Members Present: Carol Turner, Carol Drum, Alice Primack, Jan Swanbeck, David Hickey, Rich Bennett, Gary Cornwell, John Ingram, Colleen Seale, Richard Phillips, David Fuller, HelenJane Armstrong, Ann Lindell (for Ed Teague), Pam Cenzer

Members Absent:  LeiLani Freund, Jana Ronan, Suzanne Brown, Robert Singerman, Robena Cornwell

Guest: Carl Van Ness

1) Announcements

•  John Ingram announced that the national vice president for the National Underground Railroad Center is in town to find out if this area would support for the development of the center.
• Richard Phillips reported that Latin American Collection became its own circulation unit on Tuesday. He also said there was an exhibit of Andean folk instruments set up in LAC.
• HelenJane Armstrong said that part of the Black History month exhibit is still on display in the Maps area.  She also mentioned that all Florida street, city and county roadmaps are now available on LUIS. The cataloging department has gone to a lot of effort to catalog these items so they could have records online.
• Carol Drum reported that the lighting fixtures for the first floor are supposed to arrive on Friday and should take three to four weeks to install. A portion of Maps will be inaccessible for a day or two periodically during this period.
• Alice Primack announced that the mid-term orientations began today.
• Gary Cornwell reported that Peter McKay attended a UCET class on “Teacher as Actor.” It was very good, and the instructor will be presenting the class to the H&SSS staff March 3.
• Jan Swanbeck announced that Joe Aufmuth has been hired for the GIS position. They are in the process of negotiating a start date.


2) LAC Interlibrary Loan Measurement

Richard Phillips discussed a study of the Latin American Collection’s ILL collecting patterns and processing.  They are now beginning a study on the patterns of loss in ILL—books that are borrowed through ILL but are never returned.
David Fuller said they are looking at the tracking process, such as whom the item is being sent to and is it being returned on time. They will look at how to get the materials back or how to get reimbursement for lost items. He said when something doesn’t come back on time the institution that borrowed them is contacted and given a 30-day grace period. If the item still isn’t returned, then a bill is produced so that the item may be replaced with the same edition.

3) Interactive Reference Service

Colleen Seale demonstrated the reference chat service. Software is still being evaluated, but reference would like to go forward with a pilot program. They are looking at offering from 9-11 am and 9-11 pm every day. Volunteers are being sought to staff it. Colleen estimated that it would take about an hour of training and practice to become proficient with the chat program.

4) Library Instruction Update

Alice Primack reported that apples were given to the people who taught orientation classes or led tours. She said 766 sessions were held with 13,500 people being reached. This is the equivalent of 15 three-credit courses. She also said that Preview would now include the library in its program.

5) Web Page Focus Groups

Ann Lindell said that three focus groups are planned to get feedback on the library’s web site. One group is made up of undergrads and the other two will have grad students and faculty. There will be 15-20 people in each group and Trudi DiTrolio will facilitate the meetings.

6) Web Page Update

Rich Bennett demonstrated the new frame approach to the library’s home page. The Database Locator can be in the left frame. When the name of the database is typed in, the corresponding page displays on the right frame. The left frame can then be moved, allowing the results to appear on the full screen. He believes this will make moving around the Database Locator easier.

7) House Rules

A discussion was held about various house rules and if it would be useful to have rules posted in the library. It was generally felt that having rules posted would make it easier for circulation staff to enforce the rules.  Other issues included whether staff would really enforce the rules. Among rules discussed were no eating and drinking in the library; requiring that cell phones be turned off; and banning the use of in-line skates, skateboards or bikes inside the library.