Comment Box Contents

There were a total of seven "crazy" and "not so crazy" ideas in the comment box as of Tuesday, February 10.

Here are a few samples and outcomes:

1. Update the large hanging banners near the main stairway. (Will do.)
2. Bring color to the staff lounge. (Under consideration, pending funding source.)
3. Place some plants in the entry way. Even artificial plants would give a great feel and look and not require watering or care. (Although they do need dusting. But we will look into some glass art to add light and color to the area.)

Keep the comments coming!

The D&D Council Delivers a Blog

The Discovery and Delivery Council will be hosting a new blog called Discovery&Delivery@UVM. The Council will use the blog to post minutes of their meetings, news about current or upcoming activities, links to cool widgets or sites that might enhance the use of the library and its resources, and similar stuff. Note that the top-most entry refers to some book-centered social networking sites that will be placed on the UVM Libraries' Facebook page. These links will likely appear on the Facebook page sometime next week.

To get to the blog, go to http://dduvm.blogspot.com.

DEAN’S COUNCIL: Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009

No new budget news at the time. Updates were given around the table.

· Technical Services workflow restructuring is ongoing. The Cataloging area is currently staffed by two people. In the event of absence, there may be some delays in getting materials out. Some new workflows are being implemented, other possibilities are being considered.

· The SMCV group (serials and e-resources) and other colleagues from around the libraries attended a half-day EBSCO training workshop on Jan. 30 covering the EBSCO A to Z administrative module and EBSCONET. Highlights included customizing displays, various reporting & statistical functions, and a brief introduction to the link resolver.

· Birdie attended ALA in Denver and chaired two interest group forums on: (1) vendor supplied cataloging records for European imprints and (2) cataloging standards and trends in academic libraries.

· Information and Instruction Services has been working on web content for the new site—creating Libguides, and populating the "Find Articles & More" resources section. Also, met with Systems staff and Selene to discuss populating "Spotlight on the Collections." Daisy volunteered to coordinate this effort initially, with help from Lisa Schrad and others.

· The reference desk is working out well so far in its new location. It seems more conducive to helping patrons with research and assisting them in finding resources. A new, more modular desk is on order that will match the other new furniture. It has an ADA section, as well as other features, and is slightly smaller than the current desk. There will be a smaller ready reference desk behind it. Both pieces of furniture will be installed over Spring break.

· Selene is preparing two poster sessions for the upcoming ACRL conference. Also, she has increased the frequency of newsblogging in anticipation of the new website release and is open to ideas for news items. She created Facebook & Twitter account for the Libraries. An RFP went out for a signage consultant/designer for the Libraries; we'll be doing a work through with candidates later this month. The Digital Initiatives Outreach Librarian search continues; the first two candidates will be on campus next week. Selene also been working more formally with the Development and Alumni Relations; they'll soon be scheduling follow-up meetings with Deans to discuss fund-raising priorities.

· The Serials Group has been working to make all the subscription changes for 2009. Nearly all new online titles have been activated and updated in A-Z; only a handful are still in progress. The B/H Collections Team is currently updating the Collection Development Policy, and will be working closely with Selene to develop a marketing strategy for promoting our resources.

Crazy Ideas

Chris Burns came up with a crazy idea, and the Dean's Office is taking him up on it. He suggested that we establish a "Crazy Idea Box" for colleagues to offer up all sorts of wild and crazy methods for improving the libraries or/and operating more efficiently.

The Crazy Idea Box, designed by student worker Sarah Grant, will reside in the Staff Lounge at Bailey/Howe.

Fill it up.

DEAN’S COUNCIL UPDATES: Jan 6 & 13, 2009

I. Budget Matters

Dean’s Council meetings will be held weekly through January to keep communication open to discuss ongoing budget crisis. Peter submitted the libraries’ FY09 rescission on Friday, Jan. 9. Libraries’ FY10 base-budget adjustments are due in the Provost’s Office on Jan. 23. Another open forum will be scheduled in the next week to provide updates on the process and/or any new information.

II. Strategic Planning Discussion

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the Dean’s Council will discuss the input on the Strategic Plan given by libraries colleagues in last week’s open forums. Prior to that meeting, the notes from each forum will be posted to the blog.

III. Web redesign release

Prelease in January, new website going live sometime during the semester—probably March 9, which is spring break. January and February will be a time for all web visitors and users to review. The “preview” will be linked from the current web page.

IV. B/H Renovation

The entry renovation in B/H is close to being completed. Some duct tape issues and cleaning schedules are being resolved. The students came back to B/H to find 35 additional workstations and some additional soft seating near the entry way. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Special thanks to Scott Miller for his team’s tireless efforts as well as those by Paul and the systems group.

Miller Time

The entryway of Bailey/Howe is looking good, and is on schedule, thanks the man in the center of the madness.

Status Report on e-Journal problem form

By Tina Kussey

It’s been about a month since the University Libraries started using a unified list and form to report e-journal problems, so I thought a few statistics would be a good way to provide an update on how this process is working out. Since November 24th, 21 problems have been reported. Of these, 13 have been resolved – ten within 1 business day, two within 2 business days, and one within 3 business days.

• 1 problem is in the process of being fixed.
• 7 problems are waiting on vendors or publishers to fix (e.g. add missing content).
• 11 problems reported via Bailey Howe affiliation, 10 via Dana/FAHC affiliation.
• 3 problems reported directly by a patron.
  9 problems reported by Bailey Howe Instruction and Information Services.
• 6 problems reported by Dana DD/ILL.
• 1 problem reported by Bailey Howe DD/ILL.
• 1 problem reported by Dana Reference.
• 1 problem reported by Dana Circulation.
• All problems were responded to within 1 business day of receipt.

Thank you for all the feedback – please continue to send comments to me or anyone in the serials group (Birdie, Tina, Sandy, Shawn, Susan, Jane, Juliet and Brenda).