Unapproved minutes

UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX

LIBRARY COMMITTEE
26 May 2015
(2.00-3.20 pm)
MINUTES
Chair / Dr Luther, Deputy Dean (Education) (Humanities)
Present / Dr Boncori, Mr Cochrane, Mr Hildon, Ms Johnston, Ms Lee, Mr Murphy, Mr Spencer, Dr Worrall
Secretary / Mrs Wisher, Assistant Librarian
MINUTES
Approved / The Minutes of the meetings held on 10 November 2014 and 4 March 2015. / 15/15
MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES
Digital copies of Essex PhD theses (LC.M.44/14)
Noted / A draft thesis deposit declaration form, similar to the one in use at the University of Bristol, had been forwarded to the Registry. The Library website would be updated to reflect the changes in Registry policy. / 16/15
Large Reading Room (LC.M.8/15)
Noted / There had been no further news on the future of the Large Reading Room, in terms of whether it would continue to be part of the Library or would be used as temporary decant space for other parts of the University estate. / 17/15
Electrical sockets (LC.M.10/15)
Noted / IT Services had some funding to install additional electrical sockets and PCs in the existing Library building at the Colchester campus. The location of the additional installations was yet to be decided. It was anticipated that this would help to eliminate the tendency of Library users to bring their own extension leads and adaptors, which could prove a trip or electrical hazard. / 18/15
Paternoster lift (LC.M.14/15)
Noted / At a recent meeting between representatives from the Library, the Estate Management Section and the lift maintenance company, it had been clarified that the safety devices recently installed on the paternoster were an upgrading of existing safety features which had no longer been working properly, rather than being a new addition. Although the lift stopping mechanisms were more sensitive as a result, the lift was now operational during core opening hours, including evenings and weekends, as stoppages seemed to have settled down. A further meeting to review the situation was scheduled to take place in early June. / 19/15
The question of whether children would be permitted to enter the Student Centre, and the more general issue of infants and children on campus, was felt to be beyond the remit of the Committee. It was suggested that the matter should be referred to the Student Experience Committee for their consideration. / 20/15
Postgraduate Reading Room (LC.M.7.15)
Noted / It was understood that the Postgraduate area in the Library extension would now be available to both PGR and PGT students. A case had been made for the inclusion of a plasma screen within this area in order to transmit messages targeted to postgraduate students, both from the Students’ Union, and from the University administration. It was not yet known who would be responsible for the content of the messages. Other screens on campus were administered either by the Internal Comms team, or by the Students’ Union in conjunction with them. / 21/15
LIBRARY ACCOMMODATION: PROGRESS REPORTS
Reported / It was anticipated that the Library extension would be handed over on Friday 12th June, although it had been suggested that this date might slip a week. It was intended that as many of the new buildings as possible would be open that day for the meeting of University Court, but that the priority would be on those close to the Squares. The AGM of the Essex Society for Archaeology and History was due to take place in the Library on Saturday 13th June, and it was hoped that it would be possible to give them a limited view of the new Special Collections storage and consultation area on floor 1 where their collections would be housed in due course. / 22/15
Noted / There had been some complaints about noise in the Library, particularly from PGT students. This related both to construction noise, and to the noise made by other Library users. The Timetable Office had undertaken to try to provide study accommodation elsewhere on campus when approached by groups of students on any given day. As the cranes had now been moved from the building site, it was understood that the construction noise should not be so much of an issue from now on. Students were encouraged to let Library staff know about disturbances to study conditions within the Library, so that these could be addressed at the time. As the exam period was now drawing to a close, the pressure on Library space would be lessening. It was intended that the new Postgraduate area in the extension could be made available as soon as possible over the summer, as PGT students would be preparing their dissertations. / 23/15
LIBRARY SYSTEM DEVELOPMENTS
Reported / The Library would soon be upgrading its library management system (LMS) software to the latest version available from the system supplier, Innovative Interfaces Inc (III). On 8th June, the LMS would be migrated from a server on campus to a hosted server at the III facility in Dublin. There would be a short period of system downtime in the late afternoon/evening of that day. The system upgrade would then take place on 7th July, when there would again be a short period of system downtime in the late afternoon/evening. Once the upgrade had taken place, the end user experience would be much the same as at the current time. However, the upgrade would make it easier for the LMS to be integrated more closely with other software systems on campus, which would make additional functionality possible in future. / 24/15
24/7 OPENING: AVERAGE OCCUPANCY STATISTICS
Noted / There had been a slight reduction in the level of use compared with the previous year, and a 25-30% reduction over the last 5 years. Possible reasons for this were the construction noise this year, an increase in student social space on campus, the greater availability of resources online and improvements in residential accommodation. Changes to patterns of assessment as a consequence of the Curriculum Review might have further impact on the level of use of the Library at this particular time of year. / 25/15
READING LIST PROJECT
Noted / The joint project between the Library and the Learning Technology Team to implement and introduce electronic reading list software had been progressing well. Work with pilot departments, History and Mathematical Sciences, had been carried out at the start of 2015, and the project was now being rolled out to all Schools, Departments and Centres. Weekly training sessions were being held. The software provided an interactive experience for students, and an easy way for academic staff to keep reading lists updated. / 26/15
MICHAEL SPENCER
Noted / Thanks were offered to Michael for his contribution to the Committee during this academic year. / 27/15

Emma Wisher

Assistant Librarian

May 2015