DEAN’S COUNCIL MINUTES: June 10, 2008

A brief meeting of the Dean’s Council was held on Tuesday, June 10, from 10 to 11 a.m. to share updates.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Mara Saule, Jeanene Light, Paul Philbin, Birdie MacLennan, Keith Gresham, Peter Blackmer and Nancy Bercaw

ABSENT: Selene Colburn, Jeff Marshall

• Peter Blackmer told department heads that any faculty promotional candidates for next year should get on the radar screen as soon as possible. He reminded everyone that faculty annual activities reports are due in the Provost’s Office by June 30. The Libraries FY09 Budget has been turned in to the Provost and is being evaluated. Peter expects staff salary letters by the third or fourth week in June. The WID space on the third floor has been abated. A&E services are in charge of turning the space into offices and working rooms. The space between the CDI and WID will also be abated once the collection there has been moved.

• Keith Gresham talked about how the asbestos abatement project in I&IS will affect his department. He is working on temporary relocation solutions during the July 14-28 window of work.

• Paul Philbin reported that the warranties on the public machines have expired, and half of them will be replaced. The web redesign project is moving ahead although disruption due to the construction in Bailey/Howe could have an impact on the process.

• Jeanene Light reported that two Dana Library task forces are winding up their work regarding space constraints and service-desk models. Marianne Burke will be back from administrative leave on July 1.

• Birdie MacLennan said the major effort to weed and shift collections is nearing the final stages. A bid from movers has been approved.

• Mara Saule mentioned that Gary Derr has agreed to send an electronic libraries newsletter to UVM faculty twice a semester.

Accreditation Nation

As you know, Mara is one of the co-chairs, along with Jill Tarule, of UVM's 10-year re-accreditation project. During the fall and spring semesters, dozens of committee members (including a number of libraries colleagues) worked to create drafts of the self-study report, based on 11 standards. Those reports have been turned over to Mara and Jill, who will spend a large part of the summer editing the report. The UVM community will have a chance to review the report before it is turned over to the visiting team, scheduled to come to campus April 19-22, 2009. The Accreditation Team is half way to the finish line.

Pandemic Planning Forum in Review

By Lisa Beaulieu

What will the University of Vermont do in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak? Estelle Maartmann-Moe and Al Turgeon, co-chairs of the University’s Working Group on pandemic planning, visited the library last week to discuss how we can prepare ourselves and our community for widespread illness.

First, the University is urging that we take care of ourselves—starting now! Good health habits such as washing your hands and covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze will help prevent the spread of any virus. If you are sick then stay home. The University’s Working Group also urges that we assemble a “home tool kit” which includes cash (small bills), water, food and medicine to sustain you and your family for 2 to 8 weeks.

If the virus appears in an international city, with an airport, then the University will invoke its Emergency Operations Plan and suspend classes. Classes would be administered via remote instruction which would utilize Blackboard, email and/or teleconference. Continuity of academic and research programs is paramount as financial aid, research funding and tuition revenue depend upon it. Clearly, the CTL will be vital to these preparations. As an aside, it was mentioned that 75% of the faculty will be able to teach online by 2012.

The Academic Planning phase of the project is to be completed this summer and will be presented to the Board of Trustees in October. Unit Planning will begin in January 2009 and be completed by May 2009. Peter Blackmer is the Libraries’ representative for the continuity-of-operations plans (COOPs). Peter will be working with library personnel to devise plans that will enable the libraries to continue to provide essential functions while working with fewer staff and fewer supplies. It will also be necessary to implement social distancing measures so as to protect library personnel and patrons from the spread of the virus.

For more information on the University Pandemic Planning efforts you may visit their website,
http://www.uvm.edu/~emergncy/?Page=UVMflu.html&SM=flumenu.html

Recent & Remarkable Dana Accomplishments

Folks from the Dana Medical Library have been publishing and postering up a storm lately. Also, at the recent MLA annual meeting in Chicago, Laura Haines won a very competitive and presitigous 2008 Ebsco/MLA Annual Meeting Grant. Congrats to all our colleagues at Dana.

Donna O’Malley. “A Medline Station in the Clerkship Clinical Skills exam.” Poster presented at the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, May 2008.
“Benefits of Integrating the Library Reserve Function With Blackboard,” Donna O’Malley, Tina Kussey. Poster presented at the AAMC Northeastern Group on Educational Affairs Annual Meeting, April, 2008.

“Teaching Evidence-Based Literature Retrieval to Medical Students and Residents,” Len L Levin, Megan Bresnahan, Lauren Maggio, Kerry A O'Rourke, Donna O'Malley. Poster presented at the AAMC Northeastern Group on Educational Affairs Annual Meeting, April, 2008.

“A Survey of Scholarly Literature Databases for Clinical Laboratory Science.” By Donna L. O’Malley. Clinical Laboratory Science. 21(1):49-57. 2008.

Shiela Phillippe, Tina Kussey, Lesley Boucher, Marianne Burke, Alan Lampson and Colin McClung. “Academic Medical Center to Rural Clinic: Ensuring Fair and Accurate Representation in Go Local.” Poster presented at the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, May 2008.

Nancy Bianchi. "An Analysis of Clinical Questions Asked at Professor Rounds: a Retrospective Review." Poster presented at the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, May 2008.

Marianne Burke, Peggy Carey, MD, Fred Pond, Laura Haines and Alan Lampson. “Information Rx As Patient-Physician Communication Tool and Community Health Information Program. Poster presented at the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, May 2008.

Laura Haines. “Measuring the Effectiveness of Community Outreach: The Community Medical School Project.” Poster presented at the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, May 2008.

Web Design Open Forum

Library Forum – May 21, 2008 (Notes kindly provided by Marcie Crocker)

Paul Philbin presented an overview of the new library website (http://library.uvm.edu:8008) that is currently under development.

Some highlights include:

• Banner images, Spotlight on the Library and Events & Exhibits blurbs that change randomly each time the page is opened.
• More simplified Hours page
• Ask a Librarian function is working, except for “In Person” which is still under development by I & IS.
• Tabbed Search
• What’s New in the Library, Spotlight on the Collection, and Events & Exhibits sections come from WordPress blogs
• E-Resource Portal
• Guides – Managed by the B/H I&IS and Dana Reference Departments using LibGuides

There was lively discussion about some sections of the new site, especially the Tabbed Search and E-Resource Portal sections.

Who is on the Web Team?

Libraries Web Team consists of Paul Philbin (Chair), Selene Colburn, Marcie Crocker, Dan DeSanto, Prudence Doherty (replacing Chris Burns), Lida Douglas, Keith Gresham, Birdie MacLennan, Donna O’Malley, Lyman Ross, Winona Salesky, and Catherine Tran.

Web Implementation Team consists of Lyman Ross (Chair), Marcie Crocker, Dan DeSanto, Lida Douglas, Elizabeth Hassemer, Winona Salesky, Catherine Tran, and Will Webb

Scott Schaffer commented about usability: “We use these resources more than our users. We are not the typical user.”

Next Steps:

• Check the wiki (http://library.uvm.edu:8080/wiki) for updates: Paul will be identifying a process for maintaining the website, including the blogs.

New timeline has been added to the wiki:

• June 30, 2008 – Finish E-Portal, Research Guides, Hours
• July 7, 2008 – Release of site for beta test and usability testing & feedback
• Aug 25, 2008 – Final site release

For extra credit:

• Read “Usability Issues for the Library Website Redesign” and “Usability Study Results Bullet List” (available from the wiki at http://library.uvm.edu:8080/wiki/index.php/Usability)
• Check the information from these documents against the site and give Paul feedback or post your comments right here.

Trustees Tour Special Collections; Pass Resolution

Yesterday, Members of the Board of Trustees toured Special Collections in its current Bailey/Howe location and visited the site of its proposed return in Billings.

Today, May 16, the EPIR (Education, Policy and Institutional Resources) Committee passed a resolution to endorse the Billings Hall Renovation and remit it to the Budget, Finance and Investment Committee for financial review and approval at a future meeting.

Trina Magi Earns 2008 Vermont School Library Association Award

(Details provided by Keith Gresham)

On Tues., May 13, at the Vermont Library Conference, Trina Magi was presented with the 2008 Vermont School Library Association Award in recognition of her "dedication, leadership, and collaboration with the Vermont School Library Community."


Trina was specifically recognized for her work this past year as chair of the Vermont Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Committee, which successfully worked with school, public, and academic librarians, the state library, parents groups, and state lawmakers to introduce legislation that would strengthen Vermont state law regarding the confidentiality of library records.


Gov. Jim Douglas signed the legislation into law this week. The new law (S. 220, “An Act Relating to the Confidentiality of Library Patron Records") will take effect on July 1, 2008. The law specifies that only a court order from a judge could force the release of a library patron's records. The previous law allowed librarians to release the records on their own volition.

For more information about the new law, see: http://www.vermontlibraries.org/governor-signs-s-220-library-patron-confidentiality-bill-to-become-law