In addition to looking at the MSRC spaces, they have begun to look at the furniture for the new library.

Lucia is also looking at the documents that resulted from last year’s Strategic Guidance activities. He created what will be a standing group to work with departments to move towards goals identified by those activities. Steven Bell and Nancy Turner are co-chairs of the group. Three library employees will rotate onto the group. Currently Leanne Finnigan, Kate Lynch, and Aaron Javsicas.

The Libraries are in a cycle of creating new positions. The Executive Committee is moving through the new positions to evaluate which are priorities and think about next steps. Currently, we are looking for a Collections Analyst, Instructional Designer, Web and Graphics Designer, Digital Libraries Applications Developer, Project Archivist, Assistant Editor of the Press, a writer/editor, an RIS librarian to fill David Murray’s position, two diversity fellowship residents, a biomedical & research services librarian, and someone to work in the Digital Scholarship Center.

The funds for these positions are coming from unallocated funds for vacant positions that have existed for some time. Some meeting attendees expressed concern that filling those vacant positions is in contrast to developing collections, as those funds had been floating the collections budget.

The Merit Committee also expressed concerns that the final decisions were handled by a human resources professional rather than by the Dean of Libraries or other library professional. Dean Lucia said he been involved in the process to review the Merit applications and the Committee’s recommendations.

1. AAL General Assembly Membership and Attendees (D. Murray/M. Larkin) Recent discussions between the Academic Assembly of Librarians and Dean Lucia highlighted the circumstances of the growing number of Temple Library employees who are hired in professional positions, but do not hold traditional librarian positions. Although these professionals hold credentials similar to those of professional librarians, the current bylaws of the AAL exclude them from simply attending the General Assembly meetings unless they petition for membership. The proposed changes to the bylaws, indicated below, would allow these individuals to attend the regular Assembly meetings so that they may engage in the flow of information and participate in conversations that directly affect the Libraries on a professional level. Current language:

   II. Membership
   All full-time professional librarians of the Temple University Libraries or covered by the TAUP Collective Bargaining Agreement shall be voting members. Other librarians serving Temple University who have advanced degrees in librarianship are invited to attend but may not vote or serve on committees.

   Proposed language (changes in red):

   All full time professional librarians of the Temple University Libraries or covered by the TAUP Collective Bargaining Agreement shall be voting members. Other librarians serving Temple University who have advanced degrees in librarianship, as well as non-librarian professionals with advanced degrees whose positions are funded by Temple University Libraries, are invited to attend the General Assembly meetings as guests at the discretion of the AAL Steering Committee but may not vote or serve on committees.

   Concerns were raised about people without advanced degrees being excluded from the AAL. Members of the Steering Committee and others noted that AAL General Assembly meetings do not have the same purpose of All Staff meetings, where staff without advanced degrees can contribute to conversations about the library. The AAL is supposed to resemble a collegiate assembly and our composition affects our relationship with the Faculty Senate.

   The changes to the bylaws will be voted on at the May 2015 AAL General Assembly.

2. Continuing Education Committee Composition (J. Hurtado) The Continuing Education Committee had discussed in the February Steering Committee meeting that they’d like to change the wording on the website about their composition to reflect current practices. Because the wording is official language of the AAL, the changes must be approved by the Assembly. Currently, the wording reads:

   III. Structure
   …
   B) Standing Committees.
   …
   7. The Continuing Education Committee shall consist of three librarians and one support staff member nominated by the Dean of the Libraries. Librarians will be elected at the regular meeting of the Academic Assembly in May to serve for one year, except the person who receives the highest number of votes will serve two years.

   Recommended language (changes in red):

   7. The Continuing Education Committee shall consist of three librarians, one library staff member nominated by the Dean of the Libraries, and the Assistant Director for Administration. Librarians will be elected at the regular meeting of Academic Assembly in May to serve for one year, except the person who receives the highest number of votes will serve two years. The Assistant Director for Administration shall be an ex-officio, non-voting member of the Committee.

   The Continuing Education Committee would like to add a library staff member to their composition to broaden the Committee’s scope. These changes will be voted on at the May AAL General Assembly Meeting.