The University of Kansas Libraries

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KULSS Executive Meeting
Thursday, May 27th, 10:30-12:00
Watson 503b

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 Executive Board Elections

• Discussed who is interested in serving on the Board for FY11. Results so far that may be included on the ballot are as follows:
  

Role	Potential Candidate
Chair	Jill Becker
Vice-Chair	Meredith Huff
Secretary	Kristin Zachrel
Group 1	To be determined
Group 2	Adam Reilly
Group 3	Julie Warrick
Group 4	Robert Szabo (checking to see if he would be interested in serving)

• An announcement needs to be made to all Library Support Staff for any interest in becoming a member of the Executive Board.
• Ballots will be sent via email, as has been done in previous elections. LFPA is about to start using a new web-based voting system, but we should wait until next year's election to try this voting method.
• There was a problem during last year's elections of group members voting for representatives outside of their group. We need to clarify to only vote for your group rep in the ballot. Kristin will revise instructions in the ballot to make this clear and include the membership list for easy identification of group membership. Previous ballots are saved on the G drive.
• We need to decide on a date for the elections before deciding on a date for the general meeting. Elections should be held before the end of the fiscal year. Aim for the week of June 14th through the 19th for the elections. Email ballots on June 14th.
• For next year's committee, we need to find someone who is on the University Committee on Libraries who can supply us with a committee report. Nancy Hawkins is on this committee and has been updating us on their meeting discussions, but she will not be on the committee next year.
  

General Meeting

• When: To be decided.
• Where: Spencer Research Library, North Gallery.
• What: Introduce new officers and present the year's accomplishments.
• What can we do to increase participation at the general meeting?
• We want to serve refreshments. If we have the meeting at Spencer we shouldn't need to have the food catered. We could purchase the refreshments instead of going through catering.
• Try to come up with a fun activity.
• FY10 Accomplishments
  • Met with John Stratton, University Senate President, to discuss the role of the Senate and their priorities and issues.
  • Possibility of cross training.
    
  • Implemented a wiki.
  • Staff picnic.
  • Spring mini-conference. Need better participation and involvement.

Membership Updates

• Remove the following names from the membership list: Kerry Chapman (Cataloging), Amber Newquist (Art & Architecture), Kara Luedke (Annex).
• Add Laura Kitzmiller to Group 2.
  

Group Reports

Group 1 (Kyle):

• Preservation has shifted their focus on projects in Spencer (ie. Gould Collection, Wilcox boxing project) now that the move of the Archive of Recorded Sound from Music to Anschutz is completed.
• Staff are very busy in the Administration department due to Denise Schwartz' retirement.
  

Group 2 (Adam):

• Laura Kitzmiller has been hired for the position of Library Assistant in Cataloging. She will start June 21, 2010.
  

Group 3 (Sheila):

• The ziz-zag stations in 3rd floor Watson are being taken down and moved to the other end of the 3rd floor.
• The computers in the main area on the 3rd floor of Watson are being moved to Anschutz. Watson will be acquiring new sign-in public-use computers.
  

Group 4 (Meredith):

• Interviews are starting next week for the positions of Head of Reader Services and Head of Cataloging in Spencer.
• Amber Newquist has resigned from the Art & Architecture library. A search has been announced to fill her position.
  

Committee Reports

Support Staff Senate: Nothing to report.

University Committee on Libraries: Nothing to report.

Planning & Resources Committee (PRC):

• PRC has been temporarily suspended pending approval from administration.
• The Day on the Job at KU event will be taken over by Human Resources.
  

Mentoring Committee: Nothing to report.

Meeting Updates

Dean's Council (next: ?): Nothing to report

Management Council (next: ?):

• 5/19/10 Management Council Notes available at http://www.lib.ku.edu/staff/docs/Notes/
• Channette Alexander proposed that KULSA host the all-staff picnic this year. KULSS & LFPA will be involved but won't be responsible for organizing it. For our part, we need to reserve 'Dad' Perry Park for September 17. Julie will contact Robert Szabo to reserve the park and pass along the reservation information to Channette.
• Discussed the decoupling.
• Discussed arrival of new provost. Dean Haricombe wants to ensure that the libraries are considered a partner with all of the university and that the libraries are considered at the forefront of research.
• Management Council retreats are scheduled for a half day on June 16th and July 14th. There will be no outside speakers. All the presenters will be in house. There will be a discussion of the future of research libraries. If anyone is interested in going let Lanis Atwood or Julie Warrick know.
• Since the retreats are scheduled just before and after the KULSS Executive Board elections it would be a good idea for both Julie Warrick (current chair) and Jill Becker (on the ballot for chair for FY11) to attend both retreats.
• Channette Alexander talked about KULSA and its history. Inquired if there was any interest in reinstating TGIF (biweekly or monthly library parties held at a staff member's house).
• Carmen Orth-Alfie and Angie Rathmel discussed the new Libraries Organizational & Staff Development Council (LOSDC).
  • LOSDC's specific charge, which derives from the operational plan, is 1) to promote & document staff development & training activities in the libraries and 2) to develop a program of organizational development activities.
  • They are setting out to define staff development on both an individual and professional level.
    
  • The organizational aspect of this committee refers to anything having to do with making the organization more responsive to change, such as management or figuring out programming.
  • They are trying to see what's out there in terms of staff development and support and to promote this development (such as encouraging attendance at the KULSS conference). Furthermore, they aim to document professional development to provide information about what it is and what's available. This will provide a step to becoming better stewards of available information.
  • The LOSDC would help demonstrate how to attain core competencies. They will be supporting organizational training by bringing in speakers and holding focus groups, for example.
    

Dean's KULSS (next: 6/1): Nothing to report.

Concerns to Bring up with the Dean:

• Inquire for update on proposed mini-retreats with the Assistant Deans.
• Any updates on the Grievance Committee Task Force? Do we need to elect someone for this? What is our role in this task force? It's been in our "parking lot" all year and for quite some time before that as well. Does this committee fall under LSS or HR? Does the Grievance Committee go to a higher authority, such as Ombuds, for grievances?
  

Action Items for Next Meeting

WHO?	BY WHEN?	WHAT?
Julie	Next Mtg	Email Robert Szabo to see if he's interested in running for the Group 4 rep
Kristin	Next Mtg	Update Ballot & submit to Exec Board for approval
Group Reps	Next Mtg	Send out email asking if there's any interest in running for a seat on the Executive Board
Julie	Next Mtg	Share email from Jill Becker from previous call for runners

 

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: June 10, 10:30-12:00 at Music & Dance.