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MacEwan University Library

Annual Report

2011-2012

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Message from Debbie McGugan

I am pleased to present the University community with this annual report. It provides an overview of some of the activities in which the University Libraries engaged during the 2011-2012 budget year.

During the year we continued our transformation to a comprehensive undergraduate university library. We began developing a strategic plan based upon the strategic priorities of the University. A number of innovative services were introduced and the collection grew significantly.

We were extremely gratified that in the Globe and Mail’s 2012 Canadian University Report, our Library received a student satisfaction score of A-, placing us first among the seventeen institutions represented in the “small” universities category. This is an improvement from last year when we ranked third with a score of B+. These results affirm that the library services we provide are valued and appreciated by our students and we will continue to develop and improve our services in the coming year.

A business case for increased investment in the Library was submitted to the university budget committee in February accompanied by a request for additional operating funding. It was received favorably, resulting in the approval of budgetary increases of $600,000 in 2012-13 and a further $700,000 in 2013-14. This investment will enable us to sustain existing services and collections and augment resources in support of existing and emerging university programs.

A significant activity in which many staff members participated was the planning and preparation for the WILU (Workshop in Instruction in Library Use), a national library conference hosted by our Library in May. The conference was a great success with over 175 delegates attending from across Canada and the U.S.

Last, but certainly not least, a search committee for a newly created Dean of Libraries position was established. After an exhaustive search, Jane Duffy was appointed to the position, with a commencement date of October 2012.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge with thanks, Library staff members at the four campuses for their continuing commitment to the provision of high quality services. Much was achieved this year, in no small part due to the efforts of a dedicated and enthusiastic staff. I would also like to express appreciation to MacEwan faculty, staff, and students for their continued support of the University Libraries. It has been my privilege to serve in an acting capacity for the past three years, and I could not have done it without the support of many within the university community.

Debbie McGugan Associate Dean, University Libraries November 2012

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EXPENDITURES

In 2011-12 Library expenditures remained at about the same level as the previous year, approximately $7 million. The distribution changed slightly from last year, with a 2% increase in spending on collections, and a 2% decrease in spending on salaries and benefits. Several positions were vacated due to retirements and resignations and were not filled immediately, which accounts for the reduction in spending on salaries and benefits.

COLLECTIONS

Funding Collection expenditures increased from last year and totaled $2.5 million. The implementation of the acquisitions module of the NEOS integrated library system proved challenging, causing delays in ordering. As a result, the collections budget was under expended by about $100,000. Fortunately special provisions were made to carry forward these funds.

Salaries & Benefits

57%

Supplies, Services &

Professional Development

7%

Collection 36%

Distribution of Library Expenditures 2011-12

Books & Audiovisual

34%

e-Books 15%

Print Serials 7%

e-Resources 44%

Distribution of Collection Expenditures 2011-12

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The distribution of acquisitions spending compared to last year shifted significantly. Digital resources (e-books, e-journals, databases, streamed content) accounted for 59% of collection expenditures, up from 42% the previous year. Spending on print books and audiovisual materials decreased from 51% of total collection expenditures to 34%. Clearly the Library is acquiring more digital content and the proportion of the collection budget spent on this content is increasing annually. It is expected this trend will continue as more content is becomes available digitally.

Enhancements

During the year the collection expanded by 48,252 volume equivalents, representing a 12.2% increase from the previous year. A total of 39,667 book titles were added; 10,656 print titles and 29,011 electronic titles, an increase of 10.5%. An area that experienced significant growth was the audiovisual collection which grew by 15,183 items, a 40% increase. Much of this growth can be attributed to the acquisition of sound recordings for the new music degree. While the number of print periodical subscriptions remained stable, the number of electronic journals titles available through Library databases increased by over 4,200, a 12% increase. Many of the e-journal titles added during the year were acquired to support science degree offerings. The following table provides a longitudinal view of collection growth.

MacEwan University Collection Holdings

Column1 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

Books (print) 210,591 225,438 239,123 246,070 256,726

e-Books 52,760 85,925 100,532 131,182 160,193

Audiovisual Materials 23,118 23,578 26,771 38,027 53,210

Periodical Volumes (print) 56,401 59,037 57,747 55,410 57,812

Total Collection Volumes 342,870 393,978 424,173 470,689 527,941

Print Subscriptions 1,234 1,271 1,274 1,235 1,293

Licensed Databases 134 139 168 186 186

Full-text e-Journals 19,681 22,908 27,896 31,759 35,981

Some collection-related activities undertaken during the year included:

Conducted a review of electronic reserve systems and selected the Atlas Ares software

Assessed electronic resource management systems and acquired a license for EBSCO’s ERM Essentials

Transferred approximately 5,000 collections items related to the Bachelor of Communication Studies from the CFAC Library to City Centre

Moved 31 double sided bays of shelving from the South Campus Storage collection to City Centre adding shelf capacity for the Bachelor of Communication Studies material

Acquired two significant newspaper archival databases: the Times Digital Archive (1785-2006), and the Globe & Mail: Canada's Heritage from 1844

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Acquired the Smithsonian Folkways collection comprised of 2000 cd’s of traditional American, African, folk, roots and world music

Reviewed the videotape(VHS) collection at South Campus identifying which heavily circulating titles were available in DVD or streamed formats and removing over 1,300 VHS titles with low circulation

Undertook detailed collection assessments for the Nursing, Early Learning and Child Care, and Commerce programs

Satisfaction

Results of the University’s 2012 Baccalaureate Student Survey indicated that 78% of respondents were “satisfied or very satisfied” with Library collections. This represents a slight decline from the 2011 survey where a satisfaction rate of 81% was reported. Results of the University’s 2010-11 Student Satisfaction Survey administered to career programs indicated that 77% of respondents were “satisfied or very satisfied” with Library collections, a slight increase from 78% reported in the 2009 survey. We will continue to develop our collections to support programming at MacEwan, and are optimistic that satisfaction rates will increase among baccalaureate and career students by the next survey.

SERVICES

Satisfaction

The Library monitors feedback in order to gauge user satisfaction with services. According to the 2012 Baccalaureate Student Survey, 88% of respondents were “satisfied or very satisfied” with Library services, a slight decline from the 2011 survey results where a 90% satisfaction rate was reported. Results of the University’s 2010-11 Student Satisfaction Survey administered to students in career programs indicated that satisfaction with Library services was 82%, virtually unchanged from the 2009 survey.

Service Highlights The table below provides a snapshot of key service indicators over the past five years.

Service Highlights

Column1 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

Reference questions 33,770 38,046 39,868 42,832 44,312

Library instruction sessions 476 532 533 578 631

# of students attending instructional sessions 10,454 10,835 12,757 13,438 14,583

Total circulation 153,729 158,210 183,621 185,908 204,705

Interlibrary Loan - Lending 1,021 1,110 1,374 1,262 1,595

Interlibrary loan - Borrowing 2,075 2,079 1,921 1,982 3,683

Distance Delivery - Items mailed out 1323 709 554 644 470

Distance Delivery - User contacts 504 410 387 570 444

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Reference

More than 44,000 questions were answered at the Library’s Reference and Research desks (excluding Technology Support Desks) and digitally via the Library’s instant messaging service. This represents a modest increase of 3% from last year.

Individual research consultations with librarians by appointment are growing in popularity among students. Last year 188 consultations were provided, and that number increased significantly this year to 285. A number of librarians instituted limited “office hours” to encourage students to drop in for assistance.

Information Literacy Instruction Information literacy development continued to be a service priority with instructional activity increasing 9% over last year. A total of 631 classes were provided reaching 14,583 students in 56 programs. Of these, 30% were delivered to upper level students. During the year a project was undertaken to assess and refresh the library instruction program delivered in first year English courses. As part of the project, 10 English library sessions were evaluated to measure the achievement of several information literacy learning outcomes. This evidence based assessment provided valuable data which has informed curricular and pedagogical changes to our first year English library instruction program. This pilot project will continue in the coming year. MacEwan Library places a high priority upon the development of effective information literacy programming. To this end, we have been collaborating with Red Deer College, Mount Royal University and the University of Alberta (Augustana Campus) on a pilot project to develop a tool to assess the information literacy skills of our students. During the fall and winter terms, 918 first and second year students from the four institutions participated in the project, and results are currently being disseminated. In May, MacEwan Library received a grant of $10,000 from the Alberta Rural Development Network (ARDN) to continue this collaborative venture in the coming year. The MacEwan Library Award for Information Literacy is awarded by the Library annually to an instructional faculty member who has contributed to the advancement of information literacy goals and

initiatives. The recipient this year was Jane Causgrove-Reinhart and her award was announced at the opening address of the Workshop on Instruction in Library Use (WILU) conference held at our Library in May. Borrower Services

Despite the proliferation of digital resources, our print and audiovisual collections continue to be well utilized. Borrowing transactions totaled 204,705, an increase of 10% from the previous year. Circulation transactions at City Centre and South Campus Libraries increased 21% and 18% respectively, while at Alberta College Library they increased by a more modest 7%. Circulation activity at the Centre for the Arts and Communications Library dropped by almost 6%, the second consecutive year it has declined. The overall increase in circulation activity can be attributed to the appearance of our library materials in the NEOS integrated library catalogue. Our collections were well used, not only by our own students and faculty, but by borrowers from other NEOS libraries. Resource sharing rose dramatically as a result of the shared catalogue and reciprocal borrowing. Between August 2011 and June 2012, our Library loaned over 56,000 collection items to NEOS members, up from 1,618 the previous year. Our students and faculty borrowed almost 20,000 items from NEOS libraries up significantly from previous years.

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Reserve collection services were improved with the introduction of an online reserve form for instructors and the revision of copyright guidelines reserve materials. The Library completed an agreement with the Edmonton Public Library in the spring to introduce the L-Pass program in the fall of 2012. The program enables students enrolled in credit courses, faculty, and staff to register online for an EPL membership at no cost and to use their MacEwan library card to borrow materials and access online services and collections at EPL. Interlibrary Lending Services and NEOS membership MacEwan students and staff utilize the interlibrary loan service (ILL) to access materials not available within our own or NEOS consortia collections. A total of 3,683 items were sent to us from other libraries across the country and internationally, including 3,464 articles and 219 books. This represents an increase of 86%, almost doubling activity levels from the previous year. With the implementation of Relais, desktop delivery of ILL articles was implemented resulting in the elimination of per page copying charges for students. The increase in ILL article borrowing activity can likely be attributed to the removal of these charges. Unlike previous years, the vast majority of ILL article requests came from students. The number of books requested via ILL dropped dramatically (67%) as a result of our migration to the NEOS consortia catalogue. Books in the NEOS consortia no longer need to be requested via ILL. Instead, borrowers place holds on desired books in the catalogue which are then delivered to the campus Library of choice. On the lending side, our Library supplied 1,595 items, (358 articles 1,237 books) to requesting libraries across the country and beyond, an increase of 25% from last year. Our presence within the NEOS catalogue and WorldCat has rendered our collection holdings more transparent and accessible to other libraries and is undoubtedly the reason for the increase in requests for our materials. Distance Delivery

Requests for collection materials from students and faculty in distance programs declined this year. The Library’s distance delivery service received 444 requests; a decrease of 27%, and 470 items were mailed out, a 22% drop from last year. This decline is likely attributable to the growing availability of digital resources and the downward trend is likely to continue.

This year the Library conducted a survey of distance students and faculty, and the feedback received will be utilized to improve and raise awareness of library services for distance and distributed learners.

ORGANIZATION AND STAFFING

Reporting structures changed in the Library beginning in January, when the Chief Librarian began reporting directly to the Provost and Executive Vice-President, Academic rather than to the Chief Information Officer. The Chief Librarian also became a standing member of the Presidents Group during the year.

Staffing levels remained relatively stable with a staff complement of 57 FTE’s. Several continuing staff members resigned over the course of the year including Margaret Lariviere (Borrower Services), and Judy Moore (Reference Services).

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Satisfaction Student feedback indicates that our staff continues to provide excellent service. Results of the University’s 2012 Baccalaureate Student Survey indicated that 86% of respondents were “satisfied or very satisfied” with the helpfulness of Library staff; a slight decrease from last year’s rating of 89%. Similar results appeared in the Student Satisfaction Survey for career program students, with 86% indicating they were “satisfied or very satisfied” with the helpfulness of Library staff. Committed and caring staff continues to be a hallmark of our Library.

Recognition

A number of Library staff members reached milestones in terms of service to the University and were honoured at the Long Service and Retirement Recognition dinner held in January.

Employee Position Milestone

Margaret Lariviere Borrower Services Retired (10 years service)

Jill Day Cataloguing & Acquisitions 20 years service

Anna Korus Reference Department 20 years service

Susan McKeown Cataloguing & Acquisitions 20 years service

Deanna Young Cataloguing & Acquisitions 15 years service

Marge Gray, library technician at South Campus, was recognized by the Alberta Association of Library Technicians (AALT) with the Library Technician Award of Excellence. This award honours a library technician who has made a major contribution to the library field in Alberta. Marge was presented with the award by members of the AALT executive at a luncheon held at South Campus on June 1. Sandra Plouffe, another member of the South Campus Library staff also received recognition this year. Her contributions to student life at South Campus were recognized by The South Campus Students Association who awarded her their 2011-12 Platinum Award. Sandra maintains the Global Media Library which is housed in the MacEwan South Campus Library and owned by the Student Association.

Nicolle Lemay was recognized at the MacEwan Day celebrations in March, sharing in the “Outstanding Team” award for the Asian Pacific and Globalization Review Working Group.

Marge Gray receiving her award

Nicolle Lemay with her award

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Training and Development

Staff engaged in many professional development activities throughout the year, attending conferences, workshops and training events. It is worth noting that most staff members participated in extensive in-house training activities associated with the Library’s new integrated library system. Many staff also participated in in-house Clifton Strength Finder workshops.

Some of the conferences and workshops that were attended by lstaff are highlighted below:

ACCESS Annual Conference, Vancouver

ACRL Assessment Immersion Institute, Nashville

Alberta Association of Academic Librarians, Edmonton, Calgary

Alberta Association of Library Technicians Annual Conference, Canmore

Alberta Library Conference, Jasper

Canadian Library Association Annual Conference, Ottawa

Chair Academy, Banff

Distance Library Services Conference, Memphis

Information Literacy in Academic Libraries Workshop, Camrose

International Leadership Conference, Atlanta

Library Assessment Conference, Baltimore

Manitoba Library Conference, Winnipeg

Music Library Association Annual Conference, Dallas

Northern Exposure Leadership Institute, Emerald Lake

Netspeed, Calgary

Ontario Library Association Super Conference, Toronto

Open Minds-Open Access Conference, Edmonton

SPARC Open Access Conference, Kansas City

Winter Institute on Statistical Literacy for Librarians, Edmonton

Workshop on Instruction in Library Use, Edmonton

Committee and Service Activity

Library staff members continued to actively participate in committee and service work within the university and the library community. Throughout the year a number of librarians presented workshops at university sponsored professional development events such as faculty development days, organizational development days, new faculty orientation and other Faculty Commons sponsored programs. Many also contributed their time to external library organizations serving on committees and boards of directors, a sampling of which are listed below:

The Alberta Library

Alberta Association of Academic Librarians

Art Libraries Society of North America

Edmonton Law Library Association

Greater Edmonton Library Association

Library and Information Studies Alumni Association (U of A)

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Library Association of Alberta

NEOS

Progressive Librarians Guild

Workshop on Instruction in Library Use

Conference and workshop presentations

A number of staff members presented at external conferences and workshops as highlighted in the following chart: Staff member/s Subject Event

Bertrand, Gordon & Betz, Sonya

MacEwan’s “1 Search” Discovery Tool

NEOS Discovery Tool Workshop, Edmonton, April 24

Hayman, Richard et al Bringing a Socially Conscious Approach to Information Literacy

Workshop on Instruction in Library Use, Edmonton, May 23

Hayman, Richard & Stift, Sandy

Patron Driven Acquisition at MacEwan

Alberta Library Conference, Jasper, April 28

King, Martina et al Bringing E-books into the Edmonton Institution for Women

Alberta Library Conference, Jasper, April 28

King, Martina & Tara Stieglitz

Harnessing Student Knowledge to Improve the Library Website

NEOS Miniconference, Edmonton, June 8

Knoch, Jessica et al. Collaboration of Four Alberta Institutions to Create an Information Literacy Tool

Workshop on Instruction in Library Use, Edmonton, May 24

Knoch, Jessica, Hayman , Richard, & Shamchuk, Lisa &Townsend, Leah

Pilot Project to Assess an Large Scale Information Literacy Program

Workshop on Instruction in Library Use, Edmonton, May 25

McGugan, Debbie & Sandy Stift

Patron Driven Acquisition at MacEwan

Alberta Association of Academic Librarians Spring Workshop, April 19

Shamchuk, Lisa & Townsend, Leah

Active Learning Activities for First Year Information Literacy Sessions

NEOS Miniconference, Edmonton, June 8

Shamchuk, Lisa et al Creating Video Tutorials- Faculty- Student-Library Collaboration

Workshop on Instruction in Library Use, Edmonton, May 23

Zylstra, Robert et al Introduction to Music Collection Development

Manitoba Library Conference, Winnipeg, May 15

Zylstra, Robert et al Current Perceptions and the Future of the Library

MacEwan Student Business Conference, Edmonton, March 6

Zylstra, Robert et al Using Evernote for Music Collection Development

Archives et Centres de Documentation Musicaux Conference, Montreal, Oct 28

Publications

Steiglitz, T. Published 7 book reviews in CM Magazine volume 18: 3, 5, 11, 13, 23, 29, 28

ASSESSMENT AND ACCREDITATION

A great deal of activity related to accreditation and assessment occurred and a few highlights are included in the following section:

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Institutional Research and Planning completed their Library service evaluation report in January which provided ten recommendations for consideration. The Library submitted a response and action plan to the University’s Service Evaluation Committee in March

A tour and presentation about South Campus Library was provided to external reviewers for the Child and Youth Care five year degree accreditation as part of their site visit in January

In conjunction with preparations for the reaccreditation of the Bachelor of Arts degree six meetings were held with external reviewers for the degree majors during site visits in February

A tour and presentation about the Library was provided to external reviewers as part of the April site visit for reaccreditation of the Bachelor of Arts degree

External reviewers visited Alberta College Library in February as part of the academic program review for the Preparation for University and College program; and the City Centre Library in May as part of Therapist Assistant academic program review

External reviewers from the Professional Social Work Education Board (PSWEB) visited the South Campus Library in April as part of their accreditation process for the Social Work program

A survey of distance students and faculty was conducted in April to determine whether current library services were meeting needs. Survey results were compiled and a final report was produced in June

A usability study of the Library’s website was conducted by students in CMPT 351: Human Computer Interaction: Usability. The results of the study will inform website redesign.

OUTREACH AND SPECIAL EVENTS Throughout the year the Library actively engaged in campus life and beyond. Most notable among the outreach activities that the Library was involved in during the year was hosting a national library conference - Workshop in Library Instruction (WILU) in May. The conference was a great success attracting over 175 delegates from across Canada and the United States. Many library staff participated in planning and organizing this three day conference which featured more that 30 workshop sessions and 60 presenters. Conference Co-Chairs Valla McLean and Jessica Knoch deserve much recognition for their efforts planning, organizing and delivering a first class library conference.

WILU Keynote speaker Michael Eisenberg

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Some other outreach activities which the Library participated in during the year are highlighted below:

Hosted library booths at the New Faculty Orientation services expo and the Parent Orientation in August. Provided a library presentation at the fall and spring new staff orientations and hosted a library booth during the spring event

Held a coffee house at each campus Library in September to welcome students and faculty

Partnered with the MacEwan’s Library and Information Technology program to provide an opportunity for 33 LIT students to gain experience observing and assisting at the Library’s reference desk

Hosted a meeting of the NEOS Board of Directors at City Centre campus on June 7, followed by a reception for all NEOS members to recognize individuals who contributed to the successful migration to the Symphony Integrated Library System

City Centre Library was the venue for two photo exhibits in January and February in conjunction with MacEwan’s Global Awareness events –Water for Life: An African Photo Exhibit and Dr. Larry Louie: Optometrist and Documentary Photographer

Hosted a reception for the Wall of Fame installation of the 2011-12 MacEwan Book of the Year “The Bone Cage” at City Centre Library March 2

Author readings were held at City Centre and South Campus Library throughout the year in conjunction with the Canadian Author Series sponsored by the Department of English

City Centre Library served as the venue of the Student Research Showcase poster displays in March

A number of library staff members joined the university team in the MS Rona Bike Tour in June to raise funds for multiple sclerosis

Library staff raised $570 for Adopt a Family and the United Way by raffling gift baskets at the December staff party

The Library hosted a launch party for two new MacEwan open access e-journals during Open Access Week and several librarians also participated in panel discussion on open access during the week..

In conjunction with the week, several librarians also participated in panel discussions on open access

Several librarians hosted students from the U of A’s School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) for a day of job shadowing. The Library also hosted a booth at the SLIS Career Fair held in March

FACILITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE

A few enhancements to Library furnishing were made during the year as noted below:

Shelving from the Storage Collection was moved to City Centre Library to accommodate 5,000 volumes that were transferred from Centre for the Arts and Communications

Shelving was purchased to house an expanded “holds” area at City Centre

38 NEOS transit crates were purchased to transport materials between libraries

At South Campus Library 18 new quiet study seats were added

At CFAC Library two new CD shelving units were added accommodating an additional 4,000 CDs