Fondren Committees

Information on current Fondren Library Committees

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee will serve as the main governing body for the library's development. Its agenda and a brief account of its discussions will be routinely sent to all library staff via the listserv

Budget Council

This committee will meet regularly, monitor the library's budget (with the exception of full-time personnel/staff funds),make recommendations as to the most effective budgeting process, meet when necessary with library staff and others at Rice who are involved with the budget or who may help focus discussions, and serve as the internal committee with the most detailed knowledge of Fondren's expenditures. This standing committee has been convened to promote greater financial flexibility within Fondren and to facilitate increased departmental responsibility for fund management.

Collection Development & Management Council

To discuss collection development and management issues. []Collection Development Steering Committee, []Ad-hoc Committee on Review of Compact Disc Procedures

Community Services Steering Committee

1. Partnerships The committee will examine the interrelationship of R.i.C.E. and Government Publications, especially in light of the PTO partnership. 2. Legal Issues They will consider legal issues associated with charging the public for library services, including cost recovery, bookeeping, and 'profit' making. 3. Budget and Staffing The group will explore projected increase in volume of community services offered to business and legal sectors beyond the hedges and their implications for staffing, budgets, and space. 4. Public Relations The committee will consider how to best inform and steer the community interest in these services. The role and nature of community services in the new library, particularly space needs, philosophy, relationship to other more traditional library services will be discussed as well as planning for the Patent and Trademark Office partnership.

Digital Resources Steering Committee

[1]The committee will serve as a gathering point for information about new digital resources, emerging technologies, and news and updates about other libraries and information services in the U.S. and abroad that has relevance to Fondren. [2] Strategic Development The committee will explore ways to enhance and evolve current electronic text, image, and related services in Fondren.

Director's Forum

Members: Mary Bixby, Diane Butler, Esther Crawford, Sandi Edwards, Melinda Flannery, Kerry Keck, Sara Lowman (chair), Ginny Martin, Lee Pecht, Janet Thompson, Randy Tibbits

Disaster Recovery Team

The Team is charged to 1) engage in a periodic review of the existing disaster plan, 2) recommend a modest budget for disaster recovery supplies, and 3) recommend programs to heighten staff awareness of disaster recovery routines. The Team is charged as an ongoing group, but will submit an initial report by December 1, 1998.

Fondren Web Team

Fondren Library Web Site Team

Committee on Leadship

Every research library faces daunting challenges today, among them equitable policy making, new hiring practices, greater dependencies on digital technologies, and shifting areas of responsibility vis a vis the academic communities served. These are complex circumstances, made more difficult to assess and address because of discernibly heavy workloads. The Committee on Leadership will help the Fondren community to envision the future: with a greater knowledge of the influences and changes likely to occur, the library will be able to plan and make strategic decisions to more effectively benefit and serve the University.

Library Services Center Advisory Team

This standing group will advise library and Library Service Center (LSC) management on issues affecting user services, and stewardship of the Fondren Library collections housed at the LSC. The group is authorized to form ad hoc sub-teams, including membership of other Library or Rice community staff members as needed, to develop fully developed implementation proposals relating to either user services or collection stewardship. Membership will be reviewed annually to allow for the evolving needs of the LSC and Team. The group will meet regularly and record minutes, which will be made available to the Library staff and Rice community.

Research Education Committee

The Fondren Research Education program at Fondren Library supports the instructional, research, and public service programs of Rice University, including its strong commitment to undergraduate and graduate education to create effective lifelong users of information. Our mission is to teach library users how to access, evaluate and make use of information sources in the creation of new knowledge. The library staff works collaboratively with the Rice Community to design and implement instructional services aimed at developing skills needed by undergraduate and graduate students to excel in their work at Rice University and after graduation. We are committed to user outreach and excellent customer service to provide an effective instruction program that meets the needs of our library users.

Travel and Development Committee

Travel and Development Committee

Student Assistants, Ad Hoc Committee on Library

This committee will serve in an advisory capacity to the Executive Committee. The primary duties of this committee will be: 1. Student budget -- the committee will be responsible for making recommendations to the Executive Committee regarding the allocation of the student assistant budget. 2. Training -- the committee will sponsor an annual library training session in the Fall, providing students with an overview of how the library works, how to fill out time sheets, providing a list of rules for employment, etc. 3. Reviewing student job classifications and pay scales -- the committee will periodically evaluate pay scales within the library and compare them with campus rates. 4. Manual -- the committee should develop a training manual for students. This manual could contain general information about working in the library, a sample time sheet with instructions, a copy of the building and departmental hours, a list of rules for employment, and a calendar of time sheet due dates. 5. Bring other student work related issues to the attention of the Executive Committee.

Brown Fine Arts Taskforce

As part of the renovation plan, the circulation/reserves service point in the Brown Fine Arts Library will be eliminated. In order to ensure a smooth transition of services, a task force is being formed to discuss and make recommendations regarding the following subjects.

Collection Management Project Team

This group is charged over the next 3-5 years to plan and implement a series of interrelated projects to improve the current usefulness of the collections in advance of the projected move into an enlarged library facility. The Team will report to the Executive Committee. An initial planning document be submitted by April 15, 1998; the group should recommend annual budgeted support for the projects as they proceed. Projects to be completed include: shifting and shelf-reading Fondren collections, incorporating unordered overflow sequences barcoding and inventorying Fondren collections weeding the storage facility, involving appropriate selectors reshelving remaining materials in storage facility, including purchase of new shelving barcoding and inventorying materials in storage facility, including catalog access to storage location

Library Committees

Executive Committee Budget Council Collection Management & Development Council Community Services Steering Committee Digital Resources Steering Committee Disaster Recovery Team Electronic Theses and Dissertations Committee Fondren Web Team Leadership Comittee Library Services Center Advisory Team Marketing and Services Team Research Education Committee Staff Development Committee Student Assistants