Library Management Team
Notes from the March 31, 2004 Meeting

Attending: Ross Atkinson, Karen Calhoun, Lee Cartmill, Claire Germain, Tom Hickerson, Anne Kenney, Janet McCue, Sarah Thomas, Ed Weissman, Oya Rieger

1) MAS 2010: Models for Academic Support
Oya Rieger presented the methodology and the key recommendations of MAS 2010: Models for Academic Support, a year-long research project funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.  Oya lead a Project Team that collected and analyzed data from a variety of sources from within and outside the Library in order to explore ways for the Library to increase the value of its services to the University.  Among other things, the Team studied analyses completed by consultant teams of Cornell Library staff, explored ideas for entrepreneurial services with external advisors and consultants, surveyed peer institutions, examined a large body of data on the needs of the Cornell community, and completed a market survey of over a thousand New York State libraries, archives, historical societies, and museums. This research showed that the way faculty and students perceive of and use library services and facilities is changing.  By relocating staff who perform services that are not dependent on real-time interactions with users to a new library service center in a less-congested area on or near campus, the Library will be able to: 1) increase the quality of service by freeing substantial space in the existing libraries for new uses; 2) increase efficiency, by delineating certain services (those that can forgo public interaction without loss in quality) as common services for the benefit of the entire Library system and University; and, 3) reduce costs by establishing an entrepreneurial service center that will market services to other cultural institutions, thus generating revenue and broadening the base over which the costs of the infrastructure are spread.  The MAS 2010 recommendations call for: 1) the implementation of a feasibility study for the construction of a new service center; 2) the exploration of a new model for public services, which were not examined in MAS 2010, as potential campus-wide common services; 3) the development of innovative teaching and scholarly communications models, in collaboration with Cornell colleges and units, that draw on the Library's digital expertise and outstanding content; 4) the creation of a shared print repository and document delivery service open to other institutions; and 5) marketing selected library services to other institutions to assist them in resolving space and service issues.  (The MAS 2010 report will be available soon on the Staff Web site.)
With the approval by the University's Capital Planning and Facilities Committee (CF&PC) for the construction of three additional modules at the Library Annex, each with the capacity to hold 1.6 million volumes, Sarah said that the possibility of a shared repository can now be explored with other libraries.   Susan Currie is leading a team that is planning for the expanded Library Annex.  At the same time, CF&PC's approval of a feasibility study for the construction of a Library Service Center allows the Library to follow-up on another MAS 2010 recommendation.  The architectural firm of Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson and Abbott will conduct the feasibility study with Karen Calhoun serving as the lead Library contact for SBRA.  Karen reported briefly on the start-up of this effort.

2) Improving Communications in the Cornell University Library: follow-up
At the February 25 LMT meeting, Sarah said that she wanted the Associate University Librarians to organize meetings of staff across various libraries who serve faculty, staff and students from similar disciplines.  The goal of these meetings is to develop and share strategies for advancing collaboration in discipline-based areas and to reinforce the relationship among libraries with common interests.  LMT discussed several possible groupings and formats for these meetings.

Edward Weissman