Martha’s Message – January 22, 2015

Money Message

There were a few budget items discussed in VPC on Wednesday that I would like to share with those who were unable to attend. The first is in regard to operational equipment. As of today, the ticketing system is ready for requests. The process begins with you submitting your needs into the ticketing system (please use the special equipment request category) no later thanWednesday, January 28th. Requests after that time will not be considered in this forum. ITS will route your request to the appropriate person to help determine cost. All requests will eventually end up with the director of each area to determine what will ultimately be submitted for discussion by VPC so please make sure you include your unit heads and directors in conversations along the way. There will be a two week turn around after the 28th for the final vetted spreadsheet for prioritization by VPC and ultimately matched against what is determined as available monies. There are two considerations to keep in mind – the first is that we will be taking note of requests that include recurring costs (like service contracts, etc.) so please indicate that need in your request. Secondly, if the item you are requesting is ergonomic you must have it reviewed by Occupational Health and Safety first.

The second money item is regarding travel requests for the remainder of the year. We have expended close to 75% of our allocated travel budget. Please make sure you review your allocations and if there are any funds you are not going to use, please send a note to Christineso it can go back into the pool. If you are anticipating the need to travel this spring with funds that were not previously approved, please send an email in addition to the standard travel request form indicating what you would like to attend and why it is important.

And finally, I want to thank all of you who took time out of your schedules to come to my drop in meetings and send emails regarding our fiscal future. Many of your ideas will be incorporated into the document we will send to the Provost. If you have any other ideas, specifically on revenue generation and services to evaluate, please feel free to send me a note.

Adverse Weather/Emergency Closing Staffing

There has been a change to our plan to staff Homer Babbidge during adverse weather/emergency closings. The State Labor Board reviewed the designation and plan and ruled the University was within their management rights to designate bargaining unit members as emergency support. The outcome was an agreement by UCPEA and the University identifying the members in the Circulation & Reserve Services Unit as ad hoc emergency support services. The remainder of the plan, which includes utilizing volunteers and students first has remained unchanged. For those of you outside of that unit, we are working with human resources on readjusting your status.

Search Committees

I have been asked to serve on the search committee for the new Director of Health Sciences. Over the next two weeks I will be traveling to Farmington to participate in candidate screening interviews. I look forward to working with the committee to select someone with a history of collaboration and cooperation so we can build a stronger relationship in the years to come.

Internally, we are currently in the process of interviewing for the position of Sciences Librarian. Jill has sent out the resumes for the remaining candidates and I encourage you to attend the presentation and coffee, as well as provide feedback to the committee. Additionally, thank you to those of you who took the time to provide feedback for the candidate for the position of Collections & Discovery.

A Personal Note

“….a crucial measure of our success in life is the way we treat one another every day of our lives. ― P.M. Forni, Choosing Civility: The Twenty-five Rules of Considerate Conduct

If you remember when I came to UConn, I made a point to meet with every member of the staff to help get a sense of the way things worked and the culture of the organization. It became clear to me there were concerns that not all staff treated each other with respect. I have taken this issue seriously and continue to work to build trust and encourage opportunities for staff to not just work together, but see each other as individuals. While we have made progress in this area, we still have work to do. So as we enter a new year, I challenge you to join me in taking a fresh look at one another and attempt to put aside differences. I believe that for this institution to reach our goal of becoming a world-class library in times of budget constraints and other challenges we will all need to work together, sometimes in ways we didn’t expect. To do that, please remember that we are all individuals with strengths, skills, and weaknesses and show consideration for each other.

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