1.  Minutes of the General Assembly Meeting of January 11, 2005 were approved.
2. Introductions
   1. Margaret Jerrido introduced two interns from Drexel University.  Adam Feldman and Holly Wilson are taking an archival management class here at Temple.
   2. Jenifer Baldwin introduced Jason Macias, the intern in the RIS Department.  He is also a Drexel student who expects to receive this degree at the end of the current quarter.
   3. Anne Harlow introduced Larry Alford, the Vice-Provost for Libraries.  Larry comes to Temple from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
3. Report from Larry Alford
   1. Larry has been spending a lot of time meeting people on campus (library staff, Deans, faculty, etc.).  He believes that Temple’s librarians and staff are respected and admired on campus.  He and Brooke Cho are working on building a fundraising program and a donor base.
   2. All old staff desktop PCs should be replaced by the end of the semester.  There is approximately $400,000 in Student Technology Fee funds available for the library.  Some of this will be used to replace public machines.  Other possibilities include the purchase of a link resolver and a federated searching system.
   3. Larry hopes to involve everyone in the Libraries’ strategic planning process.
4. Questions/Comments 
   1. Fred Rowland inquired about the new staff computers.  George Fowler replied that no changes will be necessary except for ADIOS when the PCs are installed.  Larry said that each computer would have a 19-inch flat panel display.
   2. Laura Lane asked Larry what his impressions are about the strategic planning documents that were completed last year.  Larry is still reading them; he reiterated that he would like suggestions from the library staff regarding the strategic planning process.  He would like to have the strategic plans from the Deans.
   3. Susan Golding expressed a wish for more resource sharing between us and the HSC and Law Libraries.  Larry replied that he believes all resources should be licensed university-wide, but there are difficulties because of the many sites that we have.  He hopes to work out a plan to cover the costs for university-wide access.  Carole Bell stated that it is our policy that newly acquired databases are accessible by all.
   4. Larry said that he and Jonathan LeBreton had toured the Kardon facility.  The University has set aside money to outfit the space for library storage.  The space needs HVAC and fire suppression equipment, shelving, and lighting.  Larry has met with the University’s architects and shelving vendors; capacity and floor load need to be addressed.
   5. Barbara Wright asked about the fate of the Tyler Library.  Larry has toured the Paley stacks and noted that although John Oram has plans to shift existing books, some part of the Tyler collection would have to go in storage.
   6. Larry noted that President Adamany is convinced that a central library is best.  Strategic planning process should address what happens to the fine arts collections – should a fine arts library be created within Paley?  Moreover, the science departments are pressuring the science libraries for space.
   7. David Dillard noted that removal to storage will provide some level of relief.  He inquired about long-term considerations, especially in light of the increase in collections in the future.  Larry said that there is money for capital improvements and that these may include an addition to Paley, renovation of existing space, and/or an additional building.  We sorely need to upgrade the quality of the space we have.
   8. David Murray noted that selectors are very removed from advanced collection development.  More personnel for collection development would be needed to adequately develop the print monograph collection.  Larry noted that all three library systems are understaffed.  All of the new money cannot be applied to one single aspect but would have to be balanced between various needs.
   9. Larry has met with the Student Government’s Executive Committee and talked about the library as place.
   10. Tim O’Rourke (Vice-President for Computer and Information Services) has invited the libraries to put together a small group to collaborate with Computer Services on the TECH Center project.
5. Proposed Changes to the AAL Bylaws 
   1. Carla Davis Cunningham and Carol Brigham made a proposal to change the AAL Bylaws.  Change is necessitated by the TAUP contract’s allowing the Provost thirty-five days to make contract renewal, regular appointment, and promotion decisions and the required six-month notice period in cases of nonrenewal of a librarian’s contract.  A calendar was distributed which outlines the various deadline dates for the PARA processes.
   2. The proposal is to change paragraph IIIB5 to change the PARA election from September to May to allow PARA enough time to meet these deadlines.  A change to paragraph IIIB9 is also proposed to accommodate the PARA election in May and to allow PARA members to recuse him/herself from the Committee’s deliberations in the event that he/she has applied for promotion.
6. Old Business/New Business 
   1. Greg McKinney stated that he would be on vacation during April.  In his absence, Anne will be conducting the April meeting of the Steering Committee and the special meeting (TBA) to discuss and vote upon the proposed bylaws changes.
   2. Mary Edsall gave details about an upcoming collaborative work with Bryn Mawr College.  A series of programs will be held at Temple and at Bryn Mawr and PhilaDanco will perfom the work “Southern Landscapes.”

The meeting was adjourned at 3:20 PM.