| Report from the Chair | top |
The Board began its work this year by quickly filling all open LAUC committee assignments by early October. That in turned allowed the Committee on Research and Professional Development to begin their work a little earlier and the Chair-Elect/Peer Review Coordinator, Maureen Russell, to get her committee up and running in a timely manner. Maureen and I also made those revisions to the Call that were necessary and possible given the unsettled state of contract negotiations in the Fall. We will be working on a more significant revision in the coming months to get the Call into shape for the next review period.
At our very earliest meetings, the Board also focussed on identifying issues of concern to UCLA librarians, finding a means for initiating discussion of them amongst our colleagues, and better communicating these concerns to library and campus administration, thus reasserting and strengthening LAUC-LA's advisory role. The first step in this direction was to initiate Lunch with LAUC, a series of monthly, occasionally more frequent, brown-bag meetings designed to stimulate information sharing about and discussion of concerns/important issues. The first of these focussed on collecting LAUC input for the library's strategic planning retreat in Dec. In the course of that first meeting, though, it became clear that many librarians were concerned about our limited opportunities for ongoing, direct and regular communication with the University Librarian on various issues. The discussion at that first Lunch with LAUC meeting was the genesis of my joint charge to the Committee on Library Plans and Policies, chaired by Barbara Schaeder, and the Committee on Professional Governance, chaired by Ken Wade, to:
These two committees carried out this charge quickly, efficiently and thoughtfully. The Election Committee handled the vote on the proposed bylaws changes very expeditiously. I am pleased to report that the proposed bylaws changes passed and will be put in effect with the upcoming LAUC-LA election. The revised LAUC-LA Bylaws will be posted on the LAUC-LA website within the next few days.
While this process was being carried out, the Board went ahead and implemented the practice, (now codified in the revised bylaws,) of spending one hour of our monthly board meetings discussing issues of mutual interest with the University Librarian. Thus far we have discussed approaches for improving intra-library communication, staff/professional development needs, the library strategic plan, and the search for a new Director, Library Human Resources. As these discussions are part of our Executive Board meetings, they are open to all LUAC-LA members and members are encouraged to attend and take advantage of these opportunities for direct communication with our University Librarian.
With our Program Committee, chaired by Cathy Brown, to assist in making the arrangements, we have continued to hold regular Lunch with LAUC programs. Additional topics we have discussed include: the proposed bylaws changes to improve /increase communication between the University Librarian and LAUC; the charge of the CDL-Hosted Databases Transition Steering Committee, their plans, and how LAUC-LA members might actively participate in the transition process; members' thoughts on the possibility of revising LAUC Position Paper no. 1, and issues related to the criteria for distinguished status and the "barrier step;" and the "Collection Management Strategies in a Digital Environment" project, a UC-wide study which will be looking at the impact of relying on electronic journals while paper copies are stored in the RLF's. In addition to making the arrangements for this ongoing series, the Program Committee provided for a wonderful fall membership meeting/new librarian's reception and is busily working on the arrangements for the upcoming spring membership meeting.
In addition to working on the charge discussed above, the Plans and Policies committee also completed work on an earlier charge to address setting up a separate listserv for librarians that could be used for announcements and discussions not specifically related to LAUC, and to draft language for incorporation into the LAUC-LA bylaws that would define LAUCTALK-L, its purpose, who moderates it and how librarians are subscribed. Barbara Schader's mid-year report ably sums up the committee's work on this charge.
At the fall membership meeting, I reported that due to a decision to adhere more closely to its bylaws, the Senate Committee on Library was no longer including the LAUC-LA Chair and Past-Chair as members of the committee. Following the discussion at that membership meeting , I sent a letter to Don McCallum, the committee Chair, asking that the committee reconsider their decision regarding participation of the LAUC-LA Chair on the committee. Professor McCallum and I met for lunch and discussed the value of LAUC-LA participation. I was invited to attend the winter quarter meeting to make a case for the LAUC-LA Chair being granted permanent guest status in order to attend future meetings. I did so and was later notified that the committee agreed to this for the remainder of the year. This issue will be reviewed again next year. I expect to attend the committee's next meeting sometime in May (they only meet quarterly.)
As you have already seen by the list of candidates for next year's LAUC-LA Executive Board, (sent out via LAUCTALK-L last week,) this year's Nominating Committee, Renee McBride - Chair, Janet Carter and Hannah Walker, did a phenomenal job. Not only did they put together a great slate, they did so very quickly, collected all the necessary candidate information and had it to the Secretary a week early! Many thanks for a job well done.
I'd like to thank David Yamamoto for his great work in maintaining the LAUC-LA website and for his incredible responsiveness whenever I send him changes. I'd also like to acknowledge the work of all of our committees and representatives so far this year. Please take the time to read their mid-year reports so that you can appreciate their work as well. Finally, I'd like to thank the Executive Board for their assistance and support in implementing the changes discussed above.
| Committee on Diversity | top |
The Statewide LAUC Committee on Diversity has been inactive since September due to the fact that the Chair-elect, Kathy Blackmer-Reyes of UCSC, left the UC system. We just elected the new Chair, Pauline Manaka of UCI, and Cathy Palmer will make the appointment official soon. In the meantime the Committee has been arranging a conference call (as early as next week) to orient the new members what has been done last year and discuss the future issues.
Catherine Lee
LAUC-LA Representative, LAUC Diversity Committee
| Committee on Library Plans and Policies | top |
The LAUC-LA Plans & Policy Committee met on 12/8/2000 to discuss our 2 charges:
Charge #1: Setting up a separate listserv for librarians that could be used for announcements and discussions not specifically related to LAUC.
Charge #2: Draft language for incorporation into the LAUC-LA bylaws that defines LAUCTALK-L, its purpose, who moderages it and how librarians are subscribed. To the extent appropriate, this should also indicate any topics that are specifically excluded from discussion on this list, e.g.collective bargaining issues.
CHARGE #1: After much discussion, committee members agreed that UCLA Libraries need only 2 listservs. One listserv would cover union issues for all librarians - the union has agreed to this so it is a moot point. Last year's Committee on Plans and Policy had suggested a 3rd committee to just cover professional issues, leaving LAUCTalk to cover LAUC issues only. However, LAUC is a professional organization. Therefore, the committee decided to send the suggestion to keep LAUCTalk available for ALL professionall issues to the membership for their comments.
This mailing to the LAUC membership went out December 21st with a response due by January 12th. There were only 3 responses. 1 was an agreement with the proposal, one asked for clarification and 1 was an aside comment. The committee took this to indicate that there was no disagreement with the proposal.
CHARGE #2: The committee felt that wording changes for the bylaws was the purview of the Governance Committee and suggested forwarding this charge to them.
In mid January 2000, LAUC-LA Chair, Lise Snyder, jointly charged the LAUC-LA Plans & Policy Committee and the Governance Committee to: "By mid-March at the latest...Prepare a proposal to restructure the membership of the LAUC-LA Executive Board to create a body better able to act in an advisory capacity to the University Librarian..."
This proposal was also a topic of discussion at the January 30th Lunch with LAUC. The joint committees met twice, developed the proposal, forwarded this to the LAUC Executive Board and then the proposal was forwarded to the Election Committee for a bylaws vote. We are still awaiting the March election results.
| LAUC Plans & Policy Committee Members: | Elaine Adams |
| Elaine Graham | |
| Barbara Schader | |
| Barbara Schader, chair |
| Committee on Programs | top |
Members of the 2000/2001 Committee on Programs are: Cathy Brown, Chair (College), Beth Feinberg (YRL Cataloging), and Joan Flintoff LoPear (YRL Cataloging). I wish to thank Beth and Joan who have been of immeasurable help this year, as well as yourself for all your assistance and guidance.
The Committee made arrangements for the LAUC-LA Fall Membership Meeting held on Thursday November 9, 2000, and hosted the Reception for New Librarians following the meeting. The traditional venue of the Faculty Center was not available due to the late discovery of a library-wide training session for all catalogers to be held on the original date scheduled. Thus, the meeting was held in the YRL West Media Classroom, and the Reception followed on the 2nd floor YRL patio. We ordered a large assortment of refreshments which was catered by ASUCLA. Eleven new librarians were introduced and over sixty librarians attended. A lot of physical set-up and coordinating work was involved compared to the Faculty Center.
As Chair, you instituted the "Lunch with LAUC" series which provided an informal setting in which to discuss important issues of interest to LAUC-LA membership. These were mostly held in the Schoenberg Building Green Room, which was arranged by Vice Chair Maureen Russell. Thank you to Maureen for her key assistance in setting up these meetings. Attendance averaged over twenty people, who brought their lunches. Later, in addition cookies were provided.
The following Lunches with LAUC were held:
In addition to preparing for this Membership Meeting, Program Committee members will soon be meeting to discuss several possibilities for programs this summer, including joint sponsorship of a program or workshop with RRISC.
| Committee on Professional Governance | top |
The members of the Committee on Professional Governance for 2000-2001 are Bob Bellanti, Patti Caravello, Eli Chammou, Ruby Gutierrez, and Ken Wade.
In late December 2000 the committee received a charge from LAUC-LA Chair to, working jointly with the Committee on Library Plans and Policies, prepare a proposal to change the LAUC-LA bylaws in such a way as to restructure the membership of the Executive Board, include time during Board meetings for discussions with the University Librarian, clarify the appropriate use of LAUCTALK-l, as well as make necessary housekeeping changes in bylaws language. The primary goal of the charge was to strengthen LAUC-LA's advisory role.
The two committees, Professional Governance and Library Plans and Policies, met to discuss the charge in January 2001, as well as in February. Discussions at two 'Lunch with LAUC' events on strengthening LAUC's advisory role, and on the charge itself, informed the committees' work. The committees' members decided existing bylaws language is sufficient to define appropriate use of LAUCTALK-l. The committees decided to propose altering the composition of the Executive Board to include, in addition to the officers, two elected representatives at large to serve on the Board and as representatives to the statewide LAUC Assembly, and the appointed chairs of three committees: Library Plans and Policies, Research and Professional Development, Professional Governance. Alternates to the statewide Assembly would be chosen from among the remaining Board members should the need arise. According to the proposal, the Chair-Elect would appoint the three committee chairs prior to the transitional meeting of the incoming and outgoing board. The combined committees thought it a good idea to include time at Executive Board meetings for discussions with the University Librarian.
The combined committees prepared proposed bylaws language to implement these changes, and to eliminate outdated or no longer necessary wording in a variety of bylaws sections. In early March the proposed changes were circulated to the membership via LAUCTALK-l for comment, and then sent to the Executive Board as specified in the LAUC-LA bylaws, for their determination as to whether or not to submit the proposed changes to a ratification vote. An election has taken place and the proposed changes have been approved.
The statewide LAUC Committee on Professional Governance has been charged to examine LAUC Position Paper 1. The UCLA representative to the statewide committee, Rhonda Lawrence, led discussions about the charge at a 'Lunch with LAUC' forum in early March, and has provided the local committee with a copy of the background documents used to inform the discussions of the statewide committee. The local committee will be monitoring developments on this matter.
Respectfully submitted,
Ken Wade
Chair, 2000-2001
| Nominating Committee | top |
| Members: | Renée McBride, Chair |
| Janet Carter | |
| Hannah Walker |
The Nominating Committee met during Spring 2001 and created a full slate of candidates for the 2001 LAUC-LA election: two candidates for Chair-Elect, two for Secretary, and nine for Representative-at-Large.
The Chair would like to thank her predecessor Mike Randall for passing on organized and very helpful files, the committee members for their hard work and good humor, and the candidates for their interest in participating in LAUC-LA.
Submitted by: Renée McBride
| Peer Review Committee | top |
In October 2000, the 2000/2001 Peer Review Committee was constituted. There were 35 members. In February 2001, at my request, two additional Librarian Vs (old scale) joined the 2000/2001 Peer Review Committee. With the possibility of 21 Librarian IV (old scale) actions, I wanted to make sure that there were a fair number of Librarian Vs (old scale) on the Committee to ensure fairness and confidentiality. This brought the grand total of the Peer Review Committee to 37 members.
On October 23rd and October 31st, we held the LAUC-LA Appointments and Peer Review Committee Orientations. Gloria Werner, University Librarian and Charles Batey, Director, Library Human Resources, attended one; Allison Bunting, Acting University Librarian, and Charles Batey, the other.
On Tuesday, December 5th, the annual orientation meeting for new Librarians was held in the YRL Administrative Conference Room (YRL 11348). At this meeting, Gloria Werner and Charles Batey spoke in greater detail about the Peer Review process.
The Peer Review Documentation Workshop was held on December 7th, in the YRL West Media Classroom (YRL 23167). Thanks to Esther Grassian, Chair, and the entire LAUC-LA Peer Review Documentation Workshop Committee, for this informative workshop. Further, with the approval of the LAUC-LA Executive Board, the Peer Review Documentation Workshop Committee mounted "Hints for the Review Initiator" on the LAUC-LA Web site:
Two forms within the Call were updated: the Academic Personnel Recommendation and the Documentation and Signature Checklist. The updated Call can be found on the web.
In March 2001, Charles Batey left UCLA, but Rita Scherrei, Associate University Librarian for Personnel, returned on a part-time basis.
Finally, I am pleased to report that this year's Peer Review Committee has thus far completed 23 actions and four appointments.
Respectfully submitted by,
Maureen Russell
Peer Review Coordinator 2000/2001
| Peer Review Documentation Workshop Committee | top |
Following is the Mid-Year Report of the LAUC-LA Peer Review Documentation Workshop Committee. Many thanks to Committee members, Marsha Kmec and Caroline Miller for their hard work to help meet the Committee's charge in a timely fashion, i.e., to help LAUC-LA members understand the process and documentation required for Peer Review packets for merit increase and promotion actions.
Esther Grassian
| Research & Professional Development Committee | top |
The members of the LAUC-LA Research and Professional Development Committee are:
Adrienne Adan
Rita Costello
Audrey Jackson
Alice Kawakami
Michael Oppenheim, ex officio
Janice Matthiesen, Chair
The committee has met four times so far, both to review the documents sent out early in the year for R&PD funding and to review and analyze Statewide Research Grants. Updated documents were sent out on LAUCTALK for Research and Professional Development funding, Key Facts for Travelers, and the Library Quick Travel Form. These documents have also been posted on the LAUC-LA Webpage. The Committee decided on this year's allocation for professional development funding, with an additional amount added, after the new contract was approved. The total available for each librarian this year is $625.
The committee reviewed 6 Statewide Research Proposals this year, two of which were from UCLA. Suggestions for revisions were sent on to the Statewide Committee; final results of their deliberations will be announced at the Statewide Spring Assembly.
A CALL for LAUC-LA Minigrant Proposals was sent out on January 30, 2001; the deadline for submissions was March 15, 2001. The committee will be meeting again shortly to make decisions about these proposals; the names of the recipients will be announced on LAUCTALK.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Matthiesen, Chair
Adrienne Adan
Rita Costello
Audrey Jackson
Alice Kawakami
Michael Oppenheim, ex officio
| LAUC-LA Representative to the LAUC Statewide Professional Governance Committee | top |
From: Rhonda K. Lawrence, LAUC-LA Representative to the LAUC Statewide Professional Governance Committee
Members of the Committee: Barb Lucas (Chair 2000-02), UC Irvine; Ginny Irving, UC Berkeley; Raphaela Castro UC Davis; Rhonda Lawrence, UCLA; Kuei Chiu, UC Riverside; Jennifer Reiswig, UC San Diego; Keir Reavie, UCSF; Cathy Chiu, UC Santa Barbara; Sue Chesley, UC Santa Cruz
The Statewide Professional Governance Committee has accomplished the following activities since we were first constituted with our present membership in October 2000.
Received from LAUC President Cathy Palmer the following charges:
Advise the President and the Executive Board on issues concerning APM revisions that affect librarians' peer review, and other professional governance issues not covered by the other standing committees.
Serve as a review body for Divisions who may request evaluation of local peer review procedures
Create and maintain a manual which contains among other items, a definition of terms used in the peer review process; a model call for personnel actions; and explications of criteria for review in APM 210-4e(3)(a)-(d); categories to be included in the Biographical-bibliographical Form; guidelines for preparing confidential summaries; and guidelines for types of documents required for merit reviews and promotions. The appropriate LAUC position papers shall be incorporated into this manual
Address other subjects at the request of the President and consider and develop recommendations on matters of librarian professional governance.
New Charge: to review LAUC Position Paper 1, Criteria for Appointment or Promotion to the Ranks of Associate Librarian and Librarian and Advancement to Librarian Step V in light of the discussions that have occurred at the 1998 LAUC Fall Assembly led by Kari Lucas and the 2000 LAUC Spring Assembly led by Patsy Inouye about the criteria for achieving the Distinguished Librarian designation.
On February 13th I informed the LAUC-LA Chair and the LAUC-LA Committee on Professional Governance re: our statewide charge to review LAUC Position Paper number 1, and solicited their input. See the paper at: http://www.ucop.edu/lauc/paper01.html
Via e-mail announcements, I informed the LAUC-LA membership about the statewide charge to review LAUC Position Paper number 1, and solicited their input.via a poll sent to members on March 2nd.
Poll results: Thirty-nine LAUC -LA members responded to the online poll. The questions and responses are shown here.
Do you agree that "excellent and significant accomplishments in Criterion 1 can be the basis for earning the designation of Distinguished?"
| 22 | yes |
| 14 | no |
| 3 | unsure |
Should there be a more detailed explanation of criteria for the Distinguished step than what appears in our current documents?
| 28 | yes (see below) |
| 8 | no, fine as it is |
| 3 | unsure |
If you answered "yes," would you prefer this explanation to be...
| 15 | in a LAUC statewide position paper |
| 3 | in a LAUC-LA local position paper |
| 8 | in the UCLA Academic Personnel documents |
| 10 | a statement from our UL |
Do you believe LAUC should explore options for "Distinguished" status beyond the current tie to the Librarian V-VI step? (NB: since length of time at each step is covered by the M.O.U., LAUC cannot "negotiate" on the placement of the hurdle step. However, the decoupling of "hurdle" and "distinguished" concepts has been proposed as one possibility.)
| 14 | yes |
| 10 | no, fine as it is |
| 13 | unsure |
On March 6 I met with LAUC-LA members for a brown bag lunch discussion on LAUC Position Paper number 1, the definition of the distinguished step, and criterion 1 activities. Members made suggestions about how language of the paper could be changed, which I took to the Statewide meeting.
I attended an all day Statewide meeting in Oakland on Monday, March 12th, to discuss the Committee charges, with particular emphasis on LAUC Position Paper no. 1.
At our meeting on March 12th, the Statewide Committee decided on the following actions.
SHORT TERM
Lucas will send out a draft revision to Position Paper 1 with possibility of action as early as Spring Assembly 2001. If not ready to vote at Spring Assembly, at least report on intention.
Palmer will draft a reply to Allan Dyson's letter outlining resources the ULs could provide to overcome the barriers to full participation in Criteria 2-4.
To fulfill our charge to create a peer review manual, we will develop a Web site to point to core documents and campus documents. The Web site can be developed locally at a campus, and then moved to LAUC server for hosting and maintenance. Volunteer: Sue Chesley
LONGER TERM: (summer 2001)
The Committee will prepare a series of scenarios representing different ways of handling the distinguished concept within the librarian series, to be presented as a poll of LAUC members. The goal is to determine if there is a preferred approach among LAUC members. If so, this could be communicated to UC-AFT for possible future negotiation. A separate position paper on "distinguished" criteria may be needed as well.
The Committee plans to meet again this summer to review our progress on short term and longer term goals.