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Present: A. Bahr (SU), R. Bradberry (BSU), J. Bush (ITD), D. Gillespie (FSU), B. Gontrum (UM Law, Chair), K. Heil (CES), K. Kelley (UMUC), S. LaBash (UB), J. Lee-Smeltzer (UMBC), C. Lowry (UMCP), D. Nolan (TU), J. Phillips (ITD), C. Rabinowitz (SMCM, Vice Chair), C. Ruschoff (ITD), D. Spicer (USM), J. Tenney (UMBC), M.J. Tooey (UM-HS/HSL), W. Tress (UBLL), L. Wrubel (ITD, recording)
Gontrum introduced Deborah Nolan, new library director at Towson University.
The minutes of the June 15th meeting were approved by acclamation.
Ruschoff reviewed the work of the task group, which in its final report is recommending options for outsourcing routine maintenance (estimated $12-15K). The full final report is available at http://www.lib.umd.edu/TSD/ACT/USMAI_Authorities_Task_Group_report.doc. The group was commended for its work and Gontrum will send a letter of thanks to each member.
Joyce Tenney presented the report (also sent via email) of the Portico Task Group. The task group recommends that USMAI participate in Portico as a consortium. After 5 years, libraries can consider whether they want to continue. Deadline for joining with a discount is November 1, 2006.
Motion made that:
The Portico report be accepted, the committee thanked for their work, and CLD invest the money from the consortial budget for the five-year period contingent on an affirmative review by the Executive Committee that it doesn't have a deleterious effect on other activities.
The motion carried.
LaBash asked if there was interest in an internal USMAI AskUs service. There was some discussion of current services at some institutions. To further USMAI understanding of the existing options, LaBash, Kelley, and Nolan volunteered to help plan a forum on virtual reference, with demonstrations from various services in USMAI, such as Towson and UM.
ITD has been working on a revised workplan and presenting it in an informative format. Bush demonstrated a draft of the workplan website, with descriptive and status information on each project. CLD provided feedback and requested additional other information to be included in the site. The work plan will be on the agenda at the campus contacts meeting on September 28th. The link will be sent out to campus contacts, and comments solicited from staff on campuses. Ruschoff thanked the ITD staff for their work on the site.
The Academic and Research Libraries Division (ARLD) of MLA, the state chapter of ACRL, would like to host a local reception at the ACRL conference in Baltimore in March. Lucy Holman (UB) presented a request for support from CLD. ARLD is approaching several groups for funding. CLD was reluctant to to fund the reception out of the USMAI budget and referred the issue to Exec for consideration.
Ruschoff and Betty Day attended the International Group of Ex Libris Users (IGELU) in Stockholm in early September. Total cost of ownership was one of the prominent issues at the conference. Ex Libris shared its guiding principles for continued improvement, focusing on how to make installations, upgrades, and workflows easier and simpler, applications more interoperable, and the interfaces more user-friendly. There were a number of product updates at the conference. Ruschoff shared enhancements coming in future versions on Aleph, MetaLib, SFX, and Verde. The ELUNA and IGELU steering committees met with Ex Libris and the committees agreed to work together to coordinate their separate enhancement requests. Future technical seminars will be conducted annually in North America and in Europe.
Tooey: HSHSL has been launching Maryland Go Live at locations across Maryland. Tooey provided bags with information on the project. Everyone is invited to the Go Local launches.
Spicer: BOR had a retreat last week. Spicer will distribute an issues paper discussed at the retreat.
Lowry: College Park is in the process of determining which journals to cut as part of serials review this year.
Bradberry: Theodosia Shields has accepted a position of dean of libraries at North Carolina Central and teaching in the library school starting Oct 1.
Rabinowitz: St. Mary's is in the process of approving a core curriculum including information literacy prominently. A group will be giving a presentation on library writing center operations at the Four-C's Conference. The presentation includes librarians from University of Rochester and UMCP.
LaBash: Univ. of Baltimore will start accepting freshmen in 2007, and all students will be required to take a tutorial on plagiarism. UB is creating "learning communities" with required information literacy components. UB has received money for substantial renovation of Langsdale Library.
Tooey: described letters some provosts have signed in support of the FRPA Act.
Bradberry: BSU welcomed its new president this Fall.
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