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[August 30th, 2004]
Dear Colleagues,
As my term as LAUC President ends. I have prepared the following summary to help put the year in context as Terry Huwe takes over as our new president on September 1st.
The LAUC Executive Board found itself involved in a conference call or meeting nearly every month of the term. We had an excellent Board that worked together well, and an efficient Secretary in Barbara Schader who kept the minutes and other documents flowing.
To economize on travel funds, LAUC members are now able to make use of state-contracted airfares for LAUC statewide travel, which allowed some cost savings. We met our statewide LAUC budget this year, and were fortunate enough to avoid a mid-year budget cut.
Jennifer Reiswig (UCSD) was elected LAUC Vice-President/President-Elect, and Donald Barclay (UC Merced) will be Secretary. We also passed several bylaw revisions.
On the recommendation of Sam Dunlap, the UCSD divisional chair, LAUC requested that the CDL acquire a systemwide license for the Library Literature database and a statewide license was negotiated for campus funding.
LAUC Organizational Issues
A major goal this year was to help LAUC work in a more timely manner. LAUC’s more infrequent meeting structure is not in sync with the UL advisory structure and the ULs themselves. We experimented this year with nearly monthly Executive Board meetings, many by conference call. We found we could deal with issues much more quickly, and that we needed to charge LAUC committees in a different manner, with shorter-term charges. Committees could also be asked to generate “white papers” or “issue papers” (as opposed to reports with recommendations) for discussion outside the Assembly cycle.
At the Fall Assembly, it was awkward to have the new committee presenting the previous year’s final report. It was also obvious that it is not feasible for committees to complete substantive work over the summer. Gearing the Fall Assembly to programs that will invigorate the membership for the new academic year would be more effective. Committee reports that require Assembly action would be scheduled for the spring, although a program component would still be possible.
Only a relatively few LAUC members attend the LAUC Assembly. This spring we experimented with a webcast of the Spring Assembly program. It was an excellent program, with three outstanding speakers, and is available via the LAUC web site. My thanks to Kuei Chiu and Ken Furuta at UC Riverside for organizing the webcast, which was free to LAUC. We were a little bit tentative about this first webcast (hesitating to promote it too heavily until we were a bit more experienced), but we learned a great deal, and our goal is to share many more LAUC activities via new technologies.
Also, for the first time in many years, we scheduled an Executive Board meeting following the Assembly instead of before it. The Board consensus after Spring Assembly was that this was a very positive change. Because of our conference calls between Assemblies, we did not need to meet in preparation for the Assembly but could focus on follow-up issues.
Past President Esther Grassian was a great mentor, but we all agreed a LAUC procedural manual on the web would be a great help to future officers and chairs. Procedures for the Secretary and President are under development.
LAUC Position Papers
At the LAUC Fall Assembly in December 2003, we reviewed proposed revisions to LAUC Position Paper #1, Criteria for Appointment, Promotion and Advancement in the Librarian Series as proposed by the Position Paper Review Task Force (PPRTF). A wide range of opinions and suggestions for additional revisions was brought to the Assembly, and the Task Force’s requests for comments prior to the Assembly also showed no agreement. As a result, LAUC adopted a new concept for LAUC position papers. We elected not to revise Position Paper #1 given the lack of consensus among the divisions (even on the minor changes proposed). We adopted the concept that position papers reflect LAUC’s position at the time of adoption. Position papers offer policy guidance that the divisions can then incorporate in local procedures as desired. Rather than revise existing Position Papers, we would adopt new ones. The PPRTF was assigned to revise the definition and guidelines for position papers for discussion at the Spring 2004 Assembly. Relatively minor revisions to the draft paper generated a lively and extensive discussion. In order to follow up on suggested changes in organization of the document, the revised text was submitted to an e-mail vote of the Assembly, The adopted text is at http://www.ucop.edu/lauc/committees/ppr/positionpapers.html.
Heidi Hutchinson (UCR) is the new chair of the Position Paper Task Force (following Deborah Turner’s departure from UCSC to pursue graduate studies). Heidi and her team (Myrtis Cochran, UCB; Patricia Inouye, UCD; and Lucia Snowhill, UCSB) are reviewing Position Papers 2-5 and will recommend whether they should be reaffirmed, retired, or replaced. Their report is due October 1st so that it can be discussed at the Fall Assembly.
In the future, I can envision LAUC adopting position papers on a number of topics, such as privacy of library records, or the importance of information literacy. Position papers offer us another avenue besides resolutions to make a statement of a position that we can then share with other audiences.
Distinguished Step
In this LAUC year, the issue of the distinguished step was sidelined for a while as we looked at the concept of LAUC position papers.
Just as a reminder, the current LAUC position paper language relating to the distinguished step is the wording in Position Paper #1 approved at the Spring 2003 Assembly. At the Fall 2003 Assembly, we let the wording stand:
Advancement to the top of the Librarian rank should be predicated upon a career history of outstanding service. (http://www.ucop.edu/lauc/about/paper01.html).
Unresolved concerns about the criteria and the placement of the step remained among the membership, but within LAUC we seemed to be unable to come to consensus about what changes should be made. In March, I proposed creation of a LAUC/University Librarian group to work jointly on changes to the distinguished step. In declining such an endeavor at this time, University Librarian Group Chair Karen Butter noted that the current system, following the salary scale restructure, has only been in operation a few years, is a considerable improvement and appears to be working well. She also pointed out that the University Librarians themselves do not have a common perspective on the issue of criteria for the distinguished step, adding,
The University Librarians agreed that it is not possible nor desirable to develop a single set of such criteria that would address all of the potential issues associated with such advancement. The review system was designed to allow maximum flexibility for individual pathways to distinction. The University Librarians also noted that in as much as the academic review process is governed locally procedures for determining the distinguished step should also remain a local matter.
Given LAUC’s own lack of consensus and the UL response, the Executive Board agreed to postpone further discussion of the distinguished step until we can obtain some data on the effects of the salary restructure on the distribution of librarians. Myron Okada at the Office of the President provided data on the most recent three years by campus, rank and step, and will provide 2004 data when it is available. Because the UCOP data did not specifically indicate the number of distinguished librarians (due to changes in Step among existing Librarians V’s in the restructure), the Board is collecting data from individual campuses.
An interesting related development is the Report of the Professorial Step
System Task Force, charged by the UC Academic Council to review and make
recommendations on the "barrier" step for professors. See the full
report at:
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/senate/underreview/profstep_report.pdf
In addition to an “Above Scale” step at the top, the Professor
series has a barrier step at VI. The Task Force looked at the distribution
of faculty among the steps of the Professor rank, including distribution
by gender and ethnicity. The recommendation of the report was to eliminate
the special criteria for advancement to Step VI, although this has cost implications.
This report is under review by the Senate; initial comments from the
Academic Council are posted at
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/senate/reports/profstepsystemtf070804.pdf.
I thank Jennie Reiswig (UCSD), our newly elected LAUC Vice-President/President-Elect,
for forwarding information on the Professorial Step System report.
A joint working group on the distinguished step may not have been the right approach at this time; Terry and I look forward to identifying a mutually agreeable issue upon which we can collaborate with the University Librarians in the future.
Information Literacy
The LAUC President is now a consultant to the University Committee on Library
(UCOL), a practice that originated, I believe, in Esther Grassian’s
term. The UCOL members have been very cordial and enthusiastic about LAUC’s
issues. I attended UCOL’s meeting in San Diego in February, which included
a joint session with the University Librarians. (See my report at http://www.ucop.edu/lauc/ucolreport-2004.doc.
Because of the critical scholarly communication issues this year, little progress
has been achieved in promoting campus initiatives in the area of information
literacy via Academic Senate Library Committees. I hope that, in conjunction
with the HOPS Common Interest Group on Information Literacy, LAUC can help
foster more faculty awareness of the UCOL resolution from last June (http://www.ucop.edu/lauc/president/ucol-il-res.doc).
Research Grants
As LAUC announced by LAUC Vice President and Research and Professional Development
Chair Terry Huwe at the Spring Assembly May 13th, UCOP funded the following
grants for 2004. For a description of the projects, see the RPD report at
http://www.ucop.edu/lauc/committees/rpd/report-spring-2004.doc.
JAEYONG CHANG (UCB)
The Korean Diaspora: An Annotated Bibliography and Its Database, $4,346
LINCOLN CUSHING (UCB)
Database of American Labor Graphics, $4,682
SHEILA O’HARE (UCSC)
Legal Executions in California, 1851-2003, 7,500
DAVID OWEN (UCSF)
Consumer/Patient Information Resources for Phytotherapeutics, $7,077
ELIZABETH STEPHENSON and CHERYL BARTEL (UCLA)
Using Personal Digital Assistant Technology for Statistical Research in Health
Sciences $6,395
LAUC Awards
The LAUC Ad Hoc Awards Committee, chaired by Chuck Wilson (UCLA), surveyed opinion on a LAUC travel award and on a LAUC recognition award. The LAUC Executive Board agreed we could assign the selection of a recipient of a LAUC travel award to a subgroup of RPD or the Executive Board. The award will support the travel of a first-time attendee to the LAUC Assembly and Executive Board meeting.
The survey results on a LAUC recognition award were mixed, documenting interest, but lack of consensus on who should be recognized for what kind of LAUC service. This idea had originated with Esther Grassian, who noted the possible increase in resolutions for recognition of retiring LAUC members and wondered if we should formalize the process. The Board decided that the current system, whereby the Divisions initiate a resolution of recognition or commendation for adoption at an Assembly, has served us well and should be continued.
LAUC Web
In August, Elizabeth Dupuis (UCB), LAUC’s excellent Web Services Manager, completed her two-year term, to be replaced by Ilan Eyman, also from Berkeley. Beth and I had done preparation work for a LAUC web redesign. Although time did not allow for completion of the project this year, Ilan is already following up with Terry on a new look that will debut surprisingly soon.
UL Advisory Structure and LAUC Representatives
Earlier in the year, Gabriella Gray was appointed the LAUC Representative to the Library Technology Advisory Group (LTAG), replacing Colby Riggs. Sarah McDaniel was appointed as the first LAUC Representative to the Heads of Public Services Information Literacy Common Interest Group.
Starting in June, LAUC also began soliciting nominations, through the divisional chairs, for the three representatives positions opening up this year: Systemwide Operations and Planning Advisory Group (SOPAG), Collection Development Committee (CDC), and Heads of Public Services (HOPS) representatives. We very much thank the outgoing representatives—Tammy Dearie (SOPAG), Nancy Kushigian (CDC), and Catherine Soehner (HOPS)—for their excellent work in representing LAUC for the past three years. I would particularly like to thank Tammy Dearie for her outstanding level of commitment in actively participating in monthly SOPAG calls and meetings, and sharing agendas, minutes and perspectives with LAUC on a regular basis.
As a result of the nomination process, followed by voting among Executive Board members, I forwarded the following slates to Karen Butter, chair of the University Librarian’s Group:
Systemwide Operations and Planning Advisory Group (SOPAG)
Keri Botello (UCLA)
Patrick Dawson (UCSB)
Amy Kautzman (UCB)
Collection Development Committee (CDC) Representative
Sam Dunlap (UCSD),
Lise Snyder (UCLA)
Katalin Radics (UCLA)
Heads of Public Services (HOPS) Representative:
Kari Lucas (UCSD)
Marcia Meister (UCD)
In response to a request from Provost M.R.C, Greenwood, we are in the process of recruiting for a LAUC Representative for a new Shared Library Facilities Board, which replaces the SRLF and NRLF advisory boards.
Strategic Directions for Library and Scholarly Information
Strategic Directions for Library and Scholarly Information, a major planning document for the University of California Libraries, was released in June, 2004 (see http://libraries.universityofcalifornia.edu/planning/). It was prepared for the Systemwide Library and Scholarly Information Advisory Committee (SLASIAC) by the University Librarians and the Office of Systemwide Library Planning. I urge you to review this important document. Ann Jensen, LAUC’s representative to SLASIAC has been keeping us generally informed of developments related to the Strategic Directions report. Now that it is public, next year’s President Terry Huwe will task a LAUC body to consider the report.
In conclusion…
,,,let me introduce you to Terence (Terry) Huwe, our incoming LAUC President. Terry is the Director of Library and Information Resources at the Institute of Industrial Relations at UC Berkeley. He has a unique, “outsider” perspective on UC libraries. He is also a true scholar who is teeming with ideas for LAUC. Terry will be following up on many of the organizational changes discussed earlier in this report and has many new concepts to present. You have a great year in store for you!
Sincerely yours,
Linda Kennedy
LAUC President 2003/2004
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