NULSA Meeting Minutes

NULSA Meeting Minutes - October 18, 2006

Editor's Note: Beginning with this issue, LibStaff Links will begin regularly publishing the minutes of NULSA's general meetings, which will also enable them to be archived and retrieved for reference.

Introduction of NULSA Officers for 2006-2007

President
Devin Savage, Information Commons

Vice- President
John Ritterbush, Inter-Library Loan

Secretary
Aicha Azzaoui, Science & Engineering Library

Treasurer
Jennifer Young, Serials

Social Officer
Voula Pantelias, Government Information & Geographic Data Services

Guest Speakers
The first speaker was Rebecca Griffiths, Chair of the Staff Development Committee. She spoke about the Staff development Committee, its composure (3 exempt staff, 3 non-exempt staff, Rebecca Griffiths & Peter Devlin) and its goal of training & development. The SDC also facilitates guest speakers, both internal and external, and people can request to attend training (at SDC expense.

The second speaker was Stu Baker, Chair of Assembly. He spoke about the Assembly, and the sort of issues they are address (currently the Merit Review & Travel Policies). He spoke to the sort of cooperation that the Assembly and NULSA can engage in, using technology to foster formal & informal communication. This could also utilizing staff resources, and help define travel policies. The Assembly also sponsors making speakers available, and could assist in recording these events.

Then, Devin Savage gave a Presidential State-of-the-Association-Address. He discussed the past, present, and possible future of NULSA, the possibilities for working with Admin, Assembly, Staff Development, & the Lantern. Also highlighted was the importance of Communication, and Staff Representation, as well as the past role(s) of ULASC. He identified NULSA as an appropriate venue for discussion:

“In our discussion of NULSA, questions for this membership to consider are whether there is any recourse for Staff in matters that ULASC used to handle? And should there be? And should NULSA be playing this part? … I believe this is the appropriate venue to talk about these issues as we look to shape our Staff Association.”

The full speech can be found on the Staff Drive at:
L:\Staff\NULSA\NULSA FY 2007\Communication
President’s State of NULSA Address

A brainstorming session and Discussion followed the speakers, in a series of discussions. The first was about envisioning the qualities of a Staff Association? These ideas were given; a forum for discussion; a way to bring people together for Social, Educational, and Communication needs; A body that is both Representative and Participatory and also advocates for those qualities, a body that has a Recognized Official (and Empowered) Role; and one that is Facilitative.

The second discussion was about the Institutional Needs that NULSA can help address. These were some of the suggestions of the membership: Facilitate the creation of a Non-exempt organization; Ensure official Role within the existing institution; Finding ways of assessing the needs of Staff; creating searchable resources for improved communication: wikis, blogs, listservs, etc., and finally, going back to the Program Review Documents & making sure that the Recommendations are not forgotten.

There was a brief break from brainstorming & discussion as Rebecca Griffiths spoke about NUSAC. Specifically, she mentioned that other NU departments have Staff Associations that liaison with NUSAC, and that there is a not a Library liaison for NUSAC. NULSA can be seen as a microcosm of NUSAC, and may be an appropriate organization to fill this gap. Then began a final discussion; in which we talked of our need to organize our mission, and to find best approach for multi-layered cooperation. Members spoke of needing to break down walls, possible use of surveys, fostering communication, and the possible need for a Communication Audit. There were points made about the importance of moving forward regardless of outside evaluation, and also about becoming involved with the Strategic Plan and being included within that plan.

Members were concerned that improved Communication & Representation must be meaningful; particularly in regard to Staff Participation. Additionally, even before changing things, there is importance of moving forward, and beginning the process of communication and participation. Ideas of forming subcommittees, ad-hoc committees, or creating surveys or Needs Assessments were also discussed. A final point about the importance of creating a forum with regular meetings and expanding the debate was met with approval. Followed by these points was a discussion of outreach, and how to better inform the staff about NULSA. This brought out the following ideas, such as having an Agenda to send out, and requesting agenda items beforehand, using attending members to spread word-of-mouth reports, sending out the minutes, getting a new “Brand” for NULSA and engaging outreach to Exempt staff and Off-site staff such as SEL & Schaffner. NULSA has resolved to be a Forum for Staff Discussion, and have now begun to set Regular Meetings to continue this conversation. Please join us, or contact us if you have any further questions, comments, or suggestions.