Service Quality Improvement Council

Minutes
September 22, 1999

Present: Sue Crockford-Peters, Suzanne Eggleston, Emily Horning, Kenny Marone, Danuta Nitecki, Sandy Peterson, Rich Richie, Paul Stuehrenberg (Chair), Joan Swanekamp

Absent: Kathleen Bauer, Fred Martz, Andy Shimp, Martha Smalley

Guest: Judy Parker

I. Library carrel policy. Paul Stuehrenberg introduced Judy Parker to the SQI Council. Judy briefly outlined the current discussion underway in the Circulation Support Group regarding the proposal to charge materials located at the off-campus Library Shelving Facility (LSF) to patron carrels. Before her departure, Marlayna Gates had put forth the idea of charging items housed at the LSF to carrels given the library's policy of broadening access to materials. Judy reported that the Circulation Support Group agreed to disagree on this issue and decided to refer it to the SQI Council.

Paul noted that this proposal raises the question of who is responsible for materials charged to carrels. If something disappears from a carrel, we can hardly hold the patron responsible. Security at many units is such that we cannot be certain that materials in carrels might not be taken by others and either stashed, or taken from the building. If something belonging to one unit disappears from a carrel in another unit, who is responsible for replacement costs?

Danuta Nitecki asked whether it was necessary to differentiate between  carrel loans from campus libraries and those from the LSF. She further inquired whether the library should apply the policy in place now with regard to LSF materials charged to library carrels -- that materials will not be charged from a library to carrels located in other library buildings. Once circulated, materials from the LSF are essentially the same as other library materials. She advised that the stashing of library materials be treated as a separate issue and reminded members that such behavior is subject to disciplinary action.

Sue Crockford-Peters provided a few insights on the carrel issue:

• OPAC displays indicate whether an item has been checked to a carrel (reads "check the Circulation desk") and Circulation staff are trained to handle such cases.

• SML is the only YUL facility that permits the charging of materials to carrels from other library buildings (e.g., CCL and Mudd).

• Patrons often use carrels as "office space."

• No one officially takes responsibility for the payment of missing materials until a selector decides to purchase the item again.

• Not every library has staff (as does SML) to scout carrels for improperly charged books.

Danuta suggested that the Circulation Support Group devise a way of tracking missing rates to better judge whether there are real risks to expanding the library carrel policy. She asked if libraries might attempt to decrease security risks either by adding security strips to materials or by placing materials on "hold" at circulation desks. Judy observed that some of the problems with missing items has been a consequence of the renovation and the physical repositioning of carrels in the SML stacks. Sue felt that any investigation into missing rates would unearth anecdotal evidence only, and results would be inconclusive. As regards the proposal to hold items at circulation desks, Sue noted that the volume of requests would be too high for staff to accommodate. As regards the proposal to add security strips to materials, some systems work must be done (and a solution must be found to integrate the Art & Architecture Library, which uses a different security system than other YUL facilities). Sue added that there is no pressure to modify the current policy and that several of the libraries, including SSL, do not even have carrels.

The SQI Council asked the Circulation Support Group to research what is needed technically to expand the library carrel policy and to explore the security issues involved with the proposed change. Judy agreed to take this recommendation back to the Circulation Support Group to discuss at their next meeting. In the interim, LSF materials will not be charged to library carrels.

II. Emergency procedures. The Library Management Team (LMT) has requested that the SQI Council identify with Library Human Resources how the university announces emergency conditions affecting staff, what are critical services in such situation, and procedures for implementing emergency services in the library. When the university is open, the libraries are open, and it is rare that the university closes for inclement weather conditions. Questions to look into include:

• Where should decisions on staffing and service coverage be made?

• How should service units assure staff coverage in extreme weather conditions?

• What library services should we provide when the university announces less than full operating status?

This issue will be discussed further at the next meeting of the SQI Council. SQIC will forward policy recommendations to LMT by winter of this year.

III. University map. Danuta passed around a print-out of a university map newly designed by the Office of Facilities using CAD software. She asked whether the Council would be interested in placing orders for library copies of the map. Sandy Peterson offered to look into what is available for purchase.

IV. Staff Recognition Program Proposal. Sandy listed the following guidelines used by the Staffing Issues Group in developing the proposal:

• Good morale results in a high quality service environment;

• Recognition should be day-to-day;

• All levels of staff should be involved, including student assistants and new employees;

• Recognition should be based on outstanding achievement rather than other standards (i.e., years of employment);

• A team or a unit can be awarded for high quality service.

Sandy thanked Diane Turner for her consulting work on this project. She noted that there is literature available, including an ARL spec kit, on the topic of staff recognition. The Staffing Issues Group is working on establishing a funding base for proposed staff recognition events. Further comments on the proposal should be forwarded to Sandy. The Staffing Issues Group will submit a revised version of the proposal and a budget recommendation to SQIC. The proposal will then be sent to the Library Management Council for approval.

V. Prioritizing activities for the year. Paul requested that the various SQIC subgroups develop lists of priorities for their work for the year, and that they identify topics for the agenda. Sandy reported that the Staffing Issues Group will move on to tackle the issue of problem patrons in future meetings and to start work on a problem patrons policy manual. Copies of an obsolete public services manual with procedures on disciplinary action to be taken in cases involving problem patrons were recently discovered and may be used as a basis for the Staffing Issues Group's work.

VI. Future Agenda Topics and Announcements.

1. Privileges for electronic resources. Ann Okerson will visit SQIC's 10-6-99 meeting to talk about licensing issues.

2. Audrey Novak will visit SQIC to discuss the issue of patron empowerment modules.

3. The Reference Group is working on a Web site and a programmatic statement describing YUL reference services. Both projects will be submitted to SQIC once completed for comments.