The meeting was convened by Dr. Alan Grant, chair, at 4:00 p.m. in the McAfee Tower Conference Room.

Present:  Rosemary Buck, Mahmood Butt, Ian Davis, Steve Davis, Alan Grant, Richard Jacques,
                Newton Key, Allen Lanham, Peter Loewen, Matthew Monippallil, Charles Phillips, and Jeff Stowell

Excused: Melanie Burns and Marilyn Lisowski

Absent:  John Weber
 

I. Approval of Minutes

An amendment was made to the February 14, 2001 minutes. Newton Key noted that under New Business, the first sentence in the last paragraph be amended to read as follows: �Newton Key recently discovered that Bell and Howell plans to sell sections of Early English Books Online individually.� The minutes were approved as amended.

II.  Communications

E-mail communications were received from Melanie Burns and Marylin Lisowski. Burns was unable to attend this meeting because she is teaching a class. Lisowski was unable to attend because she is presenting at the National Science Teachers Association convention.

III. Old Business

 Patron Satisfaction Survey

Dean Lanham discussed some highlights of the �Patron Satisfaction Survey Spring 2000� results that were distributed to committee members during the February 14, 2001 meeting. He stated that because the survey was taken during the first year the library moved into its temporary locations, many of the concerns noted by patrons were mostly related to temporary building issues that should be resolved once the library returns to Booth. A total of 445 persons completed the survey.

Dean Lanham said the library scored lower than in past years on the question �How satisfied are you with Booth Library, in general?� Again, he noted that this survey reflected concerns related to temporary building issues. But overall, patrons seemed satisfied with the service.  Eighty-two percent of the 437 respondents said that the library staff is �extremely helpful� or �very helpful�.

Dean Lanham stated that out of 440 survey respondents, 46 percent said they never call Booth Library for information. He thinks this will change because the library is exploring the possibility of implementing a toll-free number to the Reference Desk for use by distance education students and faculty in the fall 2001. If the toll-free service is affordable, then it may continue into the spring semester after the library moves into the new building.

Dean Lanham noted that future results for the survey question �How often do you ask a librarian for help?� should change because each of Booth Library�s Web sites now has an  �Ask a Librarian� site button.  The site is receiving more and more hits each week during this semester. A librarian was assigned to monitor the site and to ensure that questions are answered in a timely fashion. Questions are received from students, faculty, and community members.

Dean Lanham stated that survey respondents perceived a need for more materials on almost every academic topic. This indicates that we are getting a good cross-section of intellectual interests on campus.

Alan Grant inquired about the total number of survey respondents for the previous year. Dean Lanham said that the number of actual respondents has decreased each year over the past three years. He stated that this mirrors the foot traffic in the building. He said that as the electronic use of the library increases, the number of people coming into the building decreases, and that most of the surveys go to the people who are coming into the building. He added that the foot-traffic should increase three-fold once the library moves to the new building. When the surveying began approximately five or six years ago, it was decided that library users would be surveyed rather than non-users in the student population. The Dean noted that a questionnaire geared only to faculty will be conducted again this year to obtain their views.  For this year�s survey, a follow-up letter will be sent to faculty in hopes of increasing their response rate.

Newton Key stated that he felt we were not receiving enough input from those using the library�s resources electronically and asked whether there were any ideas/plans to increase the number of electronic responses. Dean Lanham replied that the survey could be positioned on more Web sites. He believes that responses will continue to increase. However, he feels that the electronic user usually is not that interested in filling out questionnaires, because this type of user is more interested in the immediacy of a particular function. The Dean added that the positioning of the survey instrument on the Web page might have something to do with the lower responses, and he will speak with the committee regarding this issue.

Alan Grant inquired about the possibility of providing a prize incentive to encourage people to participate in the electronic survey.  Dean Lanham stated that this might be a good idea. He mentioned that a computer company in Bloomington/Normal gave the ISU library a free laptop that was raffled to their students, and they had thousands of new students in their library during the contest.
 

IV.  New Business

 LAB Officers� Nominations

Alan Grant announced that FY02 LAB officers� nominations are now officially open until the week before the next meeting. There are no restrictions against self-nomination. He requested that those interested send him an e-mail.
 

V.  Dean�s Report

 Human Resources Issues

Ann Hudson was hired as the new OSSI in the Administration Office.  She will serve as the secretary/recorder for the Library Advisory Board. She replaces Linda Metzger who left her position last fall to have a child. Dean Lanham thanked Peggy Manley for filling in as the LAB secretary/recorder.
 

 Budgetary Issues

The article about the Governor�s FY02 budget that appeared in today�s Daily Eastern News mentioned a cut to the library's budget increase, not a cut to the budget. A three-percent increase was expected, but there likely will not be an increase in next year�s fund. As far as we know, the library should have the same $1.3 million in acquisitions monies as it had this year. Without an increase in the budget for next year, massive cuts to journal subscriptions are not expected for the first year. The IBHE was generous two to three years in a row by giving us adequate increases. All state university libraries got their increases cut to zero this round.

 Planning

The Booth renovation remains on target. Dean Lanham toured the building today with Student Government committee members. Many had not been in the building prior to the beginning of its renovation, and others who had been in the building did not recognize what they remembered. A new project manager is reviewing the timeline and will provide a report next week. The Dean stated that he does not expect any surprises concerning the timeline. Furnishings for every room have been specified, and the bids should be coming through the purchasing office very soon.  The furnishings will be quite functional, and it should be an attractive building. Only one negative aspect was pointed out today. The penthouse mechanical room on the north side is two weeks late, which could delay the progress to the atrium. However, this should be resolved in the next week or two.

 Technology Enhanced and Technology Delivered Education Issues

TEDE discussions are on going. No news concerning Media Services is expected until the TEDE Committee meets again next week. TEDE members will make recommendations to the Provost before the end of the term.

 ILLINET Online

The DRA Company is currently providing access to the library�s online catalog, but the contract is expiring. An RFP was issued, and there were six bidders. The statewide committee has limited the companies to four. DRA is no longer under consideration. Therefore, there will be a change of backbone for ILLINET Online in the next year and a half.

Newton Key inquired as to whether any of the four companies being considered would have the feature that would notify on-campus constituents if an overdue book they have checked out to them is being requested by another patron. Dean Lanham stated that he was not yet familiar with all capabilities of the four new systems. They will be reviewed by librarians across the state. John Whisler represents Eastern on the review committee and has been one of the leaders in ILLINET Online for the last 20 years. These systems will be presented over the next month at open meetings in Urbana. We will participate in those and evaluate each system.

Alan Grant asked when we would see the new interface to ILLINET Online. Dean Lanham replied that it would be no sooner than the summer after the library moves to the new building. The library will return to Booth with the current system.

 Library Advocacy Day

Illinois Library Advocacy Day is set for Wednesday, April 18, 2001 in Springfield. The April meeting of the Library Advisory Board is scheduled for the same day.  Dean Lanham will need to travel to Springfield for the event and asked to change the date of the April meeting. He requested that LAB meet on April 25, 2001 instead of April 18, 2001. This will be the final meeting for the semester.

 Library Calendars 2001-2002

The 2001-2002 Library Calendar draft was distributed. Dean Lanham asked LAB members to bring their comments on the calendar to the April meeting.

 Other

Rosemary Buck asked whether the U of I would receive any budget increase. Dean Lanham replied that they were not slated to receive an increase in the books and materials budget for next year from the IBHE. They did receive a special allocation last year for electronic resources. They were under-funded; their budget had not kept pace with their need to have electronic resources in addition to all the print resources.

Student Representative Ian Davis inquired about the furniture survey results. Dean Lanham said that the results were compiled, but they are not being released. The Dean said he would be happy to show him the results, which are at his office. The reason they won�t be released is because the names of the chairs were on the surveys, and the chairs were only used as examples of furniture that might be used in the new building, not as specific pieces. EIU�s Purchasing Office is concerned about publicizing specific brand names because all items will go through the bid process. All competitors are welcome to bid on all items. The furniture survey data was reviewed with the architects, and it influenced decisions on what furniture was listed for the bids.
 

Adjournment

 Meeting adjourned at 4:55 p.m.

 Next meeting will be on Wednesday, April 25, 2001, at 4:00 p.m. in the Tower Conference Room.
 

Ann Hudson, Recording Secretary