It's all about student learning: Managing community and other college libraries in the 21st century. With the full involvement of the Web on college campuses and in the daily lives of our students, suddenly if students had open access to. Rush Miller (2007, 1) raises questions about the future of research libraries – a future that will be fundamentally different from the past where collections will no longer be their legacy.
Top ten assumptions for the future of academic libraries and librarians.” News about university and research libraries.
AnALyzIng oUr Users
MAKIng tHe ConneCtIon
Meet tHe stUDents AnD FACULty oF tHe FUtUre
He also points out some of the challenges that social software and Web 2.0 bring to libraries. Questions are raised that, due to the evolving nature of social software and Web 2.0, are often open to the reader and the future. In this way, it is less social than many other forms of social software.
In this regard, one of the strengths of social software is that it can tap into the wisdom of the masses.
AnD serVICes
The role and place of the library in college life has changed dramatically over the past decade in response to technological, informational, economic and social phenomena. The most important thing is to be aware of the library as a 'public good': everyone is involved in its plans. By educating the campus community about the role and purpose of the library in the twenty-first century, you will gain support for your plans.
Other students, although they want to study alone, settle in the middle of the busiest areas. The most common use of the library reported by students was as a place to write homework and study. As a result of these changes, fewer students and faculty need to actually enter the physical space of the library to find information and do research.
This means that library directors must step forward and become leaders who not only redefine the role of the library "as a place" but also work to secure its future. The remaining 36 questions contain 27 Likert questions about various aspects of the academic library "as a place". And a whopping 96 percent of library directors surveyed believe that providing research materials is an important function of the library.
Third, it is another way for the library to become an important part of the wider community and campus life. When students did not come to the library, the library simply went to them, either in the form of increased marketing of library resources, especially reference, or by teaching more library instruction classes. The only other reason was the poor condition of the library building itself.
More and more library directors are aware of the importance of the library as a social environment (Carlson 2001, A36).
LIterACy InstrUCtIon
None of the respondents identified "recognizing information needs" as the information literacy component they struggle with the most; 33 identified. 15 responded that information literacy has "no impact" on the struggle as a teacher (see Table 7.4). All recent recipients of the Excellence in Academic Libraries awards have completed major information literacy programs.
The role of technology leadership is natural for a higher education library focused on information literacy. Refocusing the higher education library through the lens of information literacy requires placing the library at the center of the educational mission of the institution.
CAMPUs PArtnersHIP In sMALL ACADeMIC LIBrArIes: CHALLenges
RHORC provides students in this program with multiple copies of textbooks that will be available in the library for purchase. One example is the collaboration between the Associated Student Body (ASB) and the library at Mission College. ASB and students in general wanted the library to acquire textbooks for the collection.
The reporting structure at Mission College recognizes the important synergy between the library and information technology. Liaisons are on the 'frontline' for relationship building in the library' (Tucker, Bullian, and Torrence 2003, 226). Partnerships also enable the library to free itself from the isolating hierarchical structure of the institution.
Friends of the library groups are one of the most important collaborative projects for small and medium-sized academic libraries. A group of good friends can greatly enhance library collections, programming, and community outreach. Alice Bahr Friends of the Spring Hill College Library benefited the library and its parent institution.
It is part of an academic support system that is a central part of the library and library services. Portals have the potential to further connect students with the library and library resources.
WHo WILL Do It?
But like our counterparts, medium and large academic libraries, we also experienced a marked reduction in the number of reference inquiries due to the advent of the Internet. CAMPUS STUDENT SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS Like others in the library profession, we have realized that some people are afraid to approach the desk and ask for help. In the small academic library, we have a chance to build relationships with our users (kind of like in a small public library, but on a short-term basis).
I believe this type of arrangement can work if the network is global, as in the case of the Online Computer Library Center's QuestionPoint. Providing reference service to students and faculty both in the library and from remote locations is one of our library's ongoing strategic goals, which is part of the college's strategic plan. Imagine the information desk in a mall—the sign above it says "Information." In the online environment, people are used to searching for "Help". Yes, we provide more than just information and help.
With higher education transitioning to an increasingly online environment, how and where you provide reference service will change – why wouldn't it. On the Desirability of Personal Relationships Between Librarians and Readers: The Past and Future of Reference Services." The Future of Reference Services Papers. At the library of Queensborough Community College (QCC), City University of New York (CUNY), the use of databases increased dramatically over the past five years.Statistics are taken from QCC internal reports.) It is necessary to keep up to date with new databases and their coverage and interface.
The catalog module integrates its function with other aspects of the system; newly cataloged records are immediately available in the online catalog. With the elimination of the physical component, there are fewer materials to handle; this may lead to a reduction in support staff positions.
FroM sLIDe rULes to sCoreCArDs
Rider's prediction of the future of library assessment has come true more than he or we might prefer. White (2002) states that the absence of assessment innovation within libraries is largely based on "the lack of consensus among members of the profession about what performance measures should be used and the reasons for using them" (30). The differences are in the scale and scope of the service environment–library interactions and the resources available to respond.
An effective academic library is intertwined with its entire environment, and the library shares many of the same services. This may be even more true in smaller academic libraries because of the increased mixing of roles that such a library often takes on.). In attempting to provide insight into the future of assessment in smaller academic libraries, one must first recognize the diversity of service environment forces.
Technology acts as the center of the service environment as it is the only naturally neutral force. Service Environment Factors Affecting the Future of Assessment in Academic Libraries (Design by Larry Nash White, Ph.D. Resources for conducting assessment and training staff in assessment will increase and become a fixed part of the budget.
Increasing assessment information and access will provide data and proactive direction to a wider audience of stakeholders for developing, adapting and aligning the "mission/vision" of the educational service (and library) environment to address needs. The forces of distance education link the forces of mission/vision and the forces of collaboration in Figure 13.1, using technology to align and provide access to the mission/vision of the educational institution with potential and existing collaborators.
BIg groWtH Is not A sMALL strAtegy
As students became more electronics and Internet savvy, library expansion included extending the library's influence beyond its physical walls. Enabling growth both physically and virtually supports the accreditation standards to which the library and the larger organization are committed. Wake Tech is accredited and held accountable by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the North Carolina Community College System.
To respond to this growth, many community colleges, including Wake Tech, have added distance learning opportunities. This strategy is supported by the American Association of Community Colleges in a position statement adopted in November 2004 calling for library resources for off-campus and on-campus needs. The library must create strategic plans and be accountable to administrators who make a strong case for acquiring sufficient resources to meet student needs.
Without administrative consideration, the growth of community college libraries will be dwarfed by the entire expanding organization. Because expansion can happen incrementally, timing is a critical partner in creating an agile action plan to improve library resources, equipment, facilities, and ultimately the library's ability to serve its growing population. This includes projecting long-term needs in strategic planning as well as addressing library attributes at the beginning of the process.
Library operations and services will be impacted by changes as they evolve, and a strategic plan is needed to manage service outcomes. To facilitate the demand for library services at Wake Tech, a Growth Level Planner was designed to meet needs at different levels of full-time.
