LFA Exec - Minutes - November 8, 2023

Minutes from the Library Faculty Assembly Executive Committee

 

November 8, 2023

Attending: Andi Back, Jon Giullian, Scott McEathron, Michael Peper, Sara Outhier (secretary), Cecilia Zhang

Absent: n/a

 

MEETING MINUTES

 

  • Approval of  minutes from October meeting.
  • Committee reports (LCPT, SLPTR).
    • Committees are doing their work, nothing new to report.
  • Report from Dean-LFA chairs meeting
    • Will expand meeting from 30min to 60min.
    • University Senate Libraries Commitee meets this week for the first time this year
    • Interest from the chair of the committee for making it easier for faculty to identify open journals for their publications that are free of article processing charges.
    • She plans to meet with faculty who are not in leadership and with students to get a better sense of the needs of those populations; this information will inform Libraries’ strategic planning; wants more input on strategic planning objectives from Libraries faculty and staff.
    • Dean Smith has not yet met with University Committee on Promotion and Tenure, but she will take two librarians from LCPT when she does.
    • She wants to get a better idea of service commitments of faculty and wants input from LFA, including questions to ask the faculty and suggestions for how data might be used.
    • Dean Smith is interested in faculty setting aside time for research and how can this be formalized so that it is protected from other duties; she recognized that some people may find it difficult to set time aside, and she wants to give faculty permission to prioritize research.
      • Perhaps use a different term than sabbatical because that is a specific term and requires a formal process.
      • This is a conversation to have with supervisors to set this expectation; there is a lot of variance in how supervisors and librarians allocate time and balance priorities.
      • Some faculty might struggle with setting aside time because they feel that they are falling behind on other responsibilities.
  • Planning fall assembly
    • LFSA
      • Dean Smith will talk about her philosophy on governance.
    • LFA
      • Dean Smith:
        • Faculty hiring plan, how will she approach this next year? How will she incorporate faculty feedback into the plan?
        • Her perspective on and expectations for promotion and tenure; she sets the tone for supervisors on this process, can make sure it is a consistent process and experience for supervisors, mentors, and faculty.
        • Address imbalance between assistant librarians and post-tenure librarians.
        • Importance of mentoring and support for assistant librarians.
        • Mid-career and post-tenure librarian experience, support and time for research.
        • Strategic planning.
      • Allowing 30min for new business including the LIS PhD conversation.
        • Josh Bollick will send out email prior to the assemblies detailing his perspective and the proposed language for a future ballot.
          • Will likely be a vote to put the change on the ballot.
            • Can set up a poll in Zoom, will make it so members can only vote once.
            • Andi will count votes in the room,
              • Michael will verify the number required for quorum.
  • New business
    • None at this time, but will have more after assemblies.
    • Next meeting is December 13.