Libraries Committee – Annual Report – 2025-2026

Members:

Name	Rank	Department	Div	E/A	Term End	Email
Jesse Malmed	FAC	Film, Video, Animation, & New Genres	AH	E	2028	jmalmed@uwm.edu
William Musinski	FAC	Mechanical Engineering	NS	E	2028	musinski@uwm.edu
Shevaun Watson	FAC	English	AH	E	2028	watsonse@uwm.edu
Anne Bonds	FAC	Geography	SS	E	2027	bondsa@uwm.edu
Rick Edwards 1	AS	Anthropology	–	A	2027	wedwards@uwm.edu
Jenny Hutton	FAC	Music	AH	E	2027	huttonj@uwm.edu
Rachel Baum 2	AS	Ancient & Modern Languages, Literatures, & Cultures	–	A	2026	rbaum@uwm.edu
Martha Carlin 3	FAC	History	AH	A	2026	carlin@uwm.edu
Maura Lucking	FAC	Architecture	SS	E	2026	lucking@uwm.edu
Lance Weinhardt 4	FAC	Public Health	PR	E	2026	weinhard@uwm.edu
Michael Doylen	Dir	UWM Libraries	x-o	o	2026	doylenm@uwm.edu
Victoria Moerchen	Assoc. Dean	Graduate School Rep	x-o	o	2026	moerchev@uwm.edu
Ermitte Saint Jacques	FAC	African & African Diaspora Studies (Chancellor Rep)	x-o	o	2026	saintjac@uwm.edu
< >	Student/G	Graduate Student	–	A	2026
< >	Student	–	–	A	2026
< >	Student		–	A	2026

Charter:

A3.4    Libraries Committee

The Libraries Committee represents Faculty interests in archives and library policy, advises the Director of the Libraries on administrative matters, and makes recommendations for Faculty action.

1. Membership. The committee is composed of the following members:
   1. eight elected Faculty members, at least one from each Division;
   2. two Academic Staff members appointed by the Chancellor upon recommendation of the Academic Staff Committee;
   3. three students appointed annually by the Student Association, one of whom is a graduate student.
   4. three ex-officio and non-voting members, as follows:
      1. the Chancellor or designee;
      2. the Director of the Libraries;
      3. the Graduate Dean or designee.
2. Functions
   1. Represents the interest and authority of the University Faculty in archives and library affairs and in the establishment of policy.
   2. Makes recommendations for Faculty action.
   3. Advises the Director of the Libraries concerning administrative operation of the Archives and Libraries.

Meetings:

During semester I, 2025-2026, the University Libraries Committee (ULC) met three times (9/17, 10/21, 12/1); during semester II, the committee met two times (2/9, 4/13).

Major Accomplishments/Actions

• Elected Rachel Baum as chair for 2025-2026
• As chair, Baum participated in the selection of the 2026 Fromkin Grant recipient
• Committee agreed to begin meeting in a hybrid mode, twice each semester and more frequently as needed

At each meeting Associate Vice Provost and Director of Libraries Michael Doylen provided updates on priorities, initiatives, staffing, and the budget, including those below.

• Improvements to the navigation of the Libraries’ website
• Improvements to open study areas on the 2^nd floor, west wing
• Plans to manage a 5% budget cut in FY26 plus the usual 6% annual increase in collection costs
• Recruitments (communications manager, AGSL head, borrowing services head, health sciences librarian, and business librarian)
• Partnership with faculty to assess student use of AI research assistants for course assignments
• Results from the faculty and graduate student survey conducted in fall 2025
• Digital accessibility compliance
• Merger of Archives and Special Collections into one department effective May 25

Additionally, the following guests joined to provide information as follows:

• Kate Ganski, Library Associate Director for User Services, presented on AI research assistants
• Chris Doll, Library Associate Director for Collection and Resource Management, reported on the Libraries’ read and publish agreements

Respectfully submitted,

Rachel Baum

ULC Chair, 2025-26