Task Force on the Future of the UT Libraries Members

Task Force Co-Chairs

Michelle Addington, Dean, School of Architecture
Lorraine J. Haricombe, Vice Provost and Director, UT Libraries

Steering Committee

Michelle Addington, Dean, School of Architecture
Jennifer Ebbeler, Associate Professor, Department of Classics, College of Liberal Arts
Lorraine J. Haricombe, Vice Provost and Director, UT Libraries
Unmil Karadkar, Assistant Professor, School of Information
Claus Wilke, Department Chair and Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, College of Natural Sciences

Subcommittees

Collections
Digital Scholarship 
Library Spaces 

Collections Subcommittee

Research libraries manage collections in a variety of formats across all the disciplines critical to their institutions. In collecting, preserving, and making these collections accessible, libraries balance several key considerations:

  • quality of content, representing a range of view points
  • cost, especially with regard to the inflationary pricing, bundling, and multi-year contracts associated with STEM publications
  • value – an evaluation of the cost in light of the usage and criticality to research on campus
  • curation, especially with regard to the selection of materials prioritized for open shelf access at campus libraries
  • discovery and access

Charge

  • Assess current practices at UT Libraries for content acquisition, curation, discovery, delivery, and access.
  • Identify challenges and opportunities for UT Libraries in these areas.
  • Consider collaborative models to extend access to critical scholarly resources beyond the content collected and managed locally.
  • Develop recommendations for sustainable content strategies that address the collection needs of faculty and students.

Members

Name Title Affiliation
Jennifer Ebbeler (chair) Associate Professor Department of Classics, College of Liberal Arts
Susan Broniarczyk Professor Department of Marketing Administration, McCombs School of Business
Elizabeth Buchanan graduate student School of Information
Colby Holloman undergraduate student College of Liberal Arts
Stephennie Mulder Associate Professor Department of Art and Art History, College of Fine Arts
Yolanda Padilla Professor Steve Hicks School of Social Work
Na’ama Pat-El Department Chair, Associate Professor Department of Middle Eastern Studies, College of Liberal Arts
Maria Wade Associate Professor Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts
Alexia Thompson-Young (administrative liaison without vote) Assistant Director of Scholarly Resources UT Libraries

 

Digital Scholarship Subcommittee

Academic scholarship has been for some time and is increasingly characterized by research and publishing practices that depend on reliable access to and presentation of digital content, effective and interconnected web-based networks of practice, the utilization of digital tools and techniques to expand research inquiry and dissemination, and a growing need for long-term curation and preservation of digital data.

Charge

  • Assess current and future needs for supporting digital scholarship at UT Austin, with particular attention to disciplinary variability.
  • Identify and evaluate emerging best practices, opportunities, and challenges for research library support for digital scholarship.
  • Develop recommendations for sustainable strategies for UT Libraries engagement with and support for digital scholarship at UT Austin.

Members

Name Title Affiliation
Unmil Karadkar (chair) Assistant Professor School of Information
Daina Berry Professor Department of History, College of Liberal Arts
Maria Esteva Research Associate Texas Advanced Computing Center, Vice President for Research
Hannah Hopkins graduate student School of Information
Keith Keitz Assistant Professor McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
Richard Ketcham Professor Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences
John Reppeto undergraduate student College of Liberal Arts
Chad Seales Associate Professor Department of Religious Studies, College of Liberal Arts
Jenifer Flaxbart (administrative liaison without vote)  Assistant Director of Research Support and Digital Initiatives UT Libraries

 

Library Spaces Subcommittee

Physical libraries have evolved over time from places primarily devoted to the storage, care and use of print publications to multi-faceted spaces that provide a wide range of services designed to connect people and information in pursuit of research, teaching and learning. Opportunities to transform and improve library spaces abound but space on the Forty Acres is finite.

Charge

  • Assess the current footprint of UT Libraries library spaces and impact of services.
  • Identify and evaluate emerging best practices, opportunities and challenges for highly effective utilization of library spaces in support of research universities.
  • Develop recommendations for optimizing the allocation of library spaces in order to balance the needs of library users (researchers, teachers, students) in an ever-changing research ecosystem.

Members

Name Title Affiliation
Claus Wilke (Chair) Department Chair, Professor Department of Integrative Biology, College of Natural Sciences
Ginny Barnes graduate student School of Information
Charles Ramírez Berg Professor Department of Radio-Television-Film, Moody College of Communication
Anthony Brown Professor Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education
Elizabeth Catlos Associate Professor Department of Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences
Joan Neuberger Professor Department of History, College of Liberal Arts
Jordan Ritter undergraduate student College of Fine Arts
Patricia Roberts-Miller Professor, Director of the University Writing Center Department of Rhetoric & Writing, College of Liberal Arts
Sean O’Bryan (administrative liaison without vote) Assistant Director of Access UT Libraries
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