Welcome to Fall 2012/FY ‘13

Welcome to Fall 2012/FY ‘13

As we move into the fall semester we continue to be busy, maintain our services and resources AND plan for new opportunities for our constituents. Our challenges are always to stay ahead of the “game” while meeting existing needs and assessing our worth and value to students, faculty and staff throughout all of our educational settings. I continue to be amazed at Library Services staff expertise and energy!

SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS (SACS)

SACS is scheduled to visit ACC the last week of October. I will send out emails introducing the SACS visiting team and providing any schedule information we know. I have gathered and submitted extensive content this last year and continue to provide content to ACC’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness and the ACC SACS team. I still don’t have a final document to share with LS but will do so when the document becomes the official SACs report.

NOT-SO-NEW ADMINISTRATION

We continue to get to know the new ACC administration and have found them receptive and inclusive – which has been wonderful. The first step of the college reorganization included us – Instructional Resources and Technology – and placed us under the academic side of the house. This change means that my boss – Dr. Richard Smith – now reports to Vice President Mike Midgley. While this doesn’t change our day-to-day operation, we continue to attend our usual meetings and also new meetings for newly formed groups. It’s always rejuvenating to get to know new leadership! We understand that there will be a phase II reorganization early this fall. Watch the skies!

CONSTITUENT/PATRON BEHAVIORS AND EXPECTATIONS

As you know, handbooks for faculty, staff and students are available both in print and online. For the past few years, Student Services and Human Resources have been working toward discontinuing print versions and updating only online versions. In addition, Dr. Hensley’s campus managers have been working toward standardizing signage on campuses and I have asked for all signs to include the “helper dogs only” information as we have a number of students who are bringing in a variety of animals to campuses and to libraries. I am hopeful all signs will be standardized during this fall semester.

STRATEGIC PLANNING

Library Services Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee will continue to meet this last fall. Our goal is still to create a three year plan for Library Services. While it is possible to complete LS goals quickly, the college is revisiting it’s existing goals during FY’ 13. LS will not complete our process until we can compare and integrate ACC’s revised goals into our goals and strategic planning.

ORGANIZATION

The Ad hoc Head Librarian and Librarian Workload group was established last year to look at equity of workload in Library Services and provide recommendations in areas such as team work, facilitator work, reference hours, and collection responsibilities - to name just a few areas. This group's recommendations will be used to determine any need for balancing work responsibilities. The group completed their work this summer and has submitted recommendations. The Library Leadership Team Is reviewing the recommendations and identifying what is appropriate and possible to implement in Library Services.

We will continue to have Library Leadership Team meetings, Head Librarian’s meetings, a meeting of Team leaders, Facilitators and Stewards and will call a "Five or Fewer" (years of service) meeting of ”newer” librarians this fall as well as a "More than Five" meeting with similar questions, discussions, etc. to get input from senior staff. We are moving LLT meetings – at the request of the HL’s – to a morning time and intend to have every other meeting a conference call. Other groups have used a variety of ways to meet regularly as well and are encouraged to explore alternatives to face-to-face only. I will be asking for a wiki page for suggestions for ALL agendas so that any LS staff member can suggest issues and topics for discussions and problems to solve for any/all groups.

We will continue to have an Opening Day Collection subgroup of CDT for Hayes, Elgin Campus and Highland Mall library. In addition we now have an Emergency Management Facilitator and are bringing more attention to grant/soft monies and I hope to name a grants position this year as well as someone to focus on alumni and parents of our students.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Following our successful pedagogy workshop for librarians last year, the IL Facilitator and her designees continued to expand our program. This expansion included the review of products to assist us in revising our tutorials and integrated instruction assignments and integrating student learning outcomes (SLO’s). These SLO’s assist in providing our online presence and support for all classes including all distance learning classes as well as in the definition and assignation of value and worth to the services we provide. Following a review of products, the IL group recommended Credo’s Literati and the team is fast at work implementing what we can implement immediately and building the structure for the design of content for our next two years.

FACILITIES

Existing Campuses

Northridge is making changes to shelving, individual student seating and small group work seating. This summer’s duct cleaning has necessitated a major cleanup of shelves as well as an assessment of condition of materials for replacement. This will continue throughout the fall. Riverside lighting was assessed and replaced August 2012. The change is phenomenal and was financed in part by ACC’s Sustainability Office based on the choice of lighting. Pinnacle will be adding student chairs and rearranging furniture. Rio Grande is changing the reference shelving and student seating behind reference.

New Campuses

Elgin Campus plans are completed and we have a wonderful space for students, faculty and staff in the library. The campus will open August, 2013 and ODC plans for collection will begin the selection process early this fall. Hays Campus plans are also completed and we have a wonderful space there for students, faculty and staff similar in size to Elgin. Hays will open in FY 2014 - probably by summer 2014.

Highland Mall Penney's space floor plans will be finalized early in fall 2012. The academic space will still be: space for approximately 5,500 student; campuses swinging in while they are renovated; student learning areas; and workforce curriculum such as mathematics delivered in teaching and learning spaces. Library space will be adjacent to the emporium with @7,000 square feet, reduced print materials and more seating. Library Services goals include moving Technical Services to the mall. The Technical Services space needs assessment has been updated and distributed to Facilities.

Staffing

Given our openings and our current freeze on job openings (we have an AA position frozen) I have decided to reassign Administrative Assistants. Beginning this week the following changes will take place:

• Shaula will return to splitting her time by supporting Round Rock and Cypress.
• Eddie will return to splitting his time by supporting Eastview and Riverside.
• Rosemary will return to supporting me and the Rio Grande Campus library and coordinating the activities of all AA's both full & part time.
• Bridgette will return to supporting Pinnacle (Library) and begin supporting the South Austin Library, so she will split her time between South Austin Campus library and Pinnacle Library locations.
• I am taking money from my administrative hourly account and Northridge will hire a 19 hour a week AA and Tech Services will hire a 19 hour a week AA. When the freeze is over (hopefully this fiscal year) NRG will continue with their 19 hour a week AA support and Tech Services will receive the open LS AA position.

As you all know from college-wide emails, we have two other frozen positions, one SLA position at NRG and one SLA position at RVS.

$tate Funding

• Funding for FY'14 continues to be uncertain for the state in general and for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Current plans for the statewide database program continue through August 2013. It is our expectation that - given the lost of 6 million dollars and the database funding for the aggregated subscription program, we need to expand our base of possible membership partners. To that end, the ACC LD E-Resources Facilitator has been exploring costs and membership in other consortia. Given data and outcomes , we have joined Lyrasis and will be subscribing to Discovery service through the Abilene Library Consortium
• At this point in time, the database core for the FY’13 year will NOT change.

What’s sort-of-new and what’s new…

• We continue to record statistics, however, we have a wonderful software Lola (Assessment Facilitator) and the IL team have customized to meet our needs. Watch as the StatBat reminds you and then changes personas throughout the year. A contest is in the air…I can just feel it.
• We are investing time in formalizing our student learning outcomes (discussed above) so there will be more rollout and use of our technology, software and expertise to integrate activities and platforms into our information literacy – again led by our IL Facilitator and her group.
• We continue to refine our staff development processes as does the college. Watch for new exciting online spaces created by our Staff Development Team. In addition, we continue to focus our all-LS staff development days and “emergency management” training is on the horizon planned by our new Emergency Management Facilitator.
• I am excited that we are migrating from one wiki to another. Throughout this year we will assess our current wiki content, delete and add as needed and move what’s critical to our new wiki.
• We have some great new looks and pages on our online web environment thanks to the Web Team and Web Content Team and our Web Master. Check out our new information pages for students.
• Our reference processes continue to meet our constituent needs and – under the leadership of our Reference group led by Sylvia – we explore the best platforms for delivering virtual reference. Great work here as we strive to deliver to our patrons anywhere and anytime AND create a structure that is easy to use.
• Under the direction of the Web Team, a social media group was formed. LS launched three social media channels this fall -- Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Staff are invited to suggest post topics to the social media group by completing the online Social Media Suggestion Form.
• Don’t miss the Northridge celebration of Disability Awareness Month when Project Enable – NRG’s unique focus on enabling hardware and software technology - hosts two Open Houses spotlighting what is possible for all information seekers, researchers and students, faculty and staff. Join them on Thursday, October 25, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and October 26, 2012, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Northridge Campus Library. These two open houses will provide a general overview of Project Enable, an assistive technology zoo, and its resources as part of ACC Library Services. Participants:
  
  • Can explore a variety of assistive technology devices and tools useful for addressing research, information, and learning needs of community college students;
  • Will learn about assistive technology and related software and resources that comprise Project Enable;
  • Will experience - through hands-on use - how to use the devices and assistive technology available through Project Enable; and,
  • Will learn about advocacy for Universal Design and Learning in academic libraries and college classrooms.
  • >Come ready to play! Continuing education credits are available for Library Services participants!

Welcome to Spring 2012

Welcome to Spring 2012...

We are halfway through FY' 12 and we have ACC and IRT/Library Services issues that are returning to this list of activities and new issues - as we always do. We continue to have talented, committed Library Services staff, great support from our administrators, and wonderful new staff.  I have added a list of employee accolades, new employees and employee changes at the end of the Blog.

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) 

SACS is scheduled to visit ACC in October, 2012 as part of their regular visit/accreditation schedule. They review "where we are" based on their standards and recommendations. In addition to a visit for overall college operations, they visit immediately after major changes such as a new campus, a renovated campus, etc. Prior to them visiting, each area prepares extensive content as an overview for what each department is, what they do and student outcomes. I prepared an extensive document at the end of the fall semester. Although I turn in @65 pages, content is typically distilled before it is added to the college's final report. Sometime this spring I will be getting a revised document and I will share that with LS when the process is complete. FYI: along with general "library support services" activities, given the nature of our business, I also respond to statements on student data (what we download for our online circulation system); technology support for workforce and general education curriculum and support for distance learning.

In addition to providing our own information, Library Services has provided significant support for general college activities thanks to Terry Barksdale and Ashley Carr. Ashley created an incredible spreadsheet with identified relationships between every academic and workforce area and critical thinking/information competence statements. Ron Johns, co chair of the SACS process reviewed the data and asked to use their document. Ashley's document is a great addition to the process!

New Administration

As we all know our new president has started his presidency. I will be in a second meeting with him in the President's Extended Leadership Team meeting at the end of January. Student Success and each department's contributions to Student Success will be the topic of discussion.

Policies - Smoke-free Environments

ACC Board Policy C-10 was passed by ACC Board of Trustees this last fall. "It establishes a smoke-free environment for ACC, while allowing the use of smokeless tobacco products. Implementation began this last Monday, January 2, 2012. Administrative staff has proceeded with development of Administrative Rules, guidelines, and procedures; internal and external communication and signage; workshops for faculty, staff, and students to support smoking and tobacco cessation; and other actions to ensure policy compliance." I will forward you finalized information when it is available such as:

• General campus signs (smokeless campus signs up as of 1/9)
• Enforcement including content on cards handed to students by ACC police
• Date when all policy/procedural content is finalized
• Content for LS smoke-free signs (if we add to ours) and also signs for tobacco issues

Vision and Values/Strategic Planning

Library Services Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee has met this last fall and is continuing to meet this spring. This group is reviewing our existing LS goals and strategies and compare and revise - as appropriate - ACC strategic planning content for LS initiatives.

Organization and Services

Organization

We are still committed to keeping LS Advisory Group/Ad hoc Workgroups and establishing a number of meetings to provide us with diverse input. These activities include:

• Our Ad hoc Head Librarian and Librarian Workload group is fast at work and is reviewing ACC Administrative Rules, job descriptions of team leaders and facilitators and other work responsibility documents. This group is charged to look at equity of workload in Library Services and provide recommendations in areas such as team work, facilitator work, reference hours, and collection responsibilities - to name just a few areas. This group's recommendations will be used to determine any need for balancing work responsibilities.
• The Head Librarians meet constantly and in a variety of settings. On and off over the years they have met as a unit and three years ago began to do so on a regular basis. Although these meetings have not been listed as part of the organizational structure, we have so many new people and existing staff have moved to new locations now, I have now placed this group as part of the formal management and communication structure. For more information ask your HL and/or visit their wiki project page under "Head Librarians" for meeting schedules and minutes. Note: "If you wish an issue to be taken to one of the scheduled meetings, please consult with your Head Librarian or send an email to the HL group."
• We will continue to have our "Five or Fewer" (years of service) meeting of librarians. It was suggested at the last "Five or Fewer" meeting that Library Services have regularly scheduled (annually or twice a year) "More than Five" meetings with similar questions, discussions, etc. to get input from senior staff.
• We will continue to have Team Leaders, Facilitators and Managers meetings once a month. Agendas and minutes are posted in the TLF wiki environment.
  
• Other “newer”/function or activity-specific groups continuing include: an Opening Day Collection subgroup of CDT (Hayes,Elgin Campuses and soon the Highland Mall library collection); a Sustainability presence as a Steward (based on a recommendation of the Sustainability Facilitator from last year.)

Services

Usage in general
    Our usage overall is still increasing and libraries are still - literally - packed with students in chairs, on the floor, etc. ACC's spring registration enrollment numbers, however, are down and I will be curious to see if our numbers keep at the same/steady level. While some of this usage information is gathered by reviewing numbers, much is anecdotal given the fact that the same number of students may come in, but may stay IN the library or AT computers for longer. Therefore, managers will be gathering anecdotal information this spring, in the form of staff opinion, staff pictures (no patron faces please!), etc.


Patron/student support at reference desks
I continue to work with IRT ID and Student Services (Help Desk, Online Services, etc.) to identify how we assist patrons needing college information. The college-wide initiative - led by Suzy Thomason - is finalizing a grid that outlines how, where and when we provide information to patrons.

This spring (this month, in fact) we will be hosting reference training on our virtual reference product. The vendor/cooperative has expanded their client base and we have new adjuncts, therefore, we will be both reviewing and updating knowledge. Our Reference Facilitator (Sylvia) will be posting information and all full time librarians are invited to attend. In addition, adjunct librarians participating in the ACC reference hours will be attending.



Teaching and Learning
IL Facilitator Terry Barksdale and NRG librarian, Ashley Carr continue to work with librarians to assess the ACC IL program. This spring kicks off with a pedagogy workshop Meeting in the Middle: Applying pedagogy to support learning outcomes across the college by Dr. Rebekah Nix. The IL Retreat document from Pam and Barbara has been distributed with Terry's comments and I will distribute my comments with the copy as well.

Facilities

"Hours and Location" Changes
The Pinnacle Campus Library has standardized hours with other 5 day a week campus libraries and is now open on Friday afternoons until 5:00 p.m.

Student Services departments have standardized their hours. Staff should visit Student Services departmental hours to identify changes and standardizations (http://www.austincc.edu/helpdesk/faq/hdfaq_index_student.html).

Existing Campuses

Round Rock Library
Round Rock Campus library office areas are being soundproofed to reduce sound in public service areas and increase privacy for staff. Our project for new study carrels on the north wall and additional tablet seats was not completed in the fall as the wrong carrels were delivered. I am hopeful they will be delivered while we are all still young enough to enjoy them.

Elgin Campus
Elgin Campus plans are completed and we have a wonderful space for students, faculty and staff in the library. The campus will open August, 2013.

Hays Campus
Hays Campus plans are also almost completed and we have a wonderful space there for students, faculty and staff. Hays will open in FY 2014 - probably by summer 2014.

Highland Mall
    The Highland Mall Penney's space - the academic space at the mall - is in the midst of abatement activities. We have an adjacency plan and the choice of architects will be finalized this month. I have brought Leigh Kilman - our Facilities Facilitator - into the planning for specific facilities floor plans and design and we have met once with the facilities planners along with Richard and Herb.

    The academic space will still be: space for approximately 6,300 student; campuses swinging in while they are renovated; NCAT-driven (National Center for Academic Transformation) student learning areas; workforce curriculum such as mathematics delivered in experimentation space; expanded opportunities for partnership such as service learning; commercial variety; and wonderful "sticky spaces" for students for support for academics as well as active learning spaces. The space for the unique learning environment is being referred to as the "emporium."

    Plans for Dillard's and Macy's space are still under discussion, however, Rio Grande will still be the first campus area to swing in to the Mall - specifically - the Annex area. Rio Grande will then have the second swing space as well with the annex returning to RGC and then the main building closing/those areas moving to HBC. Library space will be adjacent to the emporium with @7,000 square feet, reduced print materials and more seating and a coffee shop adjacent.

    My goals still include moving Technical Services to the mall. The Technical Services space needs assessment has been updated and distributed to Facilities.

Riverside
Riverside has been renovated and Jen Weber will be reporting on the space with "before" and "after" pictures.

Cypress
Cypress is trying to wrap up the reference desk move and a project manager has been assigned to work with Library Services in January to find solutions to wiring issues.

Staffing

New librarians


As we all know, we had two new librarians start this fall in October and November. Although their full bios
have been posted several times before, we will greet them – as “LS All” for the first time this week. Our new
librarians are David Wilson - Reference Librarian, South Austin and Carrie Gits - Head Librarian, Rio Grande Campus. They have been training and will continue to train this spring by visiting campuses and functions throughout Library Services.

LS All will also greet our two new ½ time Library Assistants Nathaniel Dickerman - Cypress circulation desk and Charlene Michallick- Pinnacle circulation desk. They have been training this fall and will continue to this spring.

In addition Sallie Buchner is moving from Technical Services to Riverside circulation desk and will work with
staff to coordinate textbook original cataloging and processing and support general RVS circulation activities.

Other ACC staff: Terry Mouchayleh, Director of Staff Development has left the college to become a Dean of the Faculty Academy at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth.

$tate Funding

Funding for FY'13 is still uncertain for the state in general and for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission although the best estimate is an 87% agency reduction. Current plans for the statewide database program are uncertain, however, it is know that the agency lost 6 million dollars and the database funding for the aggregated subscription program has shrunk significantly. A smaller program - beginning in July of 2012 - necessitates "shopping around" and our E-Resources Facilitator is exploring costs while the statewide academic director's group is exploring membership in other consortia. ACC LS participated in a statewide survey of academic library preferences for databases and e-resources.

At this point in time, the database core for the FY’13 year will NOT change.

Welcome to Fall 2011...

We are beginning another interesting year at ACC with much to do and much to plan. That's all great news, though! We have a huge enrollment, we have talented, committed staff, and we have great support from our administrators. As with any beginning-of-the-semester memo, I always have to remind myself as well as each of you, that we don't have all of the answers we need, however, we have many of them and "not knowing" is a natural part of business life. We are steadfast in tracking down the answers to our unanswered questions, coming up with different ones, and being creative and will continue to!

SACS

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) visits us regularly every 7 or so years and reviews the college's general education and workforce programs as well as all support services. They review "where we are" based on their standards and recommendations. In addition to a visit for the overall college, they visit immediately after major changes such as a new campus, a renovated campus, etc. They visited after Round Rock opened up and they will be here a year from now for their general visit. Prior to them visiting, each area prepares extensive content as an overview for what each department is, what they do and student outcomes.

I am now gathering data and attending meetings related to SACS requests on information and status in general as well as requests for new information. Library Services is creating their section of a major document which is designed to submit "answers to SACS questions." These answers indicate status and illustrate how we measure up to SACS standards. Drafts will be reviewed by managers and facilitators and leaders as needed. When completed I will distribute a copy of it to all staff.

Other Accreditation

Higher education environments have additional accrediting bodies (in addition to SACS) for a number of areas - many of which are workforce programs. Areas such as health sciences and culinary as well as mid-management have accrediting review panels visit every 5 to 7 years to determine program status against recommended standards. We are gathering lists of visits and dates and will post these in the wiki for bibliographers and team leaders.

New Administration

As we all know our new president has started his presidency. I have been in one meeting with him to date - a Highland Visioning Committee - and as you may remember although his plan is to observe for his first year - his initial goals include continuing our strategic plan and our student success initiative. We have not yet scheduled our IRT meeting with the President. I will distribute the content we have prepared for him, when it is finalized.

Policies - smoking

For a number of years the college has been moving toward expanding health and safety initiatives. Including in these policies has been a commitment to a no-smoking environment. ACC Board Policy C-10 was passed by ACC Board of Trustees last night. "It establishes a smoke-free environment for ACC, while allowing the use of smokeless tobacco products. Implementation is planned for Monday, January 2, 2012. Administrative staff will proceed with development of Administrative Rules, guidelines, and procedures; internal and external communication and signage; workshops for faculty, staff, and students to support smoking and tobacco cessation; and other actions to ensure policy compliance."

College - website; directory

The ACC website is undergoing a number of changes and areas being explored include:

• Additional consistency of online services


• Organization of student support for learning technology


• A revision of FAQ's for Helpdesk links

In addition, the college is working with data to try and correct Directory issues. Please report problems you may find with the Directory and other search tool inconsistencies to the Helpdesk.

Vision and Values

The College's mission, vision and values statements should be visited periodically when we are reviewing our own plans and revisiting why we do what we do.

LS Mission, Goals
The Library Leadership Team reviewed the college's mission and goals and reviewed and revised LS Mission and Goals. The Mission Statement is linked from the Library Home Page on the left sidebar and from pertinent other pages on our site.

Strategic Planning
Library Services has named an Ad hoc Strategic Planning group and will be meeting before the end of the Fall 2011 semester to review our existing LS goals and strategies and compare and revise - as appropriate - ACC strategic planning content to LS initiatives.

Organization and Services

Organization

We are still committed to keeping LS Advisory Group/Ad hoc Workgroups and establishing a number of meetings to provide us with diverse input. These activities include:

• We have established our Ad hoc Head Librarian and Librarian Workload group. Using ACC Administrative Rules, job descriptions of team leaders and facilitators and other work responsibility documents, this group will look at equity and provide recommendations in areas such as team work, facilitator work, reference hours, and collection responsibilities - to name just a few areas.


• The Head Librarians – who have met informally together over the past few years – now have a formal meeting time beginning this fall. They are setting up meetings, establishing wiki space and will be posting agendas and minutes post meetings. Look for an email from the group on dates, locations, group leadership and with information on how to get items/issues on the agenda.


• We will continue to have our Five or Fewer meeting of librarians. It was suggested and we will have a More than Five meeting with the same questions, discussions, etc. to get input from senior staff.


• We will continue to have Team Leaders, Facilitators and Managers meetings once a month. Agendas and minutes are posted in the TLF wiki environment.


• We are continuing to have an Opening Day Collection subgroup of CDT. They are already at work on Hayes and Elgin Campuses.


• We are retaining a Sustainability presence and are identifying this responsibility - for this academic year - as that of a Steward. (Based on a recommendation of the Sustainability Facilitator from last year.


• As promised - we reduced the Technical Services MAM presence to 8 hours (down from 20 originally) and are focusing on completing MAM projects.

Services

• Usage in general
  
  Our usage overall is up and libraries are - literally - packed with students in chairs, on the floor, etc.


• Registration/student support at reference desks
  
  The college's phone registration program is ending in its current format. I am working with Student Services to identify how we assist students needing Advising and Registration in the library/often referred from the Welcome Center. I am providing four recommendations on how Student Services might enhance their process to better prepare students in Advising Centers, A & R and Welcome Centers to name but a few areas. When Student Services responds to our data and suggestions, I will disseminate information on how they will be assisting and referring students.


• Reference service at reference desks and through digital/virtual services


• We are exploring - through the Reference Facilitator - standardizing the format of online/virtual and digital access for this academic year. A more standardized platform will provide us with a more seamless delivery and simpler training modules and methods.

Teaching and Learning

We are reviewing and implementing many of the recommendations of our Teaching and Learning retreat and study from last year. To this end we have an Information Literacy Facilitator who will continue to assess our Information Literacy program in all forms including in-person in libraries, in classrooms and in Blackboard and other digital and virtual teaching and learning delivery methods and mode and our "container" for delivering our resources. Our IL plans for change include our reviewing our teaching and learning relationships and a review and revision - as appropriate - of supporting and integrated curriculum and professional development for our librarians/faculty.

Facilities

"Hours and Location" Changes

The college has chosen to - for the time being - reduce the number of weekend colleges and weekend hours at some locations to ensure that our funding models are secure. IRT managers were involved in all discussions and recommendations. Herb Coleman and I worked together on the design of hours for this coming year. Our goals included: ensuring services in many geographic sectors; providing support for health sciences weekend Eastview classes; advertising how our health sciences students can continue to access needed resources when libraries are closed; working with health sciences faculty to identify assignment needs for the spring and summer of the FY'12 academic year; and, finally - an aggressive marking campaign to inform those patrons most likely affected by changes at any and all campuses. LS has already been asked to/and has met with health sciences faculty on access and support issues and LS PR/Marketing will be designing standardized messages for this fall. If any IRT/LS employees have any questions on how we arrived at these decisions, please ask me, Richard Smith, Mary Hensley, etc. As stated earlier, we all worked together on choosing our direction. Note that I am very pleased that campus hours are standardized. This makes marketing what IS and ISN'T available much simpler.

Existing Campuses - Round Rock and Elgin Center

Round Rock Campus is busy, busy, and busy and the college has been wonderful in adding much needed things to our newest site. As I mentioned before, we now have our new dropped/additional ceiling to reduce dust and the sound and the office areas are being soundproofed to reduce sound in public service areas and increase privacy for staff. Our project for new study carrels on the north wall and additional tablet seats will be completed by the end of this month.

Elgin Center is open and as a reminder is a slightly different site with new furniture, research workstations and comfortable study space. Elgin Center is a model we had some time ago and we have included a small reference and periodical collection. We will have the same hours for this fall and spring as we have had this past spring and summer. Remember, Elgin Center will be open until August, 2013 when we open the Elgin Campus.

Elgin Campus

Elgin Campus plans are almost completed and we have a wonderful space for students, faculty and staff in the library. As stated above, the campus will open August, 2013.

Hays Campus

Hays Campus plans are also almost completed and we have a wonderful space there for students, faculty and staff as well. Elgin will open in 2014 and I'm not exactly sure of when that will be during that calendar year. of 2013.

Highland Mall
Our biggest news is that Highland Mall is moving along quickly. I serve on the visioning group and we have met once. You may have seen some of this in the paper, however here are some interesting points about the project:

• The college is moving to immediately begin plans to renovate Dillard's (the administrative wing) and J.C. Penny's (the academic wing). This has a quicker timeline than first thought and we are looking at approximately three years+.


• We own all of the land under all stores at Highland and entities currently in the mall have contracts and will continue through their contract years.


• The surrounding land will be developed through a partnership with Red Leaf Commercial Real Estate and is an exciting partnership.


• The academic space will be characterized by: space for approximately 6,300 student; campuses swinging in while they are renovated; NCAT-driven (National Center for Academic Transformation) student learning areas; workforce curriculum such as mathematics delivered in experimentation space; expanded opportunities for partnership such as service learning; commercial variety; and wonderful "sticky spaces" for students for support for academics as well as active learning spaces.


• The ‘swing space’ concept at the mall provides the College the capability to temporarily house displaced courses, staff, etc. Thus, as part of the College’s master planning projects, RGC is currently slated to be the first campus renovated. Affected courses and facilities will be temporarily be relocated into the Highland swing space. Libraries will “swing” with their campuses but specifics have not yet been determined. Much more discussion and planning between now and then is required. Consult the college’s facilities strategic plans for a list of campuses to be renovated. So far we know:
  
  • Rio Grande will first swing the Annex area in to mall space with the main building staying in place.
  
  
  • Rio Grande will then have the second swing space with the annex returning to RGC and then the main building closing and those areas moving to HBC.

Our visioning group is discussing how the mall might be built out and talks include...a major campus? swing space for in-progress renovations only? Commercial partnerships? Continuing Education located there? Our video/film studio located there? A child lab school there?

And while my role in the team is general visioning, I have other questions such as "should areas (like the library) 'swing' 30 year old furniture in to the new space? Should the new space be outfitted for and return to swing spaces?" There is a lot to think about.

Additional supplementary activities include subgroup meetings with visioning team members representing general ed, workforce and support areas like the library to discuss how we might present creative ideas to the larger group. I am meeting with them soon.

Planning and design ideas are NOT yet posted to the ACC Buildings and Facilities web space but will be soon.

As everyone knows, my goals include moving Technical Services to the mall. I am updating the Technical Services space needs assessment.

Staffing

New librarians
We had two librarians leave the college. Our new librarians are:

David Wilson - Reference Librarian, South Austin

Dave will be joining the Library Services team as a reference librarian at the South Austin Campus. Dave is a librarian, who (in his own words) is "passionate about the intersection of teaching, learning, and technology, and is committed to finding the best strategies to meet each individual student's unique learning style."

Dave holds an M.S. in Information Studies from U.T. Austin, where he complimented his reference and library instruction coursework with a capstone project designing online video tutorials. Dave also comes to ACC with a prior background in film and media, which informs his teaching style both inside and outside of the classroom, and continues to inspire him to look for new ways to engage students and promote library services.

Dave is very knowledgeable about both reference and information literacy and - through coursework, continuing education and experience has participated in the design of information literacy for student course activities, developed a library's social media presence and produced offbeat promotional videos for Banned Books Week and New Student Orientation. A 2009 graduate of ACRL's Information Literacy Immersion program, Dave also has good experience developing course-integrated information literacy activities and assessing student progress.

He started with the college Monday, October 3rd and his mentor will be Molly Dahlstrom. Because we have a number of new people beginning with us with slightly different timelines, the Staff Development Team has divided Library Services orientation and training for Dave into three parts:

• Orientation for South Austin (Pam Spooner, October)


• Spooner and others (October/ongoing)


• Orientation to ACC Library Services (All, November/ongoing)

Carrie Gits - Head Librarian, Rio Grande Campus

Carrie is joining the team as a Head Librarian for the Rio Grande Campus. She comes to us with a variety of experiences in academic libraries including experience as a Communication and Latin American Studies Librarian at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL and an Assistant Director of Reference at Nova Southeastern University's (NSU) Alvin Sherman Library, Research and Information Technology Center. Her library management experience (recruiting, hiring, training, evaluating) includes management of circulation desk staff as well as management of professional librarians and student employees. In her positions she has been responsible for outreach; and references services including scheduling and assessment and Carrie also has extensive experience in library instruction including management of a program, general information literacy instruction and teaching a three credit Research Methods course.

Carrie is professionally active at the local, regional, and national level. She participated in the regional SEFLIN Sun Seekers Leadership Institute and presented on technology and leadership topics at SEFLIN Regional Conferences, ALA Annual, ACRL National, and internationally at ACURIL. Carrie's interests in librarianship encompass reference, library instruction, staff development, emerging technologies, and leadership in libraries.

Carrie begins employment at ACC on November 1st and her mentor will be Leigh Kilman. Because we have a number of new people beginning with us with slightly different timelines, the Staff Development Team has divided Library Services orientation and training for Carrie into sections that include:

• Orientation for Rio Grande (Julie Todaro, Leigh Kilman, November)


• Orientation to ACC Library Services (All for overall LS, Julie Todaro for management)

Our thanks to Dr. Richard Smith and Dr. Mary Hensley for their ongoing support for Library Services and for their assistance in the hiring process.



New classified staff

Two managers converted hourly funds to create two ½ time positions for libraries with fewer staffing table classified staff at circulation desks. Nathaniel Dickerman - previously an hourly library circulation desk employee (Round Rock, Pinnacle) - is the new Cypress circulation desk employee and the new Pinnacle ½ time employee is Charlene Michallick. Both new employees are very customer service oriented and are very familiar with library settings.

Staffing Changes

I am pleased to announce that Jennifer Weber is moving to Riverside Campus Library Services as Head Librarian! Most - if not all of us -- know Jennifer based on her previous roles in the college which include - in order since 2001 - management of IRT public service spaces (computer centers); IRT server administrator; and Round Rock reference librarian. She is an excellent educator, has experience managing in a variety of higher ed, community college and library environments and is a tech expert.

Jen began her position on Tuesday, September 27th and we are working on a schedule for acquainting her with her new position and with her campus. A special thanks to Margaret Peloquin, who has managed both Eastview and Riverside Libraries for a number of years. I am so grateful to her for her expertise, her flexibility and her service at both locations. I know she has come and gone from Riverside a number of times over the past years and that she will be missed (again) by Riverside Library Services.

In addition:

Terese Morgan has moved from South Austin as Head Librarian to Reference Librarian at the Riverside Campus. Sallie Buchner is now working part time in Technical Services and part time for Pinnacle circulation. Lola Cowling moved from Eastview to Riverside, Cary Sowell moved from Riverside to Eastview and Jonathan Buckstead moved from Riverside to Cypress Creek. Pam Spooner moved from Rio Grande as Head Librarian to South Austin as Head Librarian. Adrian Whatley moved from Cypress as Reference Librarian to South Austin as a Reference Librarian.

Staff Development

Basic skills - As we all know we are continuing with our basic skills assessment. We will continue to refine our tech skills assessments as well as integrate new ACC elements such as Google Apps - into our skills sets and tech skills assessments.

Orientation and Training - New Staff and Staff in New Roles
We are still training our new staff and - as needed - staff in new roles. This includes not only management and campus library staff training but also one-on-one, work with mentors, tours of campuses and meeting with individuals responsible for certain areas. If you haven't noticed already, our training is an ongoing - continuous learning - role and responsibility of all of us. Thanks to everyone who has met and will be meeting with new staff to integrate them into Library Services. We continue to coordinate and streamline orientation and training.

Membership in Central Texas Library System (CTLS)

ACC Library Services joined a local consortium (no membership fee at this time). We are the first academic library to join CTLS and it will provide us with a number of unique staff development opportunities. Watch the SDT’s emails from Sheila Henderson with CTLS webinars, workshops, etc.

Collections

Core Collections

Bibliographers are working on creating core print and media collections. These cores will be compared against our existing collections and then be used for the Opening Day Collections for new campuses.

Textbook Collection

We continue to review our textbook collection availability, weeding and circulation.

Elgin Campus and Hays Campus - ODC

We are currently working on Opening Day Collections for Elgin and Hays Campuses.

Media Collection

We formed an Ad hoc group last year whose goal was to discuss media, accessibility, and collection management and make data-driven decisions based on use, copyright, and space. Although this group is still managing the process, we are making significant process on weeding outdated media and identifying replacement media in more contemporary formats.

Counting In-library Use

The FY'10 Collection Development Team organized a pilot in-library use study. We are reviewing the pilot (began Fall '2011 semester) and determining what data can be gathered and inferred by in-house use.

Watch the Skies

1. We are drafting a patron code of conduct. We are reviewing in LLT and will have ACC Police Chief Lynn Dixon review for accuracy and correct handling. We are hopeful we can post it/implement it into our processes in Spring of 2011.


2. We are continuing to review our facilities to determine the best use of space as well as updated furniture needs.


3. Our strategic planning group will meet this fall. Using the college's documents and strategic plan as a foundation, the group will determine the planning process for Library Services to use in designing a three to five year plan of action.

$tate Funding

Funding for FY'13 is uncertain for the state in general and for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Current plans for the statewide database program are certain, however, it is know that the agency lost 6 million dollars and the database funding for the aggregated subscription program has shrunk significantly. A smaller program - beginning in July of 2012 - necessitates "shopping around" and our E-Resources Facilitator is exploring costs while the statewide academic director's group is exploring membership in other consortia.

Mid-Spring Catch-Up (Intro and TOC)

Almost Mid-Spring All-Library Services Memo Catch-up ...February 27, 2011

As usual, things are moving quickly at the college and in IRT/Library Services. Here is a mid-semester update on where we "are." I wish I had all of the answers we all want, but I guess we typically find out things as we move through the academic year.

Table of Contents

• Facilities
  
• Staffing
  
• Staff Development
  
• LS Advisory Group/Ad Hoc Workgroups
  
• SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools)
  
• Core Materials Collection
  
• Textbook Collection
  
• Teaching and Learning
  
• FYI… (Other Issues)

Mid-Spring Catch-Up (Facilities & Staffing)

Facilities .............

RRC - It's fun to say "Round Rock is up and running." We are fully staffed with a great team and the facility is busy, busy, busy with many hours of the day finding every seat filled for most of our time open. We now have additional ceiling and the additional dropped panels reduce the dust and the sound issues are reduced. In addition, the squeal in the ceiling is mostly gone (at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it) and our most wonderful news is we are getting 7 study carrels on the north wall and an additional 10 tablet seats.

Elgin Center - Elgin opened on February 14th. We are fully staffed and - as an extension site/center - Leigh Kilman is in charge. Currently it's open four evenings a week. ACC Buildings and Facility has a very different approach to setting up centers now and visit the wiki to see Leigh's great pictures of the site with great furniture and designed to provide research workstations and comfortable study space. With Elgin Center we have returned to a model we had some time ago, that is, we purchased a small reference and periodical collection. In addition, we are staffing with hourly circulation staff and hourly adjunct librarians. As you may remember, the Elgin Center will be open until August, 2013 when we open the Elgin Campus.

Elgin Campus - We have begun discussions on needs for the new Elgin Campus. As usual, these kinds of meetings are interesting and we are making progress.

Hays Campus - As you know from the newspaper there has been a delay in the ACC Hays Campus and we have not yet begun discussions on design. The plan has been for the campus to open at the same time Elgin opens in August of 2013. We won't know if we can open at the same time Elgin does until later this spring.

Technical Services - We visited a building near Rio Grande for a possible space for Technical Services to move. The space wouldn't work out/wasn't big enough. We'll keep trying!

Staffing .........

• Our new facilitators - Accessibility, Sustainability and Facilities - are very active and are doing some exciting things this year. Goals in these areas include assessing what we do, what more we need to do and how do we need to change to meet the widest range of patron needs.


• We are focusing on identifying roles and responsibilities and basic job functions of administrative assistants. We will be completing that this spring semester.