Communications Committee
Minutes of July 14, 2003, Law School Room 110

Attendance: Shirley Amstrong-Thimas, Jenn Buell (Recorder), Mary Caldera (Chair), Pearlene Ford, Tania Grant, Jeffry Larson, Maureen Malone-Jones, Pamela Mouzon, Dana Peterman, Roberta Pilette, Karen Reardon, Diane Young Turner, Fay Kandarian

Absent: Mark Engsberg, Mark Gentry, Teresa Mensz, Kevin Pacelli,
Kate Reynolds

· Mary opened with a review of the minutes from the last meeting and the meeting purpose.
· Mary also noted that we received an anonymous comment from our comment box regarding the placement of Library Links on our Web site. This prompted a discussion about the placement of items, links and information on the Communication Committee (CC) Web site. In light of this Diane asked that everyone take a look at the site and send all responses/feedback to her.
· It was decided that any time someone sent out a mass e-mail asking for comments or suggestions, that everyone would respond and would do so with a "reply all" answer.
· Dana and Mary talked about their meeting with Alice where they discussed the printing of the strategic planning process. Alice would like a 100-word summary of each action plan. It will then be the role of the group to look at the draft and edit it for consistency and provide feedback as well. Volunteers include: Bobbie, Diane, Dana and Mary.
· Bobbie gave a report on what was discussed at Library Management Council (LMC) with regard to staff and e-mail availability. According to Bobbie, most members were surprised that there were some staff only being allowed to read email on breaks and the general feeling seemed to be that this is not okay. Associate University Librarian, Danuta Nitecki, will look into this further. This brought up the point that some employees only look at e-mail once a day. Because of this there needs to be a better way to communicate cancellations of meetings or questions that someone might need an immediate answer. This prompted a discussion on Meeting Maker; who uses it, who doesn't and who should. Bobbie noted that there are some people who do not use it effectively. Dana thought it would be a good idea to come up with "Guidelines for electronic tools that are available". Karen noted that perhaps training should also be readily available for those individuals.
· Bobbie, Diane and Mary went over the changes that were made to the flyer. It was decided that the flyer:
o Would go in every department.
o Would change/alternate between three different colors.
o Would be the responsibility of the liaison to make sure it is up in all departments.

o Will include approximately three main points that occur throughout each meeting, which will be decided by the committee. They will then be summarized by Jenn and distributed back to the committee for comments/changes before copies are made for the liaisons to distribute to their departments.
o Would go out to liaisons no more then 1 week after final revision.
· Fay brought everyone's attention to the liaison list and Bobbie asked if everyone was okay with his or her assignments. Maureen requested to switch with Kevin in order to have Beinecke and Lewis Walpole. She will contact him. A list of these assignments will be handed out to the LMC. Dana brought up the point that a "liaison kit" should be made up with the necessary tools that would be needed. This would also help to ensure consistency between liaisons. With a collaborative effort from the group, it was decided that the roles of the liaison would be:
o To provide a linkage between all departments to the CC and to facilitate the flow and quality of information to YUL.
o To make sure each flyer is posted in each of their respective departments.
o To communicate with department head (by phone or e-email) the best place to put the flyer where all staff would have access to it.
o Responsible for getting on the department's staff meeting for no more then 30 minutes to discuss the CC and request any feedback that should be brought back to the group.
· Jeffry distributed a sample agenda of the library orientation. Fay asked everyone to brainstorm about what should go into the orientation day and where communications might fit on the agenda. Fay also facilitated a brainstorming exercise on what vehicles the CC could use to communicate.
· Fay went over the CC's Work and Responsibilities Listing sheet in conjunction with the goals from the 2.0 version of the Goals and Action plan sheet. Fay asked the committee to rate each of the goals as either, high, medium, low (in terms of not only importance but what should be handled first as well) or ongoing. Each goal was prioritized and the committee volunteered for the one they wanted to work on. It was decided that the entire CC would work on Committee Processes. The rest of the groupings are as follows:
o Measurements Systems
· Bobbie, Dana & Maureen
o Product Advisement
· Mary, Karen, Jenn & Diane
o Process Creation
· Pamela, Jeffry, Shirley, Pearlene & Tanya
It should be noted that Andrew Gray will be helping with the calendar aspect of Product Advisement and Dana, Mary, Diane & Bobbie will continue to work on the strategic plan portion.
· Fay distributed a tracking sheet that the Microcosm Group found useful. The sheet would keep track of who was doing what/when. It would also be a tracking system when particular items were sent out to the group. The CC decided to accept this system and add a feedback date modification.

· Next Steps:
o Everyone will send his or her feedback/reactions/comments to Diane regarding the CC Web site by Wednesday, July 16th.
o Diane (and staff) will be responsible for copying flyers and distributing to liaisons.
o Bobbie will distribute liaison assignments to LMC.
o Each liaison should contact department heads and get on their staff meeting agenda by September. They should also be informed that their ideas are wanted and will be brought to the CC.
o Liaisons will distribute flyers to their respective departments within 1 week of when the corrections are made.
o Jenn and Diane will make revisions to flyer (with Mary's help) and will let the committee know when they are ready for distribution.
o Karen will look into getting business cards for committee members.
o Jeffry will work on a spreadsheet incorporating all of the communication vehicles the group decided upon and incorporate a definition, how to accept it, if it is two-way communication and the purpose.
o Maureen will ask Kevin if they could switch liaison duties.
o Each goals group sub committee will meet between now and the next CC meeting and should have the Action planning worksheet filled out.
o Next meeting will be Monday, August 6th from 11-2 in LS Room 110 (lunch will be provided).

· Meeting adjourned 11:07 a.m.