An external review of the UNM General Library and Dean Robert Migneault found a lack of substantive strategic planning, low staff morale, deteriorating physical facilities, a problematic management structure and a questionable salary structure.
Nancy Eaton, dean of libraries at Pennsylvania University, and Sheila Creth, a former librarian at the University of Iowa, conducted interviews on campus and produced the evaluation. It was edited to delete confidential personnel information and was distributed to library staff members.
The report comes on the heels of two separate votes of no confidence in Migneault by the majority of faculty and staff members. Shortly after the report was released, Provost Brian Foster announced Migneault would step down as dean in 2002 and that search would begin for his replacement this year.
Migneault’s secretary said that he would not respond to phone calls from the Daily Lobo and added that, “his official comment at this time is no comment.”
Following the Daily Lobo’s report of the no confidence votes, Migneault instructed all staff that they could not talk to the student newspaper about library issues.
The external report opens by stating that the morale of the library faculty and staff was lower than either external reviewer have ever encountered on a site visit. The report added that it was a tribute to the employees’ dedication that the quality of the services did not erode to match the level of unhappiness.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The main concerns outlined by the faculty and staff included divisions over appropriate space for academic programs within library space, lack of information about budget priorities and how budget decisions are made, examples of what they consider retaliatory action against staff who don’t support the dean and perceived favoritism of staff members who are in the dean’s inner circle. The report stated that the reviewers found enough specific examples to validate staff concerns.
The external team warned that if the University continues with the status quo, administrators should be prepared for further erosion of staff morale and quality of library services.
The reviewers noted that the staff was concerned about how the dean was handling the ongoing controversy about limited space in Zimmerman Library and other library facilities. The report stated that no one questioned the need for an off-site storage facility to deal with growth, but how to keep as much material as possible on the main campus.
The report said Migneault’s recently announced plan to weed major portions of the collections due to lack of space, which he later called a public relations ploy to get funding for storage concerned faculty and staff members. The move combined with the announcement of more space being lost a new information commons that would house a computer center in Zimmerman Library has raised faculty concerns about lack of consultation over which materials are discarded.
One of the other stronger points of contention raised within the report focused on the library management structure and salaries.
The staff also was concerned with the unusually high minimum faculty salary means that the library no longer hires recent graduates, high salaries consume too much of the budget, favoritism in the dean’s salary decisions and salary inequities among library faculty and possibly staff.
When questioned by the review team about salary inequity, the dean said that merit raises benefited all who reported directly to Migneault because everyone who works for him is a “10” or they would not be in the job.
The review team recommended that the University take the following action to assist improve the library system.
l UNM should contract a nationally recognized library space consultant to conduct a comprehensive space analysis of UNM’s four libraries.
l A review and assessment of all library faculty and staff positions should be initiated with the assistance of UNM’s Human Resources Department or an external consultant with experience with university libraries.
l The Human Resources Department should conduct an equity and compression study of faculty and staff positions within the library system.
l The general library should establish a development goal for building collections endowments as part of long-range planning.
l The University should consider allocating a student computer fee or information technology fee, with income going to the general library to help solve funding problems.
l UNM should strive to allocate the full formula funding from the Legislature to the general library and should seek additional funds to supplement formula funding, with the goal of increasing the acquisitions base budget by $1 million to regain lost purchasing power.
l In consultation with the Faculty Senate Library Committee, the dean’s cabinet should develop a plan for how faculty will be consulted as library administrators determine appropriate locations of materials in open stacks, compact shelving and off-site storage.
