Attending: Katherine Arens, John Kolsti, Kenneth Ralls, George Sylvie; Desmond Lawler, Julia Mickenberg; Janine Henri, Peggy Mueller, Meghan Sitar; Linda Brown, Candace Chui, Melissa Diamantis, Farzin Dinyarian, Mary (Molly) Green, Noah Mass, Kimberly Skrobarcek; Fred Heath (ex officio); Jo Anne Hawkins, Damon Jaggars, Robert Foster (recording secretary)
Professor Desmond Lawler convened the initial meeting of the University of Texas Libraries Committee for 2005-2006 on Wednesday, September 7, 2005 at 3:30 P.M. in the Perry-Castaņeda Library 3.204 conference room.
After brief self-introductions by those present, the order of business turned to election of a chairperson for the fiscal year. Professors Arens and Ralls had offered to chair the committee; there were no other offers or nominations to chair.
Professors Arens and Ralls each spoke briefly about their prior experience on the committee, and the interests and concerns they had led them to offer to serve as chair.
Blank paper ballots were distributed, marked by those eligible to vote, and submitted to Professor Lawler for counting. Professor Ralls was selected by the balloting to serve as chair this year.
Professor Ralls noted that the Faculty Council has put a new rule in place that results in the election of a committee chair for the 2006-2007 fiscal year by the committee members in the spring of 2006.
Fred Heath, vice provost and director of the UT Libraries, gave a Powerpoint presentation to the committee on: the efforts of the library to increase faculty, student and staff input into its strategic planning processes; the development campaigning being shaped to supplement library funding; the efforts of the library administration to secure stable budgetary funding in the face of implacable materials inflation; the rearrangements to provide adequate study facilities (and coffee) for students on campus; and major current projects including UTopia and the Texas Digital Library.
Members of the committee were each asked to submit a weekly "can't meet" schedule by e-mail to the interim recording secretary so that the chair may determine likely times for the group to meet this semester.
The meeting was adjourned.
