Summary
A meeting of the Computer and Information Systems (CIS) Committee was held on Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at 10:30 AM in the Library Conference 306 Room. The 10 attendees were:
Sonja Walti (SPA), Chris Simpson (SOC), Amy Taylor (WCL), Stefan Kramer (Library), Terry Fernandez (OIT), Chenyang Xiao (CAS), Carl LeVan (SIS), Lindsay Murphy (CTRL), Kara Andrade (Graduate Leadership Council; via Skype), and Joseph Mortati (KSB; took minutes).
Agenda & Notes
Co-Chair Chris Simpson began the meeting by welcoming the newest members to CIS: Chenyang, Carl, Lindsay, and Kara. The following items were discussed in order:
1. Availability of members. A sign-up sheet was circulated to capture each member’s availability for a monthly meeting.
Action: Joseph Mortati will follow-up via email as to which days/times work for all members.
2. Committed Responsibilities. Co-Chair Chris Simpson briefed the new members that our committee has multiple responsibilities for: liaison, assessment, oversight, and recommendations (see https://blogs.library.american.edu/cis/about/ for details). However, we do not have ownership of issues nor do we have a budget so Co-Chair Joseph Mortati then discussed the concept of the committee serving a “clearing house” for information systems-related issues that are of importance to the AU Community (e.g., issues addressed by the committee were student pictures on Blackboard rosters and software options for instructors).
Use of the term “clearing house” proved confusing and raised a considerable amount of debate, including the risk it could lead to perception that we are a document repository, tech support group, or a forum for technology gripes, none of which is part of our charter. During our October meeting, this term should either be clarified or replaced.
3. Acquiring Datasets. Carl LeVan then raised the issue that acquiring datasets is a very fragmented process. Stefan Kramer added that AU has an open data portal (https://opendata.american.edu/) that has only seen limited use. Since this issue falls under our charter, it should be researched and discussed at the next meeting.
Action: Joseph Mortati to follow-up with Stefan Kramer about how the Library acquires and maintains database subscriptions.
4. Site Licenses. Chenyang asked if CIS should determine which applications the University has site licenses (enterprise or per-seat) and what the process is for renewing or new purchases of such licenses. This issue sounds appropriate for our charter so it should be discussed at the October meeting.
With going over the end of allotted time, the meeting adjourned at 11:45 AM. The next CIS Meeting will be in October but the date/time is TBD based on member availability.