Library Committee Self Study

Name of Committee:  Library Committee

Current Committee Members (please indicate chair and any other officers): 

Maria Bibbs

Ellen Daugherty

Maritza Davila

Adrian Duran (Chair)

Soyoung Park

Joel Priddy

Leslie Holland

Ian Sterling

Part 1:  MCA Faculty Handbook Description

1) The 2011-2012 MCA Handbook includes the following description of the Committee:

Library – Oversee the acquisition of periodicals and books. Membership: Library Director, Visual Resources Curator, LAS Chair and four F-T faculty (including both studio and Liberal Studies.)

2a) In the opinion of the committee, does the handbook description accurately describe the function, purpose, and membership of the committee? Please explain.

Yes, but not really.  The committee has taken it upon itself to exist as an advisory body in all things related to the Library.  Acquisition is one facet of this.  Facilities, staff, IT, and long-term planning have been added to these.

2b) Please suggest changes/edits/rewrites for the Handbook description of your committee.  If the Handbook does not currently include a description for your committee, please write one. (Answers to this section of the self-study are suggestions only. They are intended to help the faculty move toward Handbook revisions, but they should be regarded as draft versions at this stage. Please don’t spend an inordinately long time trying to craft the perfect description—they can be changed and edited as we go through the process.)

Library—The Library Committee oversees the direction and resources of the MCA Library.  The Committee advises the Librarian and the MCA Administration in matters related to the MCA Library.  Membership: Librarian, Visual Resources Curator, four F-T faculty (including both studio and Liberal Studies), and a representative from IT.

Part 2:  Committee Charge, Duties, and Goals

1) Does the committee operate under a clearly stated committee “charge” (that is, a statement of purpose explaining what the committee is charged with doing on behalf of the faculty or college—this may be different from the catalog description of the committee)?  Is this charge written down and made available to the members of the committee and the college community at large?  Please explain. (If you feel that the current catalog description or any revision to the description that you made above functions adequately as a charge, please say so).

No.

2) Does the committee maintain a set of specific duties? Are these written down? If a set of such duties exists (written down or in the minds of the chair or other members of the committee), please list them here.  (In other words, what is the committee specifically responsible for? What does the committee do?)

No, the duties of the committee respond to the needs of the Library and the submissions made to the Committee by the larger MCA community.

3) Does the committee have a set of goals (short and/or long-term)? If so, please list them and briefly explain the process the committee used to arrive at these goals.

Yes.  To advise the Librarian and the Administration on Library matters and long-term planning for the Library.  And to induce action.

4) Other than verbal reports at faculty meetings, does the committee make reports in verbal or written form to the faculty or administration? How often are these reports made? Where are written reports housed and are they available to other members of the college community?

Yes, the Library Committee submitted its report in January 2011.  This may have been the first of its sort.  This is still an active report, and should be integrated into the Strategic Plan.  Otherwise, there is no formal schedule of written report submission.  All Library Committee endeavors are available to the MCA community on request.

5) Please add any additional comments about the charge, duties, and goals of the committee.

Part 3:  Committee Membership

1a) To the best of the committee’s knowledge, how are faculty members of the currently committee chosen?

Appointed by Dean.

1b) If it is not explicitly stated in the description/rules/by-laws of the committee, how do you think the members of the committee should be chosen?

It would be advantageous to have representation from ArtEd.  The committee membership should be determined in consultation with the Librarian.

2a) Do the faculty members on the committee have limited terms of service?

No.

2b) If it is not explicitly stated in the description/rules/by-laws of the committee, should there be terms of service? Please explain.

No.

3) Does the current committee membership structure make sense? Is the committee too big, too small, the right size?  Please explain.

Seems fine.

4a) Does the committee as it currently exists have faculty members from each of the Divisions of the College?  If so, do you feel (or is it a requirement of the committee) that it always have representation from each of the Divisions? 

No grad or design arts representation.  Otherwise, studio, LS, and staff are represented.

4b) If the Committee does not include members from each Division, should it? Please explain.

We would benefit from membership that includes at least one practitioner of the digital arts.

5a) If there are administrators on the committee (according to Dean Strickland’s committee grid), explain their role(s).

No.

5b) If administrators are members of the committee, do you feel that their roles are necessary? In other words, does the committee feel that administrators should be members of the committee? Please explain.

The committee does not necessarily consider administrative presence necessary, however there is some belief that administrative presence might increase administrative attention and response.

6a) If there are staff members on the committee, explain their role(s).

Yes, Ian.  He is our IT expert and otherwise participates as do other members.

6b) If staff are members of the committee, do you feel that their roles are necessary to the successful functioning of the committee?  Please explain.

Yes, having Ian has been a great help.

7) To what extent are the decisions of your committee autonomous? In other words, do you make decisions that do not go to the full faculty for approval? Or do you make recommendations that then must be approved by the faculty or others?  Please explain.

Our decision making is autonomous.  The execution of actions related to those decisions is entirely dependent upon elements beyond the Committee.  That is where we often falter.

8) Please add any additional comments related to membership, committee structure, the appointment or election of members, participation of non-faculty members, etc.

Part 4: Committee Meetings and Time Commitment

1a) On average, how many times per semester does your committee meet?  Please indicate if the number of meetings varies by semester and explain why.

Usually 2 meetings, but more have occurred when needed.

1b) Is there a set meeting schedule (e.g., once monthly, bi-weekly, etc)?  If not, how does the committee determine if a meeting is necessary and who calls the meeting?

No.  We hold meetings as they become necessary.  The meetings can be called by any member of the Committee, though the Librarian or Chair most often do so.

1c) If there is no set meeting schedule, do you think that there should be a set meeting schedule or a minimum number of meetings for your committee per semester? Please explain.

No.  The obligations of the members are such that a set meeting time would be logistically unfeasible.

1d) How long is the average meeting?

1-1.5 hours.

2) In general, how many hours of commitment per semester does this committee require of members?

Varies.  Librarian does most work.  Chair does second most.  Members tend to distribute work equally amongst themselves.

3a) Does the committee take minutes, keep notes, or otherwise track and archive the activities of the committee?

Yes.

3b) If you do keep minutes, where are they housed? Can other faculty (or administrators) not on your committee look at these minutes easily?

Presently, Chair maintains minutes on his MCA computer.  They can be accessed upon request.

4) Please add any additional comments on committee meetings and the time commitment required of faculty on this committee.