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LB.07.02
April 30, 2007

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN SENATE
Committee on the Library
(Final; Information)

LB.07.02         2006-2007 Annual Report

The Committee on the Library has met six times during the 2006-2007 academic year as of the drafting of this report; an additional meeting is scheduled for May 3. The main items of business have been: 1) underestimation of financial impacts to the Library in new program proposals considered and passed by the senate, including the Global Campus Initiative; 2) communication of the future loss in position as the largest public university library in the US; 3) development of a proposal to the Provost for instituting a program to offer start-up funds dedicated to enhancing Library resources for new faculty; 4) Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) statement on publication agreement addenda; 5) new Library/IT student fee.

Guests are regularly invited from the Library to give presentations on specific issues. During the period of this report these have included Scott Walter, Associate University Librarian for Services; Tom Teper, Acting Associate University Librarian for Collection and Preservation; Tina Chrzastowski, Chemistry Librarian; Jane Block, Librarian of The Ricker Library of Architecture and Art; Katie Clark, Virtual Biotechnology Librarian; and Jennifer Hain Teper, Conservation Laboratory Librarian.  Additionally, faculty and administrators were invited to provide information on various issues.  Professor Abbas Aminmansour, Chair of the Senate Education Policy Committee was invited to discuss evaluation of proposals for financial impact to the Library; Provost Linda Katehi and Vice Provost Ruth Watkins are scheduled to attend our May 3 meeting to discuss the plans for using funds from the new Library/IT student fee.

Librarian’s Report and Budget Overview

Ms. Schmidt has kept the Committee informed about the operations and concerns of the Library; a few are listed below.

In September, Schmidt reported that the FY07 Campus allocation of $1 million included funding for two positions for working on access to electronic resources and approximately $500,000 for collections, much of which will be used to cover journal inflation.  The Portico contract for digitization will continue to increase electronic holdings and the Open Content Alliance for developing an Illinois Harvest Portal that will emphasize content developed in Illinois.

In Spring 2006 the Library received $1 million to employ the architectural firm of Shepley, Bulfinch Richardson & Associates to prepare a report on the renovation of the Library. The “Conceptual Framework” report and executive summary have been posted on the Library Executive Committee’s website at http://www.library.uiuc.edu/committee/exec/index.htm.

Recent changes in the Undergraduate Library are aimed at enhancing students’ academic performance, inspiration and comfort.  Much of the funding for the Library’s improvements has come from the DIA (Department of Intercollegiate Athletics) which has pledged $500,000 over the next five years towards the Library’s initiatives through their fund-raising efforts.

In October, the potential impacts of the Global Campus (GC) initiative on library licensing costs for digital content and copyright clearance were discussed.  An influx of new users would dramatically increase these costs, even in the “integrated campus” model of the GC.  Under a separate Global “campus,” these services would have to be duplicated; such redundancy seems inefficient and costly.  Moreover, costs would likely become prohibitive under a for-profit GC model, since we currently benefit from non-profit licensing rates.  Ms. Schmidt noted that Library personnel and technical support are stretched thin as it is; what would govern the responsibilities for such services to GC students, many of whom would be trying to access our resources from other countries without up-to-date computer technology infrastructures?

A memorandum of understanding has been developed that will establish the Law Library as an entity separate from the University Library.  This is being done to address ranking and accreditation concerns in the Law School.  Details about budget and faculty implications are still to be addressed.

As the Campus has some financial challenges, the Provost is trying to arrive at a new strategy regarding operation of the 40 departmental libraries. Schmidt noted that the Library presently has facility challenges and is lacking the funds to meet those challenges. Schmidt reported that the roof and guttering work is finally being done on the Classics Library after the roof fell in several months ago. 

Publication agreement addenda – Ms. Katie Newman

Ms. Newman discussed and distributed copies of LB.02.02, Report to the Senate on Scholarly Communication, dated March 17, 2003; Author Rights:  Using the SPARC Author Addendum to secure your rights as the author of a journal article; D-Lib Magazine, November 2006, Author Addenda, An Examination of Five Alternatives; and SHERPA ROMEO Publisher copyright policies & self-archiving.  Newman noted that Sarah Shreeves (Visiting Project Coordinator) now has the Institutional Repository up and running thereby making a set of collections and related services available to the world.  Newman explained that the SPARC Author Rights Initiative resulted out of the outrage of the high cost of journals.  The draft CIC Provosts’ Statement was discussed.  The Senate Committee on the Library endorsed this statement and recommends that the Senate also endorse it (a proposal to that effect was submitted as an agenda item to the April 30th Senate meeting).

Chemistry Library Tour – Ms. Tina Chrzastowski

Ms. Chrzastowski reported that in 2001, the departmental chemists approached the library administration suggesting that the chemistry library begin planning a library of the future with increased computer access, study space and less use of on-site materials.  This perception of library activity was supplemented by data gathered over the previous 10 years which showed a decline in library use of print journals since the mid-1990s, a decline in photocopying activity, and a decline in journal reshelving and an increase in online use of journals.  At that time the SCS Chemistry Library Committee recommended the library aggressively purchase access to online journal back files and make plans for an electronic future.  The current Chemistry Library retains only books that have been published in the last five years along with all dissertations; any books published prior to that time are stored in the library’s Oak Street facility of high-density shelving, another critical piece in this new model.

Conservation Lab ¾ Ms. Jennifer Hain Teper

Ms. Teper presented a brief history of the Conservation Lab originating in the early 1900’s.  Over time the Lab has become increasingly proactive in addressing its mission:  “The Preservation and Conservation Program exists to preserve, maintain, conserve, and restore the collection, and to encourage good stewardship through outreach and education.” The Lab recently received $300,000 from the Mellon Foundation and a generous gift from the estate of John “Bud” Velde Jr.  The Oak Street Storage Facility opened two years ago, and the state-of-the art laboratory, located on the second floor, opened in September 2006.  The Laboratory provides resources for a variety of repairs on both general and special collections; it allows the Conservation Unit to undertake many new types of treatments, including the application of chemicals and enzymes for stain and adhesive removal, mending tears and losses with paper pulp and Japanese tissues, and washing items in dionized and pH-buffered water to ensure their longevity.  The unit also will expand the repair and conservation of cloth and leather-bound books; construction of customized, protective enclosures; salvage of wet and moldy materials; and preparation of exhibits.

Start Up Funds for New Faculty – Mr. Tom Teper, Acting AUL for Collections

Mr. Teper discussed the concept of providing “start-up” funds for new faculty in the Arts and Humanities.  He distributed copies of a document titled Support for New Faculty which reported that he had met recently with the Arts and Humanities Division regarding new programs and course offerings and possible ways to support new faculty.  Teper noted that the Campus often provides start-up packages to support the teaching and research of the faculty in the sciences.  New labs, renovations, and equipment required for their research can run into the hundreds-of-thousands of dollars.  However, commensurate support for the humanities and social sciences can be lacking.  The University Library is the laboratory for most of these individuals and their research assistants, and their research often requires acquisition of new materials.  Even if they are using electronic resources, the ongoing costs of these resources are borne by the Library in terms of both their acquisition and their processing.  The Committee was supportive of the concept and sent a letter to the Provost requesting the initiation of such a program.

Financial Impacts of New Programs  -- Mr. Tom Teper, Acting AUL for Collections

Teper provided examples of costs for new programs and course offerings and pointed out that the Faculty Senate reviews and approves proposals for new and revised academic programs.  Not every proposal has an impact on the Library.  But when there is an impact, the proposals tend to underestimate, sometimes to a large degree, the impacts on the Library’s collections and resources.  He noted that the current process directs copies of proposed program changes to the Library, but they have not been successful in making a case for support when it is clearly needed.  Teper referred to copies of new programs currently being reviewed by the Senate Committee on Educational Policy and indicated several incidences of potential effect on the Library.  Teper noted that other institutions in the CIC also face the same issues and have developed procedures to remedy the problem by enlisting the support of administration and faculty governing bodies such as the UIUC Senate.  He put forth a proposal based on the process currently used at UIC:

Working through the Library’s Office of Collections, the University Librarian’s Office and the Faculty Senate could establish a requirement that proposals include (1) an estimate of the cost of library materials to support the proposed program determined by the Library and (2) that the Library’s statement about the need or lack of need for new funding that would be included with each program proposal. 

The Committee received the proposal favorably and sent it to the Educational Policy Committee of the Senate for consideration and adoption.  This led to discussions with Abbas Aminmansour, chair of the Educational Policy Committee. 

Addressing Impact of New Programs on the Library – Abbas Aminmansour

Professor Abbas Aminmansour, Chair of the Educational Policy Committee, met with the SCL to discuss the existing process for gathering Library input on impacts of new programs.  Currently, the EPC sends the proposed program changes to the Library for input after the proposal has come to the EPC.  He acknowledged that there is not much time for feedback and the exchange of ideas but confirmed his commitment to slowing up decisions on any program change or addition that would have financial impact on any area of the campus, including the Library. The EPC gets the program change and addition proposals directly from the Provost’s Office.  Aminmansour welcomed the addition of guests and said the agenda could be sent on a regular basis from the Senate Office to the SCL Chair.  He suggested that proposals continue to come as they now do to the Library with this addition and noted that even an e-mail raising concerns will be sufficient to slow down a proposal being reviewed by EPC.  He also stated that he would have no concerns in pulling an item from the Senate agenda, if the program change had gone that far. Teper will continue to send the EPC program announcements to the subject librarians as he receives them.

 

Senate Committee on the Library

Andrea Goulet, Chair (Fall semester)
Gregory F. McIsaac, Chair pro tem (Spring)
James A. Hansen
Alfred Kagan  
Steve Lumetta
Edward Roy
David Sansone
Karen Schmidt, ex officio  
Paul Schmitt
Cody Skees
Terry Weech
Ray Zielinski