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CUWL User Services Coordinating Committee (USCC) Meeting Minutes

May 8, 2009, 10:00 AM – 11: 10 AM

Present: Steve Frye, Renee Buker, Ella Cross, Leigh Dorsey, Valerie Malzacher, Jana Reeg-Steidinger, Barb Bren, Lisa Jewell.

Excused:  Jill Markgraf, Dave Dettman.

1. Announcements:  Steve mentioned news from Dave Dettman on cuts being asked of the colleges: 2.5 FTE cut plus $500,000 in cuts.  This could mean cuts from ¼ to 1/3 in staff. Other UW library staff looking at unpaid furloughs and no raises. Question of how of cuts in staff at the colleges may affect colleges ability to hold information literacy sessions. Ella reported that library renovation project on schedule. Look to start moving back in July and August. Other projects – new student center being built, new academic building.

2. New chair. Jill Markgraff’s name was forwarded by Jana. Jana said Jill had expressed a willingness to serve as the next chair. Steve will contact Jill to confirm and also let Evan know where User Services is with this issue.  No Plan B – we will wait to hear from Jill.  The following people will be leaving the committee this year: Renee Buker, Leigh Dorsey and Jana Reeg-Steidinger. Remaining members include Steve Frye, Ella Cross, Dave Dettman, Barb Bren, Jill Markgraf and Valerie Malzacher. At this point, Valerie asked that we recognize Steve for his leadership as chair, that he has done an excellent job. 

3. Summer conference. Question from Steve on whether directors had contacted staff about attending the conference. Need to put forward attendees by Thursday, May 14th. Of the User Services Committee, only Jana indicated she would not be able to attend. Steve asked that we look over the conference schedule at this time and raise any last minute questions or concerns. He noted that Wednesday evening immediately following the conference there will be a reception at the Open Book Café, in the College Library. This will go from 5:45 – 7 pm, followed by dinner out at various area restaurants. Sign-up sheets for groups to eat together will be available at the reception. Most everyone from the User Services Committee will be staying overnight and attending both days of the conference.

In late May, the conference organizers will send out emails to attendees with an accompanying survey as to which sessions people plan on attending. Lisa noted that she still needed contract returned from Marshall Breeding. Steve will contact him, with conference information and reminder of contract. 

The last session of the conference on Thursday will be a Listening Session where all committees will be represented. It is important that as many committee members attend this as possible. It will be the time to hear feedback from people and libraries not on the committees and get suggestions on how to improve communication. The results of a recent survey assessing CUWL's organizational structure will be discussed during this session. Valerie reported on some of the results:

• Forums:  people really liked the forums and there was a high level of satisfaction with the forums. 
• Summer meeting concept was well received, especially to improve communication.
• Representation on the various committees. Questions asked whether we have appropriate representation, whether campus libraries should have representation on all committees. Some response indicated need for collection development and user services committees, which may indicate that not all staff may be aware of the existing organizational structure. Steve asked where circulation/access services should be represented, should this be through User Services and should the committee do more along these lines. Specific number responses where better representation is seen as needed: 
  
  • Access services (10)
  • ILL (11)
  • Gov Docs (10)
  • Instruction (10)
    

Jana asked who is the working group. Valerie replied that the group analyzing CUWL restructure is a committee composed of herself, Mary Rieder, Anita Evans and the four chairs of the coordinating committees.

Continued discussion of the survey results. Question by Steve as to whether the para professionals are represented on any of the coordinating committees. This appears to be an area that needs improvement. Leigh commented that is why she wanted to have the ILL/Illiad session. Dineen Grow was mentioned as someone along with a whole group of para professionals who really aren’t represented in the committee structure. In question to Leigh on where access services belonged she felt that it should be in represented on User Services committee because there is a lot of customer interaction in this area and often staff deal with patrons if/when reference service is not available.

4. Updates:

A. Monthly forum. The next forum will be held on May 21st, from noon – 1 pm. The topic will be LibGuides. Leigh Dorsey will introduce Mary Boulanger who will discuss preparation of libguide for the BSN (nursing program). Leigh will be sending brief description to Steve which he will email out to announce the forum.

B. Resource Discovery report. Steve sent the progress report out the User Services committee members and  reported on the activities of the Task Force. An important part of the work is looking at the vision for what the future will look like. What are the components and  players, vendors vs. locally developed open source products. The RDETF met on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month, via phone conference. Each meeting will focus on a specific aspect of resource discovery. The next meeting will deal exclusively with WorldCat local. At subsequent meetings the Task Force may deal with Ex Libris, locally developed solutions, and how the system might proceed.

Need to know how systems institutions work. UW Madison  has a shared development group and is looking at what a locally developed interface might look like and how it might work. The group is using Black Light as an open source program and in the process of ingesting 10% of all of the system libraries catalog data to create a mock union catalog. There is a question of whether the interface be be controlled when using these types of open source products. The development group will be showing their work at the conference in a breakout session.

The results of the focus group reports from around the system are also included in the progress report. Need to keep the results from these reports in mind as we look at possible solutions for RD. On Monday and Tuesday, the CUWL directors realized that they need more time to focus on resource discovery, in order to fully understand the direction the UW libraries will take.  A retreat will be scheduled for their July meeting, with ½ to a full day for discussion of resource discovery.  The directors may want to combine resource discovery and library management.  Based on the UW Madison report, the RD needs to be kept separate. There still seems to be the view that integrated library management systems are the solution.

Funding process – how will this work? The RDETF could be ready to ask for a small amount to go forward. The library management systems – circulation, acquisitions – could come later. Don’t see Resource Discovery as combining with library management as one system. 

Lisa mentioned a time frame for Resource Discovery.  By December 2009, RDETF may be able to lay out plans and requesting funding.  Steve commented that he sees resource discovery and library management  systems as separate, with the resource discovery piece proceeding first. Replacement of the library management system could happen later. He felt that task force could come up with a recommendation by fall of 2010 with something that replaces the OPAC. Technically that is doable.

Steve asked committee members to read the progress report and give him feedback.  The report lays out in bulleted format what a resource discovery environment should look like.

C. LibGuides. Committee had a discussion of shared LibGuides brought on by a guide created by Phyllis Holman Weisbard. Discussion of how shared guides have to address database access across the system.  Distance library group didn’t address this issue specifically during our forum.  The Library Technology Coordinating Committee may need to look into this. Also noted use of different terms across the system. Can there be improvement by trying to get consistency in use of terms across the system?  Request button and find it button were briefly discussed.  Testing with user groups at River Falls have indicated that Find It may not be the best label to use there. Different campuses have reasons for using different labels. It does come back to the question of what our vision going forward is for shared resources and the cooperative development of guides. Can different campuses be responsible for developing certain guides so we aren’t duplicating efforts?

D. Any items.  Steve noted that this is the last scheduled conference call with him as chair. He encouraged everyone to attend the final Listening Session of the conference.  Jana suggested a possible summer meeting of the new USCC for organizational purposes. Valerie said new committee members will be named sometime in late June for start up in July.  Steve will recommend a July meeting since new committee may not yet be formed in June and we already have the CUWL Conference.  The new chair will handle the logistics of the meeting. With no further business, meeting was adjourned at 11:10 am.