University Library Committee Minutes
December 4, 2002

Present: S. Bell, J. Langlois, D. Magidson, R. Mattingly, C. Poole
B. Lessin, L. Sutton, S. Yee, L. Johnston, guest

  1. Dean Yee welcomed the new and returning members of the University Library Committee. In the absence of Chair A.Goodman, Dean Yee facilitated the meeting. Minutes of the May 15, 2002 meeting were accepted as distributed. The Committee roster was circulated for corrections and additions. The meeting schedule for 2003 was tentatively set, awaiting confirmation from members not in attendance:
  1. Last year, with the help of L. Johnston from the Office of General Counsel, the Committee created language on a document offering faculty a suggested alternative copyright agreement with publishers. The question now before the Committee is how to promote this alternative with faculty. A recommendation was made for A. Goodman to take this document to the Academic Senate and AAUP-AFT as an informational item. Dean Yee offered to take the matter to the Association of College and Research Libraries for possible collaboration with the national office of the AAUP. Dean Yee will also put this matter before new faculty at each year’s New Faculty Orientation. Committee members pledged to raise this issue at college and department level faculty meetings.
  2. B. Lessin gave a brief presentation on the library’s experience with LibQUAL, a national library service quality assessment tool in which the library system participated last year. Library users were asked to assess expected and perceived quality of library services. Preliminary results were shared with the Committee and a more in-depth presentation will be given at the January meeting.
  3. Dean Yee reported on progress with the University Libraries Strategic Directions. Text will be finalized in December and presented at the Committee’s January meeting.The TEACH Act is an issue of concern to faculty. TEACH updates the distance education provisions of the Copyright Act to meet the challenges of the networked environment. A university-level Committee has been formed to address the implications for Wayne State University. B. Lessin and E. Marks, Director of the Shiffman Library, represent the University Libraries in this effort.
  4. The USA PATRIOT Act and its implications for libraries is the subject of a national teleconference, being hosted locally by the WSU Libraries on December 11. Libraries are concerned about loss of confidentiality of library records at the hands of government agencies.

Notes by: L. Sutton