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Virginia Tech
Governance Minutes ArchiveNovember 10, 1988
1 UNIVERSITY LIBRARY COMMITTEE MINUTES 10 November 1988 PRESENT: John Bowen, Vet Medicine Milan Patel, GSA Eugene Carson, Provost's Office Nicolaus Tideman, Business Norman Dodl, Education Francis Ventre, Architecture Jack Duke, Faculty Senate Ryland Webb (for J. Wentworth) Paul Gherman, Library Human Resources Nancy Harris, SGA David West, Arts & Sciences Lok Kok, Agr, & Life Science GUESTS: Julie Beamer, Library Phyllis Johnson, Library Bela Foltin, Library Don Kenney, Library Robert Heterick, Vice President Charles Litchfield, Library for Information Systems Frances Painter, Library ABSENT: Michael Vorster, Engineering Norman Dodl, Chair, called the meeting to order. The minutes of the last meeting were approved as submitted. I. LIBRARY ANNOUNCEMENTS (PMG): Handouts were distributed, including a memorandum from B. Foltin to P. Gherman (Attachment 2) answering questions Dr. McComas asked about the library. It will be sent with a cover letter summarizing the information. B. Foltin's letter to Deans, Department Heads, and departmental liaisons explaining the weeding and Cheds transfer projects was also distributed. P. Gherman reported on the current status of the Virginia Tech Information Center (VTIC). The project is funded for the next 13 months, with $140,000 from the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT). VTIC delivers information to CIT's Technology Transfer Project. The state has hired eight Directors of Technology; ultimately there will be 22, with a Director located at each community college. These directors help local-area businessmen solve technological and business related problems. Local sources, including the community college libraries, are not sufficiently extensive to provide all the necessary information. The University Library proposed to CIT the creation of an information center, with the unit to be set up in the library and similar to those at Rice, Georgia Tech, Cornell, and Ohio State. At this time, the CIT project is the primary VTIC client, but the intention is to expand the service to the private sector. VTIC researches the answer to almost any technical question posed by a client using computerized databases. VTIC then sends to the client full-text articles, patents, etc., arranging for translations when necessary. Charges for these services are on a fee basis that fully covers the cost of the service. The grant from CIT also pays salaries for the center's 1 1/2 FTE staff members. In the future, and with additional staffing, this enhanced service might be provided to faculty working on a grant. No university money has gone into the project. A brochure is being prepared which explains the project and lists charges. Committee members raised questions about the impact of this project on the library, and the Chair will place the subject on the agenda for January. II. OLD BUSINESS STATUS OF REFERENCE SERVICES (D. Kenney): The following points were made in the report given to the University Library Committee by Don Kenney, Head, Reference Department. See Attachment 3 for the full report. a. Services - Reference Department librarians and staff provide reference service, library instruction, online database searching, and materials selection for collection development. b. Staffing - Department has 14 FT library faculty, 3 1/2-time positions, 1 1/2-time position assigned to VTIC, 3 coordinators and 5 graduate assistants (90 hrs/week) to assist at reference desk - Classified staff of 3 secretaries, 2 library assistants, 1 clerk, and 23 student assistants - Service provided at Main Reference Desk on 2nd floor 103 hrs/week of the 106.5 the library is open - Service provided at Science Reference Desk on 4th floor 72 hrs/week, an increase of 12 hrs/week since 1986 c. Statistics - Increase of over 4,000 desk transactions from FY 1986/87 to 1987/88 - Science Desk had 20,438 transactions (constant last 3 years) - Total of 1,512 online searches conducted - Tours, classes, and orientation sessions conducted for 3,953 users in FY 1987/88 d. Improvements in reference service - OCLC terminal placed at each reference desk - Reference service provided to campus through Local Area Network - Reference research appointment service for all users implemented - Clearer organization of science reference collection and a librarian designated to maintain that collection - End-user searching of online databases being implemented - DIALOG and Wilsonline databases made available to librarians at main reference desk to help answer reference questions - Grant from the National Agriculture Library (NAL) will provide computer workstation to access full text documents in aquaculture, agricultural economics, acid rain, and agent orange - Four CD ROM databases (NTIS, ERIC, MLA Bibliography, and PsychLit) will be purchased in the near future - Greatly enhanced access to government documents through Autographics CD ROM database e. Future goals and objectives - Library faculty to strengthen reference skills and cross- train in use of various bibliographic reference tools - Electronic online database searching integrated into the routine of providing reference service - Collaborate with CNS to set up pilot project to introduce EasyNet to campus - Establish a library television channel on new university cable system - New publications program to increase the scope of instructional and bibliographic aids In the discussion that followed N. Tideman (Business) asked why Nexus and Lexus databases have not been selected. D. Kenney responded that some criteria for selection are the size of the anticipated user group, and the number of CD ROM products offered by a vendor. (Since the library must rely on the vendor to support the product, it is more effective to purchase several products from the same vendor.) The Westlaw database serves some of the same needs as Lexus. The decision to purchase Westlaw was made because the groups on campus who needed Westlaw were willing to raise about half the purchase price by departmental contributions. L. Kok (Agriculture & Life Sciences) asked whether there were fewer reference librarians now than before the reorganization. Complete figures were not available, but the number of science reference librarians has increased from 6 in FY 1984/85 to 6 1/2 now, with an additional vacant position about to be advertised. III. NEW BUSINESS 1. DELIVERY SERVICE TO DEPARTMENTAL OFFICES (J. Beamer): J. Beamer distributed the questionnaire developed to determine user interest in document delivery which will be sent to department heads and explained how the service would work. Faculty would complete a request form to be picked up by courier and returned to the library. The request would be processed, with books being checked out in the requestor's name. The courier would deliver the books, photocopied journal articles, etc., to a central office drop in each department. The service would be scheduled Mon-Fri at set times for pick-up and delivery, with no rush or special service available and no special permission items delivered. The patron would become responsible for the item at the moment of delivery. A method for electronic requests is being developed, but is not yet ready for implementation. The service would require 1 FT employee and about 20 hrs/day of student wage. Costs of providing the service would be charged to departmental budgets on a per item basis. 2. LIBRARY SUPPORT FOR OFF-CAMPUS INSTRUCTION/RESEARCH CENTERS: The Chair asked that this agenda item be postponed until the December meeting. J. Bowen (Vet Medicine) reported the questions that concern those at the Equine Center, so that committee members have a basis for discussion at the next meeting. - Leesburg Equine Center has 6 faculty members, 6 residents on a 3-year Master's program, and next year there will be 5 students on three week rotations. - There is no library support except requesting books to be sent from the Vet Med Library, or going into D.C. to the National Medical Library. - Is the library developing a policy to address this issue? P. Gherman is currently chairing a committee of 5 directors from state libraries, appointed by J. Molnar of SCHEV. The committee is looking at ways to deliver library resources to dispersed users. 3. COMMITTEE RESPONSE TO D. HINKLE'S MEMORANDUM (B. Heterick): The self-study produced 30 pages of recommendations and D. Hinkle, working from the Provost's office, is charged with follow-up. Dr. Hinkle has asked the University Library Committee to respond by December 15 to those items that concern the library. This initial response should be to individual items in the recommendation list and the information needed at this time are to know which items have already been acted on, which items the committee recommends be sent to another committee, other items the library might wish to address, and which items the committee will work on. The committee needs to be aware of the financial implications of the recommendations during their deliberations. The Chair asked that each member discuss the recommendations with their constituency before the next meeting, when a response will be prepared. 4. ANNOUNCEMENT (P. Gherman): P. Gherman announced that a collection of about 100 commercial tapes in Whittemore will be moved to the library and cataloged on VTLS. The meeting was adjourned at 5:20 PM.
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