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University
Library Committee Minutes
February 18, 1998
Committee members present were R. Flowers, D. Gouwens and S. Staples. R. Seal and J. Koelker represented the Library.
R. Seal gave a report to the library committee covering four main topics. The first of these was a number of brief
informational updates and the other three topics discussed were the Texshare program, electronic journals, and the JSTOR
program. A summary of each of these topics follows.
- FYI items:
- The university paid for new turnstiles for the library. The turnstiles were installed shortly after Christmas.
- The library received a $150,000 grant from TTI Inc. to expand and remodel the computer laboratory. The library is working with campus architects on plans for remodeling the space. The expansion of the lab should take place in June. The new computer lab will be located on the first floor of the library.
- The acquisitions and cataloguing departments moved within the Library. This was necessary in part to accommodate the new Lab facilities.
- Some progress has been made in dealing with energy and humidity problems, but the Library still has issues to resolve in this arena. Advanced humidity and allergen systems have been installed in the duct work, but temperature control is still problematic.
- Dennis Odom has been promoted from Reference Librarian to Acquisitions Librarian. A replacement Reference Librarian will be hired.
- The Library now has two faculty copier machines.
- The Web version of the TCU catalogue is now available.
- R. Seal provide committee members with a report from the Strategic Planning committee of the Library. This report discussed the results of the focus groups held in the fall and the plans of the Strategic Planning Committee.
- Texshare:
R. Seal described the Texshare group of public, private, and community colleges in Texas. This group has recently grown from 52 institutions to 160, with the lobbying of R. Seal and others to the State Legislature to include private schools along with state schools in the program. Committee members received a handout summarizing the Texshare program features. These include shared electronic information programs such as Periodical Abstracts and the Texshare Library Card Program which would entitle patrons from Texshare institutions to borrow materials on-site at other Texshare institutions.
- Electronic Journals:
The Library currently receives on the order of 300 electronic journals. The subscriptions are supported by a number of various sources including subscriptions within the Phoenix group, subscriptions within the TICUL group, resources through the Texshare program and TCU individual subscriptions. Committee members were given a handout listing the electronic resources. R. Seal said a current goal of the library is to improve the Web interface for accessing these electronic journals.
- JSTOR:
The JSTOR program was described to committee members and a related handout was provided. This national program which was developed in conjunction with the Mellon Foundation seeks to help academic institutions manage the cost of subscriptions and to manage storage space for journals. This program currently deals with journal issues four years old or older. (Publishers presently do not include current issues for revenue reasons.) The JSTOR program as of August 1997 had agreements with more than 60 academic journals to participate in the program. TCU has joined the JSTOR program with an initial cost of $30,000 and a subsequent yearly cost of $4,000. The program is in its early stages and hopes to expand extensively to include more institutions and more journals.
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