Northern Kentucky University

December 11, 2009

Steely Library – Room 510

Present:

Arne Almquist, Lois Schultz, K.C. Russell, Tom Heard, Teuta Cata, Katherine Kurk, Vicki Culbreth, Greg Martin, Nicholas Georgescu

Not Present:

Lane Clarke

Updates and announcements:

Arne opened the meeting with a welcome to all followed by updates and announcements.

• Have had a very active Fall calendar. Steely Library is gradually becoming better known for its arts events.
  1. Reported on the outstanding Duveneck Event – Mrs.Duveneck, a Dixie Seldon print and several other Duveneck pieces on loan by the Kenton County Library and individual collectors were on display. The catalog/program from the evening was circulated for review. A pre– luncheon was held for the Christopher Gist Historical Society that donated and restored Mrs. Duveneck.
  2. The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky launch event was very successful. Estimating 400 attended and over 100 copies sold. A copy of the Encyclopedia was circulated for review.
• Update on the Bachelor of Library Informatics program – it is going very well. The Dean of the College of Informatics said if 15 people signed up for a new program it is considered a success, we have 25. This program is entirely online and provides an excellent opportunity to improve knowledge and skills as well as to prepare for the MLS.
• Thru the IMLS Grant we have given 50 scholarships and will have money left over. At least 10 of the 50 applicants will be going to NKU this year with that number increasing in years 2 and 3.
• We will take our annual tour of the Library at the end of the meeting.
• Introduced and welcomed Nicholas Georgescu who will be representing the Student Government Association. He is a senior with a Philosophy and Chemistry double major. Introductions were made around the table.
• Nancy Campbell is currently coordinating a meeting of all library liaisons and library representatives. Would ULAC members like to attend as well? There was discussion of the agenda and Arne asked that any agenda items they would like to cover be sent to him prior to the meeting.
• Materials budget – have 2 deadlines for expenditures – December 15th and February 28th. By December 15th you must spend 50% and by February 28th spend or have orders against to close out by end of year. Lois Schultz has been collecting data to show where departments currently stand (showed PP slide of data thru Nov. 30th). Many orders have been placed since then that will not appear. Please note, if any of your departments have not spent their allocations, remind them of the deadline. Arne said the money will not be lost, it will be reallocated to expensive databases or such.

The discussion turned to how the formula was originally set and what it currently includes. One factor that affects our purchasing power is serials inflation. We have tried, over the years, to factor serials inflation as a fixed cost into the budget but it has not yet happened. If we get a “flat” budget, we essentially are taking a significant cut after accounting for inflation. Arne showed a chart that will be posted on the ULAC website and sent to departmental liaison. The Womens’ Studies allocation has been added into the History budget.

• Library Allocation Formula – once again, it’s time to update this formula to reflect some suggested factors (not reinventing the wheel, just aligning it). Need a subcommittee to work with Lois Schultz to reevaluate and update. Arne will send an email to each soliciting volunteers. If no response, he will follow up with a phone call asking to serve. These reevaluations can be done in 1–2 meetings. Greg Martin volunteered and Nick Georgescu will work with them as well. KC asked if the cap we put in place last year so no department took more than 30% will remain. Arne said it will depend on budget cuts and other factors but that we will always make an effort to minimize the loss.
• The budget is divided into three major categories – serials/recurring, one–time purchases (books, videos), and high cost items with narrow focus. Examples of the last category would include CompuStat (COB), and some of our online chemistry resources. We are trying a new approach to see if we can fund these items through development. We are currently considering an electronic package containing 125,000 online 18th century books. The package will be very valuable for our English department, but the relatively high cost has prevented us from budgeting for it in the past. We will create a development team, including our Development Director (Nancy Perry), a faculty representative, a sales representative from the company and the Associate Provost for Library Services to solicit donors. This is a purchase and we can brand the package with the donor/organization name. If it flies, we will solicit faculty for similar types of situations where donors could purchase and be recognized for it. This 18th century collection will potentially be a cross–discipline product and also opens up collaboration with other institutions and the community.
• Arne showed a PowerPoint of photos to be presented to potential donors of what our Special Collections/Archives could become. We are moving forward with the reconstruction of the Special Collections back room area. We have $100,000 in hand for a possible $400,000 renovation. He also pulled up the SL homepage to show results of our “informal” question on the web, “What do you have the most problem finding in Library?” This is an innovative way to receive feedback and avoid “survey fatigue”.
• The RFID tagging project is going well – the 2nd floor is completed; as well as half of the 1st floor. The budget continues to be an issue in purchasing materials to complete this project.
• Feedback on the new website has been positive – LibQual and other surveys have prompted the changes.
• RefWorks – AA talked with a representative at EDUCAUSE and found that there are extensive training materials available–at no cost.

Around the Table:

Nick Georgescu – no official issues. No issues have been brought through SGA, just through word of mouth.

Kathy Kurk – space… will the Library continue to reclaim their space? Arne reported that if/when the College of Arts and Sciences moves we’re thinking of establishing an emeriti faculty study space for a sense of belonging. The entire campus is space poor and we’ll continue to help out as much as we can.

There being no further business – the meeting concluded and the Library tour began.