Present: Michaelyn Burnette, Elizabeth Byrne (chair, recorder), John Ceballos, Paul Hamburg, Dayna Holz, Shayee Khanaka, Carrie McDade, Adnan Malik, Karen Munro, John Roberts, Beth Sibley, Isabel Stirling, David Sullivan, Allan Urbanic, Kathryn Wayne.
1. Announcements
Two new members were introduced: Karen Munro, e-Learning Librarian, and Adnan Malik, South Asian Librarian.
P. Hamburg announced a Jan. 26 screening of one of the few new operas in Hebrew, an adaptation of the novel, “Journey to the End of the Millenium” by Yehoshua. Details will be announced soon.
Members were reminded of the Preservation Workshops offered Jan. 10 and 12 by Library Preservation staff.
2. A & H Representatives on the Screening Committee for Candidates for the AUL for Collections
Each subject council has been asked to select 3 members to serve on a screening committee to interview candidates for the AUL for Collections position. It was decided that members should send nominations, including self-nominations, by Jan. 13 to E. Byrne. Byrne will send a list of nominees to the reflector for a vote before the Jan. 23 deadline.
3. Function Council Reports
Administrative Services:
J. Ceballos reported that members were reviewing recommendations of the Library Security Task Force, including looking into card access to Moffitt, and possibly extending security patrols to subject libraries, as well as investigating hiring Campus Security student patrols. A new head of Library Security is to begin Jan.9.
Technical Services:
P. Hamburg noted that as part of the Technical Services Review, G. Moon was interviewing all TS departmental staff and intends to begin talking to other staff soon.
Collections Council:
D. Sullivan and J. Roberts reported that interviews for the AUL position will take place in mid to late February, and that there would soon be a call for one-time, special purchases and a call for “bridge funding” for a one-time supplement for under-funded funds. Both will be funded from income from unrestricted collections endowments managed by the AUL Collections.
They also explained that large unspent balances of 19-900 money in selector funds has made it difficult to justify additional collections requests to the Campus, and as a result, a new policy is being drafted to encourage selectors to encumber 90% of their 19-900 funds. It was suggested that at least estimates of orders submitted, but not yet placed be included in the calculations. There was a suggestion that in some cases selectors might be allowed to place orders directly with vendors to avoid delays. Details on the “spend or defend” policy will be distributed shortly.
4. Discussion on adequacy of current minimum standard replacement cost of books was deferred to the February meeting.
5. Tips and Techniques on Community Outreach and Fundraising, presented by Paul Hamburg.
Hamburg gave an engaging presentation with many excellent suggestions. To identify your community, get to know your department and other related cultural institutions in the area, attend their events and schmooze so you become a part of the community. Establish personal and professional relationships. His evening events in the Morrison Library have been successful because they involved many people, coordinated with an educational project and related library materials, and incorporated multiple aspects of a subject, e.g., arts, music and performance. His community groups have helped fund several programs. He has worked with the Israeli cultural attache and private foundations. It is important to keep the director of Library Development in the loop, work with your academic department as a team, and be aware of Campus Development policies. Hamburg explained how he worked with the community groups he has cultivated to obtain funding for the purchase of the Second Biblia Rabbinica last year. He praised the support he has received from the Library Graphics Department and Library Development, but emphasized that you have to take charge, coordinate, and make sure all details are covered. To prevent the academic department from seeing you as a competitor, involve them in your projects and work as a team, giving them credit for their contributions. If you do not have a well-defined local community, start with a modest project, something you are passionate about, and try to discover what groups would be interested. Get involved with them, and run your ideas by them. See if there is another academic or professional group with which you can partner. When asked if he had had any flops, he admitted yes, and suggested that you get to know the people you’ll be working with so you know their strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes you have to nag to keep people on deadline and on schedule. Make sure your A-V/sound systems and other technologies are working properly. And coordinate the date of your event so there are no major conflicts within your community.
Next meeting: Thursday, February 2.
Go to Arts & Humanities Council minutes