Author Archives: reagor

April 7

The group discussed the one-page narrative due shortly for the briefing book used by the Board of Trustees for their May meeting. The narrative covers major accomplishments and strategic goals and priorities.

Galvin proposed and the group agreed that two staff members should attend an upcoming SirsiDynix event near Dallas.

It was agreed that the group will wait to discuss library implications of the Quality Enhancement Program (QEP) that is an outcome of Rice’s reaffirmation of accreditation. A new hire will coordinate the QEP but that person is not yet in place.

Lowman reported on various meetings, including the Deans’ Council and the university Board of Trustees. Topics included spending on enhancing research and data science, new campus building plans, Rice’s position in the higher education environment in Houston, broadening Rice’s diversity efforts and the summer Emerging Scholars program for incoming Rice freshmen.

April 14
No meeting.

April 21
No meeting.

April 28
No meeting.

May 7

The group discussed the recent university closing due to flooding.

At this time, the library is being asked to explore the proposal for weeding the LSC rather than building a second LSC bay. IT and Cataloging & Metadata Services staff are working with Keck to research effective ways of approaching the task, and faculty are being consulted.

The group was asked to project absences through the summer and to suggest topics for discussion for summer meetings.

Lowman shared the plans for searching for a new Friends of Fondren director. Judy Howell will be available to help train the new hire.

Furniture has been ordered for the conversion of Room 156 into a student conference room.

The life safety study pertinent to DMC and first floor security is still pending.

February 4

The group reviewed documentation in preparation for the scheduled February 11 meeting with Angela Lipari of HR.

February 11

Angela Lipari visited to review information collected for the Careers @ Rice program. The next step will be for Executive Committee members to attend a benchmarking workshop on February 25.

The committee discussed the possibility of signing up for the Knowledge Unlatched Round 2 pilot, a collaboration to support open access publishing.

Sara Lowman invited ideas for the March 22 Library Committee meeting.

Discussion continued on possible further library collaboration with the Center for Teaching Excellence and the Program in Writing and Communication.

February 18

Sara Lowman shared some background budget information from the Senior Leadership Retreat. She is participating in a campus-wide review of study spaces.

The group reviewed and endorsed the recommendations of the UX office study describing student input on the disposition of three rooms available on the first floor for repurposing.

The group reviewed budget documentation Sara Lowman must submit soon to the Budget Office.

Dec. 10

The group discussed new members and the 2016 charge for the Horizon Group. Melinda Flannery and Lisa Spiro will draft a charge and continue to serve as liaisons to the group.

Sara Lowman announced that Marie Lynn Miranda, the new provost, will attend a 2016 Fondren town meeting. She shared information from recent Board of Trustees meetings. Groups working on Rice’s three new strategic initiatives (data science, molecular/nano, research competitiveness) have been named. IT is conducting a process to choose new software for Rice’s development activities. The office building behind the Allen Center will have five floors of offices plus parking. It will not be connected to the Allen Center. The new building is scheduled for occupancy in August 2017.

The group discussed recent library volunteers and work on developing a Fondren fellows program for Rice students.

Dec. 17 No meeting

Dec. 24 No meeting

Jan. 7 No meeting

Jan. 14

Sara Lowman shared with the group that the university uses an international travel service called SOS (http://riskmanagement.rice.edu/Default.aspx?id+38). SOS provides services such as trip registration, illness-related services, evacuations due to terrorism, lost passports, etc. It is possible that, for a fee, SOS can be used to register non-work-related trips. She would like the Library Travel, Training and Development Committee to update the travel forms to include links to this service.

A timeline was established for performance appraisals. All appraisals are due to Sara Lowman by 3/18/16. Self-evaluations for Sara’s direct reports are due 2/12/16, as are salary and bonus recommendations. Sara will send out a libstaff message announcing these deadlines to all staff.

Sara shared that she has attended several meetings on the Careers@Rice project to evaluate all jobs at Rice; she anticipates that the project will continue well into 2016.

The group discussed disposition of the areas managed by Diane Butler, who is leaving Fondren at the end of January.

Additional topics were suggested for the town meeting scheduled for 2/4/16. Marie Lynn Miranda, the new provost, will speak.

Oct. 15 No meeting

Oct. 22

The group discussed appropriate uses of a $10,000 gift from a Friend of Fondren for Sara Lowman to consider.

Horizon Group recommendations were discussed, with Lisa Spiro and Melinda Flannery delegated to get back to the group regarding its followup responsibilities as well as integrate accepted proposals into the Fondren planning document.

The group discussed UX proposals for paid Fondren Student Ambassador and Fondren Fellows programs. The group agreed to proceed with the ambassador program but had further questions about the need for the fellows program, which would pay graduate students to teach Fondren classes.

The interim report of the Ithaka S + R survey group was discussed. Preliminary assignments were considered for the majority of recommendations.

Recent campus incidents nationwide call for a spotlight on Fondren’s emergency procedures. The Disaster Response Team (DiRT) will be asked to review existing emergency procedures in the Disaster Manual, add procedures for active threat/shooter situations, identify specific gathering places and produce a handy summary document that staff members can find easily in an emergency.

Oct. 29 No meeting

Nov. 5

The group discussed an updated draft policy with procedures to manage use of public computers by non-Rice community members. The draft was produced collaboratively by Research and Access Services. It will go into effect Dec. 1.

Kerry Keck shared information on HATHI membership, a campus quote for New York Times access and ORCID licensing, including costs. The group discussed the benefits of pursuing each of these additions, including access (HATHI) and licensing (ORCID) complexities.

Sara Lowman expressed pleasure at the fact that the renovations underway will be completed early, before finals.

Nov. 12 No meeting

June 18, 25, July 2

No meetings.

July 9

The group discussed possible changes in building hours for the fall semester. To ease Access Services scheduling while maintaining strong customer service, the library will be open to the public Sat. 9-6 and Sun. 12–8 pm. This set of changes is a pilot and we will look at user feedback before setting schedules for the future.

Progress on the library’s portion of the university’s SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) accreditation review was discussed, and updates were given on individual assignments. Late summer/early fall deadlines for various sections were reviewed.

The group also discussed the library’s participation in Rice’s annual internal assessment effort, ROARS (Rice Outcomes Assessment Reporting System), with a midsummer deadline.

July 16, 23, 30, August 6, 13

No meetings.

August 20

Sara Lowman clarified members’ expected preparation for next week’s discussion of documentation to date for the university-wide job review, Careers@Rice.

Lisa Spiro gave an update on the university’s possible transition to a new faculty information system. She also asked for and received feedback from fellow members on a recent report on research data management at Rice, produced by a cross-campus group that includes several Fondren staff. For more information on the Research Data Management Team, please visit: http://libstaff.blogs.rice.edu/2015/08/31/update-from-the-research-data-management-team/.

Sara Lowman gave updates from recent Deans’ Council meetings. The new Quality Enhancement Plan in connection with Rice’s SACS review will target experiential learning.

The Rice Board of Trustees will meet Sept. 9-10, with some meetings taking place in the Kyle Morrow Room.

April 23, 2015

Group members shared unavailable dates through the summer and agreed that summer meetings will be roughly bi-weekly.

Sara updated the group on renovation progress and began to build an agenda for the next Fondren town meeting. So far, topics to be covered include the renovation, 3rd and 4th floor shifts & shelf-reading project.

Diane shared that, late this summer, the committee working on reviewing the current market in library systems will be narrowing the field of systems to be considered. Finalists will be brought to meetings with all staff sometime in September.

Sara noted that the university budget review was completed and we are now awaiting word on the library’s funding for FY16.

April 30
No meeting.

May 7
No meeting.

May 14
No meeting.

May 18
The group met to discuss the use of collaborative spaces in the library. Computers temporarily located in B40D during the construction of the new collaborative space will be removed, leaving table seating and a PC instructor’s workstation as planned. The DMC Multipurpose Room (with Apple instructor’s station and connection for PC laptop instructor machine) will be scheduled via Google Calendar as other rooms, allowing scheduling by anyone in the Rice community. The appropriateness of using study rooms 201 and 601 in cases of conflict will be clarified. Instructors should be flexible about use of the rooms, swapping if more seating or other features are needed, thus minimizing conflicts. Good records will be kept and the adequacy of our current arrangements, recommended by the interdepartmental Collaboration Space Working Group, will be reviewed at the end of the fall semester. Any increase in the number of instructional spaces requires demonstrated need and an increase in the IT budget.

May 21
No meeting.

March 12

No meeting.

March 19

No meeting.

March 26

Lowman shared notes from a meeting with the university Policy & Planning group. An overhaul of many university policies is underway. Policies about minors on campus, weapons, and emergency management planning are among those being revised. Disaster plans throughout the university are being gathered in connection with the emergency management policy review. The national meeting of Chief Financial Officers in Higher Education (COFHE) will take place on the Rice campus the week of March 30. A recent letter to the editor of the Rice Thresher noted there has been a 135% tuition increase at Rice over the past 15 years. The university budget office presented data comparing Rice’s tuition increases to those of peer institutions.

Flannery shared notes from a recent Administrators’ Forum regarding the reorganization of Facilities, Engineering and Planning under new Associate Vice President Jim E. Alty.

The group discussed planning for participation in the university-wide job review known as Careers@Rice.

April 2

No meeting.

April 9

Guests: Joe Hatfield, Janet Thompson

Planning for first floor renovations was discussed. The library group advising on new furniture is now meeting. The renovation, scheduled for this summer, will also include carpet, paint, lighting and both electrical and data outlets. The group explored the need to dispose of old furniture and relocate some first floor collections during the renovations. A small group will be convened to plan, stage and implement such moves. A new color scheme will harmonize with the colors used in the 2008 renovation. Signage will be needed.

The group reviewed initial HR documentation for the university-wide job review, Careers@Rice.

February 5, 2015

RiceWorks upgrade: Jana Callan visited to share plans for upgrading RiceWorks, the university’s hiring management system. The new version should improve reporting and user interface. Job descriptions will be separate from job postings. Training for Fondren supervisors will take place late February or early March.

FY16 Budget preparation: The group discussed each member’s assigned contributions to the budget narrative Sara Lowman must turn in to the university Budget Office, including budget economies taken this year and both projected economies and needs for FY16.

CMACS activities: A plan was shared for posting in each area answers to the question: What are we working on? A CMACS representative will work with each area. The idea is to balance continued emphasis on existing customer service standards with transparency about current projects.

Concur: The group discussed implementation to date of the university’s new expense management system.

February 12, 2015

Dean’s Council: Sara Lowman reported on the Dean’s Council discussion of a proposed program to bring in more research post-doctoral fellows, with the aim of further enhancing Rice’s research profile. Possible roles for the library in supporting such a program were floated.

President Leebron will be asking the university community to help identify Rice’s next Quality Enhancement Program (QEP). QEPs are connected with the university’s periodic accreditation reviews. Ten years ago, the Center for Civic Engagement (now Center for Civic Leadership) came out of the review process. Two years ago, the Center for Written, Oral and Visual Communication (CWVOC) resulted from a mid-term review, and a new QEP could well continue a focus on communication, with possible collaboration between the library and CWVOC.

New manuscript/archival collection : Fondren is working on acquiring an important archive of manuscripts and letters pertaining to French composer Francis Poulenc.

February 19, 2015

No meeting.

November 20, 2014

The group discussed agenda items for the next library Town Hall, including a renovation update, staff introductions and updates on open access, room booking and web redesign.

Some future meeting topics were penciled in:

December 4 Library Plan review
(http://library.rice.edu/about/admin_org/mission-goals/mission-goals)

January 15 Updates, Library System Review

January 22 Ithaka survey; Assessment

January 29 Updates

February 19 Information Literacy; CRUP objective and report discussion (http://www.professor.rice.edu/images/professor/facultysenate/crup_report.pdf)

The 2005 report of the Committeee on the Rice Undergraduate Program (CRUP;  http://www.professor.rice.edu/images/professor/facultysenate/crup_report.pdf) is being reviewed in preparation for Rice’s upcoming decennial re-accreditation process. The library has been asked to review the core element of Information Access and Evaluation (#6) to update wording and suggest techniques.

The group also may discuss selected issue briefs from Ithaka S+R (http://www.sr.ithaka.org/issue-briefs).

Completed performance appraisals are due to Lowman by March 13. Each Executive Committee member may set an internal schedule to meet that deadline. Self-evaluations of Executive Committee members are due to Lowman by Jan. 16.

November 27, 2014

No meeting (Thanksgiving Holiday)

December 4, 2014

The group discussed an upcoming power outage connected with the basement construction. All facts are not yet clear; details will be made available when they are.

The closure of the women’s basement restroom will extend 1-2 more weeks, due to unanticipated problems detaching the existing countertop. The DMC move is on schedule for Dec. 19; the service will reopen Jan. 10. The collaborative space should be ready for use by Jan. 19.

The group discussed the existing planning document for the library, public version at: http://bit.ly/1zvd4xr, internal  version (more detailed; login required) at: http://bit.ly/1wFaHul. Most of the document remains relevant; Flannery suggested adding under Outreach a second goal covering the various ways we reach out to the community. She will draft wording for the group to consider. The group also noted how many of the project-level initiatives (clickable in the internal version) have been accomplished. Butler suggested tasking the Horizon group with drafting new project-level initiatives for the coming year, involving other staff as appropriate. Lowman will discuss the possibility with Horizon group co-chairs Shannon Kipphut­-Smith and Amanda Focke.

October 23

No meeting summary available

October 30

The group discussed a draft room reservation policy document prepared by Diane Butler, covering study rooms, library collaborative spaces and conference rooms, and the Kyle Morrow Room.

Dan Cohen’s visit to Houston Oct. 28-29 was discussed.

Several members reported progress toward 100% completion of online staff training in sexual harassment norms.

Judy Howell will meet separately with each Executive Committee member to ID appropriate departmental needs for inclusion in a new donor brochure.

Planned topics for the next meeting included:
ID of library needs to be spotlit in the “Paddles Up” feature of the Friends of Fondren Library Gala
Agenda for the next meeting of the faculty Committee on the Library Dec. 1
Opening up the staff blog for public view