Here is our second indicator. Use what you have observed to comment on how the library does or does not meet this indicator, including any suggestions for improvement or any questions you would like to ask. To get you thinking about this indicator, I suggest you explore the library’s web pages on Other Libraries, ILL, Book and Media Catalog, and Online Databases.
Standard 5.C.2 – Facilities and Access
5.C.2 In cases of cooperative arrangements with other library and information resources, formal documented agreements are established. These cooperative relationships and externally provided information sources complement rather than substitute for the institution’s own adequate and accessible core collection and services.
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11 comments:
Here are my thought on this indicator:
Strengths:
• We have several cooperative arrangements with local, university system, statewide, and national associations that extend the resources that are available to our students.
o In Helena: Carroll, Lewis & Clark, State Library, State Law Library – our students may use and borrow the from the collections of these libraries
o University of Montana – as an affiliated library we share library systems software and cooperatively purchase journal databases and ebooks.
o Statewide – we are a member of the Montana Library Network and cooperatively purchase journal databases, references sources, and audiobooks.
o National – we are an OCLC participant and as such can borrow materials from any library in the country.
• Our arrangements are documented through signed agreements and at times contract fees
Weaknesses:
• Our externally provided information sources (electronic databases and ebooks) do substitute for an adequate core collection. Though it is improving, our core collection frequently does not meet our students’ needs for coursework
• We have little or no popular reading (fiction, popular titles) to meet lifelong learning interest needs
• Our students need to use other local libraries on the weekend
Ideas for improvement
• Provide recreational reading through a small fiction collection and downloadable audiobooks
• Increase schedule to include weekend hours
• Secure one time funding to build core collection
I would encourage adding some more popular fiction and self-help books to our libraries collection. Our students need exposure to "Libraries are for life," not just for academics, and part of our mission is lifelong learning. In particular, I'd like to see our collection of Montana literature increase here on our campus and not just through access to local and statewide libraries.
Our cooperative arrangements serve our students well, but the offerings from these arrangements are often defined by what other libraries see as their mission.
I am incredibly grateful for these cooperative arrangements, however. I have encouraged students to use them whenever they need to.
It seems to me a lively college can and should have weekend hours -- but it does mean added personnel hours as well. I think the extended hours during the last weeks of school are great -- what kind of usage are we seeing?
Suzanne, some great points, especially that our cooperating libraries have different missions than ours! I strongly agree that we should try to move more into some popular and self-help books, and this is important to our role in encouraging lifelong learning. Unfortunately, our very slim book budget has made this a challenge to accomplish. Our audio book collection, which will go operational next month, is our first step in this direction, but again does not substitute for a print collection. This certainly should be one of our weaknesses that we need to address.
As for Saturdays, so far we are seeing a use of 11, 17,16 people for the last three weeks. Some have stayed for hours, some have checked out books, some have spent a brief amount of time on the computer or used the copier. A variety of uses. From my observation, the computer labs are being used a bit more than the library, that is more people in the lab at one time.
It has been my experience that the library is prompt and efficient in seeking and obtaining resources from libraries other than our own. I have been very satisfied as a customer using this service. Our library does a good job providing resources if those resources are not available within these walls. I appreciate it, Janice.
I know the library is doing all it can for an increase in core books, but I concur with Suzzane when she stated,
'I would encourage adding some more popular fiction and self-help books to our libraries collection. Our students need exposure to "Libraries are for life," not just for academics, and part of our mission is lifelong learning.
We need more books, fun books, to get students to like libraries, not just to use them to get out of school. If there were alot of cool books on display, they would look them over every time they came in and it would be a good bonding experience.Heck, they might even read one for fun.
I like the idea of expanding the range of the collection and it seems that the cooperative agreements strengthens all local library offerings to our students. In addition, by encouraging our student community to use all library resources in the community could help them continue to develop the appetite for life long literary knowledge
and to continue I am wondering what our library physical collection shelf capacity is?
In response to Candace's comment about obtaining resources from libraries other than our own -- our ILL (interlibrary loan) service is pretty efficient. We order the items electronically through an internationally used system, though we primarily just borrow from Montana libraries, and predominantly from the University of Montana. The turnaround time for most requests is 3-4 working days. One observation I would like to share. In viewing the past 5 years use of this service, we have borrowed anywhere from 95 to 130 items per year, but mostly the requests have hovered around 105 requests per year. So while use of other library services has grown, use of this service has remained relatively stable. I think this indicates that we are not relying too heavily on other libraries.
Several of you have expressed that the library needs to better serve the life long reading needs of our community. So this is definitely a shortcoming or weakness we have identified. I am adding to the Library's goals for spring semester that we draft a plan to add a fiction and "recreational reading", i.e. fun reading, collection to the library and will be attaching a budget request to accompany this plan. Great work. Your expression of these comments will go a long way to supporting this budget request!
In response to Alan's question, we currently house 6,500 volumes. Our current shelving units could probably house an additional 4,000 volumes. The space can probably house 12,000 comfortably with the purchase of more shelving units. And if we were to house 15,000 we would have to loose seating and studying space. These are my best estimates.
I want to add to the converation on fictional and recreational reading. As we do with other trial programs, we could explore this at the campus "community" level first. Create a space for free trade books that the library may maintain or provide space for rather than adding to the collecction. Recreational reading is so diverse, it woudl be challenging to pick which books to have in a small collection.
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