A meeting was held on the 1st July with Peter Molony, Facilities Management, and Nick Courtney, University Architect, Gail Pattie, Heather Jenks and Dawn McMillan to discuss the feasibility of merging the Physical Sciences Library bookstock (PSL) into the Engineering Library at the end of this year. In the original plans, for the PSL bookstock to fit into the existing Engineering Library an area, known as “The Cave” and the small room opposite it needed to be utilised as shelving areas. A further meeting is planned for Tuesday 14 July to discuss the space options. The final decision on where PSL will be relocated to is dependant on this discussion.

Weekly meetings of library staff responsible for managing this project will be held, starting on Monday 13th July, with Gail Pattie, Heather Jenks, Dawn McMillan and Theresa Graham attending.

Regular meetings between the Library and the Tertiary Education Union (TEU) will begin next week. Gail Pattie, Heather Jenks, Dawn McMillan and Chantel Inch will meet with Union representatives to ensure that TEU is aware of each stage of the proposed merger.

On Friday 10th July, Gail Pattie, Heather Jenks, Dawn McMillan and Chantel Inch met to discuss a communication strategy for the process to ensure that all stakeholders are communicated with on a regular basis and kept up-to-date with progress made.

Heather Jenks

2010 Operational Budget process

The Library is currently working through the budget process for 2010, as are other Service Units within the University. The Library Leadership Team (LLT), with input from the Branch Leadership Team (BLT), are considering a variety of strategies and options to be applied in 2010 in order for the Library to meet the opertional budget bottomline. LLT is presently working with the Management Accountant on the provisional 2010 Operational Budget. This budget must be submitted to Senior Management Team by 25th June. There are further processes that will take place after this date and the budget will then be finalised at the end of October. All Service Units have been informed by the Finance Director that their budgets are expected to decrease by 5% in 2010.

There will be another combined meeting of LLT and BLT on Thursday next week to further discuss the Library budget submission.

Heather Jenks
Acting University Librarian

On Tuesday 28th April, the project team members who created the Nga Awa e Rua document, the strategic Bicultural Plan, met with Gail Pattie and Heather Jenks to formally hand over the document to the Univeristy Librarian. This meeting marked the end of the formal project in which Dawn McMillan, Jill Durney, ArianaTikao, Nekerangi Paul and Caroline Syddall participated and they were thanked by Gail for their outstanding contributions to the plan and for their presentations to Library staff.

This important document will be used now and in the future by individuals and departments when undertaking the Library strategic planning process and will provide a framework for staff to relate the Library’s goals and objectives through Nga Awa e Rua.

Ma tini ma mano ka rapa te whai.

By many, by thousands, the work will be accomplished.*

*Bill Parker, Nga Whakatauki, Maori Proverbs and Sayings, Te Ao Hau, No. 54 (March 1966), http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/teaohou/issue/Mao54TeA/c4.html

Heather

There was a good turn out of interested staff from Library Administration, Library IT and Information Services Librarians at meeting held to discuss how the front page for access to the Subject Guides was going to look when it is swapped over to the LibGuides software. Heather Jenks spoke briefly at the beginning of the meeting to focus the discussion on to this one area and then handed the discussion over to Grant Barrie and Catherine Jane from Library IT who have been working with Information Services staff to create a mock-up of the essential and desired elements for the page.

There followed a lively and informative discussion with input from all present. Agreement was reached on the following:

Subject guides are defined as having being listed on the University website courses, subjects and qualifications A-Z list
http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/subjects/

Topic guides can be created for subjects not listed in the above A-Z list and an access point can be created from a related Subject Guide/s.

For the Subject Guides homepage the agreement was reached on the following:

• The “Email alerts” box will be displayed on the right hand column.

• The “Featured Librarian” box will be displayed on the right hand column.

• The middle column will display an A-Z list of Subject Guides.

• The “Featured Guides” box will be displayed on the left hand side column. Moving the featured guides to this location has meant that the list on display is restricted. IT was agreed that this page needs to be refreshed on a weekly basis. The update will be carried out each Monday morning by Library IT staff. Information Services Librarians agreed that they would email Library IT staff if they wanted their subject guide to be displayed on a certain week. It is expected that there will be more requests received than there are spaces to display guides, and it was agreed that the email needs to contain an explanation to help Library IT prioritise which guides should be featured.

• The tag cloud will be displayed on the left hand side column.

• The “Browse by Subject” box which is part of the hard wired display design for pages that are accessed after the homepage is not able to have its heading changed. The six University Colleges (five Colleges and the School of Law) will be the access points in this box, and when the users clicks on one of the Colleges, all of the related guides will display.

There was a brief discussion on the Library block that is under development for use in LEARN (the learning management system formerly known as MOODLE), as direct links to the subject guides will be part of LEARN.

A Steering Group will be established to ensure that there is an infrastructure in place to oversee and maintain the continuing development of the LibGuide software.

Heather

A meeting to discuss the options for the front page to the Subjects Guides will be held on Tuesday 21st April from 2.00 p.m. to 3.00 p.m. in the 4th Floor Training Room in the Central Library. The new format for the Subject Guides is going live on the 27th April. While this meeting date and time will not suit everyone, it is important to have this discussion. If you are unable to attend the meeting and would like your thoughts and ideas shared please pass them onto those staff who are able to attend.

Heather

The minutes from the Branch Managers meetings, now called the Branch Leadership Team, will be available on the Library web page.

Watch for posts for the latest minutes on Counterculture.

Heather

A pair of glasses were found in the Level 3 toilets on Friday 31st January.
The glasses have bronze rims and have +1.00 written on one of the arms.
To claim the glasses please go to Carole at the reception desk on Level 3 of the James Hight Building.