Why a Dean's Information Blog?

We've got a great deal going on this year and in the past the kind of information we have shared during the year includes:

• beginning of semester emails/newsletters
• agenda and minutes from meetings posted after meetings
• documents passed out at LLT staff meeting (passed along to campuses/to librarians in campus staff meetings)
• intermittent email questions and answers from staff

Adding a blog should:

• reduce the amount of time it takes to get from meetings to you
• encourage people to share more general/more global questions with the blog so more general answers get to everyone
• reduce the number of emails
• provide a running, visual/single location dialogue about LS/ACC activities

Just some of the information we need to focus on this year includes:

Facilities issues:

South Austin, CYP, RGC, Emerson?, San Marcos?, Del Valle?, Round Rock Higher Education Center...public website information vs Q and A for staff

Budget issues:

• Operating for this year and next year - making ends meet without getting more money/dealing with expansion
• Master Planning - funding South Austin
• Planning for a little more (7,500) database money in '05 and possible great statewide offering reductions in '06

Administration:

• working with the new president
• picking a new AVP of IRT
• working toward any college reorg posed (later this year?)

Planning:

• going back to the Master Planning drawing board for MP Initiatives exclusive of South Austin (which is being handled separately)
• managing our way through the hourly budget shortfalls projected for Summer '05
• working with IT to plan for/consolidate help desk kinds of information
• working with IT to provide college-wide authentication

Other issues:

• Patriot Act
• Updating LS/patron scenarios for patron/staff interactions
• Assisting in ACC's move to Hybrid courses (LS IL, etc.)
• Updating weeding processes/training
• iii training fall/mid year
• an even more aggressive integration of IL into ACC college life (example: the debate over the InfoGame that has taken place on the faculty list)

And so on and so on...

Please post questions to this blog relating to these issues and/or suggest other issues to add. I'll answer whatever I can and for those I feel might be better answered privately I'll indicate that as well.