Source: https://cufalibrarians.net/author/outfindca/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 22:58:00+00:00

Document:
1455 de Maisonneuve West Blvd.
The Honourable Gail Shea, P.C., M.P.
Concordia University Faculty Association Librarians are troubled by your government’s recent consolidation and closure of several Department of Fisheries and Oceans libraries, and the downsizing of the Department’s library collections.
We understand that libraries are changing and evolving in fundamental ways, and that their collections and services need to be reviewed to ensure that they continue to provide relevant support and resources to researchers and Canadians as a whole. However, we are concerned about the decreased level of service to researchers and the general public, through cutting jobs of librarians and library technicians. The knowledge of these information professionals is deep and valuable; surely some way can be found to trim costs without sacrificing this core service to researchers.
It is also troubling to us that the criteria for withdrawal of materials from these collections have not been transparent. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has said that “The Department has removed duplicates from its collections, and content not required to support the department’s mandate” (DFO Libraries FAQ, accessed May 23, 2014) and that the collections were analyzed according to DFO’s Library Collection Development and Management Guideline. While we are encouraged to hear that this Guideline was approved by the library governance committee, we can’t find any publicly available information that gives more detail on what items were discarded, or how many items were discarded. These are public records, and Canadians deserve to know how they are being managed.
The DFO has also said that it is digitizing documents on demand, which is a good service to users, and that “DFO libraries are mandated by Treasury Board policy to collect, preserve and make accessible all DFO/CCG publications… Those which are only in print form can be digitized on demand. The resulting items in digitized format are preserved, catalogued in WAVES and made available on the internet” (DFO Libraries FAQ, accessed May 30, 2014). Can you explain what your policy is for keeping the printed versions of documents for which the DFO holds copyright, and which have been digitized? Also, how are online versions being archived for future generations?
We urge the Government of Canada to increase its level of discussion and dialogue with Canadian library associations, research communities, and other stakeholders, so as to help inform and seek input from Canadians on the decisions being taken regarding collections and services that affect the quality of Canada’s scientific research.
The Assembly was proposed, discussed and created on December 5, 2012. The Steering Committee – composed of the Chair, the Secretary and the Member-at-Large – was elected at the meeting of January 9, 2013. V. Graziano was acclaimed as Chair, P. Carson was acclaimed as Secretary, and O. Charbonneau and D. Macaulay will share the duties of the Member-at-Large – all for two-year terms ending on May 31, 2015.
Drafted by V. Graziano, the Terms of Reference were presented to the Assembly at the meeting of December 5, 2012. With a few minor adjustments, and the proviso that the Terms would be reviewed prior to January 1, 2014, the Terms of Reference and amendments carried unanimously. The Terms were revised by V. Graziano and they were approved, with some amendments, at the meeting of November 6, 2013. The Terms will be reviewed annually.
G. Little presented the draft letter to the Minister of Canadian Heritage regarding LAC, written by G. Little, A. Murray, K. Huhn, M. Lake and J. Duy, at the Assembly meeting of December 5, 2012. The Letter carried unanimously. Members unanimously expressed their appreciation to the authors of the letter for their initiative, for drafting the letter, and for introducing this as an item for consideration by the Assembly. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, Mr. James Moore, replied in a letter dated February 25, 2013, which V. Graziano shared with all members of the Assembly.
The 3 new tenure-track librarians, hired in January 2013, were given the title “assistant librarian,” differing from past practice. It was unanimously agreed that the new job title “assistant librarian” is inappropriate because it diminishes the profession, it sounds like a rank, and does not sufficiently inform colleagues and patrons of the responsibilities of the librarian. The job descriptions did not include specific duties and responsibilities; rather, they pointed to Article 17 of the CUFA Collective Agreement.
CUFA librarians objected to the Conditions of Work section of the job descriptions, specifically the sentence: “Courtesy and tact is employed to maintain a respectful workplace and a positive image of Concordia University.” This violates Article 3.02 in the sense that it creates working conditions contrary to the provisions of the Collective Agreement, specifically Article 6.01 Academic Freedom: “Freedom of speech and freedom of enquiry guarantees the open investigation and interpretation of ideas and the right to raise probing questions and challenges to the beliefs of society at large.” The society at large includes Concordia University. Furthermore, the right of all members to exercise their academic freedom was not respected.
V. Graziano and C. Bober met with David Thirlwall and Benoit Goyette on January 28, 2013 to discuss the job descriptions and position titles of the three newly hired tenure-track librarians. The Administration agreed to remove the Conditions of Work, but kept the job title and did not re-instate the duties and responsibilities.
V. Graziano requested a meeting with G. Beaudry, newly appointed Interim University Librarian, which was held on June 27, 2013. G. Beaudry stated that she would discuss the issue with the Library Administration Team. At the meeting with V. Graziano on July 11, G. Beaudry announced that the Library will revise the 3 job descriptions to include titles and duties and responsibilities that are in accordance to past practice. The 3 revised job descriptions were issued in August 2013.
The website (https://cufalibrarians.net/) was created by O. Charbonneau on January 9, 2013 and co-administered by O. Charbonneau and D. Macaulay. The Letter to the Minister of Canadian Heritage about cuts to Library and Archives Canada (LAC), the CAUT Librarians Conference Report by V. Graziano, the Terms of Reference, and the minutes of meetings were posted on the website. The minutes were password protected. At the meeting of November 6, 2013, it was decided that the minutes would remain password protected, but that the agendas would be posted openly on the website.
A task force composed of O. Charbonneau, V. Graziano, K. Jensen and M. Massicotte drafted the Research Guidelines. After several versions and much discussion, the Guidelines were approved by the Assembly at the meeting of June 5, 2013. The vote was 19 in favour, 1 opposed and 1 abstention. They were subsequently posted on the website.
There are conflicting messages and a lack of consistency between departments and units in terms of working from home, resulting in an inherent unfairness. Also, the question of taking time off to care for dependents was raised, specifically if taking time off or working from home to care for a sick child/dependent would count as a sick day or a vacation day for librarians. Another issue discussed was the purpose of filling out the orange forms for absences.
An e-mail sent to G. Robichaud by L. Vileno on December 10, 2012 remains unanswered. Rather than having rules on this topic in writing, it could be possible to address it through tacit agreement among CUFA librarians. No resolution on this topic was reached. It was suggested that the Assembly revisit it at a later time.
A draft text regarding the Library Committee written by S. Poulin was tabled for discussion. Some thought that a Senate seat was more important than changing the mandate and membership of the Library Committee. There was general consensus that a document on governance as a whole was needed. There was a suggestion to form a group on governance issues. The group was formed with these members: R. Coughlan, V. Graziano, K. Jensen and G. Little. The group will begin meeting in 2014. The Group will be examining the options to pursue; among them a seat on Senate, a seat on the Board of Governors, a library council and reform of the Library Committee.
The 2012-2015 Collective Agreement states in Article 11.09 c) that “The LEC shall endeavor to ensure balanced representation of professional librarian activities in the membership of committees governed by this Agreement.” It was decided that we would continue with the status quo.
•	A Teaching Discussion Group was formed and met once.
•	A group was formed to draft the Checklist for Advisory Search Committees, which will be presented to the Assembly in 2014.
•	V. Graziano conducted a dossier workshop on April 19, 2013.
•	The composition of the University Librarian Search Committee was discussed, specifically the lack of representation by full-time faculty. The issue will be discussed at another meeting.
Beasley’s salary increased by $33,812 to a total of $182,437 in 2012, while Beauregard’s increased by $35,000 to a total of $206,670. Freedman received the largest increase—$44,782, which brought his salary to $260,000.
On February 28th 2013, CUFA members will be voting on a strike mandate. Of the many issues, salaries are a contentious one.
Academic librarianship is threatened by Wal-Mart style corporate management that cuts costs by deskilling work, outsourcing professional responsibilities, misusing technology and reducing necessary services and positions.
Where does money from unfilled positions go?
Is the course full-weight or “labs”?
Will those not teaching lose credibility?

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