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Library Staff Update

Mark HaslettUniversity Librarian

University of WaterlooJune 24, 2003aka ”Day 55”

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What I’ll cover Address “What does the University

Librarian do?” Outline briefly the role of the Library and

some of our achievements & strengths Provide an update on current initiatives Provide good news on Campaign Waterloo Review some Budgetary issues

Questions & discussion

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“What does the University Librarian do?”

GENERAL ACCOUNTABILITY:

This position is accountable to the Associate Provost, Academic and Student Affairs for directing the provision of library services and resources in support of the teaching and research programs of the University.

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Specific accountabilities Develop strategic plans for the Library… Develop library information resources… Recruit, train, develop and retain

excellent staff… Explore and facilitate opportunities for

new and expanded funding… Ensure that the Library is promoted as an

important and effective element of the University…

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My role is in part to… Stay abreast of changes in the scholarly

communications environment Be a visible & articulate advocate for

the Library Track trends, and look at the big picture Help “frame” the issues Support risk-taking

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My approach is to: Listen Pay attention Work carefully to build consensus Make hard choices when needed Remain intellectually curious Facilitate, support & promote the

work of others

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Some Personal Observations

Balance sustainability and innovation Focus on both flexibility and stability Pay attention and listen to needs of

our users Listen for the hype… rhetoric vs.

reality Instill a service ethic

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My vision of an excellent library is one that

Keeps its eye on its core business of facilitating effective access to scholarly information

Adapts to evolving trends in scholarly communications

Seeds new initiatives & promotes partnerships, and

Is at its best when working together to build bridges

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Some of my activities in May & June

Library staff activities and functions; meetings with departments, groups & individuals

Presentation at Engineering Faculty Council Senate meetings Meetings of the Senate Undergrad &

Grad/Research Councils ARL, CARL, OCUL, TUG meetings CFI RKN proposal approval Several Campaign Waterloo and Library events Convocation

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The Library’s Strategic Directions

1: Increase the breadth and scope of information resources

2: Enhance and integrate access to information resources and services

3: Respond to changing approaches to scholarly communications and reinforce the University community’s understanding of the effect of the changes

4: Assess the effectiveness of library services and information resources

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Strategic Directions (cont’d)

5: Support students in the development of information discovery and critical evaluation skills “information literacy”

6: Strengthen organisational infrastructure (cultural, physical, technological, and financial) to enhance learning, teaching and research

7: Marketing and promoting the Library’s resources and services

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The evolving library environment

Digital & print Wired & wireless Physical place & virtual Learning space & social place

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Fostering partnerships & collaboration

Complex and evolving environment Make effective use of limited

resources Two minds are better than one Shared knowledge, experience, &

expertise Spirit of generosity

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In preparing for the Nov. 2002 “Review of IT for Learning, Research, and

Administration at UW”, I observed:

The Library collaborates well and on an ongoing basis

We consult and engage with our users/clients regularly

The Library has positive and effective working relationships with IST, the LT3 Centre, the Faculty computing offices, and other campus information resource providers

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“The staff of the University of Waterloo Library are its major strength…”

I continue to be impressed with their dedication, willingness to work in partnership with others, and in particular their strong service and user/client focus.

My role … has largely been to support them, encouraging their service focus, looking for opportunities to build on their strengths, removing roadblocks, finding resources, promoting their efforts and the services they provide, and listening carefully to them and to our users.

It has also been a goal of mine to ensure that lines of communication and accountability are clear while at the same time providing opportunities for creativity.

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Some UW Library initiatives

Cambridge Architecture branch Cognos Web Reports Training initiative E-Reserves service – extension of Phase 2 GIS project is now in Phase 2 Information Commons for Davis & Porter Online Reference evolving Public Workstations & Networks upgrades VDX / Racer went live June 18th

Web/database development projects We are now “wired for wireless” in Davis,

Porter & UMD

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CFI CNSLP The Canadian National Site Licensing Project

a collaborative initiative of sixty-four universities in Canada

test the concept of licensing electronic scholarly publications on a national basis

funded as a three-year pilot project by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) ($20M), with participating universities and provincial revenue partners contributing matching funds ($30M).

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CNSLP - Goals Increase quantity, breadth & depth of research

literature build capacity, within and across multiple disciplines share costs and reduce economic barriers to

participation Maximize use and utility of content for researchers

speed transition from print to electronic resources encourage large-scale adoption of digital formats

Influence the marketplace reduce volatility and unpredictability achieve advantageous terms and conditions for usage develop new models

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CFI RKN (Resource Knowledge Network) proposal

Builds on the success of the CNSLP project A digital library in the social sciences and

humanities areas 63 Universities are signatories Four year project CFI adjudication process underway Results in February 2004

http://www.fedcan.ca/english/policyandadvocacy/perspectives/daysix2003.cfm

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Campaign Waterloo

Good news …

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Creating the Next Generation Library

A $10 million dollar campaign for the Library

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Achieving our goal• Put together a strong volunteer

team• Build an extensive prospect list• Enhance relationships with our

current and prospective donors• Encourage support from the

campus community

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Campaign Team Honorary Chairs – Anna and Julian

Porter Co-chairs – Hilde and John English Team members include: Don Cowan,

Dona Harvey, Wilf Jenkins, Peter and Betty Sims, and Hajra Wilson

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Campaign WaterlooAnd the good news is:

$1 million dollar donation to build an Information Commons in Davis has been received from a major financial institution

Includes money over 5 years for infrastructure and staffing

Official announcement will be in the fall

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The budgetary challenge facing us

Library budgets split in two Acquisitions (approx. $6,000,000 ) Operating (approx. $7,275,000 )

Salary ($6,439,000) Non-salary ($836,000)

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Operating budget The current challenge:

Addressing a $145,500 ongoing expenditure reduction beginning in 2003/04

In the context of having already sustained $394,100 (5.5%) cut to base in 2002/03

The latter was addressed partly by cutting approx. $180,000 from the Library’s computing budget, and partly by releasing vacant positions

Our flexibility has been significantly reduced

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Operating budget (cont’d) Reduction is ongoing

i.e. to our base budget we cannot use one time only funds as part

of the reduction Flexibility on non-salary side is gone I am committed to NOT cutting positions

with people in them Therefore, need to look to retirements,

vacancies, etc.

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Operating budget (cont’d) The “luck of the draw” factor when finding

funds based upon vacancies

Everything I have heard suggests that there is consensus that the Library has been “very thin at the top” for quite awhile.

Therefore…

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Operating budget (cont’d) We will find most of the 2003/04

reduction by releasing the funds from the upcoming resignation of Paul St-Pierre and the retirement of Susan Moskal

The significant challenge will be how to address the loss of those positions in the longer term

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Operating budget (cont’d) Some very positive news is that we have

been told that we can fill one ongoing new position

The other positive news is that we expect we will receive some one-time funding from Indirect Research funds which in the longer term may be added to our base budget

As well, we are making effective use of Co-op students and contract positions

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Operating budget (cont’d) With some imagination and flexibility I am

convinced we can make this work. How we will do so still requires further

discussion Some considerations:

Use of other sources of revenue, including Campaign Waterloo funds

Bridging to the future Positions that become vacant in the future Use of Co-op students and contract librarians

The current organisational review

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Organizational review issues

Listening & input phase Decisions which need to be made Establishing a framework &

timeframes for discussions & decisions

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Good news recap New position allocated Campaign Waterloo news Possibility of one-time ongoing

funds A strong foundation on which to

build: “The Waterloo Library has good staff and programmes.”

Questions & discussion

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Questions asked following Mark’s presentations to staff on June 24,

20031st SessionQuestion: In essence we’re losing 1 librarian, instead of 2? Answer: YesQuestion: Have the secondments (Faye’s, Carol’s, and Christine’s) been

taken into account? Answer: The secondments are part of what needs to be considered

when determining what we will do about the vacant positions. We will also want to consider things such as a programme for hiring library science co-op students and upcoming retirements. For the time being we need to focus on “bridging” until other options open up. We will have more success in making a case for additional positions if we can demonstrate success in pursuits that fit in with larger institutional directions, e.g. providing employment opportunities for co-op students.

Question: The government is supposed to be giving money for the double cohort. Are we getting some?

Answer: We received some additional funding for the acquisitions budget. We have not received as much additional funding for the double cohort as we would like.

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Questions asked … (cont’d)2nd SessionQuestion: If either the vacant assistant or associate librarian’s position is not filled will

the salary be used for other salaries?Answer: Although we will be releasing Sue Moskal’ and Paul St-Pierre’s positions when

they become vacant, we need to release $145,500 effective May 1. We’ll use funds from the vacant assistant/associate positions to bridge finance the $145,500. Beyond that we’re not yet sure how we will use the money if one of the two positions is not filled.

Question: Can the Library offer an early retirement programme, even if the rest of the University does not?

Answer: NoQuestion: What’s the status of the organizational review?Answer: We’re in the information gathering stage and are starting to see themes

emerge, e.g. the collections area needing overall coordination of the sort provided by David Emery. We’re continuing to gather information and look for themes. We’ll need to align our budgets with our goals.

Question: Have end dates been established for the review?Answer: An end date has not been established but this will not be a never-ending

exercise. We should know what we want to do with the assistant and associate positions by the end of the summer. Determining how we’ll manage the vacancies created by Sue and Paul’s departures may extend into the fall. It’s important to remember that when Joan left we put things in place to carry us through to the end of this calendar year.