MINUTES OF THE LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD

�MINUTES OF THE LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD

October 29, 2003

The meeting was convened by Dr. Chris Hanlon, Chair, at 4:04 p.m. in the Library Conference Room.

Present: �� Kathryn Bulver, Steve Davis, Harrison Green, Eric Hake, Chris Hanlon, Olivet Jagusah, Allen Lanham, Scott Meiners, Charles Phillips, Leslie Rios, Stacey Ruholl, John Stimac, Mukti Upadhyay and Dawn Van Gunten

Excused: � Tom Moncada

Guest:�� Marlene Slough

I.� Welcome and Comments

The minutes from the October 8, 2003 meeting were approved as submitted.

II. Communications

Dr. Hanlon shared a recent finding in Booth Library, by one of his graduate students, of a first edition book entitled, �Pudd�nhead Wilson� by Mark Twain.� He then proceeded to see if he, too, could find a first edition book in the stacks and discovered �Cannibals All!� by Fitzhugh.� Dr. Lanham explained that the library does have first edition copies in the stacks.� Bibliographers can transfer books for inclusion in Special Collections if the value is such to warrant that type of consideration.

III. Old Business

As a follow-up, Campus Police reported that the incident involving a student library assistant in the 1000 south stack area has not been resolved.� Neither the police nor the student involved was able to identify the perpetrator using the tapes from the security cameras.

IV. New Business

Chris Hanlon shared his satisfaction with the ProQuest series of databases made possible by the Illinois State Library as part of �Try-It Illinois.� This program provides access to a variety of databases.� A question regarding pricing was raised.� Dr. Lanham explained that most of the databases are priced on an FTE enrollment basis.� Eastern�s enrollment is typically high enough that the pricing limits the number of databases that can be purchased.

Dean�s Report

Personnel Issues

�� Library Services currently has nine vacancies: three in Administration, one in Library Technology Services, one in Interlibrary Loan, two in Periodicals/Reserve, one in Circulation, and one in Cataloging.� The Provost has approved funding for four positions.� Two searches (one in Periodicals/Reserve and one in the Dean�s Office) are currently in progress.

�� The salaries of all student workers on campus will be increased to $5.50 per hour effective December 16, 2003, as part of the national minimum wage increase.� The estimated cost for this increase on the FY04 library budget is expected to be $5,000.� The projected incremental increases over the next two years will ultimately cost the library $30,000 a year.� Dean Lanham stated, at this time, there are no plans to reduce the student hours to compensate for the increase in wages; however, no other monies have been identified to cover the mandatory wage increase.

Budgetary Issues

There has been no change in the budgets for Library Services.

Service Issues

�� Dean Lanham announced the good news that a grant that he and Bradley Tolpannen submitted to the American Library Association and the National Endowment for the Humanities to receive a traveling exhibit entitled, �Elizabeth I: Ruler or Legend� was accepted.� This represents a collaborative effort with faculty members from across campus.� Booth Library was selected as one of only 42 schools slated to receive the exhibit.� The exhibit will be on display from March 3 through April 16, 2004.� Board members were encouraged to discuss this opportunity with their fellow faculty members.� Anyone interested in participation can contact Dean Lanham.� Scott Meiners suggested contact be made with the regional superintendents of schools for opportunities to engage school children.��

V. Planning

Marlene Slough, Head of Acquisitions for Library Services, was a guest to the meeting.� She also serves as chair of the Statistics Committee for the library, and as such was responsible for both the Patron Satisfaction Survey conducted in April, and the 2003 Periodical/Standing Order Review.� Ms. Slough reported that approximately $44,000 in periodical titles and $14,000 in standing order titles were cancelled.� This process is necessary, especially in light of recent budgetary restraints, to provide funding to maintain the current obligations for subscriptions and standing orders. �She thanked the departments for their efforts this year that resulted in a positive process for the library.

Marlene Slough also shared a draft copy of the 2003 Patron Satisfaction Survey results.� At the suggestion of the Library Advisory Board, the survey was administered simultaneously campus wide which resulted in nearly 2000 respondents.� Because the data is electronic, any number of comparisons can be made.� Suggestions for the comparative analysis of the data were sought, and a number of suggestions were made.�

VI. Other

Frustrations regarding the network connections and the use of library resources were voiced.� Dr. Lanham shared in their concerns and assured them the library is trying to work with Information Technology Services to resolve the network situation.� Faculty and students are encouraged to call the Reference Desk for help when they cannot access the information they need.� Every effort will be made to facilitate their requests.�

The Faculty Senate will sponsor a fall forum which will seek to engage faculty and librarians to work together on student projects.� Dean Lanham is hopeful that the �One Author�One Community� theme can be incorporated in this collective project.

Meeting adjourned at 5:13 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by:

Peggy Manley, Recording Secretary