University Library Committee
Minutes
February 22, 2000

Present:

Stephen Baehr, Arts and Sciences, Chair
Eileen Hitchingham, Library
Ansar Ahmed, Veterinary Medicine
Paul Colley, Staff Senate
Raymond Plaut, Engineering
Jay Stipes, Agriculture and Life Sciences
Linda Richardson, Library (guest)
Nicole Auer, Library (guest)
Paul Metz, Library (guest)

Absent: Tim Copeland, GSA, Richard Helm, National Resources, Mark Schneider, Art and Architecture, George Graham, Human Resources and Education, Deborah Mayo, Faculty Senate, Doug Patterson, Business

Paul Metz, Principal Bibliographer, was present to report on the Library Faculty Serials Assessment Project (see attachment, PowerPoint slides in PDF format) and to discuss the possibility of another serials cancellation in fiscal '02. He noted that the Serials Assessment Project came out of the recommendations of the Library Serials Committee established by Erv Blythe in the Fall 1997. In addition to the endorsement to move toward digitized, remotely accessible kinds of resources, the committee recommended that the Libraries work with faculty to redefine from a zero base the publications they find critical for research and teaching, and to develop the cost base associated with supporting these contemporary needs.

P. Metz noted, in background, that the static budget and 11% yearly serials cost inflation have resulted in increasingly frequent rounds of cancellation, now cumulating up to 4790 titles in this decade. While all institutions are cancelling serials they are not cancelling as frequently as Virginia Tech or as deep.

Over 400 faculty participated in the Library Faculty Serials Assessment Project, an online survey. They cast over 9,000 votes scattered across 4100 serials titles. This data combined with citations, publishing and circulation patterns served to produce a list of 4,563 titles at a price of $3,588,000.

The Libraries asked for 2.1 million as part of new funding this year. The total amount for academic needs that will come to the University is not yet known. Paul estimates that a million dollars to the base is needed to prevent a massive serials cancellation in fiscal '02.

Linda Richardson, member of the Commission on Research, noted that this presentation would be of interest to the COR. S. Baehr will make an inquiry and get back to P. Metz.

During the last meeting the question was raised as to what the committee could do with the legislative process regarding library budget issues. E. Hitchingham had consulted with Ralph Byers; he indicated that the key legislators who will make these decisions are not local and are not likely to be influenced by calls or letters from Blacksburg. Hence, a letter campaign at present was not considered appropriate.

E. Hitchingham noted that the Athletic Department made a gift of $250,000 to the library from its Sugar Bowl earnings. This is a very welcome gift that she would like to see used to purchase something that would benefit all library users.

In follow-up to the question regarding the library policy of restricting placement of coursepacks on reserve:

E. Hitchingham noted that the library's practices were reviewed by the university lawyers and reflect reluctance to get involved in possible copyright infringement. Copyright was discussed and was considered to be a complex and murky issue. The specifics of coursepacks will be reviewed by the University Counsel.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:10 p.m. The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 25. NOTE: There will not be a meeting in March.