Welcome to Fall 2013…
We continued to be busy in IRT/Library Services this past spring and summer even with fewer ACC students enrolled and fewer guests. This continues to be the case because even though students are taking fewer classes, many of our students (in-person and remote users) still need our technology, online research resources and print resources (reserves, circulation and reference) to complete assignments as well as lifelong learning and information and research for personal needs. In addition, we provide some textbooks (our Student Services support for the federal grant program) AND facilities research data show how students come to "sticking" or "sticky" spaces" on campuses including libraries.
It goes without saying that Library Services staff members are hard at work on both college - wide general business AND on upcoming new facilities and services. Our challenges (still) continue to be to meet existing needs and assess what and how we are doing. Most of our time this past year included:
· Authentication of all IRT and library public service computers
· Completing Elgin – opens Monday, August 26th, 2013
· Working on Hays – opens January 13th, 2014
· Working on Highland Mall – opens August 25th, 2014
· Our iPad pilot at reference desk with special apps for students
· Revising our information literacy program/tutorials
· Planning for and the Elgin Center closing
Our time this year will include
· Authentication of ACC computers (Highland Mall rollout) to connect with IRT and library public service computers (single domain, etc.)
· Completing Elgin – opens Monday, August 26th, 2013
· Opening and completing Hays – opens January 13th, 2014
· Opening Highland Mall – opens August 25th, 2014
· Hiring employees for Elgin and Hays
· Orienting and training new Elgin and Hays employees
· Dealing with the college's freeze
· Assisting Technical Services in transition including hiring a new Head Librarian (HL) for Technical Services and Automation; training the new HL
· An e-reader check out pilot to highlight our 45k e-books with special apps and "how to" use e-readers and e-resources for ACC students (Fall RGC, RVS and CYP; Spring – more campus libraries)
· Implementing the college's choices of printing solutions (swipe card with rollout of Highland Mall
· Responding to the college's strategic plan and completing our strategic plan (November 2013)
· Completing and implementing revised Library Services information literacy content
· Required leadership training for all LS employees who lead others/lead initiatives (librarians, SLA and LA's as appropriate)
· Required management training for all LS employees who managing both people and projects (librarians, SLA and LA's as appropriate)
· Planning for RGC closing for renovation
STRATEGIC PLANNING
Library Services Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee will meet this fall when the ACC draft plan is distributed. Our goal is still to create a three year plan for Library Services with an immediate charge to address the Library Services content needed for the college's Academic Master Plan (AMP). (November 2013)
All library employees will have the opportunity to provide input through their managers. This input can include but will not be limited to either general information or ideas for campus libraries and – of course – will also include those ongoing projects including expanded authentication, the college-wide printing solution, the e-reader pilot and revised information literacy content. The Ad Hoc Committee we also provide general and specific content and will consolidate other input and then post drafts for LS employees to review. As we stated last spring – as a support service – we will have our existing ideas and new ideas, but will also be vetting ideas we will be gathering from the academic/discipline master plans to be completed this month.
ORGANIZATION
If you will remember, last year we formed an Ad hoc Head Librarian and Librarian Workload group. We reviewed the recommendations and have submitted requests justifying the reinstatement of the Head Librarian stipend AND we continued to review the Library Services teams, facilitators and stewards and we consolidated a few areas as well as ceased work on several where the work was either completed or best handled elsewhere.
For the FY' 14 year, we will have Library Leadership Team meetings but have moved them to and will continue to have them on Tuesday mornings. In addition, the Head Librarian's meetings will continue, as well as the TLF monthly meeting of Team leaders, Facilitators and Stewards. We will begin to schedule new librarian meetings again as we will have several new librarians and still have a few "Five or Fewer" (years of service.) These groups have used a variety of ways to meet regularly with both in-person and Google Hang-out methods. We encourage Library Services groups to explore alternatives to face-to-face only.
We will continue our Opening Day Collection team and projects for Hays and Highland Mall libraries and will be calling our Rio Grande activities the Closing Day Collection team. Other college-wide projects will include an assessment of Accessibility presence and needs in all libraries.
COMMUNICATION
Library Services completed the transition of one wiki environment to another. We met our goal early and the wiki was – as we say – on time and under budget…literally! In addition, we moved to the new environment with streamlined, current content.
FACILITIES
Existing Campuses
We replaced and upgraded the NRG Project Enable resources including a wonderful new whiteboard! In addition, we altered the shelving on the west wall/area of NRG to create a better use of space. In addition, RGC also completed the reference area shelving changes.
New Campuses
Elgin Campus Library is a beautiful space with a new service for us – a huge deck and there are – so far – over 300 students enrolled at this new location! We had a challenging installation of equipment but all should be resolved mid-fall.
Hays Campus plans are almost completed and we have a wonderful space there for students, faculty and staff similar in size to Elgin. Hays will be open in January of 2014.
Plans for library space at Highland Mall are almost completed and will be a smaller space with @7,000 square feet and – more than likely – will have many of RGC's materials moved into the space along with the textbook collection (moving from Riverside to Highland Mall.
STAFFING
Given our openings and the ongoing freeze on filling jobs, we have made additional changes for Library Services for FY ' 14. They include:
Shaula and Rosemary will continue to split time for supporting Head Librarians at Cypress, Northridge and Rio Grande. Shaula will also assist in Technical Services when Francine is away for six – eight weeks this fall. Bridgette Barr has left the college and hourly AA's will be hired to replace her supporting work for PIN and SAC.
Cheri will be full time SLA at NRG. Evan will be interim SLA at RRC and Sara is interim SLA at RVS. Joe has been assisting at circulation RVS this summer as we have many/most of our circulation desk openings at RVS. Nathaniel is ½ time LA at RRC and ½ time LA at Elgin but because the other .5 ELG position has not been filled and the hourly LA has quit, Nathaniel will be working more hours at ELG than at RRC for the first of the fall term.
New employees include:
Elgin HL – Courtney Mlinar (most recently a manager/Health Sciences Librarian at Nova in Florida)
Hays HL – Toyya Cisneros (most recently the Head Librarian/Director for the library (public, academic) at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene)
We have also hired 63 hours of academic librarian, hourly at Elgin and will do the same for Hays as we won't have – initially – full time reference librarians. In addition, the managers are recommending a higher level academic librarian, hourly position for an Hourly Coordinator for Elgin and one for Hays. Until the final recommendation is made, Jordan Forbes (a reference librarian at Riverside) is serving in a coordinator role and is managing the orientation and training of the Elgin librarians. Watch for a follow up email introducing new staff with more information about both individuals and the newer processes.
Employees gone include:
Cherry Luedtke retired as Head Librarian for Technical Services and Automation. Please see previous emails! I will be serving as Interim HL for TSLA in her absence. Bridgette Barr – AA for South Austin and for Pinnacle Libraries has left the college as well.
$TATE FUNDING
Librarians across the state are relieved to see that 7.5 million dollars in state funding as been restored to the Tex Share database program. Wonderful news for our constituents!
Finally….
Although I could spend many hours thanking people and we WILL thank them during the all LS Tuesday meeting …I want to take a few minutes to thank non-Library Services/IRT staff…Melanie Dickerman and Marc Petrick worked tirelessly to bring authentication to life! What a wonderful process and we have seen marked drops in wasteful printing and in guest problems at all locations but certainly at the Riverside Campus. In addition, Marc was instrumental in assisting LS librarians in implementing the iPad reference desk app roll out AND is instrumental in our upcoming pilot for e-reader checkout.
Dr. Julie Beth Todaro
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