Librarians' Assembly

May 3, 2000
9:30-11:00am
Lamont Library Forum Room

Provost Harvey Fineberg opens meeting

 Welcome

Scott Britton: Lamont Library and Chair of the Assembly Executive Committee

Introduction of Committee Members-at-Large

Amy Kautzman (Vice-Chair), HCL-Social Sciences Program

Ellen Isenstein, Kennedy School of Government

Ken Carpenter, Widener Library

Jan Voogd, HCL-Social Sciences Program

Judi Beland, Countway Library

Executive Committee Report

Scott Britton

Standing Committee Reports

Benefits Committee

Chair, Emily Moss, Tozzer Library

Communication and Orientation Committee

Co-Chair, Laura Farewell Blake, Widener Library

Co-Chair, Phyllis Askey, Law Library

Professional Development Committee

Chair, Betsy Eggleston, Widener Library

 Rights and Responsibilities Committee

Chair, Lynn Shirey, Widener Library

HUL Update

Sidney Verba, Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor and Director of the Harvard University Library

Discussion: Harvard Librarians and Professional Identity in the Digital World

Lynda Kresge, Database Management Team Leader, Harvard College Library

Judy Messerle, Librarian, Countway Library

Tom Michalak, Executive Director, Baker Library

(Tom was replaced by: Melissa Shaffer, Director of Baker Library Information Technology and Product Manager for HBS Working Knowledge)

William Stoneman, Librarian, Houghton Library

Suggested topics to be discussed include:

1. Spirit of Place: How powerful is this force in determining our identity? To what extent do the buildings in which we work define us?

2. History and Tradition: As technology continues to transform the world of library science, what intangibles do we save, and what do we jettison? What should we bring with us into the future? What can we let go?

3. Path of Least Resistance: What is worth fighting for? What trade-offs will we make?

4. Coming Together: The users of the library, thanks in large part to HOLLIS, see this as a unified library system. Are we librarians of Harvard, a faculty, a department, a function?

5. Moving Apart: Collections and staff have always been decentralized. But where do librarians fit in when staff, users and collections may all be off campus?

6. A Degree of Identity: The term librarian increasingly includes specialists who do not necessarily have an MLS or identify with librarianship. Can we maintain an identity when specialization has progressed to a point that one librarian does not necessarily understand in some basic way the work of other librarians?

Provost Harvey Fineberg closes meeting

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