The University of Kansas Libraries

KU Libraries Support Staff

KULSS Executive Meeting
Thursday, May 13th, 11:00-12:00
Spencer Research Library Lounge

Present: Julie Warrick (chair), Kristin Zachrel (secretary), Kyle Sederstrom (Group 1), Adam Reilly (Group 2), Sheila Orth (Group 3), Meredith Huff (Group 4)

Absent: Nancy Hawkins (vice-chair)

Previous Meeting's Action Items

KULSS elections will be held in June.
* Sharon Riley expressed interest in running for the Group 1 representative. Keep thinking about who could take over as Chair.

General Meeting:
*The general meeting will also likely be scheduled for June. Julie will check the archives to verify past meetings were held at this time so we can schedule this year's meeting accordingly.
*Could use the north gallery in Spencer again.

End of Year Report:
*Half day conference: From Talking to Twooshing: Communication in Today's World. The half-day conferences aren't as well attended as the full-day conferences held during the same time frame over Spring Break. Need to consider holding the half-day conferences on a different day, maybe Monday afternoon or the previous Friday.
*Holiday Party: Had catered food instead of potluck. The food was good and offered selections beyond cookies & crackers. There were mixed opinions about the preference for catering vs potluck.
          **Some of the libraries, such as Music & Dance, held their own holiday parties. The timing of the party made it
             difficult for staff at Spencer to attend; it was a busy time for them. Bad weather also contributed to low
             attendance.
          **It might be a good idea to schedule next year's holiday party earlier in December (The 2009 party was held on
              December 11).
*Need to brainstorm what else to include in the report - review the minutes.
*Make a list of staff who have started working at the libraries to introduce at the general meeting.

Other Considerations:
*Inquiry about why there is no family day or bring your kids to work day in the libraries or at KU at all. Perhaps it's something to consider because it's promoted at other work environments.

2010 Staff Picnic:
*Meredith will send us Robert Szabo's email about selecting a date and reserving the park. Consider reserving Dad Perry Park again.

Group Reports

Group 1 (Kyle): Nothing to report

Group 2 (Adam):
*Cataloging held an end-of-year party for the student employees.
*There was a meeting with the AD regarding changes to RDA: Resource Description & Access cataloging rules.

Group 3 (Sheila):
*The ILL department had a party for their student employees.

Group 4 (Meredith):
*Graffiti was found in the lower level of Spencer Research Library. A work order has been submitted to remove it.
*Since Denise's retirement, Jo Nell Proctor has taken over handling supplies.

Committee Reports

Support Staff Senate:
*SenEx has begun setting charges for the Senate committee's work in the coming academic year. Hope to finalize the charges early next week so no University Senate business will need to be conducted until late August.
*USS Senate will not hold regular meetings over the summer but its Executive Committee will continue to meet monthly to work on the charges for its standing committees.
*The Senate will have a retreat of all senators and officers in mid-July.
*A mini wheat state tour for University Support Staff will occur sometime in the coming months.
*A task force has been formed to review the Code of the Senate.
*If there are any suggestions for the work of either Senate committee pass them along to Mary Ann Baker.

University Committee on Libraries: Nothing to report.

Planning & Resources Committee (PRC): Meeting is scheduled for next week. They're getting their end of year report together. Nothing to report at this time.

Mentoring Committee: Nothing to report.

Meeting Updates

Dean's Council (next: 5/21): Nothing to report.

Management Council (next: 5/19): Nothing to report.

Dean's KULSS (next: 6/1):
*Gave a brief report on the mini conference held in March. There was discussion about making the plans for the conferences known sooner and to send out the save the date reminders sooner.
             **No supervisors were reluctant to allow their staff to attend but they did not seem to know about the event.
             **We need to decide on a specific topic for the conference before sending out the save the date reminders
                  because people want to know the topic.
             **It would be nice to have more encouragement from supervisors. Mike Broadwell said to let him know and he
                 would pass the word along to encourage attendance.
*Decoupling: not much is known about the impact the decoupling will have on Support Staff and their day-to-day work. Lorraine will let us know more when she gets more information.
*The search for a systems specialist for Voyager is moving forward.
*Although staff shifting can be frustrating, it is sometimes unavoidable. There needs to be an understanding that staff need to be open to change and willing to develop core competencies.

Concerns to Bring up with the Dean:
* What happened to the proposal to have mini retreats with the Assistant Deans? There seemed to be a lot of interest in this when it was first proposed and there is a desire for more communication with the AD's.

Action Items for Next Meeting

Parking Lot
(Items to be aware of for the future, not necessarily discussed in current meeting)

*Grievance Committee Task Force / Action on hold

Next Meeting: May 27th, 10:30-12:00 at Watson 503b.