Academic Assembly of Librarians
General Assembly Meeting
May 9, 2006

Present: Larry Alford, Jenifer Baldwin, Carole Bell, Aslaku Berhanu, Carol Brigham, Mark Darby, Carla Davis Cunningham, George Fowler, Susan Golding, Andrea Goldstein, Anne Harlow, Margaret Jerrido,  Laura Lane, Carol Lang, Molly Larkin, Jonathan LeBreton, Rick Lezenby,  Byron Mayes, Penelope Myers, Fred Rowland, Brian Schoolar, Gretchen Sneff, Kathy Szigeti, Sandi Thompson, Al Vara, Tom Whitehead

Anne Harlow opened the meeting at 2:05 PM.

• George Fowler of the Nominations and Elections Committee distributed and then collected ballots for elections to AAL standing committees.
• Approval of minutes:  the minutes of the March 14th meeting were approved with a change to those present (“Molly Thomas” to “Molly Larkin”).
• Report/Question & Answer Session – Larry Alford:
  • Larry met with the Board of Trustees Facilities Committee last week to discuss the release of $275,000 to hire an architect to conduct space planning for a renovation/addition to Paley Library.  It is expected that this request will be approved and within the next couple of months an architect will be hired.
  • The Libraries’ budget did receive an increase to offset inflation.  The University Administration also proposed an acceleration of the budget enhancement schedule for the Libraries.
  • There were five winners including two honorable mentions for this year’s Library Prize.  All of the submissions were well done, and they are a tribute to the libraries and its staff.  Larry commends Gretchen Sneff, the Library Prize Committee and Judges for their work.
  • The All-Staff Luncheon will be on June 1st.
  • Larry acknowledged the work of everyone involved in the acquisition of new materials.  Most of the money from the year has been spent.  The Libraries’ expect to receive over 45,000 monographs as opposed to about 28,000 last year.  He hopes there will be more money available next year and to get budgets out to selectors earlier.
  • Penelope Myers commented that the former Paley SIC has become a cozy space for students; she wonders if there are plans to rethink what will happen to the space.  Larry replied that we must build a Media Center and that there will be more space available in Paley when materials get moved to the Library Depository.  Removing some materials from Paley Reference will open up some areas for soft seating space and other student study space both on the main floor and in the stacks.
  • Laura Lane inquired about positions posted on the H: drive.  Larry replied that a search committee had been formed for the Associate University Librarian for Research and Instructional Services.  There will be an e-mail announcement to all library staff giving the composition of the committee.  Jonathan LeBreton reported that Carol Lang will chair this committee and the Chair of the Faculty Senate Library Committee will also serve.  Mark Darby asked whether a search firm will be used for any of these positions.  Larry replied that the services of a search firm will not be used.
• Committee Annual Reports:
  • Continuing Education Committee:  Fred Rowland reported that the Committee held three programs this year on open source software, top ten technologies for librarians, and guest Allen Hornblum.
  • PARA:  Rick Lezenby reported that in the fall there were four candidates for contract renewal and two for regular appointment, all of whom were approved.  In the spring there were two promotion applications.
  • Selection & Appointment Committee:  Rick reported that the search for an English subject specialist was successful.  Kristina De Voe will start on June 1st.  Brian Schoolar is serving on the Search Committee for the Digital Services Librarian while Rick is serving on the Search Committee for Media Services Librarian.  The Selection & Appointment Committee agreed to reduce search committee composition to one S&A appointee per committee.
  • Faculty Senate Library Committee:  Jenifer Baldwin reported that the faculty members on the Committee have had many positive things to say about library staff.  The Committee discussed the VPL search and took an active interest in the candidates.  Other topics discussed included providing Larry with feedback from faculty, the meeting with the Shepley Bulfinch group, the materials budget, and the composition of the Committee.
  • Faculty Senate Representative:  Gretchen Sneff reported that the last meeting of the academic year will be held on Friday.  The Faculty Senate discussed the General Education Curriculum, the workload committee, concerns about service and its impact on merit and tenure, the Presidential Search Committee, the Academic Bill of Rights, and the new promotion and tenure guidelines.
  • AAL Steering Committee:  Anne thanked AAL for the opportunity to serve as Chair, and she thanked Larry for his support.  She acknowledged the hard work of AAL Committees, especially PARA, Merit and the Steering Committee to incorporate changes to the AAL bylaws and procedures.  Revised AAL documents were added to the web site and to the H: drive.  She expressed hope that AAL remains a very vigorous organization and continues to present opportunities for cultural and academic enrichment.
  • Nominations and Elections presented the election results:
    • Steering Committee Vice-Chair/Chair Elect:  Mark Darby
    • Steering Committee Recorder:  Susan Golding
    • Steering Committee Member-at-Large:  Molly Larkin
    • Continuing Education Committee 2-year term:  Laura Lane
    • Continuing Education Committee 1-year term: Brian Schoolar
    • Nominations & Elections Committee: Kathy Szigeti
    • Selection & Appointment Committee:  Carla Davis Cunningham & Sandi Thompson
    • PARA:  Carol Brigham & Anne Harlow
    • Faculty Senate Representative:  David Murray

The meeting adjourned at 2:40 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Carol Brigham

Academic Assembly of Librarians
General Assembly Meeting
March 14, 2006

Present:  Carol Brigham, Carla Davis Cunningham, Mark Darby, David Dillard, George Fowler, Susan Golding, Andrea Goldstein, Anne Harlow, Margaret Jerrido, Laura Lane, Carol Lang, Jonathan LeBreton, David Murray, Penelope Myers, Fred Rowland, Brian Schoolar, Kathy Szigeti, Molly Thomas, Sandi Thompson, Al Vara, Barbara Wright

Anne Harlow opened the meeting at 2:15 PM.

• Approval of minutes:  the minutes of the January 10th meeting were approved.
• Introduction of Interns:
  • Anne introduced Jaclyn Colletti, the intern in the RIS Department.
  • Brian Schoolar introduced Andrea Baruzzi ,Baruzzi, the intern in the Acquisitions Department.
• Report/Question & Answer Session – Jonathan LeBreton on behalf of Larry Alford:
  • Jonathan gave Larry’s apologies for not attending.  He is working on a presentation that he will give to the Council of Deans tomorrow.  We will probably see the presentation some time later.
  • Kardon Update:
    • The second floor will be turned over in early June.  The shelving should be in place the week of June 5.  Four to five weeks after that the third floor will be turned over.
    • The move will be done by a contractor.  Approximately 500,000 volumes will be moved during the first half of the summer.  Most of these will come from Paley.  We need to understand that it will be possible to bring things back from storage should the need arise.
    • We also need to begin a website for informing the rest of the Temple community about the storage facility.  Penelope Myers is leading the group to accomplish this.
    • Zahn, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and the Math Libraries will be closing beginning in early June.  Penelope explained that since the science libraries are closing, that we will be concentrating efforts of the removal of items from the third floor of Paley first in order to absorb materials.  Once the semester is over, the Zahn Library will be closed.
    • Fred Rowland asked how long materials will be unavailable.  Penelope replied that it is unknown how long materials will be unavailable and turnaround time during the move could depend on the moving company.  Jonathan said that a contractor had once estimated that with multiple crews doing the packing, loading, and shelving that monographs could possibly be available within a day.
    • David Dillard asked what materials in Zahn will be going to Paley.  Penelope recommended that he ask Jenifer Baldwin.  She also said that all of the materials with Dewey call numbers will be going to Kardon.
  • The group planning for the Paley former SIC space has met once with the Facilities’ architect.  Jonathan has seen a preliminary sketch which had many desired features missing, so it needs to be redone.  Jonathan needs to order furniture for that space and also for the second and third floors.  Some stacks will be removed from Paley once Kardon is open, and there are funds to make some attractive spaces in Paley.  Penelope stressed the need to find out which sections of Paley will be cleared.  Jonathan has spoken to John Oram about some possibilities.
  • The search for the Reference Librarian/Literature and Communications subject specialist has been successful.  Kristina DeVoe will be starting June 1st.  Jonathan complimented Kathy Szigeti for chairing the search committee.
  • As for other searches, the search committees will soon be formed.  These positions include the Associate University Librarian for Research and Instructional Services, the Instructional Services Manager, Media Services Librarian, and the Finance and Facilities Officer.
  •  Jonathan reported that there have been problems with books checked out on the Self-Checks with lost ID cards.  Since Diamond and the campus ID system can not be linked, we will be moving to using PIN numbers.  Penelope reported that the PIN will be the last 4 digits of the social security number and will be loaded into patron records from the campus system.  Jonathan stressed that we will not have complete SSN numbers and that this step is being taken to protect students and faculty from fraudulent use of their ID cards should those be lost or stolen.
  • Kathy asked about whether there will be temporary workers staffing the desk in the TECH Center.  Jonathan deferred to Jenifer.  There were some applications, but several candidates withdrew.
  • David Dillard asked whether any dissertations would be moved to Kardon.  Penelope said that the dissertations would remain in Paley.
  • Anne asked whether President Adamany’s departure would affect our plans.  Is there sufficient support to keep our funding?  Jonathan felt that Adamany had persuaded the Board of Trustees of the worth of the library and the funding.  The increases we have been given are designed to get us to the median of urban comparative libraries over the course of five years.  Of course, we cannot guarantee what any future president will do.
  • Carol Lang reported that there will be an e-mail message to library staff regarding the launch of the leisure reading collection the first week of April.  The launch will coincide with National Library Week and publicity has been arranged to inform the campus community about the collection.
  • Jonathan reported that the second annual Library Prize competition was nearing completion.  Last year there were 60 applicants, one of whom was a Marshall scholar.  There are only three libraries in the nation awarding such a prize
• Anne began a discussion of reviving the forums at AAL meetings.  In the past, General Assembly meetings have consisted of the business meeting followed by a forum.  Their purpose is for professional and academic development.  Penelope suggested having them on an ad hoc basis, not necessarily one at each meeting.  She also suggested doing one in the fall on Kardon.  Sandi Thompson mentioned that the spring break meeting had a traveling forum, where the meeting was held at another campus or library.  Other suggestions included keeping the forums informal, bringing faculty members in, and having Brian Schoolar present on new databases.  Brian asked how the forums fit with the Continuing Education Committee’s programs.  Sandi replied that they are not formal like CE programs and are generally for the AAL membership although they could be open to others.
• Old Business/New Business/Announcements:
  • Margaret Jerrido announced that there is a new intern in Urban Archives.  She is Katie Bray from the University of Wyoming.
  • Carla Davis Cunningham announced that Evelyn Lane will be on maternity leave beginning at the end of the month.  There will be a temporary worker in finishing.
  • The librarians covered by the TAUP Collective Bargaining Agreement held a closed session to discuss the merit process.

The meeting adjourned at 4:05 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Carol Brigham

Academic Assembly of Librarians

General Assembly Meeting

January 10, 2006

Academic Assembly of Librarians
General Assembly Meeting
November 8, 2005 

1. Approval of minutes:  the minutes of the September 20th meeting were approved.
2. Report/Question & Answer Session – Larry Alford:
   • General Education Curriculum Committee/Information Literacy – A required information literacy component has been included in the General Education plan since summer.
   • Larry reiterated the need for selectors to spend the extra funds that have been allocated to the Libraries.  This includes the half million dollars for monographs and $100K for print materials to support the research needs of new faculty.  Sandi Thompson asked about the purchase of DVDs for community and regional planning; Larry replied that purchasing these materials would be allowed as long as they are intended to support research.  There will probably be between 600K and 800K for the purchase of books, backfiles, and one-time electronic resources. We need to establish principles for collection; selectors should then collaborate to create a prioritized, consensus-based list of databases and serials for purchase.
   • Searches for open librarian positions are going slowly.
   • Penelope Myers reported that discussion has begun on selection criteria for materials to be moved to Kardon.  Larry said that selectors can look at lists that have been created, but they need to be careful that the bulk of any one subject does not get removed.  Sandi asked about moving microfilm to Kardon.  Larry stated that the first priority is reducing the volume count in Paley in order to absorb other collections; then attention can shift to other locations (Traylor, government documents, and microfilm).  Penelope noted that delivery of articles from Kardon will be via Ariel; patrons will also be able to borrow bound volumes if needed.  Larry noted that a couple of the rooms can be designated for temporary storage of bound journal runs when patrons require such for their research.
3. David Murray reported on the brown bag lunches.  David and Brian Schoolar organize them, and they are held on the first Friday of each month.  The first was held on November 4th.
4. Fred Rowland gave an update on the Continuing Education Committee.  The Committee is comprised of Derik Badman, Susan Golding, Nik Barkauskas, and Fred.  The first session will be about open source programs and will be held on December 13th.  The Committee’s next program will be on copyright and will probably be held in February.  Penelope suggested that the Committee ask David Post of the Law School to participate.  The Committee is trying to plan a visit to the Philadelphia Art Museum in the spring to see the collection that Evan Towle oversees.
5. Sandi reported on the status of the Merit Committee.  There is a meeting planned between the Merit Committee, Larry, and Jonathan Le Breton.  Sandi recommends that librarians begin collecting their documents.  If anyone has concerns about the merit process, the Merit Committee should be contacted soon, preferably prior to the meeting with Larry and Jonathan.  Mark Darby noted that any guidelines will most likely end up in arbitration as they were geared more towards faculty.  Sandi reminded the assembly that applicants should submit their CVs and annual reports as the Merit Committee does not have access to personnel files.
6. Fred gave an update on the AAL website.  It is slowly getting back in shape.  If something cannot be located on the website, he recommends looking in the AAL folder on the H: drive.
7. Old Business/New Business/Announcements:
   1. Penelope announced that Temple filled the 400,000th E-ZBorrow request.  She thanked librarians for recommending the service to patrons:  there was a 66% increase in materials requested this October vs. last October.
   2. David Murray reminded the Assembly about the Faculty/Staff Campaign event in Schusterman on Thursday.

The meeting adjourned at 3:00 PM.

1. Minutes of the General Assembly Meeting of May 10, 2005 and the special meeting of April 12, 2005 were approved.
2. Vice Provost Larry Alford
   1. Search Committees:  Larry has met with the AAL Steering and Selection and Appointment Committees to discuss the composition and some procedural issues of search committees.
      1. A non-librarian should serve on each search committee.
      2. Department heads will be involved in the search process, but they will not automatically chair committees.
      3. Search committees should be formed for certain non-librarian positions.
      4. In the past, the search committees have recommended specific candidates.  Committees should submit evaluations of two to three candidates.
      5.  Past practice was to hire new librarians at the L1 level.  As positions are filled we need to take into account past experience and existing tenure to determine salary, rank, and status.  Caution is needed in cases when a candidate may be recommended to be hired with regular appointment.
      6. For this year, there will be one person from the Selection and Appointments Committee on each search committee unless S&A defers.
      7. For some searches, it would be appropriate to ask a faculty member to serve on the committee.
      8. Jobs that impact across the libraries should be filled through search committees.
      9. AAL members were concerned that the AAL Bylaws may need changing.  Positions on election and Appointments are elected, so there is a representational relationship.
   2. Questions from the membership:
      1. Funds have been released for continuing purchases.  The funds will not be allocated to individuals but will be spent after selectors reach consensus on purchases.
      2. There should be at least $700-750K for continuing subscriptions in either electronic or print format. $1M has been allocated for back files and monographs.  Larry intends to make a proposal to the President for a one-time allocation of $0.5M for monographic purchases.  Positions will need to be created to process new acquisitions.
      3. Although some of Paley’s space issues are beyond the scope of a committee, there will be a committee created to help decide on reconfiguring the space vacated by the Paley SIC.  Some space issues include: moving the reference desk, expanding the information commons, possibly moving some of the reference collection, creating inviting student study space, adding a McNaughton collection, and adding a state-of-the-art media resource center.  Jonathan LeBreton informed the Assembly that the retrospective conversion should be done in March; we will then be able to remove the remainder of the card catalog.
      4. Board of Facilities has approved the Kardon project with a $7M budget.  There are specs out for shelving and final design drawings will be created.  When complete, Kardon’s two floors will hold the equivalent of two million volumes.  Jonathan noted that recent increases in the price of steel may affect the implementation as shelving costs will also increase.
      5. The Tuttleman SIC will not close as a result of the opening of the TECH Center in the Bell Building.
      6. There were concerns about maintaining computer equipment, especially printers, once the SIC closes and the likelihood that Paley Library staff will be solely responsible for public computing equipment.
   3. PARA Guidelines:  Carla Davis Cunningham reported that the PARA Taskforce had met with Jonathan regarding the PARA procedures.  Changes to the calendar were made after the AAL-wide discussion of the need to change the bylaws to reflect provisions in the new bargaining agreement.
   4. AAL Documents:  David Murray reported that the Steering Committee will be working on the website; eventually all of it will be updated.  In the interim, all pertinent documents are being posted to the AAL folder on the H: drive.  Currently, the committee composition list, General Assembly minutes, PARA procedures and calendars, schedule of meetings, and the Steering Committee minutes are available there.
   5. New Business:
      1. Anne thanked the members of the 2004-2005 Merit Committee for their hard work.  Some of the members of that committee are helping revise the merit guidelines.
      2. Anne reminded the membership to pay close attention to the PARA calendars as all of the deadlines are earlier than before.
      3. It is more important than ever that committee chairs send thank-you letters to committee members.  The letters should contain specific information about the member’s role and contributions.
      4. Andrea Goldstein mentioned that the Temple Review had an article on the display in Special Collections.  That issue of the Temple Review also published the first ad with John Chaney as spokesperson for library development.
      5. Laura Lane mentioned that the plumbers and engineers had just inspected the site of the leak on the third floor.  Only five or six books were lost.
      6. Brown bag lunches were discussed.  The consensus is that these are intended to be less structured than continuing education sessions.  There should be a regular established schedule for them to make it easier for people to attend.

The meeting adjourned at 3:40PM.

1. Minutes of the General Assembly Meeting of March 8, 2005 and the special meeting of April 12, 2005 were approved conditionally.  Any changes should be sent to Carol Brigham.
2. Election Ballots were collected by Al Vara and Carol Brigham for tallying.
3. Vice Provost Larry Alford had no report to make subsequent to the all-staff meeting on May 6.  He briefly summarized some points from that meeting and then took questions from the membership on the following subjects:
   1. Paley renovation: the library is hiring a consultant to plan for renovation of and/or addition to Paley and other facilities on the main campus. The money for any renovations, etc., is not yet in place.  Four firms have been selected to receive our RFP.
   2. Fire in transformer: it is not yet known exactly what happened, if anything, to cause the transformer to arc and burn out.  The transformer and nearby wiring had to be completely replaced, which is why it took a long time to restore power to Paley.
   3. Funding for new library acquisitions: the release of funds is contingent upon the strategic plan currently being developed, but the funds have been included in the budget that was recently sent to the Board of Trustees.  Funding cuts at the state level are a potential problem, but library funding will still be a high priority.
   4. Elevators: the administration has been trying to get information about the inspection of elevator #2 to no avail.
   5. Merit Guidelines: (the question was about the relationship between the criteria for merit and the overall performance aspect of merit awards in the new university-wide guidelines.)  All three criteria must be considered by the applicant and by all those involved in evaluating applications.  The Provost makes the final decision, and all supporting documentation used earlier in the process should be made available to him so that the recommendations of the committee and the vice-provost are part of a transparent process.  Larry went on to clarify that it is not necessary to be outstanding in all three areas described by the criteria, but that it would be necessary to demonstrate that there were no serious weaknesses.  The faculty, at whom most of the guidelines are directed, may have had some practices of awarding merit that differed from ours; hence there may not be many changes to our practices.
   6. Publishing: necessary for librarians? While it is important in an academic institution for people to do research and publish in peer-reviewed journals as a contribution to the profession, it ispossible to take it too far.  Although publication is valued, it is even more important, in Larry’s opinion, to build collections and support the teaching and learning of the institution.
   7. Format for this year’s personal annual reports: the same as last year.
4. Nominations and Elections reported that ties in two races required a runoff ballot to be distributed to those present.
5. Merit The membership discussed CVs v. resumes, the three criteria, and the weight of supervisory evaluations in the merit process.
6. Nominations and Elections presented the election results:

   Steering Committee Vice-Chair/Chair Elect:  Fred Rowland
   Steering Committee Member-at-Large:  David Murray
   Continuing Education Committee 2-year term:  Derik Badman
   Continuing Education Committee 1-year term: Susan Golding
   Nominations & Elections Committee: George Fowler
   Selection & Appointment Committee:  Brian Schoolar & Kathy Szigeti
   PARA:  Andrea Goldstein & Laura Lane

   Al Vara and Carol Brigham thanked all those who were willing to run for positions.
7. Standing committee reports
   1. All standing committee reports except the Steering Committee were distributed to the membership via the list. Greg McKinney summarized the Steering Committee annual report. There were no questions on any of the annual reports.
   2. Gretchen Sneff, as the AAL’s Faculty Senate Representative, volunteered to write a report of her activities and distribute it to the membership. Some discussion followed a question that was asked about the current state of the General Education requirements, which will go into effect in the fall of 2007.
   3. The membership thanked Gretchen and the rest of the Library Prize committee for their hard work on that initiative and congratulated them on its success.
8. New Business
   1. Penelope Myers asked for short articles or announcements for inclusion in the library blog. They can be sent to any member of the committee. Gretchen mentioned that according to the Faculty Senate Bylaws (on the web at http://www.temple.edu/senate/) the Library has two representatives to the Faculty Senate rather than one. She asked the Steering Committee to clarify whether they meant to count the Faculty Senate Library Committee representative as a representative to the full senate as well.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:03PM.

Respectfully submitted by Carla Davis Cunningham

Academic Assembly of Librarians

General Assembly Meeting
Paley Library Lecture Hall
Special Meeting – April 12, 2005
2:00 PM

Present: C. Brigham, C. Davis Cunningham, M. Darby, A. Harlow, M. Jerrido, L. Lane, C. Lang, M. Larkin, P. Myers, D. Murray, F. Rowland, B. Schoolar, K. Szigeti, A. Vara, B. Wright

Vice-Chairperson Anne Harlow called the meeting to order at 2:05 pm.

• Vote on Changes to the AAL Bylaws
  • Proposed Changes

Throughout the Bylaws:  change “University Librarian” to “Vice Provost for Libraries.”

Section IIIB5:  change to allow PARA Committee to be elected in May due to new timeframe imposed by the TAUP contract.

Section IIIB9:  stated change for PARA election in May rather than September; change to allow members serving on PARA to recuse themselves should they be under consideration for promotion.

• Questions/Comments

There was a question about PARA members and promotion.  Since PARA members serve for two years, the current bylaws force PARA Committee members either not to apply for promotion or to resign from the Committee in order to be considered for promotion.

• Vote

The members present voted unanimously to approve the changes to the Bylaws.

• PARA Procedures & Guidelines must be rewritten to reflect the changes to the timeline.  The Steering Committee is recruiting volunteers to work on this project.  Mark Darby volunteered and noted that extensive changes probably would not be necessary.
• Merit Process
  • Laura Lane reported that the Merit Committee had completed its evaluations and submitted its recommendations to Larry Alford on February 15th in accordance with the procedures in place.
  • The ratification of the TAUP contract resulted in changes to this process.
  • The new process calls for the Merit Committee to consist of no more than six members: three to be appointed by AAL and three to be appointed by the VPL.  Larry recommended that the contract be followed while agreeing to keep the existing members of the Committee.  Thus Mary Edsall, Laura Lane, and Brian Schoolar were designated the AAL appointees while Carla Davis Cunningham and David Murray were designated the VPL appointees.  Molly Larkin became the final VPL appointee.
  • Merit policies will need to be revised to match contractual stipulations.  The Merit Committee has completed drafts of forms which will be distributed to the AAL once Larry has approved them.
• Questions/Comments

Fred Rowland commented that he had heard that there were possible problems with the merit process.  There were none with librarians; he may have heard that faculty had not done anything with regard to merit.  Mark Darby reported that the Deans were told specifically not to initiate the merit process for faculty.

Penelope Myers asked whether any department heads would need to resubmit evaluations.  Laura reported that Larry would notify department heads in the event that new or enhanced evaluations are needed.

Carla Davis Cunningham noted that the merit guidelines are issued by the VPL, not AAL.  AAL is submitting recommendations to him.

Mark noted that the contract rearranges the criteria for merit.  Our guidelines do suggest that we look at an individual’s entire career when evaluating for merit.

Laura noted that the Merit Committee’s recommendations on the merit process are intended to deal with the current merit cycle.  Procedures and processes may need to be refined for future merit considerations.

Mark noted that there are probably one or two more merit units available this year as merit units are a percentage of the total librarian salary pool.

Anne encouraged librarians to read the contract on the TAUP website.  Laura noted that pages 47 and 48 cover merit.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:22 PM.

Submitted by
Carol Brigham
 

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.

1. Minutes of the General Assembly Meeting of November 9, 2004 were approved.
2. Report from Jonathan LeBreton:
   1. Jonathan predicts that there will be a lot of movement forward once Larry Alford arrives – there is a lot to do in the way of strategic planning, including refining those plans we have already worked on.  Those separate plans need to be formed into a cohesive document.
   2. The E-Resources Librarian position has been posted.  The Search Committee’s members are Carole Bell (Chair), Phil D’Andrea, Frank Immler, Barbara Kuchan, Molly Larkin, and Rick Lezenby.
   3. Jonathan has been compiling a set of updated procedures for searches for use by search committees and administrative staff, e.g., incorporating mechanical changes in Human Resources processes.  Rick Lezenby, Chair of the Selection and Appointment Committee, had expressed interest in such procedures and Jonathan will forward to him for discussion and clarification.
3. PARA Update
   1. Mark Darby, as Chair of PARA reminded the assembly that it is promotion season.  He will send out an e-mail reminder for applications along with deadlines.
   2. Mark also reminded members that contract renewals for newly hired librarians are due at the end of February.
4. Contract Negotiation:
   1. Mark Darby reported on the state of contract negotiations between TAUP and the University.  TAUP agreed to a contract extension to last through February 15th.  Most points being negotiated are of interest to faculty: promotion and tenure standards and procedures, study leaves, contract renewal for Dean’s Appointments, and salary and benefits.  The process is still in informal negotiation.
   2. Mark noted points of interest to librarians:  the administration decided to extend the period of time before regular appointment is attained to seven years (4 one-year contracts and 1 two-year contract).  Mark asked that members inform them of their opinions about this.
5. Old Business:  There was no old business to discuss.
6. New Business:  There was no new business to discuss
7. Forum:   Kevin Delaney of the Sociology Department spoke about his book Public Dollars, Private Stadiums.  The development of downtown stadiums does not really help the area in which they are built.  Major league football generally only fills the stadium ten times per year while baseball holds about eighty-five games a year.  Stadiums tend to close down local business and create a “game day” economic zone that caters to those going to the games.  Arenas, on the other hand, are indoor spaces that can be used for other events and, thus, are more able to pay for themselves. Dr. Delaney also spoke about his philosophy of teaching and how to engage students in the learning process.  He believes in “teaching from the inside out” – that relating to students first then instructing them works well.  High context teaching is better than abstract teaching.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:50 PM.

1. Minutes of the General Assembly Meeting of September 21, 2004 were approved.
2. Report from Jonathan LeBreton:
   1. VPL Search: Jonathan encouraged everyone to submit their comments on the candidates for Vice Provost as it is believed that the Search Committee will take them quite seriously.  Comments can be sent directly to Dick Englert via e-mail.  Jonathan reported that Englert was impressed with the attendance at the presentations and question/answer sessions.
   2. Statistics:  We are in the midst of our “typical” week for collecting statistics for ARL.  Temple’s administration is very interested in metrics, especially for strategic planning purposes.
   3. Library Prize:  Jonathan solicited volunteers for judges for the Library Prize contest.  Those interested should contact Gretchen Sneff.  Gretchen reported that Special Collections has put up a display case regarding the prize.  She has been receiving inquiries from faculty and students.  She noted that students can submit papers from independent study, as long as they have received credit for the course.  The contest rules prohibit “free-lance” entries.  Jonathan noted that there will most likely be an increase in the number of independent studies as the University is strengthening its Honors Program.
   4. Provost:  Jonathan reported that the Provost’s Office has been happy with how the Libraries have been operating.  He mentioned the newsletter initiative which will get news out to the campus.
   5. Questions:  It is unknown whether there will be more candidates for VPL.  Carol Lang indicated that an e-mail from Dick Englert implies that the process is finished for now unless none of the candidates are suitable or if suitable candidates decline the position.  Gretchen stated that comments made will be read by the President and Provost.  She mentioned that turnout at the faculty and student sessions hasbeen low.  Jonathan proposed a meeting to discuss the search process and the candidates.  When asked about the process, Gretchen said, that like a search for a dean, the Search Committee will not rank the candidates.
3. Performance Development Plans & PARA
   1. Mark Darby, as Chair of PARA, made some comments and recommendations regarding the contract renewal and regular appointment process in light of the University’s Performance Development Plans (PDPs).  Mark noted that PARA will have access to the PDP since they are included in personnel folders.  PDPs are not very informative about professional activities.  Since PARA requires peer review, candidates should continue to solicit letters from peers.  Candidates should not hesitate to ask supervisors for an additional submission for the PARA process.  Mark reminded the group that the Merit Committee does not have access to personnel folders and therefore will not see the PDPs.  He said that he will be happy to give feedback to the AAL Membership at the end of the process regarding the role of the PDP.
   2. Jonathan also recommended that candidates request their supervisors write additional statements when there are other aspects of performance that ought to be addressed.
4. Contract Negotiation:
   1. Mark Darby reported on the state of contract negotiations between TAUP and the University.  The TAUP contract expired on October 15th.  We are able to continue working under the terms and conditions of the old contract; the University cannot lock us out.  At present, no strike is planned.
   2. Mark noted that very little of the contract has to do with librarians.  He did note that the University has proposed changes to Article 15 (Promotion, Advancement, and Termination).  The University has changed the definition of years worked before being granted regular appointment.  The first contract year will be the first full fiscal year worked.  Therefore, the first contract year can be quite long for some – for example, a librarian hired on July 7, 2005 will not have completed his first contract year until June 30, 2007.  Mark also noted that the Provost wants more time (45 days) to make decisions on contract renewals and regular appointments.  If approved, all paperwork would need to be completed some time in October rather than December.
5. Old Business:  There was no old business to discuss.
6. New Business:
   1. Carole Bell introduced Martha Cannon, an intern from Drexel.  Martha is a Temple alumna and is helping with the management of our e-resources.
   2.  Anne Harlow announced that Sam Stormont is leaving Temple to take the Director’s position at Penn State Abington.  There will be a farewell party on December 22nd.
   3. Reminder:  The deadline for merit applications is December 15th.
   4. Gretchen Sneff reported that the Faculty Senate will be meeting on November 23rd at 1:40 to discuss the General Education proposal.  It will be an open meeting, but only elected representatives have voting privileges.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:50 PM.