August Library Office Notes


ANNOUNCEMENTS

FACILITIES

HR NEWS

EVENTS AND TRAINING



ANNOUNCEMENTS: University Librarian Note
As many of you are aware, we received the external review report in mid-July. You can read the full report here.

This report is a critical step in the Academic Program Review, a process coordinated by the Provost’s office. This process is intended to help academic units examine their strengths, deficiencies, and strategic goals. The two main components of this review include a self-study and external peer review, and these are complemented by regular reporting and discussion with the Provost.

This is the first year the Library participated. Read more…
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Library Building Project Update – 8/1/2022
Tom Teper, Associate University Librarian for Collections and Technical Services | Project Manager, Library Building Project

Project Meetings and Updates for July 2022

During the month of July, representatives from the University Library, University Administration, and Facilities and Services met on several occasions to discuss elements of the project:

  • July 7th and 8th – Design Development (DD) Review Meeting – Following the June 9th submission of a final draft of the project’s design development, library and campus personnel compiled comments and suggested edits to the 600+ page submittal. These comments were reviewed during a two-day long meeting held on July 7th and 8th, 2022.
  • On July 19th – FFE Review – the project team met with the firm’s interior design team to conduct a preliminary review of furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FFE).
  • On July 25th – Demolition Planning – Library personnel and F&S met to discuss the planned beginning of demolition on the Undergraduate Library. Presently, plans are under development to have construction fencing installed in mid-August 2022 with interior demolition work to being in September.
  • July 26th – Budget Review – A/E, F&S, Capital Projects, and Library personnel met with project estimator to review current status of library project budget and projections in advance of bidding period.

Project-Related Meetings Scheduled for August 2022 (as of 7/29/2022)

The following meetings include both scheduled project meetings (with project designation of U20118) as well as additional meetings that involve select representatives of the A/E, F&S, and University Library.

  • August 4th: Lightning Protection – A/E and campus personnel to review lightning protection for facility.
  • August 15th: Generator Location and Refueling – A/E and campus personnel to review generator location and refueling procedures for facility.
  • August 16th: FFE Samples Discussion – Internal meeting with project team to discuss initial FFE samples.
  • August 17th: Public Safety Review – A/E and Campus personnel to review public safety in building.
  • August 22nd: Lighting Impact on Morrow Plots/Observatory – A/E meeting with Library personnel, F&S, Capital Programs, College of ACES, and Observatory representatives.

Other Activities

Personnel within the Library continue to meet on a bi-weekly basis to touch base on progress, and members of the Library’s Administration continue meeting with Capital Programs project team on a weekly basis to check on progress associated with this project. 

Efforts to barcode and improve inventory management continue. The Special Collections Division is continuing work related to their opening exhibit.

Proposed Project Schedule

As the project progresses, the schedule becomes increasingly more detailed and accurate going forward. At present, the schedule below outlines dates going forward for the development of construction documents (CD), their review, the bidding and negotiation phase, construction, and post-construction. This schedule was updated and is accurate as of June 8th, 2022.

Communications

Nothing to report.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Task Force Meeting Minutes
Minutes from past DEIA Task Force meetings are online on the Task Force web page.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Collection Development Committee Notes
The most recent meetings minutes of the CDC are posted at:
https://www.library.illinois.edu/staff/committee/collection-development-committee/
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Content Access Policy & Technology Meeting Minutes
The meeting minutes of CAPT (including workgroup reports) are posted at:
https://www.library.illinois.edu/staff/committee/content-access-policy-technology-capt/
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ANNOUNCEMENTS: Recognizing Excellence

Please share your award, recognition, or grant! To initiate a request for publicity, employees (or their supervisors) should submit this Awards/Recognitions/Grants Publicity Request Form.
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FACILITIES: Facilities Update
Tim Newman, Assistant Dean of Libraries for Facilities

Library Facilities has been busy this summer and we look forward to the students return this month. We are in the process of finishing up the UGL to Main Library services move and the schedule continues to be updated. Please see link below. Once we’ve completed the moves, we will then be able to circle back with all other library unit needs. As Fall Semester starts, please remember to continue submitting tickets through the Team Dynamix system.

For a complete list of projects in planning and construction, please see https://wordpress.library.illinois.edu/staff/facilities/.
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HR NEWS: Filled Positions

  • Dirk Ton – Library Specialist – Grainger Engineering Library Information Center – 7/11/2022
  • Jennifer Gavel – Accountant II – Business and Human Resources Service Center – 7/18/2022

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HR NEWS: Departures

  • Sarah Bial – History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library – resigning 8/19/2022

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HR NEWS: Vacancies

  • Library Specialist – Teaching, Learning, and Academic Support (evenings) – offer pending
  • Library Specialist – Funk ACES Library (nights) – in-person Interviews August 5-12
  • Office Support Associate – Dean’s Office – posting closed 7/19/2022
  • Library Specialist (Government Documents) – Acquisitions and Cataloging Services – Posting soon

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Staff Events Calendar
To see the most up-to-date staff events calendar, please visit https://uiuc.libcal.com/calendar/staff.
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Library Council Proposal Feedback Forums
August 2, 3, 11

The Task Force will be hosting open feedback forums on the Library Council Proposal (here) in the coming weeks. This is your chance to come ask questions, provide feedback, and recommend constructive criticism to improve the proposal prior to it being finalized and voted on. These feedback sessions have been scheduled as Zoom events on different days and times of day to try to accommodate different work schedules. Below is the schedule along with the Zoom links.

One point of clarification–the session on Tuesday, August 2 has an in-person attendance option and in fact given how hybrid sessions tend to go might even be described as in-person preferred. The location is 106 Main Library.

If you are unable to attend or would prefer to provide your feedback directly, you are welcome to reach out to any of the task force members:

Feedback Sessions

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: CARLI Professional Development Alliance Events

  • Building the Innovation Lab: A Technology Playground
    August 9 at 1 PM
    Learn about the development of the Innovation Lab (iLab), an exciting and expanding community hub that demonstrates what is possible with emerging technologies. On a shoestring budget, the iLab has grown into a respected community asset with a large impact. Get lots of ideas and hear what the presenter has planned for the lab’s future!
    Register for this event.
  • Through the Records: The Work of the Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston (CSSC) at the College of Charleston
    August 11 at 1 PM
    Like so many other colleges and universities, the College of Charleston has worked to reexamine its role in American history and the role that diverse communities have played in that history. The creation of the Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston (CSSC) is a part of this effort, which provides a way for faculty, staff, students, and the public to engage with issues of public history, history, education, and social justice. The presenters are archivists and will speak about how information and cultural heritage professionals can take part in challenging conversations about the nature of American history, engage in interpretation and exhibitions that forges emotional and intellectual connections, and how to use records to tell diverse stories.
    Register for this event.
  • Cultivating Civility and Resilience in Libraries: Challenges and Solutions
    August 16 at 1 PM
    Would you like to be part of the solution to creating a functional library work environment with workplace communications that are complete and clear?  During this webinar, the presenters will take you through the journey of their groundbreaking books Cultivating Civility and The Dysfunctional Library.  Hear their insights, suggestions, and solutions to a problem that has plagued some libraries for decades. 
    Register for this event
  • Transforming Scholarly Research with Blockchain Technologies and AI: A New Era of Possibilities
    August 17 at 1 PM
    Darrell W. Gunter, an experienced digital publishing executive, has been at the forefront of significant information industry initiatives, i.e., Factiva, ScienceDirect, Scopus, BiomedExperts.com, ReviewerFinder, Underline, and Ripeta. Gunter Media Group, Inc. has advised many CEOs from startups to the very most prominent publishers in his consulting practice. He is a published author of Transforming Scholarly Research with Blockchain Technologies and AI.
    Register for this event.

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: NISO Webinars

  • Eliminating Outdated Workflows: Developing The New
    August 10 at 10 AM
    Could changing a workflow free up time for the information community — and the researchers we serve — to focus on other more valuable work? Hear from some of the professionals responsible for tweaking old workflows and processes and managing the resulting changes.
    Please email training@library.illinois.edu for login credentials or recordings.

     

  • Building Support for Non-Traditional Scholarly Outputs
    August 17 at 10 AM
    Following on from the previous webinar, this event will expand the discussion into the realm of non-traditional outputs. Video, audio, and data visualization are already increasingly common output formats, and those working in the arts and practice-based research require support for a host of other outputs, including images, performances, and more. What does this all mean for our research infrastructure? For editorial or content management systems? For discovery tools? For content platforms? We’re assembling a group of expert speakers (details to follow) for a round table discussion on this important and challenging topic.
    Please email training@library.illinois.edu for login credentials or recordings.

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EVENTS AND TRAINING: GA Orientation
August 16-19

On behalf of the Reference Management Team and Organizational Development & Training, I’m happy to announce that the schedule for Library-wide GA Orientation is now complete and available here. Each session is available for registration through the Library staff calendar: https://uiuc.libcal.com/calendar/staff

Day one includes sessions that will apply to all GAs working in the Library. The sessions on the other days may or may not be relevant. Please work with your GAs to guide them to the sessions that are appropriate for the work they will be doing (e.g., if they will not be answering questions via LibChat, let them know they should not register for the chat reference session). Supervisors can sign the GAs up individually or ask GAs to sign up themselves. As with prior years, all of these sessions are also open to anyone whose work relates to these areas and who would like to develop/refresh their skills. 

Sessions will take place in three different Library buildings (Main, Funk/ACES, Grainger) and we’ve incorporated a tour of each building into the schedule. If you work in one of these locations, please consider being on hand to welcome the new GAs as they come through on the tour.
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EVENTS AND TRAINING: Hangout
August 24 at 10am

Please keep a lookout for an email (with a Zoom link) from Lucretia Williams via LIB-NEWS. Complete and submit the Library Hangout Suggestion and Volunteer Form if you have a topic to share.

Also, we’re always looking for volunteers who would be willing to host social time following the Hangouts. Please consider being on an “on-call” list. We need volunteers to keep the social times going! Use the form above if interested.
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If you would like to submit content for the September issue of Library Office Notes, please submit it to Heather Murphy or Tom Teper by August 19, 2022.