Minutes
LAUC-B Spring Assembly
April 27, 1993
A. The meeting was called to order by Gary Handman, LAUC-B Chair.
B. G. Handman introduced J. Waldron, Professor of Law, and Chair,
Library Committee, Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate.
C. The November 1992 Fall Assembly minutes were approved with no corrections.
D. G. Handman introduced the newest LAUC-B members Mabel Shaw (LAW) and Linda Vida-Sunnen
(WRCA). The latest LAUC-B Census shows we have 117 members.
E. G. Handman gave an update on the LAUC (statewide) activities.
1. LAUC statewide Spring Assembly will be at UCLA on May 7th. Fall
Assembly will be at UCB, tentatively scheduled for December 3rd.
2. Committee on Professional Governance developed and distributed
a survey on the impact of fiscal stringencies on the work of
librarians. The Berkeley liaison to the Committee, Bill Whitson,
distributed Berkeley's response to LAUC-B members via email. The
high rate of non-return for the survey can be viewed as symptomatic
of the pressures on our work lives. The follow-up survey to
non-respondents seems to bear this out.
Results from various campuses have recently been distributed by Alan
Ritch, and were placed on reserve at the Main Library Reference
Desk. The Committee will be considering the information garnered
in the next few months.
3. Interim Committee on Cultural Diversity - The UCOP approved LAUC
bylaw revisions creating the Committee on Cultural Diversity as a
standing statewide Committee. The report "The Many Faces of
Diversity" has been submitted to the ERIC Clearinghouse for
inclusion as an ERIC document.
New Committee has created four subcommittees: Recruitment,
Retention, and Promotion; 2) Reference and Bib Instruction 3)
Collection and Access 4) Diversity initiatives. Each of these
subcommittees has a roster of issues and activities with which it
will be concerned.
At the Fall 1992 Statewide assembly the Diversity Committee entered
a resolution that LAUC aggressively pursue university external
funding to support retrospective conversion of specialized US ethnic
collections to allow MELVYL access. The resolution was unanimously
approved. The Committee is currently working with Clint Howard
(UCOP) on proposals for external funding.
4. Management Options -- The survey and report on the issue of
management options adhered by Nancy Kohler(R) and Judy Horn (I) was
discussed at length at the last LAUC-B assembly. At the Fall '92
Statewide assembly a motion was entered to thank the committee for
its work, to formally discharge the committee, and for a summary of
issues raised in the report and ensuing campus discussion to be
drafted by Allen Ritch and sent forward to UCOP.
A recent communication from Alan Ritch indicated that yet another
letter has gone forward from eight of the nine the University
Librarians to Assistant Vice President for Academic Personnel Ellen
Switkes, urging consideration of stipends for management
assignments. The recommendation was made despite LAUC's strong
position on this topic.
5. The last statewide Executive Board Meeting was on march 18th.
Held via teleconference--3 sites: Alameda (UCB, UCD, UCSF, UCSC),
UCLA (LA and I) and UCR (R and SD).
6. A. Ritch reported on responses received by divisional LAUC
chairs from Provost King in response to letters of support for
continuation of the UC Berkeley School of Library and Information
Studies. It was recommended that Ritch draft a follow-up letter
registering LAUC disappointment with the compromise reached, and
expressing the eagerness of LAUC to participate in academic planning
concerning the future of the school.
7. At the last board meeting a memo was submitted by Keri Lucas,
Chair of LAUC-SD, which she had received from her campus personnel
officer bringing to light the division of opinion at the UCOP about
whether librarians would be considered faculty or staff for purposes
of distributing merits during the 93-4 budget cycle. It was
mentioned by another board member that the letters from the UCOP to
LAUC divisions in connection with the non-granting of the 91 merit
increases seemed to indicate that librarian merits would continue
to be treated the same as faculty merits in the future.
This notion of changing or downgrading the academic status of
librarians as a fiscal measure is an extremely serious one. Alan
Ritch has sent a letter to President Peltason summarizing the
history of librarian academic status and stating LAUC's strong
concerns that the status continued. All LAUC members should be
aware of this potential threat.
8. APM 150 - The proposed revised section 150 of the Academic
Personnel manual--Non-Senate Academic Appointees, Corrective Action
and Dismissal has been distributed to Alan Ritch and others. The
section incorporates comments received by LAUC and others during the
formal review period in Fall/Winter 91-92. The document was sent
by Ritch to the LAUC Committee on Committees for comment.
At the March Executive Board meeting, these comments were reviewed
and the best way of transmitting the comments to UCOP was discussed
extensively. It was decided to forward an abstract of the issues
raised by the report and to refer to the more complete document.
F. G. Handman gave an update on the LAUC-Berkeley Division activities.
1. Nominating and Elections Committee - B. Whitson introduced the
slates for Secretary/Treasurer: Myrtis Collins and Vivienne
Roumani-Denn; Executive Committee Delegates from the Affiliated
Libraries: Katie Frohmberg and Terry Huwe; and Executive Committee
Delegates from The Library: Michaelyn Burnette, Carlos Delgado,
Diane Fortner, Phoebe Janes, Lee Leighton, and Pat Vanderberg.
There is one candidate for the position of Vice Chair/Chair Elect,
and while there have been slates in the past with only one
candidate, before presenting the slate, Nominating & Elections will
try to gather another delegate.
2. CAPA - (D. Sommer for A. Youmans) CAPA is in the midst of
reviewing cases for this cycle. CAPA will be reviewing a total of
55 cases this year: 46 from the Library and 9 from the Affiliated
Libraries. As of last week 21 merit dossiers and 11 promotion or
career status files were on hand. Candidates for promotion or
career status have been especially prompt in meeting deadlines -
there are only one or two of these cases outstanding. Although
there are not comparable figures for previous years, it seems that
there are more files complete and available for CAPA review as of
this date than in the prior two cycles. I think this shows that all
of the work done on timetable compliance and on the extension
guidelines has had a positive effect. I commend all of you who
worked on these documents and all of you who have complied with the
timetable. We are still waiting for 23 dossiers. CAPA members are:
Beth Sibley, Milt Ternberg, Ivan Arguelles, Pat Maughan, Debby
Sommer, and Lily Castillo-Speed.
3. Distinguished Librarian Award -- G. Handman will constitute a
small working group to review criteria and frequency of issuance.
4. In December, G. Handman constituted a working group to consider
the possible organization and charge of a local LAUC committee on
Cultural Diversity. Berkeley is the only campus without some type
of organizational entity to oversee such issues. The constitution
of the statewide LAUC committee seemed to make the need such a group
on the Berkeley campus even more pressing. The group is composed
of Lily Castillo-Speed (convener), Susana Hinojosa, Carlos Delgado,
and Marian Drabkin. LAUC Executive Committee has recently received
and discussed the recommendations of the working group, and G.
Handman will be discussing these with D. Gregor in the next week or
so.
5. An idea brought away from the Fall '92 Executive Board meeting
was the possibility of mounting the LAUC-B and appropriate LAUC
statewide correspondence on a library server similar to what has
been done at UCSC. A formal proposal was submitted to the Sparkplug
group. After consideration by LAG, the project was approved.
6. E. Byrne and G. Handman have discussed with D. Gregor the
desirability of streamlining the current travel and leave funding
process, and for developing closer ties between this process and the
process of professional goal setting for individual librarians--In
other words, for building accountability for professional activities
up front as well as at the point of peer review.
In December, G. Handman asked the Professional Development Committee
to look at current procedures and to recommend alternative ways of
doing business. The report of the committee has been discussed at
the recent Executive Committee meeting and has been forwarded to D.
Gregor. G. Handman will be discussing the options with her at the
meeting this Friday. Some of the general concepts which seem to
have had the most support in the Executive Committee are the use of
a standard funding rate for travel to and lodging at major
conferences (travel requests for unique events would be considered
separately), imposition of a two meeting cap per individual, and
continuation of the practice of scaling funding depending on nature
of participation, having the review initiator discuss and sign
off-on the funding request, with the approved request going straight
to the UL.
7. Vice Chancellor Heilbron met with the Executive Committee in
January and discussed the budget. Heilbron expressed his
concern for consolidation of library operations and for more
systematic and aggressive cooperative collection building in
times of fiscal stringency. He expressed his interest in
electronic journals as a possible means of savings.
Other issues discussed with him were 1- LAUC-B discussions with the
faculty senate re possible librarian participation on senate
committees--he seemed to approve, but felt that in matters relating
to changes in academic programs librarians might be better placed
on deans' councils or departmental library committees. 2- The need
for library funding to support new or evolving programs was
mentioned, and Heilbron said that he would like to see strong
pressure placed on Provosts for such funding, which he considers
essential and not discretionary.
8. In February, LAUC-B and the Union sent letters of concern to
Joyce Harlan, campus personnel, and Robert Aasen of Office of
Academic Personnel regarding a posting for an LA III in the
Institute for International Studies library that seemed to embody
professional responsibilities. The job was subsequently pulled and
a working group was constituted to review the posting.
9. Issues related to library organization, reorganization, and
planning has occupied a major portion of LAUC-B's time in the past
six months. Early in the reorganization efforts, CAPA submitted a
list of concerns to library administration regarding issues such as
review initiation in the new environment. LAUC-B had a discussion
with D. Gregor regarding the best way of proceeding with filling
management positions below the top line of the current organization
chart. CAPA is in the process of drafting a list of concerns
regarding the process in place for recruiting and selecting
candidates for rotational positions recently posted in the Research
Services and Collections Department, Teaching Library, and
elsewhere. CAPA is developing guidelines and procedures for
handling the review of individuals with split or rotational
assignments or split or rotating review initiators.
10. Wendy Diamond has served as the LAUC-B representative to the
Library Cultures Group. The report of the Cultures Group was
discussed this month with working group. A discussion took place as
to whether there should be an all-LAUC forum, it was decided to wait
until after the document is distributed.
11. Several months ago, LAUC-B was asked by D. Gregor to develop
criteria for branch consolidation. The task of drafting such a plan
is not a pleasant one; on the other hand D. Gregor's solicitation
of LAUC input on the issue is viewed as a very positive step in the
planning process. A working group composed of Elizabeth Byrne, Gary
Peete, and Ralph Moon have put together a set of guidelines. These
were taken out to Social Sciences/Humanities and Science Unit heads
for comment. The document has been forwarded to D. Gregor with the
recommendation that an advisory body be constituted to assist in
applying the criteria.
G. The meeting was adjourned.