Yale University Library: Library Staff Association: Annual Report

Library Staff Association
Annual Report for fiscal year 2004

Submitted by Stephen E. Cohen, chairman, on behalf of the Association, September 2004

Council Membership (July 2003-June 2004)
Steven Bernstein, Catalog Department (2002-2004 - M&P)
Mary Bradway, East Asia Library (2003-2005)
Kathleen Burns, Beinecke (2003-2005 - M&P), superseded Laurel Bliss in September 2003
Stephen Cohen, Manuscripts and Archives (2002-2005 - M&P)
Todd Gilman, Research Services and Collections (2002-2004 - M&P)
Ngadi W. Kponou Osadebe, Beinecke (2003-2004 - C&T)
Amanda Patrick, SML Access Services (2004-2005 - M&P), superseded Lynne Thomas in January 2004
Diana Quinones, Electronic Collections (2003-2005 - C&T)
Kelly Shand, Divinity Library (2003-2005 - C&T)
Lynne Thomas, Rare Book Team (2002-2004 - M&P)
Norma "Meneca" Turconi, Medical Library (2003-2004 - C&T)
Jennifer Weintraub, Electronic Collections (2002-2004 – M&P)
Jennifer ZuWalick, Catalog Management Team (2003-2004 - C&T)

Bernadette Cioffi, Library Administrative Services, Ex-Officio

Chairman: Stephen Cohen
Chair-Elect: Diana Quinones
Secretary: Jennifer ZuWalick
Webmaster: Steven Bernstein

The newly re-formulated Managerial and Professional Staff Association, with the inclusion of clerical and technical staff representation to become the Library Staff Association.

Chair-Elect Diana Quinones and I set to work revising the Managerial & Professional Staff Association charter to fit its transformation to the Library Staff Association's goals and objectives. After careful analysis and revisions, the current membership, plus Diane Turner, approved it. It is now posted on the LiSA website (which still maintains "mpsa" in the URL).

Diana Quinones, chair-elect, secured a space in SML where the Association can keep its active records and seasonal items. With John Vincenti's approval, we obtained a large closet (approx. 8'x10') adjacent to the Catalog Management Team on the mezzanine level. The room was cleared of decades old holiday decorations and obsolete copies of publications, all of which were well covered in a layer of plaster dust and filth. It still needs shelving and other furnishings so that it does not become what it became.

LiSA, mostly in the form of the chair, chair-elect, and ex-officio, consulted with the Diane Turner, AUL for Human Resources, in planning the use of the renovated and un-renovated Sterling Spoon dining areas in SML. LiSA council leaders continued to work with Library Administration to take part in ongoing efforts to recognize staff. With regard to the Spoon, LiSA opted out of overseeing a coffee club or some such program for readily available coffee as it only concerned SML staff and not YUL staff, and monitoring it would require more resources than we can afford. As for taking part in recognizing staff, this has yet to materialize but is expected to take the form of one to two council member who will sit on a committee or task force charged with seeking out ways to honor staff who do not yet qualify for long-term service to the University, or who are here on fixed duration projects.

Events

Field Day, 10 August 2003, Lighthouse Point Park
A mildly successful effort at having a "company picnic" for Library staff, family and friends. Heavy rains leading up to and ending minutes before it started contributed to a less than expected turnout. Activities and events during the day included tug-of-war competitions, dessert competitions, free rides on the carousel (for children). The Association catered the event (hotdogs, hamburgers, condiments, rolls/buns, water, soda), asking staff to bring their own side dishes, alcoholic drinks not in glass bottles, and desserts to share (optional). Unopened food (hotdogs, hamburgers, rolls/bun) were donated to the Columbus House. We received many letters of gratitude for orchestrating such an event on what turned out to be a beautiful summer day. Stephen E. Cohen served as sub-committee event chair.

Red Cross Blood Drive, 29 October 2003 at the Hall of Graduate Studies
The Association helped solicit donors for the autumn blood drive by distributing brochures, announcements and posters throughout the Library and it staff listserv. Shortcomings came from the Red Cross representatives who were lax in sending us documentation to publicize the drive and in reporting the results. Meneca Turconi served as sub-committee event chair.

New Staff Reception (Autumn), 13 November 2003, President's Room, Woolsey Hall
Jennifer Weintraub and Bernadette Cioffi served as sub-committee event chairs. Since we rented a space that's new to library staff (ie. not Beinecke's mezzanine) we clearly posted directions to get to the President's Room. One shortcoming of this space is the awkward placement of the elevator. Another shortcoming was the lack of chairs. Reasonable critiques from staff included having the event semi-annually or when the new staff hires reach a critical mass. This was brought on by most of the event being taken up by announcements of the new hires, leaving little time to mingle freely. In general, these details did not keep the reception from being a great success. We had enough food and serving the celebratory dessert/cakes a little way into the event worked well. The Staff Assoc. members received plenty of positive comments for days after.

New Staff Reception (Spring), 3-5pm, 19 May 2004, SML Lecture Hall and Memorabilia Room
Diana Quinones served as sub-committee event chair. With advice from Diane Turner, Diana, Stephen Cohen, and Bernadette Cioffi, proposed a pared down event with an emphasis on welcoming the new staff and stimulating casual conversation. Catering was reduced to a classical high-tea style menu that featured champagne, fruits, cheeses and small sandwiches. Presenters were strongly advised to keep introductions to a maximum of one minute per new staff member. The reception was well received and timing of introductions did leave time for casual conversation - this may be due to a fewer staff to introduce than shorter statements. As for the biographical statements, we approached it differently. Library Human Resources sent a message to each new staffer briefly asking for a few sentences on their background and interests. Responses were then sorted by associate university librarian who then could read the statements. While this streamlined the process significantly streamlined the effort of getting biographical statements (Do not need to rely on AULs to pass request down to supervisor, who then passes it to the new employee, and then back up the chain of command), it did add more work to LHR, especially for chasing down unresponsive staffers. Overall, it was a successful experiment.

Holiday Party, 4 December 2003, President's Room, Woolsey Hall
Kelly Shand and Stephen E. Cohen served as sub-committee event chairs. Learning from the New Staff Reception, we made sure to have chairs in the room and not to spend too much time at the microphone making announcements. So as not to cause a bottleneck at the top of the stairs, we set up a raffle ticket selling station on the main floor of the rotunda; from here we also directed staff upstairs and to the elevator. With a slightly larger budget, we upgraded the menu option and included beer (Harpoon IPA) in addition to wine. Yale Catering supplied and served the appetizers; the Wine Thief supplied drinks and refunded us any un-opened wine bottles. Valid critiques included making sure there is a vegetable spread (crudité) and extending the event by one hour.

Holiday Raffle
Mary Bradway and Kathleen Burns served as sub-committee event chairs. We received a record number of 83 gifts to be raffled, many of which were made by YUL staff, including a white Afghan blanket by Christine Connolly, a ceramic platter by Ulla Kasten, and hand-painted glass ornaments by Alicja Jedrzejewski. (A full list is available from the website.) Diane Turner, Alice Prochaska, and Stephen Cohen (in lieu of Frank Turner and Kenney Marrone) announced the winners during the first past of the Holiday Party. Winners were presented with their winning ticket attached to a voucher which they then used to claim their prize. Prizes were displayed outside of the President's Room at the top of the stairs. This way claimants could easily leave with their prize and staff could view all the prizes, especially at the beginning of the event when raffle tickets were still for sale.
The raffle raised a record $2522 for the Columbus House.

Columbus House Library
Amanda Patrick and Jennifer ZuWalick led efforts to coordinate the establishment of a general purpose reading library for residents at the Columbus House. They arranged a book drive whereby YUL staff donated over 1000 general reading books (no academic textbooks) in English and Spanish. Stephen Cohen donated a bookcase which he delivered in May. Residents eagerly awaited the availability of reading materials, and have been informed that a couple of residents have asked to serve as the librarians.

YUL International Pot-Luck Party, 16 January 2004, Sterling Memorial Library
LiSA staff helped Library Human Resources set up an international themed party for all Library staff, their family and friends. LiSA's role was limited to decorating the nave and the L&B Room with strings of white lights.

Weight Watchers
Diana Quinones led efforts to arrange a weekly Weight Watchers meeting at SML. Meetings started in late April (on Mondays) for a 12 week period.

Holiday Food Drive
Steven Bernstein served as sub-committee event chair.

Theater Night, December 2003.
The Association organized a night at the Shubert Theater for a performance of the Nutcracker.

Nooks & Crannies Tours
Council decided that Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are the best days to offer tours in April, May, and June. Proposed tours are as follows:

Grove Street Cemetery (Steven Bernstein:)
Stephen Cohen: Louis' Lunch
Mary Bradway: Harkness Tower (Branford College master?)-no tours given; will contact Athletics regarding the opening of the Trophy Room.
Preservation Dept (Kathleen Burns)
Newberry Organ in Woolsey Hall (Ngadi Kponou Osadebe)
African Collection (Amanda Patrick)
Babylonian Collection (Diana Quinones)
Peabody Museum (Kelly Shand)
Law Library (Meneca Turconi)
New Haven Colony Historical Society (Jennifer Weintraub)
Trumbull College (Jennifer ZuWalick)
Louis' Lunch (Meneca Turconi)

Courtyard Music Series - no activity

Staff Art Exhibit, SML Exhibit Corridor
Todd Gilman served as sub-committee event chair. Due to scheduling issues, the exhibit was nixed for FY2004. A tentative date has been set for early in FY2005.