Often committee work is done, and difficult reference questions are answered, with the help of email. Third, the librarians feel email is critical for assuring that policy issues are discussed in full. Since the librarians are faculty members at New Mexico State University, our governance is very participative. Electronic mail allows us to share ideas and debate issues. As a result, there is a much clearer understanding of policy and agreement on its implementation.
Abuse is minimal.
The staff have identified a number of ways to use email to increase their productivity, particularly sharing information and meeting asynchronously. After completion of the study the Library Administrative Council discussed how to apply the study's findings. There will be good reasons from time to time to operate outside the guidelines. But most of the time, we will operate within them. While the status of email messages, if ambiguous in U.S. courts, it is the intent of the library administra tion to assure first amendment rights of privacy for all email messages.