LSA Exec - Annual Report - 2019-2020
Library Governance Committee Final Report
Fiscal Year: FY20
Committee Name: Library Staff Assembly Executive Committee
Committee Chair: Paul Thomas (2019-2020)
Members (with terms): Chris Bohling - Vice Chair/Chair-elect (2019-2021), Scott Cossel - Secretary (2019-2020), Rhonda Houser (2019-2020), Chris Banuelos (2019-2020), and Matt Torres (2019-2020)
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:
- Paul Thomas served as the ex officio liaison to LFA.
- Scott Cossel served as both chair of and liaison to the Committee on Research and Scholarly Activities (CRSA), and Lynn Ward served as a member
- Sunita Gandhi served as a member of the Nominating and Balloting (N&B) committee
- Sarah Chapman and Kristin Sederstrom served as members of the Committee on Code
- We hosted the required General Assembly in November to update staff on pertinent information and upcoming events; likewise, we attempted to host the Spring Staff Development Day, but circumstances beyond our control (see below) resulted in it being reorganized into a “Staff Development Month”
Special Charges:
- Collaborate with LFA to determine a more efficient way to share information via SharePoint (see below)
- 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
Special Charges Progress/Accomplishment Summary:
- Matt Torres was a member of the Library Faculty and Staff Assembly Web Taskforce, which investigated why the Library governance bodies had two websites and to a lesser degree why little had been updated on either platform in the last two years; the taskforce recommended a number of possible solutions to overcome these issues
- For a detailed summation of these proposals, see “Library Faculty and Staff Assembly Web Taskforce Final Report – 3/20/2020”
- LSA agrees to follow the ad hoc committee’s findings and use the web pages exclusively for future documents, except in cases where security requires something to be placed behind the SharePoint wall.
- Due to a number of unexpected circumstances this year, most of our efforts were directed to upholding the standing charges, preparing for Staff Development Day, and handling other demands that came our way (all addressed in the ‘Other Activities or Accomplishments’ section)
Other Activities or Accomplishments:
- Initially, we were planning to host Staff Development Day “in-house” (or rather, “in-library”) rather than at the Union to save money; however, due to the COVID pandemic, these plans were upended, and instead:
- Chris Bohling led the assembly in reorganizing Staff Development Day into Staff Development Month, with one to three online workshops held weekly via Zoom
- The aforementioned workshops covered ergonomics, MS Teams, password management tools, scholarly communications and copyright, Omeka, handmade maps, genealogy, self-care and strengths, mini-coaching, and a pet parade
- Given KU’s modified 2020–21 class schedule, LSA will need to decide if it should hold the 2021 Staff Development Day as normal, or if the assembly should once again organize a Staff Development Month
- Chris Bohling led the assembly in reorganizing Staff Development Day into Staff Development Month, with one to three online workshops held weekly via Zoom
Potential Charges for Future Committees/Recommendations:
- Continue to host Staff Development Day (or Month, if necessary) and explore the suggested programming, proposed scheduling modifications, and possible improvements
- Explore more effective ways to encourage and increase participation in KU Libraries’ governance and its events
- Look into other ways to promote governance, its meetings, and its elections
Prepared by:
LSA Executive Committee