Indiana University Bloomington Library Faculty Council records, 1965-2004

Scope and Content Note

The Bloomington Library Faculty Council records span 6 cubic feet and the years 1965-2004. The collection consists of three series: Secretary's Files, Committee Files, and Subject Files. The Secretary's files series is further organized by the BLFC Secretary's files and the Bloomington Library Faculty (BLF) Secretary's files.

The Committee Files are arranged into 12 subseries, with each subseries arranged alphabetically within the series. These subseries are: Aesthetics Committee, Affirmative Action Committee, Budgetary Advisory Committee, Collection Development Committee, Constitution and Bylaws, Continuing Education Committee, Elections Committee, Faculty Standards Committee, General Committees, Instruction and Orientation, Librarians Advisory Committee, and Promotions and Tenure Review Committee. There are holes in the records throughout the collection.

The Secretary's files series is the first series in the collection. This series is further organized by the BLFC Secretary's files and the Bloomington Library Faculty (BLF) Secretary's files, which are different positions with the organization. This series, the second largest in the collection, includes correspondence from the secretary of the BLFC, a position that rotates annually, as well as meeting agendas, minutes, and copies of the annual reports from the various committees. It provides general information about the operations of the entire BLFC during the time period that it covers. The folders are arranged chronologically within the series.

The second series, Committee files, is the largest series within the collection. It is further organized into 13 subseries, arranged alphabetically: Aesthetics Committee, Affirmative Action Committee, Budgetary Advisory Committee, Collection Development Committee, Constitution and Bylaws, Continuing Education Committee, Elections Committee, Faculty Standards Committee, General Committees, Instruction and Orientation, Librarians Advisory Committee, Promotions and Tenure Review Committee, and Salary Equity Review Committee. The series includes minutes, reports, correspondence, and requests from the BLFC's committees. These committees were in turn among the core operating and decision making groups within the BLFC and coordinated such activities as collection development, recommendations about faculty standards, and monitoring the annual elections.

The first subseries, Aesthetics Committee, consists of those documents, reports and correspondence that relate to the Aesthetics Committee. This committee was primarily focused on maintaining and controlling the physical appearance of library facilities, including their interior decoration and the mounting of advertisements within the libraries at Indiana University-Bloomington.

The second subseries, Affirmative Action Committee, contains the correspondence and reports of the committee. This Committee recommended strategies for increasing the diversity of the library's staff, both in terms of gender and ethnicity.

The third subseries, Budgetary Advisory Committee, contain correspondence, minutes, and reports. This committee's mission was to investigate and make recommendations to the rest of the BLFC regarding the allocation of funds throughout the library system for each fiscal year, both for collection development and maintenance, as well as for faculty payrolls and travel. This subseries is arranged chronologically by year.

The fourth subseries, Collection Development Committee, is one of the largest subseries or series in the collection. These folders contain the reports, correspondence, and recommendations of this committee, which offered suggestions and recommendations about how the acquisitions and subscriptions budget of the library was to be spent. This subseries also contains a complete set of budget requests for collection development from 1990 for the various subject funds into which the library collection was divided. The subseries is arranged chronologically by year, with the individual fund reports being arranged in numerical order by their fund number.

The fifth subseries, Constitution and Bylaws, consists of the meeting minutes, correspondence, and draft documents produced by this committee, which was dedicated to creating the rules and regulations governing the BLFC. Of note are the drafts of the various Constitutions and amendments that were produced during the time span covered in the series, as well as the suggestions and modifications to some of the committee bylaws. In addition the files also record the charges that were given to the various committees. These committee charges provide important information about their goals and objectives for a given service year.

The sixth subseries, Continuing Education Committee, consists of correspondence and reports. This Committee focused on monitoring and making recommendations relating the professional education of the faculty at the libraries on the Bloomington campus, as well as on the travel budget of librarians to professional meetings throughout the year.

The seventh subseries, Election Committee, consists of both the reports and correspondence of the committee that oversaw the annual elections to positions on the BLFC and its committees. This subseries also contains the actual election paperwork, such as vote tallies, nomination forms, and ballots. Also included is some discussion on and lists of eligible candidates for nomination to each office in each election. This subseries is arranged chronologically by year.

The eighth subseries, Faculty Standards Committee, consists of the correspondence, reports, agendas and minutes of this committee. The Faculty Standards Committee offered recommendations to the BLFC about such subjects as promotion, vacation time, and other compensation for librarians at Indiana University-Bloomington. Additionally, this committee oversaw the creation and initial administration of the Jenkins Distinguished Librarian Award. This award is presented annually in recognition of outstanding services rendered by a librarian within the Indiana University library system. This subseries is arranged chronologically by folder.

The ninth subseries, General Committees, contains files and information related to all of the committees and subcommittees of the BLFC. This small subseries contains committee reports and documentation from the 1989-1990 academic year, as well as additional information about the charges given to the various committees. This subseries is arranged chronologically by folder.

The tenth subseries, Instruction and Orientation, contains information, minutes, and correspondence related to and distributed by this committee. Among the more important parts of this subseries are proposals and suggestions for additional educational opportunities for library staff at Indiana University, as well as efforts to locate library faculty to serve as mentors for other librarians. Additionally, this subseries contains information about the library handbook that was distributed annually for new hires within the Indiana University-Bloomington library system. The subseries is arranged chronologically by year.

The eleventh subseries, the Librarians Advisory Committee subseries, contains the correspondence, reports, and meeting notes of this committee, which was the immediate predecessor of the BLFC. It also provides some files and documents, especially in the later years of the organization, detailing the creation of the BLFC and the transition from the LAC to the BLFC in 1974. This subseries is arranged chronologically by folder.

The twelfth subseries, Promotion and Tenure Review Committee, contains some of the early reports and correspondence from this committee, as well as a description of its charges and composition. Additionally, this subseries tracks the evolution in tenure requirements for librarians as they were brought more in line with the standards of the rest of the university.

The final subseries, Salary Equity Review Committee, contains a history of the committee along with its emails, reports, charges, etc. spanning 1992-2011.

The third series, Subject files, consists of records on a variety of topics relating to the operation of the BLFC, including copies of the BLFC Constitution, meeting notes and agendas, and the rules, regulations, and guidelines for existing librarians and new hires within the Indiana University Bloomington campus. Additionally, this series contains results from several surveys distributed to members of the library staff in order to gain better feedback about the library and its continuing operation. This series is arranged alphabetically by folder.