Library Newsletter - November 2009
Vol. 14, No. 2
- Word from the Director
- The Library Is Changing—For the Better!!
- Special Announcements About Services During the Holidays and the Renovation Work
- And Now the Reason for All of the Above – The Learning Commons Project!
- In Appreciation
- Porter Henderson Library: By the Numbers, Fiscal Year 2009
- Porter Henderson Library Operations: Information and Activity Levels in Fiscal Year 2009
Word from the Director
Maurice G. Fortin, Library Director
The 2009 Fall Semester is rapidly coming to a close. As I write these lines, Thanksgiving is only three days away. This is followed by "Finals" activities. Students are making use of the Library at rates never before seen or experienced by the staff. In just the first two months of the current academic year, the ASU community has already performed online searches that equal 40% of the total in FY 2009 and 50% of the totals for the same period for retrieving, viewing, downloading articles, documents, and the like from the Library’s many online services. The usage is just not online, October saw the highest door count number (people coming into the Library) ever and September was the third highest month ever. Circulation numbers are at levels not seen in over 15 years.
What does all this mean? Students and faculty value both print and electronic resources of information. The Library is a place they want to use. Campus life at ASU is changing - changing for the better. On any given Friday afternoon this fall, the Library, like the campus, is alive with students. In the Library, they are studying, retrieving information, or simply enjoying "chatting" with friends through one of the social networking sights. This is refreshing compared to when I first came to ASU when the Friday afternoons were sparsely populated. For more information on Library services and usage in FY 09, please see "Porter Henderson Library: By the Numbers, Fiscal Year 2009" and "Porter Henderson Library Operations: Information and Activity Levels, Fiscal Year 2009" below (page 5-8).
Later in the Newsletter you will read more about the Library’s preparation for renovations and the creation of the Learning Commons on the First Floor. The process will begin following the end of the fall semester and last through summer of 2010.
Unfortunately, the Library staff members have to say goodbye to another long-time colleague. In late January, 2010, Irma Haney will retire from the University with nearly 25 years of service to the Library. She spent her career staffing the Media Collection in the Library’s Basement. She will be missed for her many contributions to the Library.
On behalf of the Library staff, I want to wish everyone a great holiday season.
The Library Is Changing—For the Better!!
During the construction of the Library’s Third Floor, Library staff members began to plan for new ways to use the existing three floors (Basement, First, and Second) to best meet the needs of a new generation of students. Because of the new floor, the Library gained a net total of over 19,000 sq. ft. as other units moved out of the Library to the Third Floor and the Library was able to move items from storage rooms locating on the existing three floors to two new climate controlled storage rooms on the new floor.
In 2005, Mark Allan, Head of Library Reference Services, came to the Director and introduced him to the concept of a "Learning/Information Commons." This was a new movement in academic libraries to reclaim for libraries a central support role in the learning process in higher education. The simplest definition or description of a learning commons is a physical place that facilitates interaction between students with other students, with faculty, with staff, with technology, and with information regardless of its format (paper, electronic, human expertise, microform, etc.).
Mark Allan and Dr. Fortin met with Doug Fox, Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer, to discuss the proposal for a learning commons at ASU. Doug immediately grasped the importance of the concept and all parties agreed to make this a joint project between the Library and Information Technology. The two units then began planning and submitting concepts and proposals to the Provost and other University administrators. In the late fall of 2006, staff members from the Library and Information Technology toured learning commons projects and services at other Texas universities. Combining the gathered information with design concepts from relevant literature searches, the Director of the Library sent forward a formal proposal in February 2007 to the Provost. Progress on planning for Library remodeling was placed on hold as the University experienced the excitement of a presidential search and the transition to the Texas Tech University System.
In 2008, the University decided to restart planning on the Library project along with several other proposals. Over the course of the summer, various groups on campus and the System’s Office reviewed proposals from architectural firms and construction companies. The University and the System’s Office selected The SHW Group to be the architects for the Library project and Consolidated Contractors Inc. for overseeing the construction process. In late 2008 and early 2009, planning moved forward quickly on the project.
For those of you who have been State employees for even a short period, you know the joys and fears of working during a biennial session of the Texas Legislature. Until the Legislature finished its work and decided on possible freezes and/or rollbacks on tuition and fees at state higher education institutions, the System’s Office decided to place a hold on all of the planning for construction projects. Following the end of the legislative session, proposals went before the Board in August and again in the fall for the Library project. With Board approval, planning work recommenced in August 2009.
On page 4 of the Newsletter, you will see a proposed diagram for the project and the ASU Library’s Learning Commons. Construction work on the project will commence on December 14th. The work begins with asbestos abatement. This will necessitate closing the Basement, First, and Second Floors of the Library beginning the weekend of December 12th and 13th. The work will not cause any disruption for access to or use of the Third Floor. During the week before the University closes for the Holiday Break (December 14-18), there will be a temporary service point on the Second Floor of the University Center (in the Tucker Center near the West Texas Collection). Please use this temporary service point to return materials, pay fines, etc. The book drop on the back porch (parking lot side) of the Library may be used at any time to return monographs only. The Library will not reopen until January 4, 2010. “Reopen” may be a relative term. Please see "Library Operations During Demolition, Remodeling & Construction - Spring to Summer 2010," a document available on the web site at http://www.angelo.edu/services/library/news/libremodsched.html, describing how the Library will provide services during the remodeling project.
Please note that during construction only the Basement and Second Floors will be open to the ASU Community for use. Access will be via the front porch elevator (normally used for Third Floor access only). During construction, the Second Floor landing will be activated for entrance into the Library. The central elevator and west stairs (on the UC side of the Library) will be available to move between the Second Floor and the Basement. At least one of the side stairwells should be available for additional access to the Third Floor. However, from time-to-time, you should expect that one of the stairwells may be blocked for a day or more, as the contractors use it to bring materials in and debris out of the building. Also, the north side of the parking lot will go off-line. The contractors will use this as a staging area for offices, parking, and supplies.
Below is a reprint for the proposed hours of operations during construction.
Proposed Library Hours During Construction:
| 2010 Spring Semester | 2010 Summer Terms | |
| M.-Th. | 7:30 am to midnight | 7:30 am to 11:00 pm |
| Fri. | 7:30 am to 6:00 pm | 7:30 am to 6:00 pm |
| Sat. | 9:00 am to 6:00 pm | 9:00 am to 6:00 pm |
| Sun. | 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm | 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm |
This is a slight reduction in the Library’s current schedule of operating hours for both the spring and summer terms. The reduction is necessary to reallocate student assistant time to cover temporary service points, check bags, and retrieve materials moved to remote sites during the construction process.
For a humorous look at the remodeling project, see the PowerPoint� presentation, " Coming in 2010: Library Remodeling Project: A Learning Commons for ASU: Third Floor Concerns," available on the Library’s web site. Information to note include the fact the Library will be a noisy and unpleasant space to study and read most Mondays through Fridays from 7 or 8 am to 5 or 6 pm. There may be unexpected outages. Be ready for the occasional fire alarm because of dust. Expect other similar snags that usually occur during construction. Watch for announcements and signs directing you around the construction or warning of outages.
Perhaps the most important point to see in the presentation as well as in the previous diagram is the one depicting the Learning Commons on the First Floor. When I made presentations to the Student Senate, the students were very pleased with the features of the Learning Commons. They especially liked the coffee bar, the new group study/practice room, movable furniture, the IT service point, and the new Information Literacy Space.
If all goes as planned, the good news is the construction phase should be substantially finished by the end of July 2010. That will allow about three weeks for the set up of furniture and technology. The scheduled grand open of the Learning Commons will hopefully coincide with the start of the 2010 Fall Semester.
If you would like more information or a presentation on the project, please contact the Executive Director of the Library (942-2222 or Maurice.Fortin@angelo.edu). He will be happy to meet with you or your group to discuss the project and the construction project.
Special Announcements About Services
During the Holidays and the Renovation Work
West Texas Collection
Like the Porter Henderson Library, the WTC will also be closed December 14-22.
Media
The last day to check out media items: December 8, 2009.
No renewals on media items will be allowed after December 8, 2009.
All media items are due back to the Library by December 11, 2009.
Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Service
The Library's Interlibrary Loan Unit will stop processing any submissions for new interlibrary loans via any method (including RamCat, database, and web) from December 4, 2009, through January 4, 2010. Any submission dated OR received during this time period will not be processed until the Library reopens on January 4, 2010. However, submissions made prior to December 4th will be received and processed in the normal course of business before the Library closes for the holidays and remodeling beginning December 11th, and will resume upon the Library reopening on January 4th. The Library appreciates your patience and understanding. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Mark Allan, Head of Library Reference Services, at 2335 or mark.allan@angelo.edu.
Government Documents
During the asbestos abatement phase of the Learning Commons renovation (December 12-January 4), the Porter Henderson Library will be closed and the Government Documents collections will be inaccessible. Patrons seeking United States government documents during this time should consider one of these strategies:
- Check RamCat to see if a record exists for the documents they are interested in has been included for the Library's documents collection. Links to the electronic version of documents are included in the records.
- If a record is not in RamCat, check the FirstSearch database "WorldCat," available through link(s) in "Online Resources" on the Library tab in RamPort. GPO uses WorldCat to catalog all of their resources. Online versions should be accessible via links in this database.
- GPO’s own online catalog, Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, can be accessed at http://catalog.gpo.gov/F. This link can also be found on the main "Government Documents and Maps" page at http://www.angelo.edu/services/library/govdocs/index.html. Links to online versions of government publications are also found in the Catalog.
- If an electronic version of the document you need is unavailable in RamCat or WorldCat, contact the regional Federal Depository Library at Texas Tech for assistance. You may contact Tom Rohrig, Associate Librarian in their Government Documents collection by e-mail at tom.rohrig@ttu.edu or by telephone at (806) 742-2238 x280.
We look forward to helping you with find the government information that you need when the library reopens in January.
Thank you for your patience during this time and have a great holiday break!
And Now the Reason for All of the Above –
The Learning Commons Project!
Proposed layout for the Learning Commons on the first floor of the Library.
In Appreciation
A special word of appreciation is due the group of student assistants, student volunteers, and staff members who assisted Dr. Fortin on Saturday, November 14:
- Angela Skaggs
- Margaret Alexander
- Theresa Fortin
- Ashlan Mahan
- Tyler Fowler
- Christina Martinez
- And members of the African Student Association
They went above and beyond as they moved tables, chairs, and other equipment from one floor to another and took other materials out to the dumpster on the loading dock, all in preparation for the remodeling project. Their efforts are greatly appreciated.
Porter Henderson Library:
By the Numbers, Fiscal Year 2009
|
Number of Titles by LC Classification
As of 9/1/2009 |
|||||
|
LC
Class # |
Count in
FY 08 |
Count in
FY 09 |
+/-
Change |
% of Total
Holdings |
|
|
A
|
734
|
721
|
-13
|
0%
|
|
|
B
|
16,915
|
17,027
|
112
|
6%
|
|
|
C
|
2,522
|
2,567
|
45
|
1%
|
|
|
D
|
16,450
|
16,795
|
345
|
6%
|
|
|
E
|
14,903
|
15,203
|
300
|
5%
|
|
|
F
|
14,195
|
14,482
|
287
|
5%
|
|
|
G
|
10,166
|
10,269
|
103
|
4%
|
|
|
H
|
37,786
|
38,146
|
360
|
13%
|
|
|
J
|
7,397
|
7,496
|
99
|
3%
|
|
|
K
|
4,225
|
4,215
|
-10
|
1%
|
|
|
L
|
9,136
|
9,507
|
371
|
3%
|
|
|
M
|
7,544
|
7,899
|
355
|
3%
|
|
|
N
|
8,392
|
8,449
|
57
|
3%
|
|
|
P
|
81,143
|
81,957
|
814
|
29%
|
|
|
Q
|
26,385
|
26,662
|
277
|
9%
|
|
|
R
|
8,912
|
9,037
|
125
|
3%
|
|
|
S
|
2,627
|
2,681
|
54
|
1%
|
|
|
T
|
8,892
|
8,992
|
100
|
3%
|
|
|
U
|
2,303
|
2,328
|
25
|
1%
|
|
|
V
|
404
|
408
|
4
|
0%
|
|
|
Z
|
2,156
|
2,147
|
-9
|
1%
|
|
|
Totals
|
283,187
|
286,988
|
3,801
|
||
|
Number of Items by LC Classification
As of 9/1/2009 |
||||||||||
|
LC
Class # |
Total in
FY 08 |
Total in
FY 09 |
+/-
Change |
% of Total
Holdings |
||||||
|
A
|
2,051
|
2,043
|
-8
|
1%
|
||||||
|
B
|
15,954
|
16,104
|
150
|
5%
|
||||||
|
C
|
3,627
|
3,680
|
53
|
1%
|
||||||
|
D
|
17,840
|
18,258
|
418
|
6%
|
||||||
|
E
|
17,616
|
18,027
|
411
|
6%
|
||||||
|
F
|
18,203
|
18,587
|
384
|
6%
|
||||||
|
G
|
10,152
|
10,291
|
139
|
3%
|
||||||
|
H
|
37,048
|
37,277
|
229
|
12%
|
||||||
|
J
|
8,518
|
8,649
|
131
|
3%
|
||||||
|
K
|
7,835
|
4,602
|
-3,233
|
1%
|
||||||
|
L
|
11,536
|
12,001
|
465
|
4%
|
||||||
|
M
|
9,237
|
9,677
|
440
|
3%
|
||||||
|
N
|
8,828
|
8,914
|
86
|
3%
|
||||||
|
P
|
89,203
|
90,184
|
981
|
29%
|
||||||
|
Q
|
31,471
|
31,566
|
95
|
10%
|
||||||
|
R
|
7,415
|
7,588
|
173
|
2%
|
||||||
|
S
|
2,916
|
2,978
|
62
|
1%
|
||||||
|
T
|
8,254
|
8,312
|
58
|
3%
|
||||||
|
U
|
2,303
|
2,326
|
23
|
1%
|
||||||
|
V
|
398
|
403
|
5
|
0%
|
||||||
|
Z
|
4,087
|
4,119
|
32
|
1%
|
||||||
|
TOTALS
|
314,492
|
315,586
|
1,094
|
|
||||||
[Note: The title counts and item counts in the tables above do not include titles and items in the Media Collection, the Texas Documents Collection, the United States Documents Collection, or the bulk of the Maps Collection. These collections use non-LC classification schemes to organize their material.]
Porter Henderson Library Operations:
Information and Activity Levels in Fiscal Year 2009
|
CATALOGING (Net items added to the Collection; does not include Government Documents) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Year | Number of Items |
Average per Month |
Highest Month (Number) |
| 2009 | 1,847 | 153.9 | June (793) |
| % CHANGE over FY 08: -65.6% | |||
| 2008 | 5,373 | 447.7 | July (768) |
| 2007 | 3,446 | 287.2 | June (1,048) |
| 2006 | 5,271 | 439.2 | May (884) |
|
GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS (Net number of items added to both the Federal and State Documents Collections) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Year | Number of Items |
Average per Month |
Highest Month (Number) |
| 2009 | 4,720 | 393.3 | Jan. (906) |
| % CHANGE over FY 08: +106.8% | |||
| 2008 | 2,282 | 190.2 | Aug. (572) |
| 2007 | -7,925 | -660.4 | Sept. (798) |
| 2006 | 5,508 | 459.0 | Aug. (952) |
|
DOOR COUNTS (Individuals entering front doors of the Library and the West Texas Collection) |
|||
| Fiscal Year |
Number of Individuals |
Average per Month |
Highest Month (Number) |
| 2009 | 198,247 | 16,520.6 | Oct. (26,316) |
| % CHANGE over FY 08: +27.5% | |||
| 2008 | 155,526 | 12,960.5 | Oct. (20,885) |
| 2007 | 142,095 | 11,841.3 | Oct. (14,518) |
| 2006 | 125,009 | 10,417.4 | Oct. (14,518) |
|
QUESTION COUNTS (Total number of questions received) |
|||
| Fiscal Year |
Number of Questions |
Average per Month |
Highest Month (Number) |
| 2009 | 22,455 | 1,873.3 | Sept. (3,947) |
| % CHANGE over FY 08: +2.9% | |||
| 2008 | 21,830 | 1,819.2 | Sept. (2,610) |
| 2007 | 22,576 | 1,881.3 | Sept. (3,078) |
| 2006 | 22,795 | 1,899.6 | Sept. (3,379) |
|
CIRCULATION (Total number of items (print and online) circulated from the Circulation Desk) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Year | Number of Items |
Average per Month |
Highest Month (Number) |
| 2009 | 38,735 | 3,227.9 | Sept. (5,168) |
| % CHANGE over FY 08: +22.1% | |||
| 2008 | 31,716 | 2,643.0 | Oct. (4,353) |
| 2007 | 30,461 | 2,538.4 | Oct. (4,451) |
| 2006 | 29,087 | 2,423.9 | Oct. (4,665) |
|
CIRCULATION-MEDIA (Total number of items circulated) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Year | Number of Items |
Average per Month |
Highest Month (Number) |
| 2009 | 6,862 | 571.8 | Apr. (831) |
| % CHANGE over FY 08: +6.55% | |||
| 2008 | 6,440 | 536.7 | Oct. (797) |
| 2007 | 4,732 | 394.3 | Apr. (600) |
| 2006 | 3,965 | 330.4 | Apr. (474) |
|
COMBINED ONLINE ACCESS (Number of searches) |
|||
| Fiscal Year |
Number of Searches |
Average per Month |
Highest Month (Number) |
| 2009 | 330,932 | 27,577.7 | Sept. (49,938) |
| % CHANGE over FY 08: +9.6% | |||
| 2008 | 301,844 | 25,153.7 | Feb. (43,378) |
| 2007 | 289,109 | 24,092.4 | Oct. (41,262) |
| 2006 | 303,051 | 25,254.2 | Oct. (42,217) |
|
COMBINED ONLINE ACCESS (Number of documents retrieved/viewed) |
|||
| Fiscal Year |
Number of Documents |
Average per Month |
Highest Month (Number) |
| 2009 | 569,593 | 47,466.1 | Sept. (76,851) |
| % CHANGE over FY 08: -4.2% | |||
| 2008 | 594,455 | 49,537.1 | Mar. (88,584) |
| 2007 | 432,416 | 36,034.7 | Feb. (63,397) |
| 2006 | 399,493 | 33,282.8 | Oct. (56,962) |
|
INTERLIBRARY LOAN (Total number of transactions: loans plus borrows) |
|||
| Fiscal Year |
Number of Transactions |
Average per Month |
Highest Month (Number) |
| 2009 | 8,242 | 686.8 | Oct. (1,064) |
| % CHANGE over FY 08: +1.6% | |||
| 2008 | 8,115 | 676.2 | Oct. (1,059) |
| 2007 | 7,515 | 626.2 | Oct. (1,053) |
| 2006 | 7,025 | 585.4 | Mar. (1,248) |
|
INTERLIBRARY LOAN (Average percentage of requests filled) |
|||
| Fiscal Year | Percentage Filled | Best Month | Percentage Filled |
| 2009 | 82.5 | Sept. | 89.6 |
| 2008 | 83.6 | Mar. | 88.4 |
| 2007 | 85.1 | Mar. | 94.6 |
| 2006 | 82.7 | Nov. | 94.7 |
|
LIBRARY INSTRUCTION (Number of sessions) |
|||
| Fiscal Year |
Number of Sessions |
Average per Month |
Highest Month (Number) |
| 2009 | 141 | 11.8 | Sept. (42) |
| % CHANGE over FY 08: -6.0% | |||
| 2008 | 150 | 12.5 | Feb. (40) |
| 2007 | 137 | 11.4 | Sept. (41) |
| 2006 | 152 | 12.7 | Sept. (45) |
|
LIBRARY INSTRUCTION (Number of participants) |
|||
| Fiscal Year |
Number of Participants |
Average per Month |
Highest Month (Number) |
| 2009 | 2,845 | 237.1 | Sept. (956) |
| % CHANGE over FY 08: -11.2% | |||
| 2008 | 3,205 | 267.1 | Feb. (790) |
| 2007 | 2,913 | 242.7 | Sept. (977) |
| 2006 | 3,008 | 250.7 | Sept. (938) |
