Welcome back! Time to return to our self study. We are making some great progress, so let's keep the momentum going. Here is our next indicator. (Just a reminder. We do not need to have meetings if we can keep our discussion active on the blog)
5.B.4 Opportunities are provided for faculty, staff, and students to participate in the planning and development of the library and information resources and services.
Before I jump in, what are your thoughts on this?
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6 comments:
I know that the library has come to Student Senate on several occasions to seek counsel from the senate, help in funding a copier for students in the library, and to get help distributing a survey at the AP campus to see if there is a desire to have library services there.
I am able to discuss my ideas for the collection with the Director and have had no trouble getting books I needed purchased for the collection.
The director has asked my opinion on many student issues so that is also a way I have been able to help with planning and development.
Having a member of the library as part of the Student Services weekly meetings also allows staff to give feedback and make suggestions. I think this is quite valuable.
I would welcome a student voice on this committee as well as on the advisory board -- but perhaps they are already present. Suzanne
Great observations, Suzanne. The Library does not have an internal advisory committee, though we should. Last year this was proposed to Faculty Senate, but they passed, saying another institutional location with student, as you suggest, and staff representation would be more appropriate.
Faculty and staff and students are involved in the planning and development of library services primarily though the budget process and as needed when new services are being considered. For example, when the library was considering adding downloadable audiobooks this year, we sought input from the Academic Department Chairs, Directors of Student Services, and Leadership. The consensus was that this service fit the lifelong learning mission of our college and library, so the service was added.
Faculty and, to a lesser extent, staff are given opportunities for input in the development of the library collection, both through regularly solicitations for suggestions for purchase, scheduled involvement in the collection weeding process, formal annual review of periodical purchases, and in quick response to requests for purchases. While we respond to student requests for purchases, we have no formal system to solicit suggestions.
What have the rest of you observed?
I just had another thought. Sometimes we forget to think of the "other side of the coin", so to speak. Librarian involvement in several departmental and institutional committees and meetings is another avenue for input into the library planning process. The librarian participates in Extended Leadership and Academic Chairs Dept. meetings, is a voting member of the ASCR Committee, Budget Committee, and Web Committee.
And one last thought. Faculty and students have been surveyed on their satisfaction with the library through periodic surveys, in addition to the Noel Levitz SSI that is conducted every other year.
I feel the library does include others in its planning process. The library does an excellent job of knowing who the regular patrons are and pulling them into the planning process.
An internal committee process may help identify groups that do not use the library as often. It may help to identify new services not required by the current regular patrons.
Sarah, (yes we have a contributor who is not even on our committee) makes an excellent point about regular library users and people that are not using the library. What services could we provide to meet their needs? How can we find our what they want/need? Thanks for commenting, Sarah.
In response to the committee's discussion on this indicatory, the Library Advisory Board has been reconstituted with broad-based internal institutional representation to formally advise the Director of Library Services in developing the library’s collection and services in support of the college’s mission. Documentation on the Advisory Board composition and function has been added to the Library Operations Manual.
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