% Darwin College Library Committee - David MacKay \documentstyle[12pt]{article}\oddsidemargin=-0.5in\textwidth=6.95in\topmargin=-0.95in\textheight=10.95in\begin{document}\newcommand{\ben}{\begin{enumerate}}\newcommand{\een}{\end{enumerate}}\pagestyle{empty} \subsection*{Darwin College Library Committee} Minutes of the meeting held on Tue 29 Jan 2002 at 6pm. \\ \medskip \noindent {\sf Present:} % Circulation: David MacKay (djcm1) [Fellow Librarian], Joanna Shearer (jms85) [Student Librarian], Andrew Bell (agb38), Susie West (scw29), Espen Koht (ehk20) [Computer Officer], Christian Goeschel (cag41), Elisabeth Leedham-Green (el17). \\[0.12in] {\sf Apologies:} Hannah Thompson (ht206), Karin Tybjerg (kt206), Ranmali Nawartne (dcsa-welfare@dar) [DCSA representative], Atif Aziz (aa267). \ben \item {\bf{Minutes}} of the meeting held on Tue 30 October 2001 were confirmed. DJCM apologised for failing to circulate a timely reminder of today's meeting. \item {\bf{Committee membership}}. We welcomed Christian Goeschel to the committee. \item {\bf{Book check}}. The 2001 book check and relabelling process is waiting while the large number of new books is dealt with. \item {\bf{Book purchases}}. A satisfyingly large number of recommendations came from college members after the whatsup announcement made in November 2001. We have finished up last year's allocation of credit at the CUP bookshop and started spending this year's allocation. %\item {\bf{Noticeboards}}. % Newly acquired books are listed on the board in the main building. % \item {\bf{Smoking, mobile phones, etc.}} The use of mobile phones continues. Particularly antisocial is the leaving unattended of phones which subsequently ring. A single incident of smoking in the large computer room had also been reported. A small number of members have started playing music on their laptops, `because their friends don't mind'. Some members listen to music with headphones, but this can also disrupt the quietness of the study centre, as high frequency sounds hiss out of the headphones. The committee discussed these matters and agreed the following policies which aim to ensure that the primary function of the study centre -- study -- may take place effectively. (a) The library committee is firmly of the opinion that the study centre should provide a quiet study environment. Those who wish to work in an environment with music are asked to work elsewhere. Music may not be listened to using headphones, except as specified in (b) below. Mobile phone use remains forbidden. Mobile phones must not ring in the study centre. Silently-vibrating phones may vibrate, but conversations on mobile phones are not permitted. These rules apply throughout the study centre -- in all computer rooms and corridors and in the main space of the study centre, and in the Finley room, except as specified in (b) below. (b) We would like to encourage increased use of the Finley room. A booking sheet for reserving the Finley room for group activities (such as discussions) will be provided on a noticeboard in the study centre. When the Finley room is not booked, conversation and the considerate use of headphones will be permitted in that room. Mobile phone use is not permitted in the Finley room. (c) Smoking and the consumption of food are not permitted in the study centre. It had been suggested by a member that the balcony outside the Finley room might be made accessible for use as a smoking area. The committee did not agree a policy on this matter, but did agree that it would ask the Buildings and Grounds committee to {\em{add\/}} an appropriate lock to one or both of the doors so that it will become possible -- if the existing keyed lock is unlocked -- for members to unlock the door from the inside and enjoy the balcony. Once this possibility exists, policies on when to unlock the keyed lock and how to ensure the security of the building will be discussed; and the question of whether smoking would be permitted on the balcony may be revisited by the library committee. The area with the bench is apparently not to be made accessible to members on safety grounds(!). \item {\bf{Tamper-proof `returns' book bin / postbox}}. The catalogue of book bins does not include bins of the right size to fit under the borrowing desk. Joanna will ask the Clerk of Works whether he might build an entire book bin of the appropriate size. \item {\bf{Vesalius}}. Karin Tybjerg has been caring for the books. \item {\bf{Computerization of the loan system}}. Since 6th November all book borrowings that have been recorded by members have been logged in Espen's new computer system. (Paper borrowing slips are still being used during this first transitional stage; the student librarian enters the details in the filemaker system.) From these logs, useful statistics can be gathered. The librarian can easily view all checked-out books and send out emails to borrowers of overdue books. [This last feature was one of the main reasons for the relabelling of all books with unique barcodes.] From 6 Nov 2001 to 28 Jan 2002, 208 loans were recorded, made by 75 different borrowers. The average duration until a book was returned was 23 days. 107 books are on loan today. 17 are overdue. It is conjectured that a number of other books have been borrowed without a slip's being filled in. It is hoped that the new system, shortly to be implemented, will sufficiently reduce the labour involved in legitimate borrowing that the practice of borrowing without checking the book out will cease. The new system is intended to have the following features: (a) Members will be able to borrow a book by scanning the book with the scanner on the borrowing desk and entering their email ID, or scanning their university library card. (b) Members will be able to renew a borrowed book by bringing it in to the library and rescanning the book. (c) Members who would like to determine whether a book is out on loan will be able to do so on a college web-page connected to the loans database. The system will allow the member to initiate either or both of the following actions, if the book is on loan: i. have an anonymous email sent to the current borrower, alerting them to the fact that another member is interested in viewing the book. ii. request that the loan system notifies the prospective borrower when the book is returned. (d) Book returns will be recorded by scanner by the student librarian. (e) Members with no email address will be able to borrow books by filling in an old-fashioned borrowing slip. \item {\bf{Shelf labels}}. The committee viewed a selection of labelling systems and chose shelf labels for mounting on the shelves themselves. \item {\bf{Other business}}. \begin{itemize} \item Credit Card: Joanna can now order books online from both Heffers and CUP so the demand for a credit card has declined. \item There was a small flood in the archives, coming through the wall from the Silver Street side, a month ago. It had been dealt with satisfactorily. \item Valuable books. It was agreed that the small number of rare books currently held in the librarian's office should be added to the catalogue with an appropriate annotation. \item Sherry. The committee agreed to request that tea, not sherry, be provided at future meetings. \end{itemize} \item Date of next meeting: Tue 25 June 2002, 6pm. \een % % Actions: DJCM to write annual report circa November % \medskip \hfill DJCM \today \end{document}