Standard 7
Library and Information Resources

Team Members:

Sharon Moore, lead, Librarian

Kevin Anderson, Director of Computer Services/Telecommunications

David Burdette, Computer Lab Assistant

Brian Donohue-Lynch, Associate Professor

Janet Hall, Learning Support Services Assistant

Hyunyong Kim, Director of the Library

Stephanie Sywenkyj, Associate Professor

Description

The QVCC Library/Media Center works closely with many other areas of the College in providing resources and support to meet the diverse information needs of QVCC students, faculty and staff, and the larger regional community. The Library/Media Center, guided by the Library Mission Statement, strives “to facilitate and improve learning and to train students to become competent library users, not only as students but also as informed citizens.” The information literacy component of the library’s mission is applied to QVCC students and to the library’s substantial base of community library users. The library serves both the Danielson and Willimantic campuses, providing each with a strong commitment to teaching research skills and a full range of information resource materials.

The QVCC library is an active member of the greater library community, maintaining memberships in OCLC, a national cataloging and resource sharing network; Nelinet, a regional resource-sharing cooperative; the Connecticut Digital Library; Eastern Connecticut Libraries; and Libris, the library consortium of the twelve colleges in the Connecticut Community-Technical College (CCTC) system. The library’s participation in these local, regional, and national consortia provides QVCC’s students and community borrowers the broadest possible range of library resources.

During the semester, the Danielson campus library keeps public service hours from 9:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Friday, and 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The library maintains these hours on all days when classes are in session, including holidays. Public service hours are usually shortened during the summer session and semester breaks. The Director of Library Services in Danielson supervises a reference librarian, a library/media system specialist, a library associate, and six student workers. Because of the small size of the library professional staff, all Danielson student workers are trained in delivering first-tier reference services. Evening and Saturday coverage in Danielson is rotated among all full-time professional library staff.

The Willimantic Center library is open 60 hours each week, the same number of hours as the Center building. The Willimantic library is staffed by a library assistant/tutor, who is supervised by the Director of the Willimantic Center, working closely with the library and learning center staff at Danielson. The Danielson reference librarian travels to Willimantic for scheduled reference hours, to teach library instruction classes, and to provide training for the Willimantic library assistant/tutor. In the fall of 2000, the library assistant/tutor began teaching some of the library instruction classes requested by Willimantic faculty—a welcome expansion of the assistant’s role, which is expected to develop further.

The core of QVCC library service is its teaching program. The library instruction program, developed and taught by the QVCC reference librarian, is active at both the Danielson and Willimantic campuses. The reference librarian and the faculty work closely each semester to integrate appropriate research instruction with specific course requirements. Teaching materials used in library instruction are constantly revised, both to accommodate new resources acquired by the library and to explore and experiment with more effective pedagogical methods. The extent and depth of the teaching program is demonstrated in the following table.

Library Instruction by Academic Year
1996-1997	1997-1998	1998-1999	1999-2000
55 classes taught 45 in Danielson 10 in Willimantic	65 classes taught 51 in Danielson 14 in Willimantic	82 classes taught 69 in Danielson 13 in Willimantic	80 classes taught 64 in Danielson 16 in Willimantic
993 students instructed 829 in Danielson 164 in Willimantic	1047 students instructed 854 in Danielson 193 in Willimantic	1478 students instructed 1251 in Danielson 227 in Willimantic	1456 students instructed 1176 in Danielson 280 in Willimantic

Formal research instruction is provided to a range of classes at QVCC, including all English classes, all introductory computer classes, and most human services, psychology, business, and humanities classes. Library instruction classes are assessed with a pre-test, post-test instrument. The assessment instrument aims at measuring how effective instruction classes are in providing students with useful introductory information about the research tools pertinent to the needs of a specific course. Assessment also measures whether instruction classes increase student confidence in their ability to conduct library research. The library keeps records of library instruction materials, including the Research Instruction Mission Statement, summaries of classes taught, and pre- and post-test samples.

In the fall of 1997, as a corollary to the library instruction program, library staff, English faculty, and Information Technology staff collaborated in designing a revised Research Paper Requirement, which is mandated for all students in degree programs and must be completed before graduation. The Research Paper Requirement documentation includes explicit standards for assessing content, information literacy, and writing skills. This document was approved by the Learning and Student Development Division Council in February 1998 and is used by both faculty and students as a guideline to fulfillment of the College’s graduation Research Paper Requirement.

The library’s print book and periodical collection is split between the Danielson and Willimantic campuses. In November 2000, the combined libraries contained a book collection of 27,604 circulating titles and 1,652 reference titles. In the fall of 2000 the library joined netLibrary, an electronic book provider, gaining access to a Nelinet-provided collection of 8000 e-book titles—a collection that is expected to grow each academic year. The library also has a video collection containing 326 titles and an audiotape collection of 202 titles. Periodical holdings include 125 active print subscriptions, four microform subscriptions, and several full-text electronic databases, including EbscoHost, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, GaleNet, First Search, and The New York Times Ondisc. In December 2000, the library migrated to an Endeavor Voyager Integrated Library System (ILS), in concert with the other libraries in the CCTC system. The Voyager ILS is a fully integrated, web-based system that provides customized modules for acquisitions, cataloging, serials, and circulation, plus an online catalog. The library is also a member of ReQuest, an online database published by the Connecticut Library Network, which contains the holdings of books and serials in 256 Connecticut libraries. Most of the electronic databases in the library are web-based and can be accessed via the library home page with password or user account verification. While hard-copy periodical holdings are small, students have ready access to full-text periodical databases online.

The branch library in the Willimantic Center has fourteen hard-copy periodical subscriptions and access to the same range of electronic databases available in the Danielson library. The Willimantic Center library has book holdings of 644 circulating titles and 148 reference titles. This collection includes both titles unique to Willimantic and second copies of titles in the Danielson collection. At Willimantic, books housed there are circulated manually, whereas Danielson books are searched from Willimantic computers and then requested online or by phone. Books are delivered from the Danielson library within two days. The same rapid delivery system is used to supply Willimantic students with photocopies of articles in Danielson print periodicals.

Declining circulation figures for books between 1995 and 2000 reflect, first of all, the impact of the library’s commitment to electronic full-text resources. Students no longer look to books as the primary source of their information. Circulation declines also reflect the library’s budget struggles to keep the book collection current while providing as many electronic resources as possible. In the 1995-1996 academic year, 4,246 books circulated. In 1996-1997, the number of books circulated was 3,858; in 1997-1998, book circulations totaled 3,736; and in the 1999-2000 academic year 4,058 books circulated. The 1999-2000 bump in circulation may reflect the library’s attempt to counter circulation declines with a more focused collection development policy. Since the fall of 1999, the library has spent an increasing percentage of its budget on books covering specific and predictable assignments within the curriculum, in close consultation with appropriate faculty.

The library supplements its collections at both campuses with an active and excellent Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service. Students are actively encouraged to use ILL services to expand their research choices and explore the larger world of library holdings. The success of the library’s effort to provide students with research choices beyond its own collection is reflected in the steady growth of ILL book borrowing statistics. The boost in book borrowing also validates the library’s decision to focus collection development efforts on specific areas of the curriculum. Analyzing ILL borrowing trends has helped the collection development process, identifying those subject areas that require attention.

ILL article borrowing statistics are less robust than those for books, reflecting students’ increasing use of QVCC library full-text periodical databases. ILL statistics for last five years are summarized in the chart below.

The QVCC library home page (www.qvcc.commnet.edu/llc/library.html) is an integral component of library services and has received many commendations by student and community users. The library home page, as well as the College web site, was created and is maintained by the library/media systems specialist in his role as College webmaster. The library page has links to the online catalog, other Connecticut library catalogs, most of the library’s electronic databases, an Internet subject directory, and an array of other resources including new book lists, media holdings, MLA and APA style sheets, and copyright information.

The QVCC Library includes the College Media Center, which provides all College media services, including instructional media equipment, training, and services for both campuses. Overhead projectors are in every classroom and TV/VCR combinations are mounted in 95% of the classrooms on both campuses. As new information technology develops, the Media Center looks for new ways to assist faculty in delivering instruction. In the fall of 2000, for example, two portable LCD projector/notebook computer setups were added on each campus. Media equipment holdings in November 2000 totaled 304 items. Circulation of media equipment has been substantial, reflecting faculty, staff, and student reliance on an up-to-date media collection. For example, media circulation figures show that, in the 1999-2000 academic year, 774 media items were charged out in support of QVCC classes.

The College supports the library with an annual operating budget and access to bond funds for educational equipment. The level of College financial support has remained adequate, stable, and relatively fixed for several years. With the increasing importance of electronic resources, the library made a decision in the early 1990s to invest a significant portion of its financial resources in technology and databases, leaving both book and journal print resources somewhat shortchanged. Beginning in 1997, however, a larger portion of the library budget has been dedicated to book purchases. This shift in library spending was in response to library user surveys and patron requests for a more updated book collection. While the budget focus has shifted towards print, electronic resources continue to be closely evaluated and upgraded as possible. Computer and audiovisual equipment also continues to be updated and replaced on a regular schedule.

The library juggles two major budget challenges: it must support both an electronic and print environment, and it must support two locations. These challenges have been especially difficult within the context of a fixed budget. New initiatives have been put in place to help alleviate the library’s budget crunch. In the fall of 2000, for example, the twelve libraries of CCTC system were successful in securing startup funding from the system Chancellor’s office for the purchase of the new Endeavor Voyager Integrated Library System. As a consequence, the QVCC Library was able to leave its network consortium, Bibliomation, in December 2000 and become part of Libris, the new CCTC system consortium. The substantial savings in yearly consortium fees realized by this move, if retained in the library budget, will be applied to upgrading both print and electronic resources.

Appraisal

Strengths

In both Danielson and Willimantic, the QVCC Library/Media Center is truly at the heart of the College. Students, faculty, staff, and community members use the library as a research resource and as an informal gathering place. Interaction between library staff and library users is constant, and this daily interaction is crucial to the library’s success. The users know library personnel by name; users express their needs and make suggestions. They express thanks often and are gently, but firmly, critical when they find it appropriate. The library staff members constantly question how they can do better because the users inspire them to do this questioning.

Thus, the library does not take its success for granted. There are several formal instruments to measure user satisfaction with programs and services. In addition to the library instruction instrument discussed in the Description section above, a biennial library user satisfaction survey is conducted at both the Danielson and Willimantic campuses. Because this survey covers all aspects of library operations and services, it has resulted in several changes in the library, including reallocating funds to update the book collection, quieting library noise by replacing dot-matrix printers with lasers, designating quiet study areas, and using paint, carpeting, and props to brighten library decor. A sample chart from the 2000 survey, showing user response in the area of library services, is shown below.

This sample verifies that the single greatest strength of the QVCC library is its staff. The library staff functions as a team. Student workers in Danielson are trained to perform a full range of library tasks, including circulation, serials check-in, ILL, copy cataloging, and first-tier reference. The Willimantic library assistant/tutor and a student worker provide reference services, circulate books housed in Willimantic, and speedily obtain books, articles, and ILLs from the Danielson library. The Danielson and Willimantic libraries are in daily contact via phone and NetMeeting videoconferencing. All library staff are dedicated to providing the best possible service to College patrons. The extraordinary teamwork that distinguishes the QVCC library staff has been recognized by a Governor’s Service Award, presented in November 2000.

The level of service provided to library patrons is based on the library’s primary role: the QVCC library is, above all, a teaching library. A robust instruction program ensures that few QVCC students graduate without formal class-based instruction in how to conduct research. Individual encounters with patrons are also used as opportunities to teach library and research skills. QVCC students and community patrons alike become competent researchers because teaching those skills is integral to how the library operates.

The strong emphasis on instruction guarantees that library research is well integrated into both credit and non-credit courses at QVCC. Faculty make conscious efforts to include library components in their classes. Library professional staff members serve on College committees and task forces and are actively involved with curriculum decisions and other initiatives at the College, and they also help with the construction of appropriate assignments for specific courses. Print and electronic resources are chosen in close consultation with current faculty needs.

The library’s use of technology is another key strength. The Library/Media Center is at the forefront of technology use at QVCC. The Danielson library provides sixteen public-access research workstations, and the Willimantic library provides five. From these computers, users on both campuses may access all QVCC electronic resources.

In addition to these resources, the library provides media services, under the direction of the library/media systems specialist. The Media Center provides faculty and students with a broad range of technology and equipment to enhance learning. Equipment includes 35 mm, Polaroid, and digital cameras; video cameras; data projectors; laptop computers; slide projectors; and TVs and VCRs. The media collection is supplemented each year from library funds. Since the library/media systems specialist is also the College webmaster, he assumes overall responsibility for the creation and maintenance of College and library web pages, including a subject directory to research-appropriate Internet resources.

Areas Needing Improvement

The continued growth of the student population at both campuses will continue to challenge library resources. The areas where the library needs improvement are largely centered around funding. Because of its small size and agile staff, the library is quick to make improvements that do not require additional funding. Student and staff suggestions for improvement are actively solicited and, when feasible, immediately implemented. This policy of continuous improvement has gained the library much good will, leaving few areas needing improvement that do not also need either additional funding or a creative re-allocation of available funding.

Resources needing attention include both books and periodicals. The book collection at both campuses continues to need significant updating. Keeping the book collection current has been a continuing problem as more and more of the library budget is stretched between print and electronic resources. A systematic and much-needed weeding of the book collection, begun in January 2001, has added an additional dimension to the library’s book budget dilemma. In addition to the book crunch, the library’s collection of journals in print format has become uncomfortably small. Ways must be found to provide a minimum print journal collection in appropriate subject areas.

The small size of the library staff is also a concern. An additional paraprofessional library assistant would make an enormous difference in staff effectiveness. An additional professional librarian would have a substantial impact on both the scope of the teaching program and the availability of professional level reference at both campuses. Additional staff would also allow the Danielson library to increase hours, a frequent request of students.

Library space is an area of concern. As the student population has grown, the Danielson library has become uncomfortably small. The present library classroom cannot accommodate hands-on teaching and is crowded and uncomfortable for larger classes. Increasingly, instruction classes are either split into two sessions or are taught outside the library, in regular classrooms. More space is also needed for both group and quiet study.

Finally, the library needs to upgrade its support of online courses, moving non-web electronic resources to a wholly web-based, remotely accessible model. Additionally, the library needs to address the research instruction needs of students taking distance courses, by developing online tutorials in research methods and the use of library databases. Developing online tutorials would be beneficial for local students as well as distance students and would not require additional funds, but would require a significant investment in staff time. Improving library support for distance education students would ideally also include budgeting for additional electronic resources, such as a specialized electronic book collection.

Projection

· The library will continue to seek an increase in staffing, at both the paraprofessional and professional librarian levels. More library staff would have the single most significant impact on library services.

· The library will continue to explore new and creative ways to remain ahead of the library technology curve, building on the current strong commitment to providing solid electronic resources. Electronic books, like full-text periodical databases, will become an increasingly important part of future resources, particularly as support for distance education classes. As other new resources and new technologies become available, they will be actively investigated, evaluated, and incorporated into library offerings.

· Despite the allure of electronic resources, library staff also expect to continue actively building print collections, recognizing that print and electronic collections will continue to co-exist and be important to the library’s mission.

· The library instruction program will expand, developing online tutorials both to provide instruction to distance education students and to shift some of the on-site teaching load to self-instruction. Wireless technology will be incorporated into library instruction, using the College’s mobile laptops to provide hands-on instruction in regular classrooms as well as in the library. Also, the library staff anticipates developing online testing of research competencies, enabling experienced students to test out of basic instruction classes.

· Continuing to embrace change—recognizing that libraries are in the midst of an information revolution—the library staff will teach patrons how to adapt to new technologies and benefit from the evolving information society.

Documents

Governor’s Service Award

Interlibrary Loan statistics

Library brochure, forms, and handouts

Library gate count statistics

Library home page: www.qvcc.commnet.edu/llc/library.html

Library instruction materials, including Research Instruction Mission Statement, pre- and post-test instrument, test summaries, and sample handouts

Library Mission Statement and posted policies

Library Staff Handbook

Library user satisfaction surveys and results

Media circulation and collection statistics

Research Paper Requirement for graduation