Section 2: Core Requirements
2.9 The institution through ownership of formal arrangements or agreements, provides and supports student and faculty access and user privileges to adequate library collections as well as to other learning/information resource consistent with the degrees offered. These collections and resources are sufficient to support all its educational, research, and public service programs.
Judgment of Compliance:
Compliance
Narrative/Justification for Judgment of Compliance:
Currently, the Captain John Smith Library contains 405,422 volumes in various forms: 169,904 circulating book volumes, 198,457 microform volume equivalent and 37,061 bound periodical volumes. The book collection and use reflects the liberal arts curriculum. Social Sciences [H-HZ] and Language and Literature [P – PZ] have the largest volume count and circulation. Access to book holdings is through the Innovative Interfaces online system. The library uses the web OPAC [Online Public Access Catalog], circulation, acquisitions, cataloging, electronic reserves and serials modules. Efforts to make the OPAC more useful to students include:
1. The purchase of a subscription to Syndetics Solutions, a software package that amplifies the bibliographic record to include table of contents, summaries, first chapters, etc.
2. The addition of the records for the book titles in NetLibrary, an e-text product added to the OPAC that provided access to 16,361 additional titles.
The library subscribes to 1,086 individual journals in hard copy and over 10,000 electronic journals through the major aggregators of JSTORE, various EBSCO products, electronic products of specific publishers, and other vendors. Journal Finder, a software product from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro provides access to the electronic journal collection. The library has also significantly expanded the collection of electronic resources through membership in VIVA – The Virtual Library of Virginia.
Understanding that the library's web page provides vital access to electronic resources, a working group began revising the page in the Fall 2005. The working group reviewed ARL [Association of Research Libraries] library web sites, surveyed users to gather ideas for the redesign, and launched the new page in Spring 2006. The Library is hiring a digital collections librarian in the Spring 2006 to develop and maintain digital collections through the Library's web page that support the curriculum and enhance the current holdings—developing an electronic documents collection, and working with faculty to develop web resources for the academic departments.
Materials not found at CNU may be accessed through the Interlibrary Loan service with the request management software ILLiad, and a consortial agreement with local libraries through the Virginia Tidewater Consortium. Satisfaction with ILLiad is very high both with users and the library staff. The library considers requests for materials from other libraries to decide whether CNU should make future purchases—a useful and important means of assessing the journal collection.
Technology is provided to locate or access resources available remotely and in the library. There are currently 16 public computer stations for student and faculty use in the library, eight of which offer networked printing. Wireless access is available campus-wide including the library. Access, both wireless and in the form of additional public computer work stations, will significantly increase in the new building.
The library is equipped to meet the needs of persons with disabilities. The library web site is coded to enable interaction with voice software, and the library provides a public computer work station for persons with disabilities.
To reflect the changes in the general education and some departmental curricula, a major weeding and shifting project began in the spring of 2006. Initially resources in the nursing, education and paralegal programs were reviewed and weeded as appropriate. After these books were removed from the shelves, a project of shifting and reorganizing the order of the circulation collection was begun. This project will be completed in the 2006-07 academic year.
The Library participates in the yearly University assessment process. Every year the librarians discuss specific activities for the year, and then report the progress of these activities in the subsequent year's annual report. Adequacy and relevance are determined through our assessment efforts and reviews of usage statistics. The Collections Management Librarian undertakes scheduled reviews of our Interlibrary Loan activity, database vendor usage reports, and book circulation. Additionally, the University Librarian meets with academic department chairs to review their curriculum and the information resources needed to support the courses and research needs of their faculty. Reference section services are regularly assessed. For example, during 2004, a typical year, research assistance accounted for 1914 or 18% of all questions, and information transactions accounted for the majority of Reference questions (5895 or 55%). Such statistics play a role in decisions about staffing levels. LibQual, the national assessment instrument developed by the Association of Research Libraries, was implemented in the Spring of 2004. Major findings were:
1. Need for resources to support the curricular needs of students.
The library staff is addressing the collection issues by attending academic department meetings and participating in the development of the new liberal learning curriculum. The University Librarian has developed a collection plan to (a) increase book, journal and digital resources in the next three to five years through increased book budgets; (b) continue work with the VIVA consortium for online journal and reference collection building, and (c) develop of a web page with digital resources that support the curriculum.
2. General satisfaction with service provided by library staff, but room for significant improvement.
All library staff participated and graduated in the formal program of staff service improvements sponsored by the University in Fall 2005.
3. Issues with library as place.
The new library, to be completed in Fall 2006, will meet the social and learning needs of current students.
LibQual will be conducted again in Fall 2007, once the new building is operating fully, and every two or three years thereafter as part of the regular assessment process.
In the Spring of 2006 a new Collection Management Librarian assumed responsibilities such as reviewing database usage reports from our electronic products—helpful in deciding on the value and use of electronic products.
Support Documentation:
Reference Assistance
Library Mission Statement
Collection and Circulation
Electronic Journals
Additional Live Web Resources:
CNU Library: http://library.cnu.edu/