The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m.Grace Hall by Chairman Harvey Bender. Also in attendance were John Adams, Eugene Halton, Roger Jacobs, Brooke Norton, Owen Phelan, Margaret Porter, Walter Pratt, Larry Rapagnani, Laurence Taylor, Jennifer Younger, observer Joanne Bessler, guest Doug Archer and secretary Melodie Eiteljorge.

The minutes of the meeting of February 8, 2001, were approved as written.

Director's Report: 

* BioOne is available from the Life Sciences Web page, and it includes American Midland Naturalist, a Notre Dame journal.

* Younger and Jacobs met with the past three recipients of the Foik Award to discuss balance in selection criteria and recognizing notable achievement.

* The Libraries will undertake a self study beginning in April, to be completed by September 29. The last self study was done in 1988. External reviewers will visit in November to review our report. Younger will ask this committee for discussion and advice.

* Nature (and the Nature monthlies) are currently not available electronically at Notre Dame. The publisher refuses to sell the full electronic version to institutional subscribers except on a three month delay for part of the journal.

The entire magazine is available immediately electronically to personal subscribers. Many libraries feel that the delay in electronic availability of this widely read and time sensitive material in the institutional online edition defeats the very purpose of the library, which is to make material available as widely as possible on equal terms to all members of the university. (The Libraries will continue to subscribe in print, of course.) The Northeast Research Libraries Consortium (NERL) supports this position.

A discussion of licensing agreements for e-journals will be on the April agenda. Adams noted that the journal Cell has a similar policy. Pratt added that the Chronicle of Higher Education provides Web access only to individual subscribers.

* The Advisory Council for University Libraries (ACUL) has scheduled its spring meeting for Friday, April 27, 2001. UCL members will be invited.

* The copy center on the second floor of the Hesburgh Library is now accepting pro cards.

Intellectual Freedom Statement: Doug Archer distributed copies of the revised statement, which reads:

"The University Libraries collect, exhibit and circulate materials and information on all subjects relevant to their mission as defined in their collection development policies without regard to the creators' origins, backgrounds or views and provide unrestricted access to these materials and information."

An earlier draft was brought to this committee at its January meeting, at which time there was a general agreement that, while it was heading in the right direction, it should be revised for clarity and succinctness. The statement as it now stands addresses the issue of intellectual freedom.

* Question: Is this in any way in conflict with our collection development policy? Do we place restrictions on collection development? Answer: We do, but not for reasons connected with intellectual freedom. We limit collecting in areas where collection building is not a primary goal.

* Question: Does "unrestricted access" really exist? Answer: In the strictest sense, it does not. However, the Libraries use various means to provide broad access, including recalls and interlibrary loan.

* Q: Do other institutions have intellectual freedom statements? A: Most do not at this point. College and university libraries are a generation behind public libraries in this area. However, most if not all institutions support this position.

* Q: How does this fit with confidentiality of patron records? For example, if the FBI requested patron records, would we provide them? A: We would not provide them.

By consensus, the committee approved the new statement. 

Bessler reported that some workstations have been placed in a separate, but not isolated area, where the screens are not visible to a passerby. We have also installed privacy screens. Anyone reviewing online material that might be offensive to others will be asked to use these machines.

Younger thanked Doug Archer for his participation and the work he did as primary author of the statement.

Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable (TLTR):

Margaret Porter provided an update on the TLTR, of which she and Larry Rapagnani are both Steering Committee members. The TLTR advocates, promotes, advances, and facilitates the wise use of technology and information resources as part of the educational mission of the University of Notre Dame. Through the TLTR, creative thinking about learning, pedagogy, and curriculum is integrated with creative thinking about technology and the times and spaces where learning occurs.

This year the group drafted recommendations for faculty development opportunities in terms of teaching and technology. Members have been assigned to various departments to gather input. Porter noted that UCL members might be approached by members of the roundtable.

There are currently four working groups within the TLTR. For more information, their Web site is at http://www.nd.edu/~tltr/.

* Q: Are there ways to apprize the faculty of the efforts of this group? A: The Kaneb Center offers a workshop and distributes a flyer in regard to that. They also offer the workshop to people at other institutions.

* Q: Is there a student component? A. There is student representation on the group. 

* Q: Do students have opportunity for input? A: Both faculty and students were sent surveys, and the responses were good.

* Q: Is there a question on the Teacher Course Evaluation (TCE) form in regard to technology? A: There is not a specific line, though that might be useful.

Next meeting: Thursday, April 12, 2001. One agenda item will be access to online journals. Younger asked for other suggestions. Taylor asked that the committee include a discussion of long-term access to online journals.

Adjournment: 8:15 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Melodie Eiteljorge
Secretary