December 2001 Council on the Libraries minutes

Meeting Minutes: December 4th, 2001

Present: James Aronson (Chair), Richard Callahan, Robert Ditchfield, Teoby Gomez, Douglas Irwin, Joy Kenseth, Kenneth Korey, Larry Levine, Richard Lucier (Ex Officio), Cyndy Pawlek, Cynthia Shirkey (Staff to Council)

Next Meeting: January 17th, from noon to 1:30, at Rockefeller 1930, joint meeting with Council on Computing and Council on Libraries

Announcements:

· Library is moving forward with search for new Director of Education. Candidates should be on-site in early January. All members of the Council are invited to attend presentation and answer sessions with each candidate. A schedule for these sessions will be announced at a later date. – Cyndy Pawlek

· In the future all members of the Council should receive invitations to University Seminars on E-learning. – Richard Lucier

· Nicholas Ostrow has mononucleosis. – James Aronson

Minutes:

· The meeting convened after members returned from a tour of Baker/Berry Library led by Richard Lucier and Cyndy Pawlek. The tour was useful in gaining a long-term perspective on library space issues.

Reading Rooms

· Concerned members of the Dartmouth community sent James Aronson letters asking the Council On Libraries to look into the lack of quiet study and reading rooms. At least one of these letters also suggested that a faculty-only reading room be established. After the tour, the Council saw that within a year there would be many more reading room options available to users. The Council also decided that it would not be an effective use of space to create a room for one particular constituent of the user community. The Council may wish to look at having a computer free reading room space. With the Periodicals Reading Room and other reading spaces opening up within the year, the Council feels that everyone will be likely to find appropriate venues for reading and studying. Overall, the Council is convinced that Baker/Berry will be sufficiently different in one year, and that the Library will be many steps ahead in ways that are impossible to visualize from today’s only half reconstructed condition. Therefore, this issue will be temporarily tabled to be reexamined once the patterns of the new library develop after construction is finished this June (’02)and the library is a connected whole. At the end of this period, reading room spaces will be reevaluated. James Aronson will draft and send a response detailing the thought and investigation that went into this issue today and explaining the Library’s pertinent space plans for the future.

Faculty Studies

· Along with other renovations in Baker/Berry Library, faculty study areas are being refurbished. Within the next nine months approximately thirty studies will get new windows, air conditioning, and new paint. Richard Lucier suggested that the Council review the policies used to distribute faculty studies this spring. He suggested that it would be beneficial to faculty to have several revolving studies that researchers engaged in short-term, library-resource intensive projects could use. Richard also suggested that it might be time to open some of these studies up for graduate student use.

Time Table Disclosure

· Douglas Irwin suggested that a greater effort be made to publicize construction and renovation timetables so that the faculty know when areas will be completed.

Storage

· The idea of space issues goes beyond Baker/Berry. It is clear that the other libraries on campus have similar, even more serious, issues.

· Robert Ditchfield said that off site storage of newer journals could be problematic. Richard Lucier pointed out that some items put into storage for renovation and construction purposes will be moved back to their proper locations, and that digital acquisitions will eventually be viable alternatives for heavily used journals.

· It was agreed by the Council that off site storage is a better option than whole scale deaccessioning of library materials to solve space problems.

· Various off site storage options were discussed briefly: renovating existing structures off campus, using storage trailers, the idea of a multifunction storage facility being built in the future for Hood, Records Management (for which the Library is responsible) and possibly Library use.

· Douglas Irwin and Kenneth Korey suggested that they would both be happy with off site storage. They feel that our current service of retrieving books from storage is excellent: much quicker than at other institutions.

· Richard Lucier said he is sympathetic. But the time is inappropriate to ask the College for more library storage space when we have just received a large new building. New library storage space doesn’t fit the College’s Capital Campaign goals, not being a priority for donors. He expresses confidence that digital acquisitions can help alleviate space problems in many cases. Richard said he is more than willing to look at specific space issues right now, but not at the global one.

Timely Issues

· Jim Aronson mentioned that he would like to have at least part of the Council meetings be devoted to timely issues.

Graduate Council

· Richard Lucier is meeting with the Graduate Council next week and will convey their needs and concerns to the Council On Libraries at a future meeting.

Foreign Study Programs

· Richard Callahan brought up some old business: the idea of information literacy. He feels that learning about research methods can be worked into to foreign study and language study programs. This prompted a discussion about the accessibility of Dartmouth College Library resources over seas and the access foreign study participants have to quality library collections. Cindy Shirkey mentioned the availability of the College’s Proxy Server, which allows any Dartmouth affiliated person with a functioning Internet connection to use many of the resources the Library makes available on campus. Cyndy Pawlek commented that we currently do a lot of reference work via email for foreign study participants, as well. She also mentioned that we could look into instituting a document delivery service for foreign study participants.