Best Committee/Group Collaboration
Group collaboration, whether it is part of the Libraries' formal committee structure, a formally organized work group or team or an informal group, is a vital part of the participative decision-making process in the Libraries.
The group or committee's work may result in a recommendation or a final product such as a new policy, guideline, workflow, webpage or statistical analysis.
Criteria use to evaluate the Best Committee/Group collaboration include:
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The reason (cause for) the group/committee to be formed,
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Importance of the issue or task that is studied,
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Difficulties or hurdles that had to be overcome to solve the issue or task,
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Adherence to deadlines,
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Effective and appropriate communication of progress,
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Depth of study and research,
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Successful interaction of group members, effectiveness of process,
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Quality and relevance of final recommendation or product, and
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Implementation of recommendation or product if applicable.
Undergraduate Research Awards Group: Caroline Barratt, Ian Thomas, Nan McMurry, Kristen Nielson, Elizabeth White, Deb Raftus, Garrison Bickerstaff (Academic Enhancement), Jill Severn
The UGA Libraries Undergraduate Research Awards was created to support and reward undergraduate research at the University of Georgia. The Award focuses on the students' research process, and seeks to encourage reflection and discussion. Students wrote 3-4 page essays describing and reflecting upon their research project, and the help that the Libraries provided them. A cash prize was awarded to two winners (one senior, one lower classman) and several runner ups.
The Undergraduate Research Award was created from the ground up, with specific criteria and goals.
This group of librarians (and one instructor from Academic Enhancement) judged the essays and determined the best essays using the developed criteria. The result was a wonderful interaction with students through all parts of their research process, and greater visibility of the Libraries to undergraduate researchers.
Science Reference: Diana Hartle, Monica Pereira, Ian Thomas, Jacquie Houston, Barb Trevena
The Science Reference staff have provided excellent service to the students and faculty in the life and physical sciences this past year. Outreach to graduate students for consultations is a staple among the Science Reference librarians. Orientation sessions which describe specialized software, resources and services were given for 441 students and faculty.
Citation management training was a frequently requested service again this past year. The Science Reference staff provided 97 training sessions to 270 people. Endnote, the more specialized software, was the most often requested program.
Since the science community makes the heaviest use of electronic journals the science reference staff must become adept at diagnosing connectivity problems. Over 188 e-brary sessions were logged, most of these dealing with electronic journal sites.
As always instruction at the outset of each semester swamps the Science Reference staff. This year the reference librarians saw 2329 students in classes ranging from biology to post harvest plant physiology.
LC Cataloging Transition Team/CML: Deborah McAnallen, Janice Brown, Robin Fay, Caroline Killens, Marie Woods, Jasmine Rizer
The Curriculum Materials Library has a long history of creating very unique call numbers for the curriculum materials housed there. This process consumed an inordinate amount of CML staff time and resulted in records which lacked LC subject headings and fuller records, such as might be found in OCLC. This not only made locating materials difficult, but also limited the ability of users to search for titles by subject or keyword, thus making these items doubly hidden. Following preliminary discussions, Debbie, Janice, Robin, Caroline, Marie and Jasmine met with the CML staff in early January of this year to develop a plan to begin cataloging new curriculum purchases with Library of Congress call numbers and subject headings. Although materials are now broadly grouped by subject, individual items are still difficult to locate. Curriculum materials were reorganized at the beginning of the Fall ’06 Semester and are currently arranged by publisher, series, grade and then title. While this has been a step forward from simply having all the geography textbooks, for example, on one shelf, the addition of “real” call numbers will vastly improve the situation.
Also, we agreed that audio/visual materials in the CML’s collection would be retro-cataloged. This is no small feat, as there are nearly 1000 titles in this collection alone. This will have an enormous impact on the shelving of these materials. For the first time, A/V materials will be grouped by subject, and not simply by assigned number )VI 001, VI 002, etc.). Again, the addition of subject headings in the GIL record will make it possible for faculty and students to locate just the right A/V tool for their classes.
CML staff members naively thought that this “simple” change would be easily accomplished. Little did we realize the multitude of steps required and the many and various changes to the workflows of several departments. Throughout the discussions, we were impressed by the flexibility and dedication of all the people who worked on this project. New GIL locations had to be created and some previously used designations have been discontinued. These changes better reflect the “new” call numbers.
The openness and candor of the department heads involved, Cataloging and Database Management and Acquisitions, made this entire process very smooth. They were more than willing to listen to our needs and problems and answered endless questions in a fashion that led to improved dialogue and communication. Further, they all indicated that “tweaking” the process would not be a problem, and they would be willing to discuss future changes.
As they say, the proof is in the pudding. The CML has already begun receiving Curriculum Materials with LC Call Numbers. The entire CML staff is excited about this, even the student workers. We have begun shifting to make room for an LC section. As time goes by and more materials are added, the small LC collection will grow, and some day, the entire collection will be properly cataloged. The benefits of this change have already become apparent. None of this would have been possible without the willingness to effect change demonstrated by these departments and their staffs. Their hard work, attention to detail, and good humor made this possible and the staff of the CML thank them most sincerely.
UGA Campus Cat Coalition: Sarah Schuibbeo, Mary Willoughby, Kelly Bettinger et. al.
The all-volunteer Campus Cat Coalition is comprised of UGALibs and UGA staff members who donate their spare time and skills to trap, fix, release and feed or foster the UGA feral cat population.
As if the work on behalf of the cats isn't enough, they have also organized bake sales, and established an Etsy craft sale site at www.athensalleycats.etsy.com, from which proceeds go to the UGA Campus Cats fund at the Colbert Animal Hospital.
Through kindness, creativity, perserverance and hard work, the Campus Cat Coalition has managed to educate the UGA community about the subject of companion animal overpopulation, and pet abandonment.
DLG Technology Group: Toby Graham, Bob Kobres, Anne Marie Hamilton-Brehm, Mary Willoughby, Matt Hannum
This informal group has collaborated for the past year to create searchable PDF and DjVu files for multiple projects using JRA Publish and Book Restorer. Current projects include creation of electronic books for the Georgia Historic Books collection, creation of electronically searchable Georgia Statistical Registers to facilitate historical research, and historical digitization of The Red and Black from the late nineteenth century on. Trained and advised by Bob Kobres, the group learned to use the software from scratch and developed procedures to maximize its potential for each project. Toby Graham was instrumental in obtaining the necessary software licenses and technical support. Each member of the group grew to become an expert in various aspects of the software, and the group collaborates daily to maintain maximum production levels. Since we have a limited number of software licenses, each member of the team must coordinate effectively with the others to achieve production levels and meet deadlines. The group maintains a strong working relationship in addition to a pleasant work environment. Each member has been extremely supportive of the others and considerate of their work needs, contributing to a cohesive team and truly collegial group.
The GV903s
Deb Raftus (co-captain), Reference
Leigh Ann Vey (co-captain), Serials
Brian Wilson, SLC
Michael Hervey, Access Services
Rachel Parnell, Serials
Danny Bridges, Access Services
Tom Frieling, Access Services
Ed Hatfield, NGE
Byron Smith, Access Services
The GV903s were formed as part of a larger LSA effort to foster a sense of community within the Libraries. The GV903s provide the Libraries with a positive common cause to rally around.
Despite the fact that some members of the team were, initially, inexperienced bowlers, the GV903s have moved from last place in their league at the end of last year to first place in the league now; this within the space of just a few months.
With a website (http://www.libs.uga.edu/lsa/gv903s/) and weekly updates to the Libraries via Grapevine, the GV903s keep their colleagues informed of their progress. Also, with photos of the action, photos of the team members, and biographies of the team featured on the GV903s' website, everyone in the Libraries can get to know their colleagues on the team.
The members of the GV903s work in all three of the main Libraries' buildings (Main, Science, and the SLC) and in a wide variety of departments. They also interact with other groups in the community and, through these interactions, they have raised the community's awareness of the UGA Libraries.
To top it all off, the GV903s are poised to bring home the first place trophy in June!
1936 Gainesville Tornado Project Team: Leigh Ann Ripley, Ed Johnson (OIIT), Mandy Mastrovita, Sheila McAlister, Toby Graham, Ruta Abolins, James Bennyshek, Margie Compton
Developed a site on the 1936 Gainesville Tornado, the 5th deadliest in U.S. history, as a part of the Georgia HomePLACE initiative. The site features film footage and still images taken in the aftermath of the tornado. Visitors to the site may access these materials via an interactive map of downtown Gainesville. The site also features a historical essay and other supplemental resources. As a second phase, the team will develop an online exhibit that will interpret the disaster, as well as Gainesville's recovery.
Project is in partnership with the Hall County Public Library. Ruta Abolins, Margie Compton, and James Benyshek of the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection also played key roles.
WAG (Web Advisory Group): Deborah Stanley (ex-officio) Libraries' Web Editor,
Virginia Benjamin, Danny Bridges, Robin Fay, Ginny Feher, Betty Fox, Toby Graham, Eric Griffith, Thomas Knowlton, Kristin Nielsen, Patrick Reidenbaugh, Jill Severn, Ian Thomas, Denise Wilson,
Caroline Barratt
The role of the Web Advisory Group is to:
Advise the Web Editor on matters pertaining to the Libraries' web page with respect to policy, design, and content.
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Represent the viewpoints of the multiple constituencies within the Libraries.
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Redesign pages, conduct assessment, keep apprised of new technological developments and software, and respond to needs for other changes as necessary.
The Libraries homepage serves many different functions and audiences: a front door to Libraries services and collections, a "face" of the Libraries, a conduit to information about events and other newsworthy tidbits, as well as means of defining ourselves in cyberspace. Given the diverse audiences (incoming or potential students, current students; faculty, potential donors, community members, and literally any member of the world wide web community, this could be seen as a daunting task.
However, given the expertise of committee members and their dedication to providing the best access (quantifiable via assessment), this group continues to rise to the occasion.
Projects have included: site assessments, continuing work on the blog, recoding secondary pages for CSS, providing a portal to e-books, redesign of faculty and student pages to provide ease of navigation; creation of for graduate student pages, and many more.