LFA Exec - Minutes - August 13, 2025

LFA Executive Committee Meeting 
August 13, 2025

2:00-3:00 PM

Attending: Josh Bolick (Chair), Elspeth Healey (Vice Chair), Amanda Schlumpberger (Secretary), Scott McEathron, Angie Rathmel

Absent: Samantha Bishop Simmons

Minutes:

Welcome
Approve minutes from 7/9 LFA Exec Meeting [link]
- Elspeth motioned to approve, Scott seconded, motion carried
Housekeeping:
- Committee memberships on LFSA site
  - All membership approved and updated. Should be updated on the site soon
- Confirm meeting schedule (9/17, 10/22, 11/18, 12/16, 1/14, 2/17, 3/12, 4/14, 5/19, 6/17)
  - All should accept or decline so we can determine if there is a quorum or if need to reschedule any.
- Need to identify date of Fall Assembly in coordination with LFSA, LSA, and Dean/Leadership Team availability
  - Brooke is reviewing Dean/Leadership Team calendars
  - Send save the date to KU Lib-L, with calendar invite ideally, when available
  - Agenda for Fall Assembly to be developed in Sept/Oct
- Review of FY25 Annual Reports, action items
  - Josh looked at Annual Reports and looked at action items to ensure they don’t get lost. These are what he found:
  - LFA Exec [link]
    - Charge an ad hoc committee to revisit past mentoring guidelines and university guidance, consider the needs of pre-tenure faculty, and provide more formalized guidance for library faculty mentors, in order to establish more consistency in mentoring junior colleagues.
      - Suggestion is to wait until current ad hoc committee work is completed – All in meeting agreed
    - Other recommendations already intended (complete ad hoc for PT Criteria, eval improvements including to form, review annual reports for actions) – these are all underway already
  - LCPT [link]
    - LCPT recommends the addition of a new standing charge: “When requested by the Dean of Libraries, review new-hire faculty files to determine if awarding tenure and/or elevated rank is appropriate.”
      - To be explored during Fall Assembly –This is where the code is updated so this will be brought up
    - LCPT suggests regular updates between Ad Hoc Committee for Review of PT Criteria and LCPT
      - Elspeth is the liaison to LCPT and is on the ad hoc committee, so that is a sensible connection
    - LCPT work will be more complicated in the near future due to the increased number of files and limits on who can serve on LCPT (due to retirements, mentor/supervisor relationships, sabbaticals, etc.). “LFA should explore reducing SLPTR membership total, and/or evaluating the need for full librarians, and/or other actions to increase the pool of eligible librarians available for LCPT membership effective FY27.”
      - Two suggestions here: 1) reduce SLPTR membership by one; and/or 2) one less full librarian required.
      - It is possible to do the work with this rec.
      - Would it be possible to do it with 2 full librarians?
        It is unclear how we got to needing 3 full.
        We have looked in other departments and all faculty review files.
        Josh is planning to ask the Office of Faculty Affairs what their policies are
      - Any changes would have to go through the full body—this is an item for the fall assembly [Action item]
      - The question of if it matters the type of file: all vote, so it doesn’t really matter what type of file is up for vote/review
  - SLPTR [link]
    - Erin Wolfe will be going on Sabbatical Leave beginning January 2026 so will be unable to participate/vote.
    - Also, Tami Albin will be up for Post Tenure Review in Spring 2026 so will be unable to serve/vote for that process. The minimum number of members needed to vote on a PTR case is three (Article II. LFA line 326).
    - Potential of holding special election in anticipation of Erin’s Spring 26 sabbatical; notify Nominating and Balloting
    - Discussion:
    - it is possible to vote with just 3 members. They are aware of this possibility.
    - Does Nominating and Ballot need to hold a special election? Consensus is to check with the committee to see if they want to hold an election or not. Scott is liaison and will get their input [Action item]
Liaison reports:
- LCPT (Elspeth):
  - Jill is chair and Michiko is secretary
  - Reached out to them to convene and they already have met.
  - They are not planning on meeting again until October unless any special charges come up
  - They are on task and preparing for their fall work
  - Elspeth will update them and no additional charges to assign at this time
- SLPTR (Scott):
  - See above for some updates
  - Carmen is secretary; Co-chairs will be Carmen and Sara Morris
  - No update on if anyone has submitted an application at this time
- Ad Hoc Committee for Review of PT Criteria (Elspeth):
  - Committee has done their initial review of allocated criteria
  - Brian (chair) has assigned subgroups for the 4 tasks that are part of their charge
  - September is next meeting
  - Hope is to present initial findings at Fall Assembly
  - There may have to be a special meeting at some point
- University Senate Library Committee (Josh):
  - Hasn’t met or communicated yet
  - Casey Franklin will continue as chair this year
  - They are working on getting the roster corrected at this time
  - Priorities from Carol that she hopes will be considered by the Senate Library Committee: budget issues and space
- LSA (Josh):
  - Jack has resigned as chair elect effective immediately
  - Staff Assembly will task N&B committee with a special election as soon as possible
- UAKU (Scott):
  - No news outside of the updates they have sent out
  - Scott attended the last bargaining session on compensation, but no movement has been made as UAKU hoped
  - Librarians interested are encouraged to attend
  - 27th of August UAKU is planning a rally on Wescoe Beach
  - Bring up having a liaison at Fall Assembly [action item]
Report on LFA Chair and Vice Chair/Chair Elect meeting 8/11/25 meeting with Dean (Josh and Elspeth)
- Josh asked LFA reviews the document on supervisor roles when he gets them [action item]
- Carol’s ideas for University Library committee:
  - Impact of budget cuts
  - Facility impacts with cuts and shifting from prevention to response
  - Libraries are critical infrastructure for research at KU and it has been unfunded for years, and the impact that water incidents have had on resources
- Budget cuts: Carol has new numbers and leadership team has been talking about them and she welcomes a conversation with faculty; the timeline to provide input might be short when that conversation happens. First priority is people, second is talent development, followed by space. There is an anticipated conversation about what we will need to stop doing in the future as well.
  - Merit raises: we requested clarification on this topic. We got some clarification, but we are still waiting for more info.
  - Leadership is committed to leading by example too.
- Josh will continue to ask for topics to take to those meetings
Updates to priorities for FY26
- Eval reform (Josh)
  - Waiting on Mike’s set up, then will come to LFA for comment, and eventually will get full body input
- Ad Hoc PT Guidelines (placeholder; update provided in liaison reports above)
  - No updates at this time
- Service Audit:
  - Discussion with Carol: to-be-hired assessment position will review
  - Will take the service audit done and see what the assessment position can do with
  - LFA would review and comment on results after assessment position does work on it
Any other business?
- Member noted that the LFSA Salaries and Benefits Committee (on hiatus) will be irrelevant to LFA due to UAKU; recommend to LFSA/LSA that it become an LSA committee if continued; consider dissolution if it’s to remain inactive
  - Staff Assembly will have a conversation about dissolving or changing to a staff committee, because it is moot to faculty now because of UAKU
  - Unsure when the last time this committee was active. It appears to have been FY 22 or FY 21 based on documentation Angie found.
- Plan to formalize UAKU liaison to LFA Exec at Fall Assembly via motion
LFA held discussion about pushing for transparency in the KU budget to fully understand and comment on it

Motion to adjourn (Josh), Seconded (Angie), carried. Meeting ended at 3:03pm