Library Committee
Annual Report for 2018-19
QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The City University of New York
ACADEMIC SENATE
COMMITTEE ON THE LIBRARY
Library Committee Annual Report, Fall 2018-Spring 2019
Submitted by Dr. Agnieszka Tuszynska, Chairperson
August 2019
Committee Members: Agnieszka Tuszynska, English (2019) Chairperson, Larisa Honey, Social Sciences (2019) Secretary, Danny Mangra, Engineering Technology (2020), Biao Wang, Mathematics & Computer Science (2020), Peter Hayes Mauro, Art & Design (2021), Cheryl Tokke, Business (2021)
Liaisons: Angela Ridinger-Dotterman, English, Steering Committee Designee
Jeanne Galvin, Library, President's Liaison
Dates Committee Met:
The Library Committee met five times in the course of the 2018-2019 academic year, at the following dates (the meeting time was always 12.30pm): October 31st and November 21st in 2018, and February 27th, April 3rd and May 15th in 2019.
Narrative Summary of Committee Work:
After reviewing the charges in early Fall 2018, the library committee proceeded to focus its efforts on a few efforts it deemed most pressing and/or likely to benefit the Queensborough academic community.
The committee continued the efforts undertaken in the previous years to address and amend the issue if inaccessible bathrooms in the library building. In the fall, after an unanswered attempt to obtain more information from Buildings and Grounds about the possibility of making the bathrooms accessible for students with disabilities, the committee decided to reach out to other offices on campus. The committee chairperson contacted representatives of Committee on Environment, Quality of Life, and Disability Issue, the HR Employee Relations office, Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, as well as the Office of Finance and Administration. As a result, a response from VP William Faulkner in February informed the chairperson that while the architectural and engineering plans for the ADA compliant renovation of the library bathrooms had been completed and the capital funds had been included in the college’s request, given the approval process time from both the City and the State, the project would not begin until 2021. In response to the committee’s suggestion that a functional ramp be provided between the Library and Administration buildings, VP Faulkner advised that such a solution had been identified as problematic and that, instead, a review of the basement bathroom near LB16 would be conducted. The committee received no further updates concerning this matter and as of May 2019, the basement bathroom remained the only bathroom which—while not ADA-compliant—could be accessed by students in wheelchairs.
Much of the committee’s time during each meeting was devoted to discussions of a new initiative undertaken by the committee: the implementation of a STEAM lab at Queensborough. The idea was introduced by the Steering Committee Designee, Dr. Angela Ridinger-Dotterman, who will serve as a voting member and the secretary starting in Fall 2019. Dr. Ridinger-Dotterman researched the existing STEAM labs across CUNY and other colleges in the area and presented her findings to the committee, and continued to lead the committee’s efforts regarding this initiative. The committee members and liaisons showed interest and enthusiasm in exploring the possibility of establishing such a space for multimodal learning and projects at QCC, while also identifying the main challenge: space. The feedback the committee received from faculty in various departments illustrates there is a wide-ranging interest in this project. For example, Dr. Peter Mauro collected a number of written positive responses to the idea from his colleagues in the Department of Art & Design, and Dr. Danny Mangra shared the idea with the Chair of the Engineering Technology, Dr. Hamid Namdar, who subsequently visited with the library committee and expressed his readiness to share some of the state-of-the-art technology, including the 3-D printer, should a STEAM lab become reality. By the end of the academic year, the committee agreed that the next step should be applying for a grant to fund the lab and presenting the idea to the administration.
The committee also devoted a portion of its time to a serious consideration of student-led initiatives and responding to students’ needs. In Fall 2018, Prof. Kimberly Riegel, chair of the Student Activities Committee, visited to discuss students’ interest in moving the Starbucks café to the Student Union. The committee discussed the request and potential concerns, including the need for permission from Starbucks, and ultimately expressed a support for the idea followed by a decision to formalize this support in writing, should such a letter be needed in the future. In Spring 2019, three guests visited to discuss other concerns from the student body: Ronald Chan, President of Student Government, Monique T. Fisher, Executive Vice President of Student Government, and Gisela Rivera, Director of Student Activities. Mr. Chan and Ms. Fisher presented requests from the students: the extension of the library’s hours, the addition of overnight borrowing of laptop computers, and changes to the placement of the computers in the library. The students representatives also introduced some of the research and solutions that may facilitate the realization of these requests. Mr. Chan sought the library committee’s support for the use of Student Government budget money for 5 overnight computers. Prof. Galvin was instrumental in responding to these concerns, noting that libraries with 24 hour services often have only security guards on staff overnight, limiting student access to reserve items, and that laptops were to be included in the upcoming library budget proposal. Prof. Galvin also suggested that demonstrable student support would bolster the library budget proposal. The committee expressed an enthusiasm regarding the students’ involvement and readiness to work with students on issues of their concern in the future.
In summary, the library committee had five productive meetings full of engaged discussions among both the members and the visiting guests, which addressed both ongoing concerns and new horizons for the committee.
New Recommendations:
It is recommended that the Library Committee follow up the disability bathroom conversion issue by reaching out to the newly formed committee overseeing accessibility on campus and by contacting VP Faulkner to inquire about a temporary solution.
It is recommended that the Library Committee continue communication with the Student Government and Committee on Student Activities regarding students’ needs and ideas pertaining to the library and the library building.
It is recommended that the Library Committee pursue the creation of a STEAM Lab by applying for a grant and presenting the idea to the QCC administration and community.
New Committee Members:
The Library Committee welcomes new members who joined the committee in May 2019: Dr. Angela Ridinger-Dotterman from English, in her new role as a voting member, and Dr. Jodi Van Der Horn-Gibson from Speech Communication and Theatre Arts. Dr. Mauro and Dr. Angela Ridinger-Dotterman were unanimously elected as the Chairperson and Secretary, respectively, for the 2019-2020 academic year at the meeting on May 15, 2019.
Acknowledgements:
The Library Committee extends its thanks to Library Director Jeanne Galvin for sharing her expertise and her enthusiastic commitment to addressing the library-related concerns from QCC’s students and faculty; Professors Joel Kuszai, Steven Dahlke, and Jannette Urciuoli, for their availability and guidance; Professor Hamid Namdar, Chair of the Engineering Technology Department, for his support for the STEAM lab initiative; VP William Faulkner for an update on the accessible bathroom issue; Professor Kimberly Riegel, chair of the Student Activities Committee, for an update on student request to move the Starbucks coffee shop; Director of Student Activities, Gisela Rivera, and Student Government officers, Roland Chan and Monique T. Fisher, for sharing students’ concerns with the committee.
