"Before being voted on by the University Board of Governors on April 2, 2009, the proposed school name change (from School of Communication,Information, and Library Studies to School of Communication and Information) will go before the Educational Planning and Policy Committee,which meets on March 18.
Those wishing to express an opinion on the name change can write to:
Robert A. Laudicina, Educational Planning and Policy Committee
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Office of the Secretary of the University
7 College Avenue
Winants Hall, Room 112
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-1260
In addition, please feel free to share your ideas here in a comment within this post. All comments, either for or against the name change are welcome and will be passed on to the EPPC and BoG."
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Thanks and Moving Forward
Thank you everyone who showed up. Thank you, Jill, for the blog coverage. This was a good discussion. Please read, think, and comment. The big question is....
What to do next?
~Mary Fran
What to do next?
~Mary Fran
Friday, February 13, 2009
longer conclusion and thanks
Sorry for the delay in this post. My hands were tired!
Please join me in thanking:
- Fran Daley, for organizing and running tonight's meeting
- Dean Schement and the SCILS faculty members who attended
- SCILS students, staff, and alumni, NJ library community members, and members of the press who attended the meeting, either in-person or virtually
I hope that, despite technical problems in the middle of the meaning, this blog provides a useful record. Fran was also taking pen-and-paper notes, and the meeting was recorded as a digital audio file. Information about the online availability of the digital audio will hopefully be forthcoming.
More information about the "1/3 mill" issue mentioned at the meeting is available by visiting the NJLA Legislative Updates page and clicking on Model Resolution Opposing League of Municipalities (pdf file).
Please join me in thanking:
- Fran Daley, for organizing and running tonight's meeting
- Dean Schement and the SCILS faculty members who attended
- SCILS students, staff, and alumni, NJ library community members, and members of the press who attended the meeting, either in-person or virtually
I hope that, despite technical problems in the middle of the meaning, this blog provides a useful record. Fran was also taking pen-and-paper notes, and the meeting was recorded as a digital audio file. Information about the online availability of the digital audio will hopefully be forthcoming.
More information about the "1/3 mill" issue mentioned at the meeting is available by visiting the NJLA Legislative Updates page and clicking on Model Resolution Opposing League of Municipalities (pdf file).
responding to Pat and Liz's comments
Claire:
people graduate from a program and from the school
Paul:
people just say Rutgers
MLIS student:
most degrees just say Graduate School of New Brunswick
people graduate from a program and from the school
Paul:
people just say Rutgers
MLIS student:
most degrees just say Graduate School of New Brunswick
responding to Pat Tumulty's comment
Dan:
It is a big fight right now
I don't think that an action that's going to occur here later this spring will affect a vote that's scheduled for the second week in March
moving to #1 shows strong support for the program
I don't see that this is going to be misinterpreted
Schement:
demonstrates the need for community, not a sense of we vs. they
It is a big fight right now
I don't think that an action that's going to occur here later this spring will affect a vote that's scheduled for the second week in March
moving to #1 shows strong support for the program
I don't see that this is going to be misinterpreted
Schement:
demonstrates the need for community, not a sense of we vs. they
meeting 6:41
Schement:
We consciously chose not to let numbers win
to merge together the twin basic phenomena
it's a choice that'll tell our story better, to help us stand apart from other schools
We consciously chose not to let numbers win
to merge together the twin basic phenomena
it's a choice that'll tell our story better, to help us stand apart from other schools
meeting 6:38
I apologize, Blogger went down again and I lost some, am trying again to catch up
MLIS student:
meaning of "sic" according to wikitionary - indicates a mistake ("sic" in Latin)
MLIS student:
well, if the music students are called "Gross"...
MLIS student:
School of Information would have been cleaner
media person:
communication is a broad process too
we wouldn't want communication dropped, wouldn't want not to be counted
MLIS student:
that's exactly how we feel
MLIS student:
meaning of "sic" according to wikitionary - indicates a mistake ("sic" in Latin)
MLIS student:
well, if the music students are called "Gross"...
MLIS student:
School of Information would have been cleaner
media person:
communication is a broad process too
we wouldn't want communication dropped, wouldn't want not to be counted
MLIS student:
that's exactly how we feel
meeting 6:32
Paul:
as a pilot, I like to pronounce it "sky" (SCI)
are enemies of libraries already saying, "Well, RU is planning to change its name," or are we ahead of it?
Dan:
the assembly and senate people in Trenton are very intelligent, we don't have any problem with them, they respect libraries
mayors of small towns are the ones that object - want to tell people to go to the next town and use their library
mayors of major cities are very supportive
complicated issue
there's going to be a course this summer that deals with this...(some laughter: Paul: no advertising! :))
as a pilot, I like to pronounce it "sky" (SCI)
are enemies of libraries already saying, "Well, RU is planning to change its name," or are we ahead of it?
Dan:
the assembly and senate people in Trenton are very intelligent, we don't have any problem with them, they respect libraries
mayors of small towns are the ones that object - want to tell people to go to the next town and use their library
mayors of major cities are very supportive
complicated issue
there's going to be a course this summer that deals with this...(some laughter: Paul: no advertising! :))
meeting 6:30
MLIS student:
better name would have been appropriate, rather than just a chop
MLIS student:
need the support not just of the faculty, but also of the students
we're open minded about change
if you delayed this, made it feel like we had more voice, like it wasn't being forced down our throats
it feels like a chop, not a change
would have support of students, not send a harmful message to the public
Schement:
added complication: MLIS students make up 27% of the school and are very enthusiastic
we have to convince you that what we're doing is in your interest in the long term
better name would have been appropriate, rather than just a chop
MLIS student:
need the support not just of the faculty, but also of the students
we're open minded about change
if you delayed this, made it feel like we had more voice, like it wasn't being forced down our throats
it feels like a chop, not a change
would have support of students, not send a harmful message to the public
Schement:
added complication: MLIS students make up 27% of the school and are very enthusiastic
we have to convince you that what we're doing is in your interest in the long term
meeting 6:25
Dan:
I'm a real library guy and real proud of that
but in favor of the name change
the dean says he wants us to be the #1 program in the country
can we also get comfortable chairs, enough plugs for computers - that's on deans' agenda
1/3 mill thing* - we support strong public libraries
*Jill's note: I tried to find a link to explain this, but all are pdf files, will try to add one later
Schement:
important to think about messages sent
MLIS student:
is name set or open to discussion
Schement:
we've submitted a proposal for SCI to Board of Governors
other acronyms have been talked about but this is the one that's been submitted
MLIS student:
some opinions say that change is okay, but not that particular name
people in the towns are battling for 1/3 mill, they won't ask questions - if they see RU is chopping library studies, they'll see that even RU doesn't value libraries
I'm a real library guy and real proud of that
but in favor of the name change
the dean says he wants us to be the #1 program in the country
can we also get comfortable chairs, enough plugs for computers - that's on deans' agenda
1/3 mill thing* - we support strong public libraries
*Jill's note: I tried to find a link to explain this, but all are pdf files, will try to add one later
Schement:
important to think about messages sent
MLIS student:
is name set or open to discussion
Schement:
we've submitted a proposal for SCI to Board of Governors
other acronyms have been talked about but this is the one that's been submitted
MLIS student:
some opinions say that change is okay, but not that particular name
people in the towns are battling for 1/3 mill, they won't ask questions - if they see RU is chopping library studies, they'll see that even RU doesn't value libraries
meeting 6:23
Claire:
valid concern
thank you to everyone who's here, everyone who's sent email
made us realize the loyalty, strong feelings
may not be visible: Dan has spent hours on the phone with people
maybe it would have been better if we were proactive about this, we had plans to communicate with people
it's not a done deal
we have been spending lots and lots of time
I don't think the leaders will connect the change in the name with any idea that we're lowering our support to library science
valid concern
thank you to everyone who's here, everyone who's sent email
made us realize the loyalty, strong feelings
may not be visible: Dan has spent hours on the phone with people
maybe it would have been better if we were proactive about this, we had plans to communicate with people
it's not a done deal
we have been spending lots and lots of time
I don't think the leaders will connect the change in the name with any idea that we're lowering our support to library science
meeting 6:20
(btw, I don't think anyone's Twittering, just me blogging - I thought the blog would be easier to read in chunks, especially after the fact)
MLIS student:
a lot of people don't even realize that you need a master's degree to be a librarian
term library is valuable
concerned about the timing: difficult time for libraries, trying to change 1/3 mill law
name change now will send the wrong message
communication problems in discussing this issue - we weren't given time to prepare
very concerned about what kind of message it sends to the broader community
MLIS student:
a lot of people don't even realize that you need a master's degree to be a librarian
term library is valuable
concerned about the timing: difficult time for libraries, trying to change 1/3 mill law
name change now will send the wrong message
communication problems in discussing this issue - we weren't given time to prepare
very concerned about what kind of message it sends to the broader community
responses to comments
Dan O'Connor:
one time we had a demonstration protesting increase in tuition, low pay for asst professors
450 faculty, 300 grad students
at the end we heard: you didn't even have 20% show up!
we have about 25 people here, maybe 27
there was a conversation in the faculty meeting before voting: why don't we add the word media?
been here since 1974
assumed that half of the votes were people who wanted to add the word media
Claire:
2 journalism/media studies faculty here: Prof. Marchi and Prof. Kern
one time we had a demonstration protesting increase in tuition, low pay for asst professors
450 faculty, 300 grad students
at the end we heard: you didn't even have 20% show up!
we have about 25 people here, maybe 27
there was a conversation in the faculty meeting before voting: why don't we add the word media?
been here since 1974
assumed that half of the votes were people who wanted to add the word media
Claire:
2 journalism/media studies faculty here: Prof. Marchi and Prof. Kern
meeting 6:12
Schement:
most students in one program don't know any students in the others
we had an ice cream social - 400-500 people came, people at least saw each other
we intend to do a lot more of that, we don't know how, esp with online students, but we want to
democracy begins with community - no other school includes both pillars of democracy, the press and libraries
most students in one program don't know any students in the others
we had an ice cream social - 400-500 people came, people at least saw each other
we intend to do a lot more of that, we don't know how, esp with online students, but we want to
democracy begins with community - no other school includes both pillars of democracy, the press and libraries
meeting 6:10
Claire:
went to an online ed in libraries meeting in Denver
one thing that characterizes our program is that we try to have all of our faculty teach at least one online course
you are in our minds - we can do better keeping you in the communication loop
Melanie Andrich is included in our planning group
Schement:
we're struggling with: the meaning of what it means to be a community
deepen the roots of community
went to an online ed in libraries meeting in Denver
one thing that characterizes our program is that we try to have all of our faculty teach at least one online course
you are in our minds - we can do better keeping you in the communication loop
Melanie Andrich is included in our planning group
Schement:
we're struggling with: the meaning of what it means to be a community
deepen the roots of community
meeting 6:05pm
I missed Schement's answer while trying to get Blogger to re-load
(I haven't forgotten you, commentors!)
Harty:
we've introduced a program that fills the needs of different students
the issue you bring out is how salient identity is
(I haven't forgotten you, commentors!)
Harty:
we've introduced a program that fills the needs of different students
the issue you bring out is how salient identity is
more technical problems
I apologize - I typed a question from the online peer mentor but it didn't show up.
summary:
we didn't know about the change, we feel isolated already
how will communicate with us in the future?
summary:
we didn't know about the change, we feel isolated already
how will communicate with us in the future?
meeting 6:00
several schools that went from L to nothing (Columbia, etc) - programs that don't exist anymore
growth is tied to finding partners
(Jill's notes: I see the comments on the blog and will read them at first opportunity)
growth is tied to finding partners
(Jill's notes: I see the comments on the blog and will read them at first opportunity)
meeting 5:57
Fran:
I don't think of it as a library school, but as SCILS
our success: unique harmony between research and professions
what impact research has been done to look at the risk of this change?
Schement:
a lot of emails showing concern for how much this will cost - a good concern
our strategy is one we would have used in good times: spend as little as possible
maps get reissued every summer anyway, building code won't change
what about my cards? have to give them all out first
what about signage? changes would have to be made
Fran:
impact studies about how we'll achieve more greatness and not confuse people more?
Schement:
a lot of data from AAU schools - all are doing better than they were at the times of their name changes
four examples (too much to catch)
I don't think of it as a library school, but as SCILS
our success: unique harmony between research and professions
what impact research has been done to look at the risk of this change?
Schement:
a lot of emails showing concern for how much this will cost - a good concern
our strategy is one we would have used in good times: spend as little as possible
maps get reissued every summer anyway, building code won't change
what about my cards? have to give them all out first
what about signage? changes would have to be made
Fran:
impact studies about how we'll achieve more greatness and not confuse people more?
Schement:
a lot of data from AAU schools - all are doing better than they were at the times of their name changes
four examples (too much to catch)
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