerns and animosities about the former President Fogel’s retirement package and other large administrative salaries – instead, the people of Vermont should be focusing on the value of UVM to the state of Vermont. And second, what’s the relationship between UVM and the State, and what *should* it be? This has significant implications. It’s possible that after all is said and done, nothing will change. Mara also said that the governor emphasized “science, technology, engineering, and math” (or maybe medical), possibly because these fields can bring economic activity to Vermont, but she has been assured that the governor also understands and values the Liberal Arts.

Question: What are the future steps for the Learning Commons? A: Selene responded that there are two more meetings with these consultants, during which they will present a conceptual proposal showing which groups and services will inhabit the Commons. The presentation for us in the Libraries will be next week; then they’ll make their presentation and submit their final written report to the President and senior leadership of the University in early December. Assuming this proposal moves forward, work then begins on fundraising, a timeline is prepared, and much discussion is had with the larger University community. Mara said there is no shortage of University student programs that would like to be included in the Learning Commons.

Question: What about the recent “busy library” article in the Free Press? A: The students interviewed in the article said they came to the library to focus on their studies. Apparently the Davis Center didn’t “kill” the library as was feared by some at the start. The Davis Center has high usage numbers too, but they are collected in a different way, and students are clearly using the DC for different purposes than what they use the Libraries for. Paul said we’re starting to gather statistics for how the library computers are being used, numbers of authenticated users, some density studies. What are the specific reasons that students choose to study in the Libraries, and how will this shape the Commons? Marilyn noted that students vote with their feet – they will go where they find support and services. Selene mentioned that the consultants held focus groups with students, and that report should be very interesting. Also, the SGA will be focusing this year’s survey on the undergraduate students’ library experiences – this should provide some explicit data for us to consider.

Treasurer’s Report

Darcelene reported that our balance is $274.38. (This covers dues collected, minus expenses for our two annual parties, and any outlays for bereavements or get-wells.) Also, she has collected more than $270 from the Libraries for the Thanksgiving Project, and is collecting until Nov. 17.