Library & Information Services

Annual Report 2006-07

Table of Contents

Page

I.Overview3

II.Library Administration5

III.Archives8

IV.Bibliographic Services14

V.Circulation and Systems19

VI.Collection Services22

VII.Reference and Instruction32

Appendix—Library Statistical Summary47

I.Overview

The central theme running through the activities of Library and Information Services this year is collaboration. The year began with the renovation of the library snack room in collaboration with the Student Association and Physical Plant; it ended with the launch of a new library website designed in collaboration with Marketing. New collaborative endeavors were launched both on campus (librarians as academic advisors) and off (reciprocal circulation with the University of Vermont.) Needless to say, the library continued its standing collaborations with the faculty in the areas of collection development and information literacy. It is clear that most of what the library has accomplished this year has been done in partnership with others. Library and Information Services looks forward to continuing to build on these partnerships in the coming years.

Major Accomplishments

Library collections reached new milestones

The library’s physical collection grew to over 250,000 volumes for the first time, while the virtual collection grew to include over 25,000 online journals. Budget increases matching the inflation rate of materials along with strategic conversion from print to online journals allowed continued strengthening of the library collection.

The virtual library was renovated

Over the course of the year the library staff developed a new, comprehensively redesigned library website with enhanced access to online and print research tools. A significant improvement to the virtual library came with the addition of an open URL link resolver, allowing easy navigation between different databases to locate online journal articles.

The information literacy program continued to expand dramatically

The information literacy program grew dramatically this year, with a 24% increase in the number of research instruction sessions, continuing the trend of recent years. Since most sessions occur in the context of a class, this represents a growing recognition on the part of faculty of the need for greater information literacy among their students, and a partnership between faculty and librarians in providing it.

The library’s integration with the academic program deepened

Librarians began serving as academic advisors for the first time, advising a total of 20 first year Exploratory students. This pilot project was judged a success, and next year the majority of librarians will participate and advise first year Business and Education majors as well as Exploratory students.

A librarian began serving as a permanent observer on the Curriculum and Educational Policies Committee, allowing the library to proactively plan for collections and services to meet changing curricular needs.

Planning for the Dupont Archives moved forward

A planning group including librarians and faculty members developed a framework program for the new facility and presented it to the administration.

Collaboration with other institutions expanded

An agreement was reached with the University of Vermont for reciprocal circulation privileges for students, faculty, and staff.

The director served on the steering committee for the creation of a statewide consortium of academic libraries.

The library expanded its outreach program to area high schools to include Colchester and Winooski as well as Rice.

The volume of interlibrary loans to other institutions increased significantly, and the library received grant support from the state library in recognition of the level of service provided to other libraries in Vermont.

The library welcomed the continued support and interest of the student body, and particularly the Student Association

The library snack room was renovated in collaboration with the Student Association. The SA also sponsored the contest which led to the christening of the space as “Durick’s Den.” The SA later coordinated with the library to make Durick’s Den part of the Winter Carnival celebration as well as the site of the free exam snacks provided by Sodexho.

The director met with the Student Association Academics Committee to discuss the future of the library and developed a consensus list of priorities for progress.

John K. Payne

Director of Library and Information Services

II.Library Administration

A.Personnel

John Payne

Director of Library and Information Services

Tina M. Ryan

Executive Assistant to the Director of Library and Information Services

B.Accomplishments in 2006-07

Progress on Goals from 2005-06 annual report:

Goal: Develop a revised strategic budget proposal to address the goal of the Vision 2010 plan to bring library collections up to the top of the third quintile of the college’s peer institutions.

  • Action: A revised strategic budget proposal for meeting the goals of the Vision 2010 Strategic Plan was developed and submitted, but was placed on hold given current financial conditions.

Goal: Plan for the construction of the Dupont Library as the first phase of a master plan for the expansion and renovation of the library complex.

  • Action: A planning committee consisting of the library director, the archivist, and three faculty members developed a framework program for the new Dupont Archives facility. This was submitted to the administration for review in May. Further planning is on hold, contingent on the timing of the lead gift and quantitative information on the collection of Harold Bloom.

Goal: Develop a space plan to address the impending crisis of collection space using compact shelving or other means.

  • Action: A working plan has been developed to deal with the collection space issue in phases, beginning with the weeding of bound journals which are now available online and the installation of compact shelving in the coming years.

Goal: Review library workflow and organizational structure to develop a plan for expanded internal support for library information technology systems and electronic resources.

  • Action: The review was conducted and a plan was developed to restructure the Bibliographic Services department to combine the functions of systems support and metadata creation. This includes the redefinition of the existing position of Associate Director for Bibliographic Services into Associate Director for Systems and Metadata, and the reorganization of responsibilities within the department.

Goal: Work with other campus agencies to develop a revised copyright policy for the college.

  • Action: The director assembled a discussion group including two representatives from Information Technology and two faculty members with experience in copyright issues. The group plans to make a formal proposal for a new copyright policy in 2007-08.

Additional Accomplishments:

  • Oversaw the renovation of the snack room in collaboration with the Student Association and Physical Plant.
  • Inaugurated a purchasing card system including all library department heads.
  • Developed a Library and Information Services Staff Handbook to help orient new employees and to provide a convenient policy reference for all library employees.
  • Developed a pilot project for librarians to serve as academic advisors in conjunction with the Dean and Assistant Dean.
  • Throughout the course of the year the director met with academic department chairs, administrators, and the Student Association Academics Committee to discuss the role of the library in supporting the curriculum, research, study, and scholarship.

C.Goals for 2007-08

  • Finalize and implement plan for restructuring library staff to improve support of information technology resources.
  • Investigate the potential for implementation of new search technologies, including federated search and an enhanced catalog.
  • Complete the development of a new copyright policy for the college.
  • Implement the first phase of the five year space management plan.
  • Develop a handbook of student worker procedures and guidelines for library staff.
  • Oversee a comprehensive student survey on library services.
  • Develop conceptual plan for long term physical reorganization and renovation of Durick Library

D.Professional Activities

John Payne

College Committees:

Academic Affairs Council

Administrative Council

Administrative Council Steering Committee

Educational Technology Committee

Library Committee

Technology Steering Committee

Web Council

External Committees and Meetings:

Association of College and Research Libraries Conference

Association of Vermont Independent Colleges Library Directors Group

New England Library Association Conference

Statewide Academic Library Summit

Vermont Consortium of Academic Libraries Planning Committee

Vermont Library Associate Conference

III.Archives and Special Collections

Personnel

Elizabeth B. Scott Archivist

Dr. Thomas Geno Volunteer—Edmundite Historian

Marie Geno Volunteer

With only one FTE, the Archives Department remained understaffed this year. Work-study students were reliable, which did allow for the completion of some projects long set aside.

The department began the year with two volunteers who work on a number of projects. Tom Geno has been a long time volunteer with the SSE and SSE Archives (SSEA). Marie Geno has volunteered as well, working primarily on SSE personnel files and SSE photographs. In December, Tom Geno experienced a series of strokes and heart attacks forcing both of the Genos to curtail their volunteer work. Although Tom’s health has improved tremendously, it is unclear whether they will be able to continue volunteering at any level. It is certain they will not be able to continue at their previous levels.

Conferences Attended

  • Society of American ArchivistsAug. 2006
  • Vermont Archivists Network June 2007

Service on Committees

  • Library
  • Exhibits Committee
  • Disaster Preparedness Task Force
  • College
  • Art Committee
  • Early LearningCenter Advisory Board
  • Professional
  • Society of American Archivists Key Contact
  • New England Archivists Outreach Committee
  • NortheastDocumentConservationCenter Advisory Board

Activities

Liz continues to manage all aspects of the Archives and Rare book Collection. She also recently took over the management of the Special Collections room. Most of the activities over the past year involved the Saint Michael’s College Archives and the Society of Saint Edmund Archives.

Liz continues to experience a significant amount of work related to the SSEA. Accessions have slowed considerably due to the bulk of material already being in the archives. We continue to receive a number of reference requests, both from the public and from the SSE administration. The arrangement with the SSE continues to be satisfactory. The change in Superior General in the summer of 2006 has resulted in some changes in the way the administration utilizes the archives, but this has not proven onerous.

In addition to regular inquiries and research, Liz worked with the Society on two major initiatives. Liz worked with the SMC Grants office to write a grant to preserve the Southern Missions photograph collection, stored in Selma, Alabama. This grant will provide a consultant to investigate the transfer of the collection from Selma, Al to SMC as well as outline storage options for collection.

The other major project involving the SSE involved working with the Society, the EdmunditeCenter for Peace and Justice and the Multicultural Student Affairs office to arrange a showing of the documentary Sisters of Selma: Bearing Witness for Change on campus. Liz contacted the filmmaker to arrange the showing and worked with the campus departments and the SSE to publicize the film. Additionally, Liz created an exhibit highlighting the role of the SSE in the events depicted in the film. The exhibit was up in the library in spring 2007, and an online version is available at

Work with the Saint Michael’s College Archives primarily centered on processing some larger collections, including the SMC Committees record group, The SMC Building and Grounds record group and Faculty Assembly files. Finding aids for the collections are available online, although MARC records are still in draft form; they will be available online this fall. Processing these large collections resulted in some significant reductions in the size of the collections. Many items within the unprocessed collections were placed into folders inefficiently (i.e. 1 brochure in an envelope within a folder or a single email printed out and placed in a folder). Consolidating like items, removing extra copies (two copies retained of most items) and removing items that did not need to be retained for the long term resulted in the significant space savings. This confirms that “reprocessing” collections accessioned prior to 1991 is a useful task because it results in significant space savings.

We also accessioned a few major collections, including the papers of Jerry Flanagan, Vice President for Enrollment. This collection includes 22 cubic feet of material spanning his career to date at SMC. Liz also arranged for the transfer of 28.5 cu ft of material from the Registrar’s Office. These student records have been housed in the basement of Founders Hall, an inadequate location to store records requiring long-term retention.

In outreach activities this year, Liz created two major exhibits and actively participated in Reunion activities. In addition to the SSE and the Sisters of Selma described above, Liz created an exhibit for the 60th anniversary of the SMC Playhouse. This exhibit was displayed on the main level of the library during the summer of 2007.

During Reunion, Liz set up an interactive display and allowed alumni to identify photographs and peruse student newspapers published during their time at SMC. This activity took place at the Golden Knights dinner, a dinner attended by alumni who graduated fifty or more years ago. Alumni enjoyed this activity, ensuring that it will be an annual event.

This year, Liz participated in another activity over the Reunion weekend. This was an oral history project that evolved following a brainstorming session involving Liz, the SMC Marketing Team, and the Alumni Office. It resulted in Liz recording three sets of alumni interviewing one another about their time at Saint Michael’s and their impressions of changes on campus. Rather than having an outside observer do the interview, the project was instead based on the NPR Story Corps program in which the participants interview one another. The alumni felt it a worthwhile way to spend time, and those arranging it at Saint Michael’s agreed.

In other areas, over the past year, Laura Crain fully transferred responsibility for Special Collections to Liz. At this point, the implications of this switch are unclear, but it does streamline management of all non-circulating collections. Liz has also continued to work with other librarians, attending meetings and collaborating on projects as needed. She continues working as the Library Liaison to the Religious Studies/Graduate Theology department. She participated in some BI sessions for the Religious Studies department, as well as working very closely with Amy Werbel’s AR361 course and the art committee to create a website to highlight the college’s art collection. (The Archives houses many items in the collection; and Liz is responsible for the Art Database.)

Goals and Objectives

2006-07 Progress towards Goals and Objectives

Goal 1Continue to provide physical and intellectual access to collections

  • Continue to provide excellent reference service
  • Maintain website
  • Maintained finding aids on the website
  • Migrated web pages onto Liquid Matrix, updating and reformatting as needed.
  • Process SMCA collections
  • Continued to process collections, including three large SMCA collections
  • Prepare finding aids for SMCA—particularly larger collections long housed in the archives
  • Continued to do this, although only done for those “reprocessed” by Liz. Experience has shown that further processing is necessary before collections become accessible to the public.
  • Create MARC records for processed SMCA collections and enter into OCLC and Voyager
  • No progress toward objective

Goal 2Begin planning for Dupont Annex

  • Worked with Dupont Annex group to create a plan. Met regularly as a group and created said plan, which was shared with college administration at end of the year.

Goal 3 Provide outreach for collections

  • Co-teach course with History professor Susan Ouellette. The class, Special Topics in History, will focus on the American Civil Rights movement and make extensive use of the SSE Local Administration Southern House record group
  • Due to scheduling conflicts, there was no progress on this in FY 2007.
  • Continue working with Office of Alumni and Parent Relations to develop programs for alumni using archival materials
  • Worked closely with the department on presence at the SMC Golden Knights reunion
  • Produced a new oral history project, working with the office of Alumni and Parent Relations and the Marketing office.
  • Create one online exhibit
  • SSE and the Sisters of Selma exhibit included an online component.

Goal 4 Preserve and provide access to non-paper based materials

  • Maintain and update photograph database, entering metadata as items are digitized
  • Streamlined the process by which this is done, creating procedures so that work study students can better perform this task
  • Purchase freezer for long term storage of films
  • Did not do
  • Explore digitizing select audio cassettes—for access and for use by Marketing and other campus departments
  • There is interest for digitized audio on campus, particularly for use by the Marketing Team and Institutional Advancement.

Goal 6Provide Records Management planning for campus

  • Continue to provide records management consultation for campus on an as needed basis
  • Continue to promote this service, which this year resulted in the transfer of 22 boxes from the admissions office, 8 cu ft from the graduate school offices. Also, arrangements were finalized for the transfer of 28.5 cu ft for the registrars office
  • Work with departments on management of digital assets
  • No progress in this area, although it is still worth pursuing.

Goals for 2007-2008