Libraries Committee – Annual Report – 2024-2025

Members:

Name	Rank	Department	Div	E/A	Term End	Email
Anne Bonds	FAC	Geography	SS	E	2027	bondsa@uwm.edu
Jenny Hutton	FAC	Music	AH	E	2027	huttonj@uwm.edu
Analise Sandoval	AS	Zilber College of Public Health	–	A	2027	analise@uwm.edu
Razia Azen	FAC	Educational Psychology	PR	E	2026	azen@uwm.edu
Rachel Baum 1	AS	Ancient & Modern Languages, Literatures, & Cultures	–	A	2026	rbaum@uwm.edu
Maura Lucking	FAC	Architecture	SS	E	2026	lucking@uwm.edu
Lance Weinhardt 2	FAC	Public Health	PR	E	2026	weinhard@uwm.edu
Philip Chang *	FAC	Physics	NS	E	2025	chang65@uwm.edu
Megan Gilbertson 3	FAC	Educational Psychology	PR	E	2025	gilbe235@uwm.edu
Anne Widmayer, Chair	FAC	Arts & Humanities	GS	E	2025	afwidma@uwm.edu
Michael Doylen	Dir	UWM Libraries	x-o	o	2025	doylenm@uwm.edu
Victoria Moerchen	Assoc. Dean	Graduate School Rep	x-o	o	2025	moerchev@uwm.edu
Ermitte Saint Jacques	FAC	African & African Diaspora Studies (Chancellor Rep)	x-o	o	2025	saintjac@uwm.edu
< >		Alumni Association Rep	x-o	o	2025
Lyndsey Agar	Student/G	Graduate Student	–	A	2025	agar@uwm.edu
< >	Student	–	–	A	2025
< >	Student		–	A	2025

Charter:

A3.4    Libraries Committee

1. Membership.  Seventeen members as follows: eight elected faculty members, at least one from each division; two appointed academic staff members; three students, one of whom is a graduate student.  The academic staff members are appointed by the Chancellor upon recommendation of the Academic Staff Committee.  The Chancellor, the Director of the Libraries, the Graduate Dean, and a representative of the UWM Alumni Association are ex-officio members.
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, 2024-2025, the University Libraries Committee (ULC) met three times (9/24, 10/21, 11/18); during semester II, the committee met three times (2/11, 4/8, 5/8).

Major Accomplishments/Actions

• Elected Anne Widmayer as chair for 2024-2025.
• As chair, Widmayer participated in the selection of the 2025 Fromkin Grant recipient (Gabriela Nagy).
• Approved a motion to “Revise ULC charter to remove representative of the UWM Alumni Association as ex officio member of the committee.” The recommendation subsequently was approved by the Codification Committee and the Faculty Senate.
• Heard a report from Aaron Dobbs, library associate director for Access Services and Operations, on a new loan history policy. Beginning in January 2025, loan histories will be purged after six months. Users may, however, opt in with a new app to retain their histories. Discussed ways to best communicate this to campus.
• Heard Kate Ganski, library associate director for User Services, outlining a proposed faculty/graduate student library appreciation survey and offered feedback on how to frame the survey to secure a better response rate.
• Discussed ways to recognize UWM authors in a less labor-intensive way for the library. Conversation supported dropping the program and replacing it with an annual or biennial exhibit of recently published works by the authors.
• Provided helpful feedback on faculty use of the Libraries’ website as the Libraries are working with MarCom to redesign its primary navigation.
• Heard a report from Chris Doll, library associate director for Collection and Resource Management, who described how the collections, including electronic Course Adopted Texts (eCATS), are managed to support the research, teaching and instructional needs of UWM. He also shared that a collection review will be conducted 2024-25 for call numbers B and C.

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

Doylen also shared a presentation on ways the Libraries have “bounced back” in the years after COVID-19, including an increase in library use, circulation rates, equipment loans, instruction classes, and use of reference services.

Collections

• The Libraries entered into a transformative agreement with Springer Nature via the Big Ten Alliance.
• AGSL hosted a weeklong visit from the Lazarus Project for multispectral imaging of the AGSL’s 1452 Leardo mappamundi.
• The Libraries retired its institutional repository, UWM Digital Commons, and moved the content to MINDS@UW, a Universities of Wisconsin community-hosted repository. “MINDS@UW Milwaukee” will be the site for all UWM’s electronic theses and dissertations.

Programs

• Named lectures supported by donors:
  • 55th Annual Morris Fromkin Memorial Lecture with Nan Kim.
  • Holzheimer “Maps & America” Lecture with Emily Bowe and Ian Spangler.
  • Ettinger Book Arts Lecture with Barbara Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman.
• UWM Authors Recognition Ceremony.
• Workshops and talks including a program on emerging AI research tools, their benefits, and shortcomings from viewpoints of information content providers, librarians, and users.
• Participation in 2024 Doors Open Milwaukee.

Facilities

• The Libraries, in partnership with the Graduate School, completed the construction of a new Graduate Student Commons on the second floor, east wing of the library. A grand opening was held in April.
• The renovated Sheldon B Lubar Study & Conference Room, W301, was completed in the spring and a reception held in May. The project was funded by philanthropists Sheldon and Marianne Lubar.
• Two new group study rooms as well as desks and comfortable seating were added to the second floor, west wing. Study areas adjacent to the art and architecture collection were also repainted and recarpeted.
• The Libraries closed the UWM at Waukesha Library in May 2025.

Budget

• The Libraries received a FY25 mid-year budget reduction of 0.9%, equaling $67,000. Student-facing services were protected as much as possible. Savings were achieved by decreasing the number of computers in the Learning Commons; reducing student employee budgets; realizing salary savings while vacancies are under recruitment; and decreasing support for employee professional development.
• The Libraries received an initial 1.3% budget reduction of 1.3% cut — $130,000. To meet this goal, the Libraries will close the lower level Equipment and Course Reserve desk and merge its services with the first floor Circulation Desk; end student employment at the Welcome desk over the summer; and end or reduce student employee coverage at other service desks during the summer. Additionally, the Libraries will need to manage the usual 6% increase on collections.

Personnel

• In FY25, three university staff resigned their positions. The Libraries hired one permanent and one fixed term university staff employees.