2005 BRIEFING PAPER ON THE LIBRARY:
SUMMARY
OVERVIEW
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
The Library Serving COCC and the OSU-Cascades Campus
SUMMARY
The last two years have been a time of deep reorganization for the library, spurred by budget reduction and by the need to make our library more accessible for OSU-Cascades students. Every position has been carefully revised; new staff to replace retiring members have been hired and trained while continuing personnel have accomplished significant re-engineering to insure operations are effective and efficient. The computerized library system for displaying our holdings and managing our processes such as circulation, acquisitions, cataloging and other areas was transferred to OSU’s integrated library system. This led to very different procedures, polices, and processes within the operations of the library, and we have successfully integrated these into our daily services and operations. Our active participation in regional library consortium and library agencies insures the highest level of access to quality information resources for all students and faculty at COCC and our partner institutions.
The library is far more than a storage facility—it is a democratic, social environment were learning crosses discipline barriers. Its place on campus should be a “learning commons,” a center that mixes resources, technology and instruction to create an “intellectual common ground” for students to experience a freedom to learn. The library is leaner, stronger, and poised to develop its role on campus as the learning commons.
OVERVIEW:
Structure, Joint OSU Program, Computerized Library Systems, Regional Activity, Budget, Facilities, Higher Educational Environment
Organization Structure (see Organizational Chart)
- 1 Library Director
- 2 Full-time faculty librarians
- 1 OSU-Librarian
- 5.5 Classified support positions
- Additional support from part-time faculty librarians in reference, instruction, and government documents
Internal Departments
- Public Services: circulation services, reference and interlibrary loan
Two new classified employees, Circulation Manager and Interlibrary loan/Summit Manager, hired to replace two retiring staff, have completed one year in the restructured positions. The department has successfully re-aligned Interlibrary loan, Summit operations (patron borrowing in the Alliance Consortium), and Circulation services for streamlined, efficient work. They are co-trained in all operations so that each can back-up the other position. The ILL/Summit position receives 50% of its funding from OSU-Cascades.
- Technical Services and Collection Development: selection, acquisitions and process of all materials.
Cataloging and acquisitions processes are now merged with OSU’s library system. A recent review of this areas by OSU and COCC librarians has shown that we are well on our way to resolving problems, but the lack of local systems expertise is a daily problem in Technical Services.
- Instruction Program—a three-tiered approach to instruction
- We teach approximately 28-30 sections of a two-unit “Information Research Skills” course (Library 127) including online sections in Blackboard
- We provide training and workshops for faculty
- We provide as needed bibliographic sessions within other courses
The library is working on an assessment for Library 127. It has recently completed the work on a competency exam that will be available this fall.
A year long process to analyze components of media services in order to appropriately eliminate some areas and disperse others was completed in June. IT manages the remaining media services. All media collection development is transitioning into library fund accounting, acquisitions, cataloging, and processing procedures. A year long project re-cataloging and integrating the media collections into the main library collection has been completed. The move had the added benefit of freeing lower level space for the creation of the CAP center.
COCC was granted Federal Depository status in 1985. A site visit from FLDP in 2000 reviewed our status and work. Recommendations from this report have been implemented. COCC acts as a secondary distributor for certain legal, medical, and public related titles that are then made available at the Law, Deschutes, and St. Charles libraries.
Challenges
- The professional faculty and staff are at 100% capacity, yet new initiatives or additional projects are vital to creating a learning centered environment responsive to the needs of the college. The department must keep pace in a dynamic library/information environment. The changes that will sustain the department into the next decade will emanate from the ideas and vision of its librarians and staff, its peer institutions, and the best practices set by the Association of College and Research Libraries, American Library Association, and other key organizations. The library is fortunate to have excellent staff at every level. This is its key strength.
- Work in government information resources should be expanded as the campus and community could benefit from better access to information from the largest publisher in the world, the federal government. This important area has been cut back to the bare minimum for survival. Accessible government information resources should be woven into academic programs.
Cooperation with OSU-Valley Library (see Partner Schools Library Services )
Advantages
The library offers a wide array of services and avenues of access to the students and faculty at COCC, OSU- Cascades and partnering institutions:
Common catalog for easy searching for items in COCC and OSU libraries – see Library Systems Merge below
Since COCC is an Alliance member and a courier site, students receive materials from Oregon and Washington libraries often within 48 hours.
Coordinated collection development to support curriculum at OSU-Cascades and COCC
Access to one another’s range of databases and electronic resources
Quick interlibrary loan processing
Reference services for all students
Challenges
The matrix of services is complex and requires constant staff training. The hard work of the OSU-Cascades librarian has addressed most of the confusion for faculty and students trying to access services and resources. Mandatory new student orientations at OSU-Cascades, which include a library component, are starting in the summer of 2004 and will be held at regular intervals throughout the academic year. Some of the programs on the Service Matrix are not under the OSU-Cascades umbrella, but still require some type of coordination with students seeking library resources. The OSU-Cascades librarian is the liaison who coordinates services with the program home library and COCC.
Computer Systems Merge of the Innovative Interfaces, Inc. (III) Library Management Software: A comprehensive array of tools to manage library information resources for public display and access, and internal library management operations.
Advantages
Students at COCC and OSU-Cascades benefit by having a single integrated catalog of resources. The merge into the OSU-Valley Library system saved COCC $100,000 for a needed computer systems upgrade to Innovative’s “Millennium” system. The salary and benefits for a professional library salary were saved by eliminating a Systems Librarian position.
Current Status
COCC, OSU, and III worked on the technical aspects of merging two complex computer systems into one over a nine month period beginning in 2003. Since the merge of data, OSU and COCC have been cleaning up the problems and developing new procedures and polices for join systems operations and management. The systems merge has been successful, yet there is significant work ongoing to resolve problems. The Technical Services department, which includes bibliographic control, item acquisitions, fund allocations and control, and processing, is still testing new procedures. IT and OSU are also working on integrating certain financial and patron data with COCC’s Banner system.
The systems merge with OSU could be seen as a first step in developing a Central Oregon library system based upon the work done at EOU to create Eastern Oregon’s Pioneer System. However, work and funding on this has been delayed partially due to changing leadership at other libraries in the region.
Challenges
Every library procedure and policy (including such things as loan policies and fines) must be done in conjunction with OSU. Decision making is a more time-consuming and complex process. Two areas are undergoing work: ID cards that are required to use library services and the integration of library fines into the Banner system. However, this work is going well and will be complete during fall term.
As OSU implements software upgrades and changes, COCC relies on help from OSU to adapt to changes. With no single person in charge of COCC library systems, staff members are deeply affected by the complex software glitches and problems. They generally must handle professional level troubleshooting and coordination with OSU and with the Orbis Cascade Alliance system’s staff. The creative energies of a talented professional systems librarian are deeply missed by the department. There is no individual knowledgeable about advances in library systems that can act as a bridge between COCC, IT and OSU-Valley systems. The bigger picture and how decisions in IT affect operations and policies in the library is lost. There is no person with deep technology knowledge to carry the library perspective though the organization. Planning for and developing new technology for library services is left to following what ever course OSU decides to take.
The library relies upon COCC IT staff and OSU staff to solve problems with systems issues. However, COCC library staff, OSU staff and IT personnel all have a good working relationship.
Consortium Membership, Regional Memberships and Participation:
- Orbis Cascade Alliance
- Statewide Database Licensing Program
- L-Net Virtual Reference Statewide Program
Alliance Advantages
The Library’s membership in the Orbis Cascade Alliance provides access to over twenty million items held in thirty-one member college and university libraries in Oregon and Washington. It was the first community college library in the consortium. There are now three more community colleges in the process of joining and loading their databases into Summit, the join union catalog.
The Alliance also negotiates excellent deals on electronic resources expanding our opportunities to offer additional high quality, academic databases.
Membership in a strong, effective, and well managed library consortium is one of the most significant building blocks for the future of libraries. The other key building blocks are an excellent professional and classified staff, and stable budget.
COCC is considered a leader at all levels in the Consortium. The library director is on the Executive Committee of the Council. The professional librarians are on the Alliance’s committees. The library staff members are called upon to help train staff at new libraries that have been granted membership.
Alliance Challenges
The Alliance is a member funded and managed institution. Every library must make a commitment to serve on the Council of Directors and various committees working on Alliance issues. On the other hand, this networking provides regular contact with colleagues and a venue for the exchange of ideas.
Statewide Database Licensing Program
Advantages
The Statewide Database Licensing Advisory Committee handles the RFP and the evaluation of vendor submissions. The resulting contract is an excellent suite of over 25 academic databases and The Oregonian full-text. The databases have a 50% subsidy and The Oregonian is fully subsidized. These resources are heavily used by our students and faculty.
Challenges
Our librarians have been involved in the preparation of an RFP and the evaluation of vendor options for this committee—an enormous commitment of volunteer time.
L-Net Virtual Reference Program: L-net is a live chat service provided by the cooperation of public, academic and school libraries in Oregon.
Advantages
Residents anywhere in the state have access to online reference help even when they either can’t get into a library or the library is closed. The service is expanding its hours. COCC and Deschutes Public Library are leaders in piloting this program in Central Oregon. COCC and OSU students do use this service.
Disadvantages
Since we are thinly staffed, it is sometimes difficult for a trained COCC librarian to find the time to fill scheduled statewide virtual reference hours. We will begin to draw more upon part-time librarians to help in this area.
Budget
Advantages
The library budget has been reviewed and adjustments made to correspond with the new structure. A desperately needed increase in the capital budget has helped the library regain some footing needed to address quality issues in all areas of the collection.
Challenges
The new Friends of the College Library is poised to assist in building the library endowment and in aiding the library in making a number expensive purchases.
Facilities
Advantages
The new library building has held up very well and continues to be held up as a supremely well designed facility appreciated by all who come to use the services and resources housed there.
Challenges
The building needs to respond to the changes in the way people interact as they learn and study in addition to the changes in services offered in the building. There are some problems of overcrowding and competing needs on the lower floor for CAP, Testing & Tutoring, and Media.
The reference and public services area should have a space study done to look at physical changes to create a better learning environment that is less individually isolating and more open to interactions between students and the reference librarians.
The Changing Campus and Central Oregon Higher Education
Higher education in Central Oregon is likely to undergo significant change in the next five to ten years. Discussions surrounding the Juniper Ridge Technology Park certainly indicate changes will come. The COCC Library and the OSU-Valley Library, and other partners should be involved in anticipating these changes in order to create an adequate and timely response to the changing needs in the region. Involving the talented and creative people of these libraries in higher education developments as plans emerge and mature is necessary to insure that vital access and services continue to be central to the learning communities we serve.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
THE LIBRARY AS
“THE LEARNING COMMONS”
Over the past decade, many libraries have implemented what is called the “information commons” where students and faculty receive comprehensive assistance on all aspects of information issues, including assistance with using various software tools. Because COCC developed a computer lab right in the same building to run in conjunction with the research mission of the library, it keeps library research and technical computing issues somewhat separate. This lets expertise develop in ways appropriate for IT and the library. Instead of the information commons, the vision of this library is to become more the “learning commons” of the institution. If the heart of the information commons was technology and tools, the heart of the learning commons is the recognition that digital and non-digital resources must be integrated into the learning environment – that milieu of formal and informal learning in the classrooms and the library. It recognizes the social aspects of learning and that a significant amount of important learning occurs outside the classroom. The library will continue its changes in stride with the learning-centered campus.
Examples of areas where this work can develop:
- Integration of resources and information into courseware
- Development of electronic pathfinders to link high quality resources to courses
- Participate in developing the campus portal and other campus-wide technology efforts
- Provide wireless access in the building allowing people to bring in their own computers
- Insure that our teaching continues to help students reach beyond knowledge of the tools for research toward a real love of learning
- Increase the use for library space for the social areas of learning (art displays), book talks, music events, and other types of presentations that will help “round out” the learning environment of the college
Department goals:
- Continue to integrate information literacy into college teaching and learning so that students use quality information resources in their academic work.
- Review the public spaces in the library and create more areas conducive to the way students learn:
- Review the physical space in reference area and the main floor
- Complete the transition of the room 104 back to a student group study room
- Continue assessment work on its instructional program. Join with trusted national programs using tested tools for assessing its services and programs.
- Support staff development at all levels.
- Continue high level of participation in the Alliance work and other regional projects as appropriate, State Library committees including LSTA (distributes federal funds) and the Statewide Database Licensing Committee
- Insure people can attend regional training institutes including OCLC workshops, Alliance events, Timberline Acquisitions Institute, and others
- Encourage awareness of national directions in the field through participation in national organizations – ACRL, ALA and others
David Bilyeu, College Librarian, and AIM – the library management team: Catherine Finney, Tina Hovekamp, Maureen Kelly.
August, 2004
Revised January, 2005