Monthly Archives: January 2016

Martha’s Message – January 28, 2016

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Comprehensive Collection Review

As you know we have been working hard on laying the groundwork to review our collections and soon we will be launching the external part of the process. Today I sent a memo to my colleagues in Dean’s Council outlining our goals and the plans. Patrick has also launched a series of webpages that provide greater detail and will be the source for ongoing updates to our community as we progress.

I welcome you to review the webpages and read the memo since they lay out not only our plan but our goals which includes a data-informed and transparent process.  I have spoken with the Provost and he is pleased with our commitment to reviewing our resources and as I state in my letter, I am encouraged by recent conversations that have shown his deep commitment to providing the resources for maintaining the essential collections identified. I anticipate that we will also create a better infrastructure to allow us to review our collections regularly.

Patrick has put together a calendar of what will happen over the next few months:

  • January – June – Analysis of monographic resources.
  • January – February – Internal review of subscribed resources.
  • February – Consult with the Office of the Provost regarding outcomes of the internal review.
  • February – March – External review of subscribed resources. This will entail us sharing the more targeted list with faculty and graduate students for input. Patrick and Joelle are working on an easy to use feedback mechanism.
  • March – April – Analysis of input received during the external review and further consultation with the UConn community.
  • May – Identify and share plans for how expenditures for subscribed resources could be reduced.
  • Summer – Fall – Establish FY2017 collections allocations and then implement any necessary reductions in collections expenditures.

As we forge ahead with the review, I want to take a moment to thank so many of you who have put countless hours into this. While it is a significant amount of work, it will give us a healthy overall look at our holdings to ensure we are meeting UConn’s resource needs.

Library Collections Review Letter to Dean’s Council

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To:          Dean’s Council

From:      Martha Bedard, Vice Provost for Libraries

Date:       January 28, 2016

Subject:   Library Collections Review

The UConn Library is currently performing an extensive review of collections and collections-related services. I would like to share the process that has been approved by the Provost’s Library Advisory Committee (PLAC), which includes faculty and students from across the University. (http://lib.uconn.edu/about/PLAC)

Last fall the Library embarked on the first of a two-step approach to review collections expenditures. The initial projection was to reduce the collections budget by $300,000. This review, completed in October 2015, identified only $117,000 in reductions due in part to support from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, and the Department of Mathematics. A full list of the impact of this initial phase of the review is accessible at http://lib.uconn.edu/?p=7552.

The second step is a comprehensive review of all of our collection materials – electronic and print, to ensure the Libraries are maintaining collections and collections-related services that align with the needs of the UConn community, while reflecting our commitment to stewardship in an environment of reduced funding and increasing subscription costs.

The Library staff are committed to a data-informed and transparent process by utilizing both quantitative and qualitative input. We understand the importance of actively involving deans, department heads, faculty, and students in the conversation. We will keep the community updated through our Collections Review webpages (http://lib.uconn.edu/?p=5536 ) and regular communications through our subject specialists and news blog at https://blogs.lib.uconn.edu/news.

We have already begun identifying the journals we receive as part of bundles and compiling data about each of them. The data points include acquisition costs, usage statistics, cost-per-use, publication and citation data for UConn researchers, and alternative access options. Drawing on input from PLAC, the Libraries’ collections managers, including subject specialists, are currently conducting an internal review of these subscriptions. The result will be the identification of a subset of the Library subscribed resources warranting deeper scrutiny given varying funding scenarios. Following consultation with the Office of the Provost, we will share a list of resources with the appropriate UConn community. We expect to have that list ready in February.

We will also be looking at our investment in monographs. These will be analyzed through an in-depth comparison of holdings with our peer institutions to serve as benchmarking data.

After analyzing all of the data regarding collections, including the community feedback, the Library will identify and share plans for how collections expenditures could be reduced for FY 2016/17 using a tiered approach. This will allow us to be flexible as budgets are finalized. We expect to have all of this completed by May.

The UConn Library System is aware of the budget issues facing UConn and has been working holistically to review all aspects of our budget. We understand the importance of our collections to the research and teaching goals of the University and are doing everything we can to limit the impact of budget cuts. I am encouraged by recent conversations with the Provost and Deans who have made a deep commitment to provide the resources for maintaining the essential collections identified through this review process.

Our approach also includes active commitment to continuing to explore the new landscape of scholarly communications, a key guiding principle in our Purposeful Path Forward, http://lib.uconn.edu/about/strategicvision. These emerging models of how knowledge is created, shared, discovered, and accessed includes the adoption of open educational resources as a viable option in academics. We look forward to working with you on these new initiatives.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments.

cc: Provost’s Library Advisory Committee

Martha’s Message – January 21, 2016

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The UConn Library System

This week the Provost met with the One UConn Library Task Force to discuss the report we submitted before the holiday break. The Provost agreed with the group that restructuring the University Library will lead to an enhanced, consistent user experience through formal, deeper collaboration. As a result, the Provost has formally approved the formation of The UConn Library System. There are many details to work out and I will keep you posted on changes as we move forward.

Budget Updates

On Tuesday we submitted the documentation required for our upcoming budget hearing with the Provost and CFO, scheduled for January 28th. This hearing is our opportunity to discuss the current fiscal health of the Library and the plans we have moving forward to address the 3% reduction next fiscal year. Thank you to Holly and the Financial Services Unit for all their help with pulling together the documentation that will enable us to tell our fiscal story.

I have also been invited by the University Senate Budget Committee to present at their February meeting. This committee reviews the allocations made by the University and may recommend Senate opinion on financial implications of those allocations.  I will once again take this opportunity to continue to raise awareness on the impact the budget reductions have had on our services and collections.

Finally, we have been given the go ahead to present a proposal for a modest library student fee to the Provost. We are hopeful that we can work out a sensible fee structure that we all agree on. If we clear this next hurdle, we hope to have the adoption of the fee on the agenda for the February Board of Trustees meeting.

Campus Wide Copyright & Fair Use Committee

I am pleased that the campus wide Copyright & Fair Use Committee will have its first meeting next week. The group’s draft charge is to provide a forum to identify and discuss copyright issues, and in some cases, to recommend policies and procedures for consideration by the University. Members of the group include the Office of General Counsel, eCampus, the Vice President for Research and members of the faculty.

Hats off to 2016 Party

I wanted to thank everyone who came out to help us celebrate the start of 2016. I enjoyed it very much and have gotten similar feedback from both current and former staff. I felt a positive vibe and hope to keep that momentum going in what will no doubt be a busy year. Of particular interest was the ‘One Word’ activity that produced some wonderful words to consider for 2016. Some of my favorites include possibility, kindness, progress, listen, respect and breathe. Thanks to all of you who wore your best hats to the party and congratulations to Patty Guardiani and Chris McNevins for winning the popular vote. For great photos of the event, check out our staff news blog (a reminder that your username and password are those you use to get into your computer.) And a special thank you to Dave Avery and Tony Molloy who spent the better part of the day working on the logistics – from moving tables and carrying food back and forth from the kitchen in Archives and Special Collections.

Martha’s Message – January 8, 2016

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Welcome to 2016

2016 is upon us and I hope you will join your colleagues as we take some time to celebrate ourselves and recognize the work we have accomplished in 2015 at our ‘Hats off to 2016’ party. Hosted by Vice Provost’s Council, the event will include current and former employees including an opportunity for us to publicly thank recent retirees Bill Miller and Janet Swift for their years of service. There will also be fabulous prizes for your creative hats that represent what 2016 means to you.

Avery Point Staffing

There has been some staffing changes at Avery Point that I would like to share. Beth Rumery has requested new roles and responsibilities, and has stepped down as Director to fill the position of Research & Instruction Librarian. As you are all aware, Beth just received at 2015 Love My Librarian Award from ALA which is further recognition that her true passion is helping students and her community. I am pleased to announce that Sheila Lafferty has stepped into the leadership role as Director of Avery Point as well as her duties as Director of the Torrington Library. Also, as I mentioned in a prior message, Nanette Addesso is now full time in Avery Point, taking over the duties as Access Services Assistant.

Employee Appreciation Committee

At this week’s VPC meeting the Employee Appreciation Committee presented their final report, which you can find here. I want to thank the members of the Committee for all of their work in helping to encourage more respect and participation across the organization through various activities. The committee included Co-Chairs Brian Coleman and Barbara Mitchell, and members Janice Christopher, Jennifer Eustis, Khara Leon, Carolyn Mills, Tony Molloy and Jean Nelson. Their work was of benefit to the organization and they have left a wonderful legacy of ideas for the new group to consider. I would like to put out an official call for a re-population of the committee and welcome those who were on it last year as well as new members to join. I have asked Khara Leon to take leadership of the committee moving forward so if you are interested, please let her know.

New Communication Strategies

As we continue to work at improving our internal communications as laid out in our Purposeful Path Forward, I am pleased to see that there are several initiatives coming together in 2016. Francine has already begun conversations among our unit heads for ideas to update and strengthen the expectations regarding the nuts and bolts of our communications. For example, expectations for usage of calendars, when is it appropriate to Skype/Lync, our emergency notification systems, and other protocols to help with the daily communications among colleagues. We are also working on the formation of a workgroup to help improve the flow of information throughout the Libraries. While this is still in a preliminary draft stage, activities such as town hall meetings and in-service brown bags where we share information and expertise are possibilities for this workgroup charge. Finally, on a more personal note, I would like to hear more about the ideas and activities happening from staff so I will be working with directors and unit heads to join your meetings periodically so that I can hear more of what is happening around the Library. I am excited to see these initiatives working together towards the same goal – to improve our internal communication strategies.