SACS Summary for Library and Other Learning Resources

SACS Summary for Library and Other Learning Resources

The stated purposes of the presentation were to: 1) prepare the audience for the documentation needed for the off-site committee and to 2) to create understanding about the core requirement and comprehensive standards that are specifically related to libraries. One new standard included is 3.8.3 that requires “sufficient number of qualified staff – with appropriate education or experiences both in library or other learning/information resources – to accomplish the mission of the institution.”

There is one Core Requirement (2.9) and three Comprehensive Standards (3.8.1, 3.8.2, and 3.8.3) which apply directly to libraries. In addition, Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1 (Institutional Effectiveness) is also a consideration for the Library in the reaffirmation process.

Core Requirement 2.9 -- The institution, through ownership or formal arrangements of agreements, provides and supports student and faculty access and user privileges to adequate library collections aw well as to other learning/ information resources consistent with the degrees offered. These collections are sufficient to support all its educational, research, and public service programs.

Need to:

·  Document access to the library and its resources

o  User groups on and off campus

o  Library hours – are they sufficient or “all we can afford”

o  Partnerships or consortia memberships

§  Copies of agreements

§  Adequacy of collections at other libraries used by faculty & staff

·  Ownership or leasing of resources

·  Correspondence of the collection to the courses/ degrees offered

·  Adequacy of the collection

·  Is the budget adequate to keep the collection current? Is it sufficient to address inadequacies in the collection or to allow for development in new areas as new courses/ programs/ degrees are added to the curriculum?

·  Is the collection evaluated regularly? By what measures?

Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1 -- The institution identifies expected outcomes for its educational programs and its administrative and educational support services; assesses whether it achieves these outcomes and provides evidence of improvement based on analysis of those results.

This is the Institutional Assessment piece of the requirements. How is the institution measuring its success? What is the library’s contribution?

Comprehensive Standard 3.8.1 – The institution provides facilities, services, and other learning/ information resources that are appropriate to support its teaching, research, and service mission.

·  What facilities, services, and other learning/information resources are provided

·  What constitutes appropriate?

o  Square footage

o  Seating

o  Size of collection

o  Circulation of collection

o  Electronic resources

Comprehensive Standard 3.8.2 – The institution ensures that users have access to regular and timely instruction in the use of the library and other learning/information resources.

·  When is instruction offered? Is it required?

·  What additional opportunities are provided for “regular” instruction?

·  Is there training for off campus students? On-line instruction?

·  Instructional opportunities for faculty?

Comprehensive Standard 3.8.3 – The institution provides a sufficient number of qualified staff – with appropriate education or experiences both in library or other learning/information resources – to accomplish the mission of the institution.

·  What is sufficient staff?

o  How many hours is the library open?

o  Coverage of services to provide for user needs?

o  Adequate number of librarians to provide for library instruction to groups and to individuals?

o  Adequate number of librarians to provide liaison to the various schools and departments to allow for communication and collaboration on assessment of needs and development of services and collections to meet those needs?

·  Qualifications

o  The basic requirement is a master’s degree from an ALA- accredited program. This is not a concern at present.

o  If no MLS or the equivalent, the institution must document a correspondence between the job description and the person’s education, experience, and other qualifications that make them appropriate to fill that position.

The need for documentation was stressed. Any materials from library instruction, for example should be provided for the committee (in print and electronic formats). “Evidence must be: reliable, current, verifiable, coherent, objective, relevant and representative.”