PHCC PHACT Service Review System

Service Review for Library

Service Review Framework & Criteria

I. Information:

1) Please provide a description of any changes to the services under review since the last cycle and the appropriate updates to the catalog. In addition, include any location, personnel, and personnel role changes, as well as additions, losses, or modifications to the types of services offered.

Personnel Changes:

Barry Reynolds (Library Coordinator) retired in December 2017, and Marcia Seaton-Martin was hired as the full-time Assistant Coordinator of Library Services, September 2017. With SACS requiring the library to have 3 full-time employees to cover hours of operation and ensure availability to students, Marilyn Amerson was also hired as our full-time Library Technician in January 2018.(We still have a full-time cataloger.)

Furniture:

The library now has a collaborative area comprised of 2 elements media stations with 5 laptops hooked to a switch kit technology, and there are several study pods and two duo pods with a charging station

System:

The library now has replaced Aleph with a new library management system called ALMA, and we have a new online catalog, PRIMO.

2) How do students or employees engage the service(s)? Please provide examples of activities, marketing materials, or other outreach and engagement examples designed to inform students or employees of the service.

In the library we give tours/ orientation upon request, and we have given several orientations to dual enrollment classes, and governor school.

Our marketing materials include:

Posters, Bookmarks
Several brochures on using databases,
online catalog,
dual enrollment brochure
Interlibrary loan services
a YouTube Library Welcome Video
Library video and tutorials in the Canvas commons,
I attended the SEED meet and greet to speak on library services, and
Completed an online interview that was put into the Infobase Spotlight Newsletter

II. Data:

1) Goals template data, aggregated by strategic plan reporting area (see attached template).

Goals Data

2) Based on the goals data, please provide examples and a description of how the services under review promote efficiency for the institution (to include academic programs, if applicable).

The goals for library services were to upgrade electronic library resources, work on a collaboration with the writing center, and add a new book section with images to the library website.

We now have a new library catalog, Primo. A search box for Primo was added to the library web page, which gives students a faster way to find resources. We added two libguides plus links to VCCS libguides, and created a welcome video for Lester Library that acts as a short introduction to the library and the libraries resources. There is still a link to ask a librarian for students off campus, we added an email address as an additional way for students to contact us and get help with finding resources. I am currently working on an OER libguide for faculty, and will then work on Nursing libguides.

Lester Library’s collaboration with the writing center benefits students seeking help in the writing center, who are also researching information for assignments at the same time. Also the writing center refers students to us, and we refer students to them.

Adding a new book section with images to the library website is still in progress, but it will benefit all. This section allows our users to see new items right away, and they can put in requests for those materials that might help them finish their assignments. We do offer a "Database News/ eBook" section on our website, and we have a physical new book section in the library in front of the Carter Room. Some of the the new databases/eBooks included:

Nursing Reference Center Plus
EBSCO Consumer Health Reference eBook collection, EBSCO History eBook collection, EBSCO Literary Reference eBook Collection,
Films on Demand: Films for Education and Films on Demand: Archival Films and Newsreels Collection

All of these goals allow for more efficient researching for the student, giving them more access to resources, ways to save or request resources, and for us in the library to help them more quickly or refer them to other departments for help if needed.

III. Reflection:

1) Based on the aggregated data, please provide the areas of the strategic plan (specific to the service) that were the strongest and weakest. Provide an explanation for the reasoning.

Our strongest area in the strategic plan was upgrading the library’s electronic resources. In terms of the discovery layer, Primo, searches not only our EBSCO Databases, but our local print materials and media, our local eBooks, and other databases like Films On Demand, and O’Reilly for Higher Education (formerly known as Safari). We have added some libguides to our website, and added instructional videos/tutorials to Canvas Commons. (Look for PHCC’s Lester Library in Canvas)

Our weakest area is having a new book display on our webpage, however, our Educational Technologist is going to help me with this in Spring 2020. We do have a physical display in our library for new books, and we do post new databases and eBooks on our Library Information page.

2) Based on the student satisfaction and/or employee satisfaction survey results, please provide the strongest and weakest areas. Provide an explanation for these results.

LS Survey Results

Upon looking at the student and employee satisfaction survey, with both, our strongest area was being approachable upon entering the library. According to RUSA, (Reference and User Services Association) a division of the ALA (American Library Association), in order to have a successful reference transaction, the library must be visible and approachable. We are doing our best to following these guidelines.

Our weakest area in the student survey was the question regarding the reference interview and follow up. It is my belief that the lower numbers are due to the wording of the question. It is essentially asking if the librarian followed up with you before you left the library. The fix is to change the wording of the question. Our weakest area for staff involved having enough adequate materials to meet the needs for the instructor’s course.

I am currently in the process of adding more materials to our collection through, print, eBooks, more databases, and videos. I am adding materials based on instructor requests, student requests, and even based on the materials needed for specific assignments. More materials have been added for the Nursing department for RN, PN, 900 PDA titles added to our R2 Digital Library, and Physical Therapy through print, eBooks, databases, and even promoting PrepStep. PrepStep can be used for nursing, middle college, workforce, and more.

IV. Forecast:

1) How do personnel in this service area plan to address weaker areas throughout the next review cycle for both, the strategic plan and student/employee satisfaction?

One way to address following up with students is to rephrase the question, and to close our reference transaction with restating what they were looking for, go over the information we found for them, and ask is there anything else that I can help you with? For instructors I can address the weakest area by talking to them about their course needs, and reminding them of what we do have to offer.

2) What changes are expected in this service area (major expenditures, changes, personnel needs, future costs)?

Standard changes are expected in terms of collection development, which happens throughout the year with weeding our collection and purchasing new materials. There is always the possibility of adding new databases, and we are looking into adding a laptop kiosk for student use.

3) Any other pertinent information relevant to the review process should be provided here (e.g. community need, state/federal requirements, external accreditation, budgetary issues, etc.)

Library usage has gone up since getting our collaborative area and our study pods. There has been an increase in group study, more classes are using the library, including dual enrollment coming in every week, and an increase in tours for Governor School. We also are seeing an increase in Interlibrary loans requested by Governor School. Additionally, I am trying to increase library presence by attending meetings, visiting classes, conducting more tours and library orientation.

It is important to note that I do keep stats on Reference Questions, library usage, Interlibrary loan requests, group/study room usage, circulation statistics through ALMA, and soon Primo search statistics. These stats are turned in during my monthly library report, and annual library report to my supervisor, David Deal.