Annual Report, 2008-2009 A. C. Lewis Memorial Library I. Brief Description of the A. C. Lewis Memorial Library The primary purpose of the library is to promote and support undergraduate and graduate education of the university. Historically known as the A.C. Lewis Memorial Library, this facility is an air conditioned two story, 86,720 square-feet, open-stack, modular brick building. It is the heart of learning resources on the Grambling State University campus. It provides shelving for books, magazines, journals and newspapers. Study seating is available for approximately 700 patrons. Each floor offers varied study areas that include individual carrels, small tables, conference rooms and study/lounge chairs located adjacent to the books, periodicals and other resources. Library operations are automated on the SIRSI Unicorn System. The library online catalog, Grambling Online Public Access Catalog (GOPAC/iLINK), provides bibliographic access to all GSU Library resources and all academic library resources statewide. The GSU Library has approximately 80 public use personal computers (PCs) connected to databases through a Local Area Network (LAN). Most library electronic resources are accessible to patrons from any Internet PC on or off campus. Electronic resources include full-text journals, electronic books (e-books), and newspapers as well as bibliographic citations, indexes and abstracts, and numeric data. GOPAC/iLINK provides thousands of direct live links to full-text electronic books and journals. A student-operated computer lab with approximately 25 PCs and free printing is also available to GSU students. This lab provides open access to the Internet and to software that students can use to prepare and print their work. Photocopying and PC printing services are available. The Mary Watson Hymon Afro-American Center houses the Afro-American special collection. It contains a multidisciplinary collection of resources by and about African Americans and people of African/Caribbean descent. Rare editions are housed in the restricted collection. The Microtext/ Media area contains both modern and archival media resources such as DVDs; CD-ROMs; video and audio cassettes; microfiche and microfilm for academic inquiry. Facilities and equipment for on-site use of these resources are available. Services include Interlibrary Loan (via GOPAC/iLINK or in-person), document delivery, inperson reserves, and on-line library tutorials. Library instruction, offered in a state-of-the-art classroom facility through 38 networked computers that incorporates hands-on orientation to electronic resources, is also available. The library strives to follow the standards recommended by the Association of College & Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. The library is a member of the Louisiana Library Association and an active participant in the Louisiana Libraries Information Network Consortium (LALINC), the online Computer Library Center (OCLC), Lyrasis (SOLINET), and the statewide library consortium, (LOUIS: the Louisiana Library Network). Additional information can be found on the university web page at www.gram.edu.
Page 2 The library provides services for 82.5 hours per week. Library Hours for the 2008-2009 school year were as follows: FALL (2008) / SPRING (2009) Monday Thursday - 7:30 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. Friday - 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Saturday - 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Sunday - 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. SUMMER 2009 Monday Thursday - 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Friday - 7:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Saturday - CLOSED Sunday - 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Library s Mission The A. C. Lewis Memorial Library serves as the information and knowledge center for the students and faculty of Grambling State University. It is the responsibility of the library to provide quality services and equitable access to resources in all formats, which effectively implement, support, and enrich the university s mission and goals. The primary purpose of the library is to promote and support the undergraduate, graduate, professional, continuing education, distance education and global education programs. The library pursues its mission through a quality collection, shared resources, agreements and cooperation with other libraries, and access to electronic resources. The library is committed to excellence in meeting the information needs of a diverse clientele through a competent and courteous staff, student and faculty involvement, and a total commitment from the university.
Page 3 II. List the Most Significant Accomplishments A. Relationship to students and student activities Forty-six Bibliographic Instruction classes were taught to 861 students and faculty. Three tour groups visited the library. The A. C. Lewis Memorial Library continued to partner with the Historically Black College and Universities Library alliance to digitize the library s collections. Resources in the Afro-American Center s restricted area, the Reference area, and the main collection were weeded. The library acquired 4,087 print books, 398 titles of major print periodical subscriptions were renewed and processed, and the number of full-text electronic journal titles, indexes, abstracts and other reference sources increased from 1,609,452 to 1,613,929. The library completed putting the Afro-American Rare Book Collection on fiche. The Library hosted Media Day: Showing of Educational Videos The Great Debaters and A Lesson Before Dying during National Library Week on Wednesday, April 15, The Library hosted Poetry Day during National Library Week on Thursday, April 16, The library hosted a Free Fine Day and staff wore T-shirts in observance of National Library Week on Friday, April 17, The library s Year-End Audit was submitted on July 10, The library s inventory of equipment was submitted on June 8, The library completed most of its activities through the following committees: Library Student Assistants Committee, Fund-Raising Committee, National Library Week Committee/Annual Breakfast Honoring Librarians & Staff Committee, Library Activities/Staff Development Committee, Display Committee, Library Courtesy Committee, Middle Management Advisory Committee, Bibliographic Instruction Committee (BI), Collection Development, Newsletter Committee, and Web Page Committee.
Page 4 B. Productive and Creative Activities Seven library displays were set up in celebration or in commemoration of various events including: Founder s Week 2008, Homecoming 2008, Christmas Holidays (Theme: Happy Holidays! ), Celebrating the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Black History Month Observance, Women in History Month, and National Library Week Celebration (Theme: Connect @ Your Library ). C. Professional Activities Mrs. Cecilia Iwala attended the Semi Annual System Librarian/Administrative Meeting in Baton Rouge, LA on July 24-25, 2008. Faculty members attended the Faculty Meeting in the School of Nursing on August 14, 2008. Staff attended the Library Planning Session for the Library on August 15, 2008. All faculty members attended the Faculty Senate Meeting on September 17, 2008. Ms. Carla Lewis attended the faculty/staff recognition reception in the Favrot Student Union Black & Gold Room on September 23, 2008. All student assistant supervisors attended the Student Assistant Seminar on October 3, 2008. Mrs. Sarah Hassen attended the LOUIS User Conference (LUC) in Baton Rouge, LA on October 10, 2008. Mrs. Cecilia Iwala and Dr. Rosemary Mokia attended the HBCU Library Alliance 3 rd Membership Meeting in Charlotte, NC on October 25-28, 2008. Dr. Rosemary Mokia attended the LALINC Fall Membership Meeting at Nicholls State University in Hammond, LA on October 29-31, 2008. Mrs. Sarah Hassen and Mrs. Cecilia Iwala attended the Gale Virtual Reference Library Webinar on November 3, 2008.
Page 5 Mrs. Sarah Hassen met with Mr. Winfred Jones of IRC and Mr. Tom Bell of Blackboard Corporation to discuss implementing the One Card System in the library on December 9, 2008. Library staff attended a Christmas Luncheon on December 12, 2008. Faculty members attended the End-of-Semester Faculty Meeting on December 16, 2008. Mrs. Cecilia Iwala traveled to Baton Rouge, LA on December 18, 2008. Mr. Naveed Khan managed the GSU Documents Organization Project in Academic Affairs from January 12-23, All student assistant supervisors attended the Student Assistant Seminar on January 13, All staff members attended the EBSCO seminar on January 14, Mrs. Cecilia Iwala attended the LOUIS Systems Administrator s meeting in Baton Rouge, LA on January 14-15, Mrs. Sarah Hassen attended the presentation of the GSU Master Development Plan in T.H. Harris Auditorium on February 12, All staff members attended the Microsoft Word 2007 Seminar on February 27, All staff members attended the EEOC Workshop on April 2, All staff members attended the library luncheon honoring librarians and staff on April 17, Mrs. Cecilia Iwala attended the online Legal Research on April 27 & 29, Mrs. Cecilia Iwala attended the online Copyright for Librarians on April 29, Mrs. Cecilia Iwala and Sumithra Kancharankandy attended the LOUIS Group Meeting at LA Tech University on May 6,
Page 6 Faculty attended the End-of-Semester Faculty Meeting on May 12, Mr. Naveed Khan attended corporate presentations for the GSU Copy Center on May 20, Mrs. Sarah Hassen attended the Literature Criticism Online Web Seminar on June 18, Staff members attended a review of candidates for the Library Director s Position on June 29, Staff members attended all monthly in-house meetings for 2008- Staff members attended all Quarterly Safety Meetings for 2008- Middle Management Advisory Committee members attended all in-house meetings for 2008- Mrs. Rhonda Rolen served as the Library Faculty representative on the Senate and attended the Faculty Senate meetings for 2008- D. Administrative and Committee Assignments Dr. Rosemary N. Mokia serves on the Council of Deans, Interdepartmental Council, University Safety Committees, and HBCU Library Alliance. Mrs. Carolyn McNeal serves on the University Safety, Founder s Week, Human Subjects, and Promotion and Tenure. Mrs. Rhonda Rolen serves on the Faculty Senate Committee and Mr. Anil Deshpande served as the alternate senator. Mr. Naveed Khan served on the University Copy/Print Center Committee. III. The greatest handicaps or obstacles that affected the effectiveness and service that occurred during this year are as follows: 1. The freeze in hiring which affected the filling of vacant positions had and continues to have a negative impact.
Page 7 IV. New opportunities for service or development that I desire the University to provide for the library are: 1. Fill vacant position of Reference Librarian. 2. Provide funding for staff development. 3. To continue working on planning the new library facility. V. The three major recommendations I feel would enhance the effectiveness of the library are: Renovate the library while making plans to build a new library. Although not directly related to the library, create, fund and fill the position of Archivist for the University. Create and fund a position for Library LAN Technician. VI. The three major goals I propose to accomplish next year are: Prepare reports and supporting documentation for SACS Accreditation. Write grants to secure funds to supplement the Library s budget. Continue to work with the administration on plans for a new library facility. Submitted by: Date: