Ohio Wesleyan University Libraries Intranet

MEMORANDUM

TO: William Louthan, Provost
FROM: Theresa S. Byrd, Director of Libraries
DATE: April 19, 1999
SUBJECT: REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES FOR MAY 1999

NEWS FROM THE LIBRARIES

"ASK-A-LIBRARIAN," an e-mail Reference service, was introduced February 3rd. The Transcript featured an article on this new service in the February 10^th issue. The service has regularly been advertised on the University's front page and over the campus cable TV network. Questions have been received from community members as well as students, faculty and staff of Ohio Wesleyan. We have received several positive comments from satisfied users, including the following e-mail message:

"I am a student at OWU, and would not survive any of my writing courses without this service! Please continue it -- and send a big thank-you to all those wonderful librarians who answer all my questions -- you are lifesavers!"

At the beginning of the semester we sent faculty members a six-page annotated list of the more than 60 Web-based databases now available for campus-wide use. Throughout the semester, we featured individual databases by posing a question in the Daily Bulletin and then indicating where the answer could be found. Also, we widely announced when Patron Authentication became available so that our students, faculty and staff could use many of these databases from anywhere in the world. Prior to the March Faculty Meeting, librarians demonstrated eight of the new Web-based databases.

To insure that the library’s home page meets the needs of its users, focus groups were conducted this semester. Dr. Paul Kostyu, Associate Professor of Journalism, served as the moderator for the focus groups sessions. The three focus groups -- one composed of students, one of faculty members, and one of administrators -- evaluated the home page. We are assessing the results and plan to incorporate changes during the summer. We have added the following items to the home page:

a form for the ASK-A-LIBRARIAN e-mail Reference service;
forms for Interlibrary Loan book and periodical requests; and
a list of books added to the collection during the previous month.

Dr. Byrd, Director of Libraries, met with WCSA representatives several times throughout the semester to discuss the issue of noise in the library and the library’s hours. The outcome of the meetings was that tables and carrels in the Beeghly Reference area were moved, carrels were added around the second floor balcony, new Books and Historian Books were moved to a more visible location near the online public access catalogs (OPACs), the Teaching & Learning Collection was moved to a more visible location, and a message board was installed in the Beeghly entry way. As for the library’s hours, during the week before Finals, Chris Yates, Assistant Chief of Circulation, will keep Beeghly Library open until 1:00a.m. Also, throughout the semester, Bernard Derr, Chief of Circulation, answered queries at the Beeghly Reference Desk from 5-7 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Previously this time slot was without Reference Desk coverage.

Theresa Byrd, Director of Libraries, and Chris Yates, Assistant Chief of Circulation, met with members of the Fine Arts faculty to discuss the implementation of a permanent art exhibit in the library. Dr. Byrd is delighted to establish an art exhibit area in Beeghly. Over the summer, the Fine Arts faculty will build the display panels and this initiative will be officially launched in fall 1999.

Theresa Byrd, Director of Libraries, and Danielle Clarke, Public Services Librarian, talked with Gary Decoker, Chair of the Education Department, about having the Education Department’s books included in the CONSORT catalog with borrowing privileges restricted to OWU students only.

Theresa Byrd, Director of Libraries and Susan Cohen, Curator of the United Methodist Archives, participated in three meetings with the East and West Ohio Conferences to discuss the possibility of the East Ohio Conference relocating its library from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio to Ohio Wesleyan. The merging of the East and West Ohio Conferences’ archives would result in a joint United Methodist Archives at OWU. Ohio Wesleyan has served as the home of the West Ohio Conferences’ archives since 1859.

Theresa Byrd, Director of Libraries, and Carol Holliger, Serials Managers, spent the last two months preparing for a periodicals deselection process because of a budget deficit. The periodicals budget, with a projected 5 percent operating budget increase for 1999/2000, is $20l,828.35. The cost of periodicals subscriptions is $283,736.99, which results in $81,898.64 shortfall.

The Audio Visual Center purchased a portable computer and data projection unit that has been used heavily by faculty members and administrators. A Kurt Vonnegut lecture is being digitized and transferred to an audio CD for circulation. The Independent Film Series has featured the following presentations:

Smoke Signals;
Comedian Harmonists; and
Wild Women Don't Have the Blues.

Special displays in Beeghly Library include:

Black History Month;
Library staff recommendations;
Federal Income Tax Sources;
Women's History Month; and the
Student Art Show.

Public Services librarian Joy He prepared a flyer on how to use the "1998 World Development Indicators on CD-ROM." Head of Public Services Tom Green compiled "A User's Guide for the Friends of the OWU Libraries."

The reference personnel continued cross-training activities this semester. Bernard Derr, Chief of Circulation, demonstrated microform equipment; Paul Burnam, Reference and Online Services Coordinator, presented the updated features of OhioLINK’s database software interface, Dataware Phase II; Carol Hallenbeck, Music Branch Manager, gave a tour of the Music Library and related rooms and offices in Sanborn Hall; Deb Carter Peoples, Science Branch Manager, gave a tour of the Science Branch Library, and Charlene Howison, Biology Branch Manager, gave a tour of the Biology Branch Library. Additionally, librarians scheduled individual sessions to work at the Beeghly Circulation Desk.

Members of the Ohio Wesleyan library staff participated in a joint meeting, lunch and tour of the Delaware District County Library with librarians from the public library and Methodist Theological School in Ohio. This meeting was a wonderful networking opportunity for the staff of all three libraries.

Because of the MUB renovation, the library moved 30,000 books from the MUB to the Stone house. Over the summer, the librarians will review these books and weed those that are not appropriate for the collection.

PROFFESSIONAL MEETINGS AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Paul Burnam, Theresa Byrd, Danielle Clarke, and Marsha Zavar attended the Association of College & Research Libraries' 9^th National Conference, "Racing Toward Tomorrow."
Paul Burnam, Danielle Clarke, and Joy He attended a WebED conference in Columbus.
Theresa Byrd, Deb Carter Peoples, and Marsha Zavar attended an OCLC Distinguished Seminar Series on "Copyright, the Universe and Everything."
Danielle Clarke attended Ohionet workshops on "Evaluating Internet Resources" and "Reader's Advisory Services."
Joy He attended an Ohionet workshop on "Advanced HTML" and the Depository Library Council and Federal Depository Conference.
Judy Orahood attended the Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) Support Staff Interest Group Planning Committee meetings.
Carol Holliger attended EBSCO’s Serials Information Management: Blending Traditional and Emerging Serials Technologies seminar.
Theresa Byrd served on a review team for the DePauw University Libraries.
Theresa Byrd was a reactor to Gail McMillan’s, director of the Scholarly Communication Project at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Libraries, (Digital) Libraries Support (Distributed) Education paper at the Association of College and Research Libraries Conference in Detroit, Michigan.

UNIVERSITY COMMITTEES

OWU library staff members were involved in several activities within the University community.

Paul Burnam was appointed Affirmative Action representative for a search to hire a History faculty member.
Tom Green was appointed to the Ohio Wesleyan Technology Advisory Group and as the Affirmative Action representative on the search to hire a Webmaster.
Judy Orahood attended the Ohio Wesleyan University Insurance Committee meeting.
Theresa Byrd was appointed the Affirmative Action representative for the search to hire a Music Education Specialist faculty member.
Theresa Byrd served on the Multicultural Merit Award Committee
Theresa Byrd, Tom Green, and Danielle Clarke participated in Slice of College Life activities.

CONSORTIA ACTIVITIES

Five Colleges

Using the $50,000 awarded from the AT&T Learning Network Teaching and Technology grant, the Ohio Five librarians continued to work on the development of a web-based tutorial to teach students information literacy skills. Moreover, government documents personnel maintained momentum in cataloging original and historical government publications, which was funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.

OWU library personnel attended the following Five College’s meetings:

Danielle Clarke attended the Information Literacy Planning Subcommittee meetings.
Chuck Della Lana attended and hosted the AV/Media Subcommittee meetings.
Theresa Byrd and Bernard Derr hosted the Circulation and Interlibrary Loan Subcommittee meeting.
Joy He and Judy Orahood attended the Government Documents Subcommittee meetings.
Theresa Byrd attended the Directors’ meeting.
Terry Maloney-Rose attended the Collection Development Subcommittee meetings.

OhioLINK

Through our membership in OhioLink, we added the following databases: Business & Industry, BoethicsLine, Disclosure Global Access, HealthStar, and AIDSline. Also, Theresa Byrd attended the OhioLINK All Directors’ Meeting, Paul Burnam represented Ohio Wesleyan at the OhioLINK Lead Implementers meetings, and Marsha Zavar attended the OhioLINK Inter-Campus Services Committee meetings.

CALICO

Theresa Byrd attended the Columbus Area Library and Information Council of Ohio meeting (CALICO). CALICO is an association of libraries and information agencies that share their knowledge, experience, and ideas for the continued development and improvement of services to the diverse clientele of the Central Ohio area.