Creating the Libraries Strategic Plan

for 2011-2016

BY NANCY HEWISON

It’s hard to believe that we’re entering the final year of our strategic plan, but a quick look at our Web site leaves no doubt -- it’s there for all the world to see, right in the title: Purdue University Libraries Strategic Plan 2006-2011.

In summer 2009, we took a fresh look at the plan and at the university’s “New Synergies” plan for 2008-2014, and identified six over-arching goals, along with priorities for working toward these goals in fiscal year 2010. The results can be seen in the unit and council progress reports under “Unit Plans FY10” on the Planning and Operations Council (POC) pages of our intranet, where unit and council draft plans for FY11 can also be found.

Now it’s time to take another big planning step: creating the Libraries' next strategic plan. This new plan will guide our actions in 2011-2016. POC has identified the membership of a Strategic Planning Group (SPG) to lead this effort. In order to include a broad spectrum of perspectives, this group will be made up of the following:

• Planning and Operations Council (all members)
• Dean’s Council (all members)
• Libraries Clerical/Service Staff Advisory Committee (LCSSAC - all members)
• Faculty Affairs Committee (all members)
• Representatives from the Libraries Administrative/Professional Staff Advisory Committee (LAPSAC) identified by LAPSAC,
• Representative from the Libraries Advancement Office
• Representative from Archives and Special Collections
• The facilities coordinator and the human resources administrator

The SPG will meet in August with consultant Paul Meyer, of Tecker Consultants, to finalize the planning process which will take place during the fall semester. (Paul will be familiar to many of us because he worked with us in 2006 to create our present plan.) The planning process will include all-staff meetings; gathering input from Libraries faculty and staff, our user groups, and key university administrators; SPG planning sessions; and the creation of the plan.

Stay tuned for more information!

Carl Snow entered the Voluntary Early Retirement Program (VEPR) this spring, and has been away from the office since June 1 as a result. He will be returning September 1, 2010.

In the meantime, progress is still being made on scanning projects thanks to the efforts of Maureen Sharp. Currently, pre-1923 Purdue theses and dissertations are being digitized. Soon, work will begin on an LSTA Grant to digitize 66 volumes of Indiana Farmer, from 1851 to 1917. If you would like to discuss projects or project ideas over the summer, please feel free to contact Maureen or me directly. 

LOCKSS Alliance to Increase Digital Access to GPO Materials

On June 14, the Government Printing Office (GPO) announced that they have joined the LOCKSS Alliance, of which Purdue Libraries is a member. LOCKSS stands for Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe, and the alliance provides libraries with digital preservation tools and support so they can collect and preserve their own copies of authorized electronic content. All Federal Digital System published documents are committed for preservation in the LOCKSS-USDOCS network.  

Stanford University, which serves as the base for LOCKSS, issued an announcement of the GPO’s commitment that describes the need for the GPO to preserve its digital documents. The article describes how LOCKSS works, noting that if a person is looking for a copy of a particular congressional hearing in the library, the patron can choose to look for a hard copy or digital copy first. If none is available, the library could release the LOCKSS version from its preservation archive and put it on a public site for that user.

Purdue University Libraries has been a selective depository for U.S. Government documents since 1907, and has extensive collections of U.S. Government publications available in paper, microfiche, and various electronic formats. Through the LOCKSS Alliance, Purdue Libraries will now have increased digital access to all GPO materials to complement our printed collections.

In addition to our membership in LOCKSS, Purdue Libraries are also members of CLOCKSS (Controlled LOCKSS) and PORTICO, two additional initiatives for preserving and providing access to archived digital content. For more information on these initiatives, including definitions of each and links to educational materials, visit the Information Resources Council (IRC) intranet page at http://intranet.lib.purdue.edu/display/Councils/Information+Resources+Council.

Sunday June 20th marked the beginning of the International Association of Scientific and Technological University Libraries (IATUL) Conference at Purdue. The theme for the conference was e-science with presentations from faculty and librarians from around the world. Keynote speaker Dan Kleppner, MIT professor, discussed the National Academies of Science recent report Accessibility and Stewardship of Research Data in the Digital Age. Over the three days, presentations were given on challenges associated with data management, both technically and environmentally (acceptance of the need, challenges, and solutions by the disciplinary and library communities).  

Although the weather was at times entertaining (thunderstorms) and challenging (high heat and humidity) the conference was deemed a smashing success through the assessment gained from the attendees evaluation forms.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the Purdue Libraries staff who worked to make this conference a success: Bryan Briones, Teresa Brown, Donna Ferullo, Jeremy Garritano, Michael Fosmire, Kayla Gregory, Stephan Miller, and Mark Newton. Kayla worked her wonders with marketing and design on the Web site, flyers, and program booklet.

Purdue will be noted in history as the host of the 2010 conference, followed by Warsaw in 2011, Singapore in 2012, and Istanbul in 2013. Not bad company!

DPIA Changes Illustrated on Libraries Organizational Chart

To reflect the Digital Programs and Information Access (DPIA) changes recently announced by Paul Bracke, AD for Digital Programs and Information Access, please check out the June 2010 updated Organizational Chart on the homepage of the Libraries intranet.

DPIA currently consists of Resource Sharing , Resources Services, and Instruction and Digital Programs Services.

Please contact Paul Bracke if you have any questions or comments.

Favorite Restaurant List

When the 2010 USAIN conference was sponsored by Purdue University Libraries in May, Mary Dugan polled the staff about their favorite restaurants so that the conference attendees could have recommendations from the locals. The results of the survey have been posted on the Intranet in case you’d like to try someplace new -- check it out.

One of my family’s Fourth of July traditions is watching the movie, Independence Day. The movie, released in 1996, tells the story of aliens who come to Earth to destroy humans and plunder its resources—“like a swarm of locusts,” declares the fictional president. In the end, humans across the globe, must work together to defeat the aliens. For the last fourteen years, I have relished in the movie’s climax—people putting aside their differences to accomplish something amazing, using their energy and skills in a positive way, boundaries gone. 

Another Fourth tradition is holding two, 80-pound shaking dogs on the laundry room floor. The dogs, Dingo and Peyton, pant and shed profusely, their fright very real as our house was assaulted by fireworks. I tried to calm them without effect. Even my singing, normally loved (only) by them, didn’t help. I sang their favorites: “Little Puppy with Dumbo Ears” and “Lucky, Lucky Lumber Yard Dog.” The whimpering only got louder—but it was from my husband in the living room. “Must you SING too?” he yelled.

In the movies, humans must be pushed to the brink of extinction to learn to put their differences aside and work together. But eventually, we learn, rally, and win, all in a convenient two-hour span. In a real situation, we may not learn this lesson in two hours or two decades or, as has been proven, two millennia. So I propose that we practice, practice, practice—cooperation, understanding, respect, and tolerance. “Be the change you want to see in the world,” said Mahatma Gandhi. We need only ourselves to lead a change. Will Smith and aliens are optional.

So as the dogs filled the room with flying hair and terror, my lap was crowded with my poor “baby” boys! Within minutes, I couldn’t move my legs and I had begun to lose feeling in my toes. If only I could explain what was going on. Aliens have not arrived. The world is not ending. Well, at least not yet. We have a lot to learn before then. My dogs are counting on us.

I want to thank the Libraries staff for the planter and all the cards and emails that I received when my dad passed away. I didn’t know that I had so many friends. I appreciate each and every one of you.

Thank you,
Connie Farris

As I reported in an earlier posting, Viacom sued YouTube, which is now owned by Google, for a billion dollars for copyright infringement. Viacom claimed that YouTube illegally hosted videos, most notably South Park and the Colbert Report, whose copyright was owned by Viacom. The judge recently ruled in favor of YouTube. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) which was passed in 1998 allows Internet Service Providers (ISP), also known as Online Service Providers (OSP), the opportunity to remove infringing materials from their networks without liability as long as they do so in compliance with the specific regulations required by the DMCA. The rationale behind this section of the DMCA is that ISP’s cannot control everything that is posted on their networks but they do have an obligation to remove any infringing material once they are notified by the copyright owner. The judge found that YouTube qualified as an ISP and responded appropriately when notified by Viacom. The question now becomes - will the content holders pressure Congress to amend the DMCA so that ISPs will have some liability for infringing materials posted on their site? Hmmm – only time will tell.

Contact Donna Ferullo with questions.