Library Management Team
Notes from December 8, 2004 Meeting

Attending: Ross Atkinson, Karen Calhoun, Lee Cartmill, Anne Kenney, Janet McCue, Sarah Thomas, Ed Weissman, Marisue Taube

1) Announcements

Sarah reported on the successful book launch in New York City for A Bend in the Road, a book of poetry by Eamon J. McEneaney that has been published by the Cornell University Library. Mr. McEneaney, an All-American lacrosse player at Cornell from 1975-1977 and vice president of Cantor Fitzgerald, died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Proceeds from the sale of the book will be used to support the Eamon McEneaney Visiting Irish Writers Series at Cornell and the Cornell University Library.

Lee reported that some recent grant proposals have been provided to Library Accounting for review very close to the granting agencies proposal submission deadlines. He warned that it is only a matter of time before a proposal does not get approved for submission because of lack of review time and urged adherence to the Library guidelines which require that proposal budgets be provided to Library Accounting for review two weeks ahead of the submission deadlines.

Janet reported that GIS Day 2004, held on November 17 at Mann Library, was a success. It featured a GIS workshop, a poster session and a project showcase, product demos, refreshments and raffles, and a keynote speech by Rolf Pendall of Cornell's Department of City and Regional Planning.

2) Alumni & Friends Service

The goal of the Alumni & Friends Service <http://alumni.library.cornell.edu/index.cfm> is to provide Cornell alumni and friends improved access to information through a portal to the Library's collections and services. LMT, joined by Marisue Taube, the Director of Library External Relations, discussed the service and the Library's continuing investment in it. The net cost, including staff time, for providing the service this year is around $15,000 . Marisue stated that the service has led to increased awareness of the Library among alumni and that it provides an opportunity for marketing. The launch of the service last year was "quiet" and this was intentional to allow the project team time to assess its impact on library services. LMT supported continuing the service and the increased marketing of the service under the leadership of the new Director of Communications and Media Relations. LMT also asked for clarification on who is entitled to access the licensed resources the service offers based on our agreements with the information providers. Does access extend beyond alumni to others who are affiliated with Cornell or to unaffiliated "friends" of Cornell? Karen will follow-up on this issue.

3) Report of the CUL Task Force on Digitization: Selecting Traditional Library Material for Digitization

LMT reviewed the report of the CUL Task Force on Digitization. Members of the Task Force are: David Block (chair), Mihoko Hosoi, Terry Kristensen, Katherine Reagan, Steve Rockey and Linda Stewart. Ross charged the group to create guidelines and prioritized criteria for selecting traditional (i.e., on-paper) materials for digitization that would entail the designation by selectors of general categories of material rather than item by item selection and that focused on content rather than on copyright or technical considerations. After discussing the recommendations, LMT decided to ask the Task Force to consider revising its recommendations to take into consideration the recommendations in the Report of the Digital Preservation Policy Working Group on Establishing a Central Depository for Preserving Digital Image Collections <http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/IMLS/image_deposit_guidelines.pdf>. Also, LMT would also like the Task Force to factor into its selection recommendations collaboration with other institutions as well as consideration of CUL's existing digital collections.

Edward Weissman