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STANDARD 7: LIBRARY AND OTHER INFORMATION RESOURCES

Since 2001, the QVCC library has continued to emphasize the expanding role of electronic resources and information technology in academia, an expansion reflected by changes in the NEASC standard. The library has grown both in its physical size and its provision of technology, information resources, and information literacy instruction. Information technology continues to have an impact on teaching and learning throughout the College. New classrooms will permit students and faculty to weave information resources more fully into the educational experience.

Library

The library has kept pace with students’ increasing expectations of remote electronic access to materials. All library databases are now available through remote connection, and access points have been simplified. Online library materials have expanded; they now include subject-organized full-text databases containing periodicals, images, and electronic reference books. Personalized electronic access is now available through the Ask A Reference Question link. The library has continued to add electronic books to its online catalog, with the total now over 5500. The library continues to maintain a subject directory to selected high-quality Internet resources, and Internet site evaluation has been incorporated into all library instruction classes. The emphasis on resource evaluation is reflected in the research guidelines for the College’s Graduation Research Paper Requirement.

The increased emphasis of online resources has had the greatest impact for Willimantic students. These students no longer need to request non-book items from the Danielson campus, and increasingly they use e-books as well as periodical databases in their research. Also benefiting from the growth in online resources has been the surrounding community, which continues to use the QVCC library as an information resource. On campus, the library provides community users with research assistance and open access to library research computers; off campus, community access to online databases is available through QVCC library barcode numbers.

The physical library continues to be a center of College activity. The library still purchases print books, magazines, and newspapers for research and for recreational reading. Yet since few students or faculty members use journals in print if they are available online, only a handful of print journals are purchased. The balance between electronic and print resources will continue to be negotiated, making the purchase of print resources an ever more careful and thoughtful exercise, as technology costs increasingly drive library budgets. Various strategies have been used to offset funding concerns: purchasing electronic resources through consortia and discount vendors; eliminating duplicate print and electronic titles; better integrating resources from the expanded Connecticut Digital Library; and encouraging greater faculty participation in the collection development process.

In summer 2005, the Danielson library underwent a significant physical expansion and an upgrade in furniture and equipment. The expansion has provided many benefits, including quiet study space, group meeting space, more visible service desks, an accessible ramp into the library entrance, and a larger library classroom.

Teaching information literacy through classes continues to be a major focus. Classes are still the primary responsibility of the reference librarian, with some teaching support from the library director. With the recent expansion of the library classroom in Danielson, library classes are now taught in an open classroom area containing 24 new PCs (up from seven PCs before the expansion) and a ceiling-mounted LCD projector. In Willimantic, library instruction is now taught exclusively in computer classrooms, which provide the same technology. A full range of research handouts is now published on the library website. As more core courses become offered online, constructing a generic online research tutorial to assist distance students has become a goal.

Library instruction is now assessed with an instrument given at the end of the semester, rather than the end of the library instruction class. This new model measures the students’ full research experience across the semester. Student responses have resulted in significant changes to how research is incorporated into several core courses, particularly developmental English. Assessment of the library as a whole had, until 2006, been done with a paper biennial survey of library users. Results from the biennial survey were used extensively in the planning and layout of the recent library expansion. The biennial survey provided such a valuable assessment of user needs that in spring 2006 it was posted online, and now it will be conducted annually.

The library in Danielson maintains a close relationship with the Learning Center, which specializes in subject tutoring and testing and is directly accessible from the library. The Learning Center also expanded in 2005, adding a much-needed testing room complete with six additional PCs. In Willimantic, the Library Learning Center is a single unit, with one full-time staff member, student tutors, and twice-weekly visits by the reference librarian. While the Willimantic LLC continues to occupy a single room, the possibility of expansion into an adjoining room has been discussed.

Instructional Technology

Wireless access has quickly become a valuable classroom teaching resource and an integral part of instruction. In Danielson, the wireless network now extends to all classrooms. Growing technology use by students and faculty has resulted in the expansion of both lab and classroom facilities at both locations. Instructional technology assessment is focused on monitoring and responding to input from four sources: the College’s Make Us Better box, help desk suggestions, suggestions from faculty and staff members, and suggestions from students using the lab and computer classrooms.

Online, classroom, and hybrid courses use WebCT Vista as an online resource for class work. Components such as e-mail, reserve readings, assignments, and chat have made Vista integral to the way many classes are taught. In addition to Vista, students use the Banner system to access grades and register for classes. The Director of Educational Technology provides faculty, students, and staff with instruction and support for the various electronic resources.

Many traditional classes make use of portable laptop/LCD projector combinations for faculty and student presentations and instant access to the Internet and other online resources. A new media station in the library allows students and faculty to add multimedia clips easily to class presentations. Equipment and software upgrades in support of instruction are ongoing. Media equipment in the College auditorium, for example, recently underwent a major upgrade.

Media and instructional technology planning for the nearly complete Danielson expansion ensures that the best new information resources will be available in all ten classrooms in the new wing. Faculty members who teach there will easily be able to incorporate information resources of all kinds into their classes. The Director of Educational Technology will provide training in the use of the new equipment for both faculty and students.

Institutional Effectiveness

Through various kinds of feedback, the library has proved highly capable of adapting to the institution’s requirements. As electronic resources continue to gain importance over the next five years, the library will expand its online resources and construct an online tutorial for distance learners. These goals, like the recent physical expansion of the library, reflect input from the library’s assessment survey, which has become a staple in measuring student research needs. The instructional technology area will continue to expand its technologies in both the current building and the new smart classroom wing, providing technical support for new equipment. The Director of Educational Technology will continue to provide online assessment and instruction in the effective use of all new technologies for faculty, staff, and students.

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