LSA Exec - Annual Report - 2018-2019

Library Governance Committee Final Report

Fiscal Year: 2018 – 2019

Committee Name: Library Staff Assembly Executive Committee

Committee Chair: Emily Beran (2018-2019)

Members (with terms): Paul Thomas - Vice Chair/Chair-elect (2018-2020, replaced Marla Schleuder on LSA Exec after her departure from KU Libraries), Sunita Gandhi - Secretary (2018-2019), Meredith Huff (2018-2019), Mary Raple (2018- 2019, replaced Evan Washechek on LSA Exec after his departure from KU Libraries), Christen Caton (2018-2019, replaced Brian Moss on LSA Exec after his departure from the committee)

Standing Charges:

  • Ensures the orderly and effective operation of LSA
  • Is the first point of contact for any matters referred to the attention of LSA, save those which are specifically assigned to standing committees in the Code, and where appropriate, assigns such matters to standing or ad hoc committees
  • Brings governance issues concerning all faculty and staff to the LFSA Executive Committee
  • Designates a liaison to the Organizational Development Unit and an ex officio liaison to LFA to ensure communication and information sharing
  • Monitors KU governance issues that may affect LSA, including the Staff Senate and the University Senate Committee on Libraries
  • Takes no action contrary to the desires of the LSA

 

Standing Charges Progress/Accomplishment Summary:

  • Emily served as the ex officio liaison to LFA.
  • Evan served as liaison to Organizational Development until his departure.
  • Emily served as a KU Staff Senator.
  • We worked with the representatives to the University Senate Committee on Libraries and Dean Smith to gather information about the future plans for that committee.
  • We hosted the required General Assembly in November to update staff on pertinent information and upcoming events.

Special Charges:

  • Seek more effective ways to use bios and encourage voting
  • Continue to seek effective ways to explain the value of governance
  • Look at Staff Development Day logistics and who is involved in the planning moving forward
  • Consider the final report of the Communications Working Group by looking at their action items and implementing
  • Involvement related to special charges for Salaries and Benefits committee:
    • LSA should have strong representation as Salaries and Benefits carries out their special charges, as the conversation should consider staff salaries equally as it should consider faculty salaries
    • Suggest that Salaries and Benefits meetings be open to everyone and they are sent to KULIB-L so that anyone can attend and represent themselves
    • Better promotion of Salaries and Benefits committee meetings so they feel open to everyone

 

Special Charges Progress/Accomplishment Summary:

  • Due to a number of unexpected circumstances this year, most of our efforts needed to be directed to upholding the standing charges, preparing for Staff Development Day, and handling the multitude of other demands that came our way (all addressed in the ‘Other Activities or Accomplishments’ section. We do have a few updates:
  • We initially planned to move forward with Staff Development Day being organized entirely by the LSA exec committee. However, we received a great deal of help from the LFSA exec committee and OD due to the aforementioned unexpected circumstances.
  • After considering the Communications Working Group report, we determined that most of the action items were more in the realm of work assigned to the LFSA exec committee. The LFSA exec committee is looking into continuing that working group in some capacity.
  • The Salaries and Benefits committee’s special charge has continued to grow and evolve throughout the year. We have maintained a high level of involvement in the ongoing development. We also made sure that representation from the Salaries and Benefits committee had the opportunity to speak about their plans so that people could provide feedback.

Other Activities or Accomplishments:

  • We hosted Staff Development Day again and gathered information after its completion to better inform plans for next year.
  • We prepared a letter addressing concerns about the recent change to the tuition assistance policy and how it will impact KU Libraries staff members pursuing Library Science degrees.
  • We held a special election to replace Marla Schleuder upon her departure for KU Libraries. This election resulted in Paul Thomas’s selection as the new Vice-chair/Chair-elect for LSA. He served out the end of the Vice-chair portion of the term and will take over as Chair in July.
  • We put out a call for volunteers to replace Evan Washechek upon his departure from KU Libraries. Due to Evan’s departure, it also became necessary to replace Brian Moss as well. Christen Caton and Mary Raple volunteered and served out the end of Evan’s and Brian’s terms.

Potential Charges for Future Committees/Recommendations:

  • Continue to host Staff Development Day and explore the suggested programming, proposed scheduling modifications, and possible improvements
  • Maintain a high level of involvement in overseeing the special charge for the Salaries and Benefits committee to ensure that staff interests are receiving equal representation
  • Explore more effective ways to encourage and increase participation in KU Libraries’ governance and its events
    • Consider further utilization of bios during elections
    • Look into other ways to promote governance, its meetings, and its elections
    • Work with LFSA to explore the option to virtually participate in meetings via Zoom

Please review the Committee’s portion of the Library Governance website and the Code. Does it need updating/correcting?

Prepared by:

LSA Executive Committee