WeTALC meeting
October 8, 2004
University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center
President Hope Shull called the meeting to order, thanking Tom Singarella for hosting this meeting. Introductions were made of those present which included Steve Baker, Gloria Hester representing Scott Cohen, Alice Ruleman representing Pam Walker, Lan Wang, Sammy Chapman, representing Pam Dennis, Sylverna Ford, Tom Singarella, Steve Rogers, Darlene Brooks, Annette Hunt, Margaret Cardwell. Minutes from the last meeting were reviewed, Steve Baker moved and Steve Rogers seconded the motion to accept the minutes. The only new business was to vote on the membership application of the J. W. and Dorothy Bell Library at Crichton College in Memphis. After a reading of the criteria for full membership from the By-laws, Tom moved, and Sylverna seconded, a motion to accept the application. The motion passed with a voice vote.
Other business discussed was the upkeep of the WeTALC web page. It was suggested that each member check their own information on the pages. Any changes should be sent to Scott Cohen.
Steve Baker brought to the attention of the board the question of a vice chair. After discussion of the By-laws, the possibility of forming a nominating committee, and the existence of an executive committee that could take on this assignment, it was agreed that Scott Cohen might add to his previous list of meeting locations, the president at that meeting. If agreeable to the membership of the board, a system of rotating the chair duties could be determined in a way similar to our current listing of the host meeting site.
Union University in Jackson will host the next meeting in April, 2005, dates to be determined.
The meeting adjourned at 10:15 for a program presented by Jennifer Watson on “Low-Cost Solutions to E-Journal Management” followed by Lois Bellamy’s presentation on Institutional Repositories.
There will be a Reference meeting Nov. 5 at Freed Hardeman.
Reports from each school follow:
Lambuth University, WeTALC – October 8, 2004
A large part of the summer was spent stripping books in anticipation of the installation of our new 3M Security System. Paid for through Technology Fee monies, the system became operational at the beginning of the academic year. We continue to work on stripping the remaining books.
Also this summer, we upgraded our Voyager database to 2001.2.1 to create more services and better access to materials. In the process, we improved our features to include suggestions by faculty and staff. The OPAC is much more user-friendly with these upgrades.
Sammy Chapman continues to add services through our database links. He has now included a link to a spreadsheet that graphically shows which periodicals we carry and in what format. While this information is available through Voyager, the search feature in the database link provides instant results for the user.
Several of the library staff members attended an excellent book repair workshop offered by Jackson State this summer. We hope to implement these suggestions soon in our own library. In addition, Pam Dennis and Mitzi Brown attended the Tenn-Share DataFest and annual meeting in Nashville in September. These sessions provided an opportunity to view the features of the databases and to share comments with other librarians.
Susan Banks resigned at circulation in September in order to have more time to take care of her mother. This week, we hired Michelle Barnes to fill that position. Michelle was working in the Career Center and brings excellent organizational and computer skills to the job. We still have an open Government Documents position that we hope to fill in the near future and have been working to keep the area maintained. Once the position is filled, we will begin an active advertising campaign to encourage use by Lambuth faculty and students as well as by the community. We continue to encourage faculty and students to register to vote through ALA’s “register to vote @ your library” program.
The Library Committee is sponsoring three book reviews/book signings and has more slated for the spring semester. Scheduled during lunch, these reviews offer a chance for faculty to come together to hear about and study new resources and enjoy refreshments supplied by the Committee. The most recent publication on campus is a pictorial history of Lambuth University, written by Pam Dennis and Susan Kupisch (Vice President of Academic Affairs) and published by Arcadia Publishing.
Jackson State Community College
Linda Hale will be retiring on December 17 as Senior Circulation Assistant. Linda has been with the JSCC Library for 11 years. Previously she had worked in libraries for many years in Connecticut. Linda has a Technical Diploma in Library Techniques from the Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology in Ontario. Linda handles circulation and interlibrary loan duties.
Barbara Casey conducted a Tennshare workshop on book repair in August. The workshop was well-attended with library staff from Memphis, Martin and Jackson learning about basic book repair
The JSCC Library is in the midst of its SACS reaccredidation. The Library has just finished its Compliance Audit. The off-site team will review the college's complete report in March, 2005, with the on-site visit in the fall of 2005
The college has chosen Writing as its topic for the Quality Enhancement Plan for SACS. Scott Cohen is on the QEP committee.
The library received 27 new computers for its Data Center in August. They are flat-screen models with the CPU and monitor in one unit.
The parking lot entrance to the Library has been inaccessible to handicapped individuals. A major construction job has created a ramp and terrace that will allow handicapped individuals to use that parking lot entrance. 2 sets of automatic doors have been installed.
for Fall, 2005
Reported to West Tennessee Academic Library Consortium
LIBRARY HIRES NEW INSTRUCTION/CIRCULATION LIBRARIAN
The Paul Meek Library recently completed the search process for our Instruction and Circulation Librarian. Mr. Sam Richardson of Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois has accepted the university’s offer, and will be reporting for duty at the first of the new calendar year. Documents Librarian Sandra Downing chaired a diverse search committee which reviewed over 40 applications for the job prior to making the final interview recommendations. The library is also currently searching for a Head Catalog Librarian, with application review to begin on October 25th.
LIBRARY RECEIVES 15% OPERATING BUDGET INCREASE
The university administration elected to provide the library with a 15% operating budget increase for the current fiscal year, money that was sorely needed to help us to expand our collection development efforts and to address cumulative inflation in the area of print periodicals and subscription databases.
EZ PROXY AUTHENTICATION SYSTEM WORKING EFFECTIVELY
The EZ Proxy off-campus patron authentication system was installed in the Paul Meek Library just prior to Summer Semester, 2004. Our System Librarian reports that the number of trouble calls from patrons having problems accessing library databases has been reduced by over 90% between the Fall of 2003 and Fall of 2004.
TEL DEMONSTRATION TO NORTHWEST TENNESSEE SCHOOL LIBRARIANS
Systems Librarian Jim Nance recently gave a web presentation to the Northwest Tennessee School Librarians Association, who met at Davidson Titles in Jackson, Tennessee. Nance discussed the registration procedure and subject content of the Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL), a group of Thomson-Gale databases subsidized by the state.
ACADEMIC SELF STUDY REPORTS
Library Director Steve Rogers, Acquisitions Librarian Linda Butler, Systems Librarian Jim Nance, Collection Development Librarian Earlene Moore and Periodicals Librarian Pat Greer all recently contributed information for major library reports generated in support of the re-accreditation applications for the respective areas of Social Work, Educational Studies, Nursing, Engineering, Family and Consumer Science and Sports Medicine (Department of Health and Human Performance).
NEW MULTIMEDIA WORKSTATION IN LIBRARY MEDIA SERVICES
Media Services staff worked closely with Shannon Burgin from the Office of Information Technology Services and Steve Holt of the Instructional Technology Center to offer students a new Multimedia Workstation computer. This new computer, located in the Media Services Department on the first floor of the Paul Meek Library, is a state-of-the-art computer featuring hardware and software which will allow students to create many different types of multimedia, including CD’s and DVD’s of student projects and creative portfolios. Media Technician Patrick Reavis regularly provides students and faculty with training on the new system, and reports that the students have been heavily utilizing the new equipment.
NEW BOOKSTACKS INSTALLED/ CIRCULATING COLLECTION SHIFT
This summer the library received its order for four free-standing stack ranges for the second floor circulating collection. Following installation of the stacks, one of the support staff members in the Circulation & Reserves Department coordinated a major book shift over the past few months that was completed during October.
COMPUTER ACCESS OF CAMPUS ACADEMIC SPEAKERS
Library Media Technician Patrick Reavis worked with members of the Instructional Technology Center staff and Honors Program Director Dr. Bill Zachry to place recent Honors Program Academic Speakers on the campus video streaming server, which means that students can now view many of the lectures from their own computers. This new service will supplement the library’s collection of academic lectures on VHS and DVD.
LIBRARY PLANS MAJOR SURVEY OF FACULTY AND STUDENTS
The library is planning a major survey of UTM students and faculty for the Spring Semester of 2005 using a controlled statistical sample method. The survey is being coordinated by Special Collections Librarian Richard Saunders and Systems Librarian Jim Nance.
Rhodes College-Burrow Library
WETALC Library Report
Fall 2004
New Library
The new library is still ahead of schedule. According to the architects, the good weather last spring and again this summer has allowed some crews to work double shifts. Now most of the work is with the interiors. A furniture vendor has been decided on for the office systems and furniture. The company is Office Evolutions (a local company) headed by Wade Max; and they represent, among others, the Knoll brand line of office furniture and systems. We learned in the early stages with a visit to Emory University that using office cubes would be disastrous. We have contracted with the moving company, William B. Meyer Incorporated out of Stratford, Connecticut. The move is scheduled to begin in June.
Collection Development
A large scale collection development project is underway. Rachel Feinman-Cataloger/Collection Development and Bill Short-Head of Public Services are working with the academic departments to determine what can be weeded. Rachel and Bill, working with one department chair at a time, are encouraging the faculty members to examine their area of the collection to identify titles for weeding, updating, and/or repair. Almost half of the departments have been completed. This process will prevent us from moving so many unwanted items and make sure that some of the older, more fragile items are better able to withstand the move. The areas which now share compact electronic shelving will wait to weed after we move to the new library.
LibQual Survey
In the late spring, the Library participated in a survey led by the Association of Research Libraries to measure library service and identify best practices. Over 200 faculty, students, and staff responded to the survey. The results of the survey showed where the library building itself was not adequate to meet the needs of the campus, and that the collection needed improvement. This survey will help during the accreditation process because it is used as a tool for assessment. The survey is also being used in collection development, and in the budget process.
Rhodes Library Digital Collection
This summer Bill Short, Elizabeth Gates and Darlene Brooks attended a week long ACS workshop at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. The workshop entitled, “Building Digital Collections”, focused on answering different questions that a library will have when deciding to begin a digital collection. Elizabeth Gates has been asked to chair this project, which will not only include items that are in the College’s Archives, but will also have shared collections from other departments, i.e. Geology crystals; slide library images from the Art department; images from the Publications department, etc. At this time, the committee consists of four librarians, two IT persons, and the Slide Librarian from the Art Department.
Gift Collections
Rhodes Library has received 3 or 4 major gift books, which total between 1500 – 2000 books. These gifts are in the fields of Religion, American history, and world history. Bill Short is in the process of working with these gifts to determine their merit and value for our collection.
The following news from reports at lunch:
Hope Shull for Freed Hardeman:
Dewey to LC project took much longer than expected. 12-13,000 records do not have adequate records and need to be recataloged. Marcive did the conversion on their records, provided labels in Dewey order to facilitate relabeling. The library was closed for two weeks in August to relabel and relocate books.
No staff changes since the last meeting.
Alice Ruleman for Crichton:
SACS had required the hiring of additional librarian which they did a year ago.
Steve Baker for Union University:
They have undertaken a weeding project. They were awarded a grant that enabled the establishment of a tutoring center. Next year they hope to recarpet and paint on the main floor.
Linda Rousseau reporting for LeMoyne-Owen:
Each librarian attended ALA in the past summer. Annette Hunt completed advanced archival training. They have 9th graders on the campus full time and college classes are taught in various locations throughout the city. SACS will revisit Nov. 1-3, 2004.
Sylverna Ford for University of Memphis:
Kay Cunningham is the new Electronic Resources librarian and Joycelyn White is new in Periodicals. An RFP for a new ILS is to be finished by next fall. They have submitted their written report to SACS who will visit in the spring.
Rosa Burnett for Southwest Tennessee State:
SACS is coming Monday.
Lan Wang for Lane College:
They have a new librarian, John Johnson. They have their highest enrollment ever this year. They are teaching many Bibliographic Instruction classes. A virtual library has been created. Slides of Lane College are available from their website.
Gloria Hester for Jackson State:
SACS coming in fall 2005. They held a book repair workshop in the past summer.
They have 27 new computer stations.
Tom Singarella for University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center:
Tom introduced his staff and thanked the group for attending the meeting. UT is experiencing many budget problems including the 5 open positions that are currently frozen. They email a Library tip once/week to faculty. And SACS coming to UT as well.