Publications
Presentations
National/International
Regional/Local
Goal 1 - Transform the curriculum and educational programs to respond to the changing needs of a dynamic society.
Goal 2 - Intensify and convert our ongoing commitment to social equity, diversity and globalization into deliberate progressive action.
Goal 3 - Assure a student-centered environment emphasizing holistic learning experiences.
Goal 4 - Advance civic engagement through expanded partnerships and community outreach to contribute to the well being of the state, nation and the world.
Goal 5 – Foster a scholarly and creative environment for faculty and staff.
University Strategic Directions
SD#1 - Student Learning and Engagement
SD#2 - Equity, Diversity and Inclusiveness
SD#3 - Economic Development and Community Service
SD#4 - Management and Resource Development
The attack on library systems brought most access services to a temporary halt. Through staff improvisation, manual workarounds were developed to replace formerly electronic processes in support of customer service. Six months after the attack most computerized services were functioning as before with the exception of providing users with printed date due receipts upon checkout of items. In spite of the attack, staff were able to compile the five-year Library Collection Statistics and Budgetary Comparisons report.
Sally Levit has been temporarily reassigned on a three-quarter time basis from Access Services to the Collection Development unit posing a burden on Access Services staff.
Electronic and Physical Reserves
As a result of the Fall 2006 attack, the decision was made to replace the Docutek electronic reserve system with a new product (Ares, by Atlas Systems, Inc.). Staff received webcast training and then trained student supervisors to assist with placing several thousand electronic files into the new Ares system. The new system works well and has been well received by faculty and students. Physical reserve items are not currently listed in Ares but will be added during Summer 2007.
Duplication Services
From July 1, 2006 through March 31, 2007 library staff filled 2,015 requests made by students, faculty, and others through the library’s duplication services. This service allows users to request electronic copies of journal articles and other selected materials available in physical format in the library’s collections.
Interlibrary Loan Services
From July 1, 2006 through March 31, 2007 the Millersville University Library lent a total of 2,029 items to other libraries (979 books and 1,050 articles) and borrowed a total of 1,566 items from other libraries (273 books and 1,293 articles). With the approval of the Director of Library Services, the library began paying any Interlibrary Loan fees incurred by graduate students.
Circulation of Laptops
The “Laptops@the Library” lending service continues to be popular with students. Between July 1, 2006 and March 31, 2007 the 15 laptops circulated a total of 8,599 times. In addition, 8,650 batteries, 1,705 cases, and 6,037 cords were also circulated. Laptops circulate for four hour intervals. We are frequently out of laptops and, due to the popularity of this service, we placed a bench near the circulation desk for students to wait for laptops to be returned. As of April 12, 2007 we began circulating 50 new laptops (purchased with Student Technology Fee funds) along with the 15 older laptops.
Stack Maintenance
Maintaining library stacks continues to be a challenge. Books have been shifted to accommodate new items and make room for reclassified items. Compact shelving was installed on the ground floor and basement. With the installation of new microfilm cabinets a major microfilm shift was accomplished.
Public Service
Since spring of 2006, more than 2060 visitors have come to Archives & Special Collections (summer: 189, fall: 840; spring: 658 through April). In addition to these visits by students, faculty, staff, alumni, researchers, and community members, 373 visitors participated in LibraryFest in September, many becoming acquainted with the collections and services for the first time. October and April were the busiest months, with 406 visits in October and 253 in April. Visitors use the collections for a wide variety of projects that include student assignments, individual research projects, alumni presentations, curriculum decisions, administrative reports and planning projects. Staff responded to more than 136 individual requests for research and information by researchers in person, through the web-based information request form, and by e-mail.
During the past year, staff scanned over 906 images for researchers. These included requests for Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority (155), alumni weekend (142), 40th anniversary of Ganser Library (95), sheet music (47), and a special project for Penn State to digitize a unique Pennsylvania publication titled Felis Catus (21). Due to the attack on library systems, the web-based information request form was not operational for much of the fall semester.
Instruction
A continuing area of emphasis for Archives and Special Collections is the development of primary source assignments with classroom faculty. This year more than 224 students in 11 classes received instruction in the Special Collections area (a total of 25 sessions). These included 5 sections of History 105 (Craft of History), two sections of English 110 (Composition), English 235 (Early American Literature), EDFN 376 (Whose School is it, Anyway?), EDFN 610 (Research Methods), WSTU/History Senior Seminar, AFAM 496 (The Black Woman), and Univ. 179.05 (Amish and the Media). During these sessions students are able to engage with a wide variety of primary source materials, select specific areas for further research, and base research projects on materials from the collections. Following these sessions, students return for additional assistance in identifying primary and secondary sources of interest. An additional component for several classes during spring semester was the oral history project. Staff provided ongoing assistance with background research for interviews, training in the use of digital equipment, and help in identifying potential narrators and the overall interview process.
New Materials and Use of the Collection
312 new items were added to the collection and 532 items were re-classed. New items include 73 rare books, 118 titles for the Wickersham collection, 68 for Special Collections (Local Culture and History), and 8 manuscript collections. New manuscripts added to the collection include the Dying Sayings of Mary Armitt, a Quaker of Philadelphia who died in 1791, and a fugitive slave document from 1804 documenting the return of a slave to Maryland from York County. Other new items include Dr. Emeline Cleveland’s Introductory Lecture on Behalf of the Faculty to the Class of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania (1858), a small remedy book by Jacob Smoker, an Amish farmer (1909), and a Masonic Song Book, published in 1814.
More than 1166 items were circulated in the reading room.
Processing of Materials
Each year offices across campus send materials to the Archives. In addition to over 25 boxes from retiring photographer Jim Yescalis, we also received about 20 cubic feet from the President’s Office; 10 cubit feet from the Provost’s Office; 10 cubic feet from the Music Department; and 2 cubic from Printing & Duplicating.
In addition to ongoing projects in re-foldering and re-boxing Archive materials, student assistants processed approximately 30 cubic feet of materials received from Public Relations, especially sports information; Printing & Duplicating; Dean’s Council; Music Department and Industry & Technology Department.
Student assistants also made progress in transcribing a variety of manuscript and archival materials this year including the Christian Herr legal papers, Christ legal papers, and the Model School Registration Ledger, 1858-1920. Transcribing projects in process include the Page Literary Society minutes, Normal Literary Society minutes, Faculty meeting minutes, and Board of Trustees minutes.
Janet Dotterer has inventoried 40 boxes of sheet music (more than 4000 individual titles), making essential corrections to the sheet music database. Processing of the large T. Everett Harre collection is nearly complete with all related books cataloged and his voluminous correspondence processed. Only two of twelve boxes remain, containing transcripts and miscellaneous files.
Oral History
In coordination with faculty members in Women’s Studies, History, Education, and African American Studies, students carried out 48 oral history interviews (ranging in length from 20 minutes to 2 hours). Thanks to support from Vice President for Information Technology Susan Komsky, we were able to purchase 5 digital recording kits for use by students in four classes. Students conducted oral history interviews with a wide variety of current and former students, staff, administrators and faculty as part of a larger project to document the 20th anniversary of the Millersville University Commission on the Status of Women. Student intern Phil High developed a process for training students, checking out the equipment, and downloading audio files.
Digital Recorders were circulated over 50 times with approximately 30 minutes needed for each complete transaction, to check out, check in, and download the audio files. Students received copies of the audio files so that they could use them for transcription and class presentations.
Digital Initiatives
The Snapper (1995-2005) was sent to OCLC Preservation Services in Bethlehem for microfilming and digitization. Much of this year has been spent focused on quality control issues with the hope of having the digital Snapper available for use by fall 2007.
We received a collaborative digitization grant with Dickinson College for $27,000, to digitize nineteenth-century materials related to the Underground Railroad, abolition and slavery. The project will begin in August, 2007.
Exhibits
Staff participated in the following exhibits:
Records Management
The Records Management Task Force was created by Provost Vilas Prabhu in June, 2006. The task force is charged with investigating records management issues at Millersville University, with a proposal due to the Provost by the end of June, 2007. The campus-wide group has been meeting throughout the year and is in the process of finalizing recommendations based on a campus survey (conducted by students in Dr. Tom Boyle’s PR class), establishing guidelines for paper and electronic records, and assessing enterprise content management systems for use at Millersville.
Cataloging Staffing
The Cataloging unit is once again delighted to have Anne McGillivray and Cheryl Lutz with us as adjunct librarians this year. This year Cheryl held a full-time assignment in the Cataloging and Reference units while Anne served a three quarter time assignment in the same areas. In Cataloging, Anne and Cheryl have assumed responsibility for a portion of the complex copy cataloging. They also create original cataloging records for monographs, media materials and Special Collections items and assist with departmental projects including authority control and reclassification. In addition to the routine reclassification work which Cheryl and Anne have undertaken, this year they also took the lead in securing, compiling and evaluating information on the services of reclassification vendors. Computing problems beyond Cheryl and Anne’s control protracted and complicated the process of securing some internal information, but the quotes are now in hand and a vendor has been selected.
Throughout the academic year, the Cataloging unit has also enjoyed the half-time assistance of Milta Vega, a library assistant who spends the other half of her day in the Government Documents unit. Milta has assisted the Cataloging unit with our pre-cataloging process and with the reclassification project. She is currently being trained in Library of Congress copy cataloging.
Authority Control
Changed name, series and subject headings were updated in the library catalog during November, 2006. Headings for current cataloging were authorized in November, 2006 and March 2007.
Library faculty continued to participate in Keystone Library Network activities associated with authority control. Late in the 2005/2006 academic year, the KLN was notified that it had received grant funding from LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) to support the training necessary to establish a NACO (Name Authority Cooperative) funnel project within the KLN. NACO training took place during the week of September 11th to 15th in Harrisburg. For much of the year, computing problems and the search for a Coordinator of Technical Services prevented further progress on Millersville’s portion of the project. Additional work will take place after the end of the Spring semester.
Ebooks
In early 2006, the library purchased access to the Early American Imprint Series I, a collection of over 36,000 electronic books first published in print format between 1639 and 1800. As part of the purchase price of the collection, the library received MARC bibliographic records for nearly all of the included materials. In order to load the records, it was necessary to wait until the KLN had established a proxy server and until the library’s computer problems of the Fall semester had been resolved. By early 2007, both of these goals had been accomplished. MARC records for Early American Imprint Series I were loaded into the Voyager database in late February 2007.
Gifts
A large collection of juvenile gift books and many individual gift materials were received and processed as part of the Cataloging unit’s general workflow.
Weeding
Weeded materials continue to be processed and withdrawn as rapidly as possible in order to maintain current and accurate records of the library’s holdings.
Cataloging reports
A daily report continues to be run to identify materials in Cataloging or Labeling that have had a “hold” placed on them by a patron. Those items are processed and sent to the Circulation Desk for circulation to the requestor within two working days. Cataloging, labeling and various other reports allow us to monitor cataloging unit activities easily.
Serials and Online Resources
Journal prices continue to rise by approximately 8.5% each year. The Library's regular materials budget is barely adequate to cover the cost of our ongoing commitments (subscriptions and annual fees). As a result, the regular materials budget has been allocated exclusively for the maintenance of the Library's journal subscriptions, online resources, and standing orders. The acquisition of books and other monographic items has been possible only through the use of special funds: gifts, endowments, and Performance Funding.
The Collection Development Committee evaluated nearly 50 serials and online resources in 2006-07, with favorable assessments (recommendations to add the resources, renew them, or include them in our Performance Funding or Student Technology Fee requests) in approximately 40% of cases.
The major online resources we selected for acquisition in 2006-07 include Medieval and Early Modern Sources Online, the New York Times archive (1851-2004), North American Women's Letters and Diaries, and the U.S. Congressional Serial Set. All four directly support teaching and research that is currently underway at Millersville University.
$10,000 has been set aside for the purchase of online reference resources. Besides providing enhanced information access for students and faculty, the purchase of those resources will be the first step toward a systematic policy for the selection of print and online reference materials. (The particular resources to be added to the collection will be selected over the next few weeks.)
Performance Funding
The University's success in the PASSHE Performance Funding Program resulted in a one-time library grant of more than $300,000 in 2006-07. Approximately 71% of that amount was allocated for the acquisition of books and monographic media, 19% for the acquisition of online resources, and 10% for the digitization and preservation of materials held in the Millersville University archives.
The Library also continued its program of providing special book funds for the use of new faculty. For the second year in a row, that initiative has received a favorable response from the academic departments.
Due to increasing journal costs, future efforts to maintain and develop our book and journal collections will depend on the continued provision of Performance Funding in 2007-08 and subsequent years. A major serials cancellation project will be required next year unless Performance Funding is once again available.
Collection Development
The Curriculum Materials and Juvenile collections again benefited from the additional monies allocated for library materials through the PASSHE Performance Funding program. For the second year in a row, the Education Librarian was able to make significant improvements in particular areas of the collections. In Juvenile works, we were able to purchase a majority of 3-, 2-, and 1-star titles (the superior titles) reviewed in the Horn Book Guide for the past year, ensuring that the library owns nearly all of the very best literature published for children during this period. We were also able to focus collection development activities for children’s literature on specific, unique areas of concentration, such as adoption material (particularly pertaining to foreign adoption) and multicultural fiction and poetry.
Curriculum Materials acquisition continued to be focused on improving the elementary and secondary level social studies resources. We purchased a comprehensive collection of materials that support American and world history, geography, and government education and that focus on activity-based learning. We were also able to purchase a significant number of resources in areas of K-12 education that were previously weaknesses. In response to student requests, we were able to bolster our collections of curriculum materials for agriculture education, English as a Second Language, and foreign language instruction. Other areas of focus, which are perennial, were early childhood reading, reader response, and diversity.
Read Across America
On March 2, 2007, over 100 children, some from Eshleman Elementary School in Millersville, others from community families, visited Ganser Library to take part in the celebration of Read Across America, a national day to recognize the power and value of reading and literacy. Three library faculty members and a faculty member from the department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education organized the day’s events, which included featured readings of children’s books by MU professors, and small-group reading sessions. Approximately 35 MU students, faculty, and staff volunteered their time to read to children. The MU chapter of the Student Pennsylvania State Education Association volunteered members to staff activity tables where children were able to color, complete puzzles, and sign a birthday card for The Cat in the Hat and Dr. Seuss. The birthday cards were then returned to Random House Publishing, which donated one book for every card returned to the First Book program, which supports literacy in needy areas.
The Government Documents collection is one of the most dynamic collections in the library, with a constant influx of new documents on the most timely of issues and topics. The materials in this collection represent Federal Agency publications and Congressional materials, most notably hearings on topics of national interest. The Government Documents Collection has transitioned to more electronic materials over the past few years and the flow of tangible materials has leveled off. Since July of 2006 we have added 8402 documents to the collection and have withdrawn approximately 800 documents. We now hold or have electronic access to 171,203 documents from both the Federal and the Pennsylvania State Government.
The Government Documents unit functions to ensure that these materials are received, promoted and accessible to those who need and want the information that they contain. We continue to work to increase the visibility of government documents wherever they might be--in the library, in the library catalog, or on the Internet. Government Documents unit staff (Library Assistant, Milta Vega and student assistant, Susan Beverly) and faculty (Megan O'Malley) meet regularly to discuss current issues, workflow concerns, and to share ideas for new initiatives for the document collection.
Library Government Documents Promotion
Government Documents in the Library Catalog
Government Resources Online
Government Document Unit Projects
Summer 2007
Major Attack on Library Systems
The 2006-2007 academic year was exceptionally difficult for the Library Systems unit. In early September 2006, dozens of pieces of library computing equipment were targeted by an outside party for rogue file sharing services (a theft of bandwidth attack). As a routine security measure, we scrubbed equipment of rogue software, changing accounts and passwords in the process. In spite of these efforts, the reappearance of rogue software and an increased volume of traffic within a few days indicated that a high level account had been compromised. When, in mid-September the actions of the outside party became more sophisticated, we acknowledged that every machine in the library’s domain had been “compromised,” thereby presenting a security risk. On September 12th, 2006, in consultation with the University's IT staff, every piece of computing equipment within the Library domain (120 computers, 20 network printers, and 8 networked digital scanners and copiers) was “unplugged” from the University’s internet connection to avoid exposing the rest of the University to security risk. Subsequently, fresh operating systems were installed on all equpiment and all associated software and services were reinstalled, reconfigured, and placed back into production.
Plans were developed to restore services as quickly as possible. Basic circulation services were available within 24 hours, a very sparse library website was posted within 48 hours, an alternate and suboptimal electronic reserve service was available within a week, and interlibrary loan services were graciously provided by the library staff at Slippery Rock University for Millersville students and faculty. (Kutztown University's library staff also volunteered to handle requests should volume require it). Library faculty, support staff and student assistants had rudimentary internet connectivity restored within two weeks. Such basic connectivity lacked much of the file sharing, software configurations and that contributed to the general functioning of the department. As a result, library faculty and staff had to expend more time and effort to complete their tasks. Major aspects of the rebuild process were complete by mid-February with the smaller configuration snags, bugs and quirks completed by the end of the Spring 2007 semester. The rebuild process was organized by the library's Coordinator of Access Services using all Library Student Technology Assistants and at least seven members of the University's IT staff. An outside consultant was also hired to verify that custom applications used by the library for various services had not been altered and to identify and implement ways of making these applications more secure.
To increase the security robustness during the rebuild, we ordered two new servers, moved existing equipment, created a new domain, generated new accounts for faculty, staff and student employees, implemented a new network topology, and invoked new network security measures. These measures were subsequently adopted for university wide application.
Computing Infrastructure
Network/Local Firewall: During the rebuild process, all library computing equipment was placed behind a network firewall. Network traffic “in” to library equipment from off campus is strictly prohibited and communication with specific pieces of equipment and/or associated applications is now controlled and permitted on a case by case basis as needed. This effectively prevents anyone from outside the University from “seeing” a computer. The firewall rule was adopted at the beginning of the library’s rebuild proces and formed the basis for a similar university wide rule providing basic protection from attack at the network layer. In addition, new group policies for computers in the library domain were invoked that disallow the computer’s own firewall to be turned off.
Server Computers/Hardware: We ordered two new servers to facilitate the rebuild process and improve segmentation of services. All servers that support such services as the library’s website, interlibrary loan service, duplication service, file sharing, printing, etc. were physically moved from the library building and placed in the Boyer computing center. In addition, they were all placed on a particular segment of the university network to provide an additional layer of security. During the rebuild process, each application brought back online was assigned to a particular server and firewall rule changes were invoked as necessary. In total, ten servers and a mass storage device were physically transferred to Boyer and are now administered by a dedicated IT staff person responsible for library-related server equipment.
Desktop Computers: During the course of the academic year each library faculty, staff and student assistants received a “rebuilt” and functioning machine as part of the rebuild process. Subsequently, the Special Collections unit received all new equipment to facilitate improved interaction with digital storage devices, scanners and network storage spaces. Most library faculty received new computers during the course of the year, with many support staff also receiving new computers to improve interaction with the library’s integrated library management system (Voyager). Every computer in the library used by an employee was rebuilt at least once because of the Fall 2006 attack or as part of a previously planned replacement.
Library Domain: The “organization” of computers and associated services was hastily built, forming a sufficient base at the outset of the rebuild process to allow more complicated services requiring permissions between and among hardware to be properly implemented. Although functional, the library’s domain will likely undergo significant, but not disruptive, changes during the Summer of 2007.
Applications/Services
Library Website: An outside consultant reviewed the code that generates the library’s website and deemed it to be free of malicious alteration. A student library technology assistant improved and “hardened” the code to improve resiliency to various forms of web-based attack.
Interlibrary Loan: The vendor reinstalled in its entirety the software application that supports interlibrary loan services. At the same time we upgraded and changed the configuration of the software. We also “reintegrated” the software with the library’s website and integrated library system. Due to the new firewall rule sets that went into effect as part of the rebuild process and improved security measures, it was difficulty and time-consuming to make the system work properly.
Duplication Service: Once all scanning equipment was working again, the duplication service resumed for university faculty, staff, the IU13 schools and registered community patrons. Since parts of this service are also used interlibrary loan, additional work was done to provide appropriate levels of access for the routine completion of work in that area.
Electronic Reserve Service: As a result of the Fall 2006 attack, the software application and database supporting the library's electronic reserve service was a total loss and all associated hardware was deemed “suspect.” To avoid yet another major service disruption in the middle of the semester, we decided to review the marketplace for new e-reserve options and selected a new product (Ares, by Atlas Systems, Inc.) that has many synergies (both technical and workflow) with the interlibrary loan application we use. Once installed by the vendor, this application was integrated with existing faculty and student services. In addition to restoration of the single login process for any library service, the new e-reserve platform provides more update, configuration and notification options for users.
CONTENTdm: After much testing and effort the Keystone Library Network implementation of CONTENTdm moved up from 4.1 to 4.2. A fresh installation of the software on a new piece of hardware has corrected problems with articles from The Snapper that had been digitzed during the last academic year.
Remote Patron Authentication: Millersville was a beta site for a new Keystone Library Network (KLN) authentication mechanism. As a result, Millersville students and faculty can now use their MyVille credentials to authenticate themselves for accessing library databases and articles when off campus.
Federated Search: A “cross database” federated search service was procured by the Keystone Library Network (KLN) for all institutions. Implementation will take place during the Summer of 2007.
Web Exhibit: A corresponding web presentation for the Scholarly Passions exhibit was developed as part of a larger “exhibits software version 2” effort to make the exhibits application more robust and easier to maintain.
Integrated Library System: The library had one upgrade to the Voyager integrated library management system this year.
Library faculty consider reference service to be an extension of our instructional programs. The goal of reference service is not necessarily to find answers for people but to help them find the answers themselves.
Total reference transactions for May 15, 2006 to April 30, 2007 were 9021 showing an increase of 564 from last year. Total questions were 1367 during the summer sessions, 4280 for the Fall semester, 97 during the winter term, and 3268 in the Spring semester. Questions received included: 3303 directional/informational questions (requiring 2 minutes or less to complete); 3666 short reference questions (requiring 5 minutes or less to complete); 1362 medium reference questions (requiring between 5 and 10 minutes to complete); and 690 lengthy reference questions (requiring more than 10 minutes to complete). The reference transactions include 475 telephone inquires.
Additionally, from the beginning of the 2006 Summer session through the end of the Spring 2007 semester, library faculty responded to 300 electronic reference questions through the "Ask a Librarian" service; 49 in Summer 2006, 108 in Fall 2006, 13 in Winter 2006-2007, and 130 in Spring 2007.
Personnel
Linda Carvell, a half-time Adjunct Librarian, is the faculty representation in the Acquisitions unit for the second year. Nearly half of her time is devoted to service on the Reference desk. Full time staff include D'Ann Ressler, Acquisitions Technician, and Thelma Eckerd, Periodicals Technician. In the wake of the library’s Fall semester attack on library systems, the open support staff position in the Acquisitions unit was transferred to the Division of Information Technology. Temporary personnel, both full-time and part-time, were hired to assist with Acquisitions processes through June 30, 2007. Other temporary employees include Barbara Forney, who was a full-time temporary employee through the middle of August; Marge Mowrer, a full-time temporary employee, who worked from late August 2006, until early March, 2007; and finally, Jennifer Fischer, a former Librarian Assistant II, who is currently employed part-time. The constant shifting of personnel is a drain on efficiency since so much training is required to master the unit’s processes. Sally Levit is also part of the Collection Development/Technical Services unit for varying amounts of hours. At the start of the fiscal year, she was assigned for half-time until the end of August. In mid March she was reassigned to the unit at the rate of three-quarter time.
Although the Performance Funding is extremely beneficial to the collection and to the university community, the processing of the subsequent orders puts a strain on the reduced work force. Three personnel changes within nine months is not a recipe for consistent, efficient service to the community. Midyear it was officially announced that there would be no replacement for the Librarian Technician II in the Collection Development/Acquisitions. Although the diminution of Collection Development staff strains the morale of those in the unit., they look forward to a new direction when the Coordinator of Technical Services is instated.
Initiatives in Response to the Technical Service Program Review Committee Report
The recommendations of the Committee report focused on streamlining various procedures within the unit. Currently, the tedious workflow long associated with the handling of the Standing Orders has been revised. The Cataloging unit and the Collection Development unit worked together to formulate procedures. The Periodicals Technician will be managing these continuation titles, monitoring the effectiveness of the new procedures.
In an attempt to improve the ordering process, the Technical Services Program Review Committee recommended training for faculty and staff. Members of the Collection Development unit recognized that Voyager and Baker & Taylor's Title Source 3 were not being used to the best advantage. In August 2006, a four day Acquisitions/Serials Training via WebEx was arranged for the faculty and staff to better comprehend the potential of Voyager 5 Serials and Acquisitions modules. In September 2006, the faculty and staff attended a workshop presented by Eric Throndson of Baker & Taylor for Title Source 3. Subsequently, each faculty member received individual accounts to create carts. Eventually the use of these accounts and the grids component will facilitate the ordering and management of the records within the Voyager database and the OCLC records.
Due to a new KLN contract with Blackwell’s Book Services and comparable discounts, the faculty will determine its vendor preference. Recently, Blackwell’s conducted a presentation in the library classroom for faculty and staff. Baker & Taylor's Title Source 3 and Blackwell’s each has advantages and disadvantages as outlined by the Collection Development librarian.
Another issue as outlined in the Committee report is better management of electronic resources. Meetings are underway to develop a better system of managing these resources. The disparate funding sources, initiators of selection, and licensing complicates record-keeping. In the future, a file cabinet will house the documentation for every electronic base under subscription in Ganser Library. The goal of those meeting to determine the direction of electronic records management is to include each title in Voyager as a serial holding. Eventually, the Library Department may decide to investigate the purchasing ERM software.
Materials Budget
As in other years, the release of funds to the library at mid-year does not permit orderly function. A few months of the year have extremely heavy activity. A more regulated release of funds and expenditure timetable would improve the unit’s efficient service. There is some concern that Performance Funding is not a reliable source of income. The funds allotted to the faculty is entirely based on Performance Funding. Another concern is that the regular Library Budget does not cover the cost of the current subscriptions.
Vendors
Swets, the PASSHE journal subscription vendor under contract until 2009, continues to be the primary vendor for our print journal subscriptions. Most of the difficulties with Swets have been satisfactorily resolved. Negotiations with EBSCO are progressing and it is likely that we will revert to that company for service.
In conjunction with the Collection Development librarian, the unit will determine which titles to send to National Archives Publishing Company (NAPC) and the Princeton Microfilm Company.
Baker & Taylor continue to be the major vendor for monograph and continuations ordering. The company grants a 18% discount, although recent negotiations seemed to indicate a lower percentage. As mentioned previously, Blackwell’s Book Services is a viable alternative that is aggressively seeking our business.
Online vendors, such as Amazon.com and Albris.com, provide excellent service for media, print and out-of-print titles. In the future, however, we will be restricting our use of these vendors due to a $10,000 purchasing limit.
Bindery
Each title sent to the bindery is reviewed on the basis of subject content and permanent access in other formats.
Ongoing Projects
The Collection Development and Management Committee met several times, chiefly to review particular resources under consideration for acquisition. The Committee also began or completed several special projects:
The Information Services Committee reviewed the library information in the University’s undergraduate and graduate catalogs for possible revisions. There were no significant changes. The Committee also discussed the redesign and revision of the brochure: A Brief Guide to Ganser Library. It was decided that a new document should be developed in conjunction with the University Identity Campaign
The Liaison Program Committee organized two meetings that included the academic department's liaisons to the library and the library faculty.
Library faculty and staff coordinated the 4th annual exhibit of faculty and staff publications and creative works Scholarly Passions. The exhibit included works by more than 60 faculty, staff, and administrators representing most academic departments. An opening reception, held on April 18, 2007 featured the MU Guitar Ensemble. Exhibit participants were recognized at the University's 2nd annual Academic Festival on May 16.
Library faculty and staff and the Director of Library Services focused 2006-2007 outcomes assessment on the following three areas: Library Department Committee Structure; Library Building; and Collections.
The Library Department will review its committee structure to be sure that it meets our current needs.: A departmental subcommittee reviewed the existing committee structure and made recommendations for changes to the department. The department approved a revised committee structure that includes two new program committees: Identity & Outreach and Technical Services and eliminates or redefines other committees.
The physical facilities of the University Library will be adequate for the resources and services necessary for a 21st-century academic library.:
A university-wide committee was formed to plan for library renovations and addition. The committee and additional library faculty and staff conducted the following activities to move the planning process forward:
The collections of the University Library will meet the curricular, research, and other information needs of the University community.: The Collection Development Librarian, working with other library faculty and the Director of Library Services, initiated a number of projects in addressing this assessment goal, including:
Faculty Search for Coordinator of Technical Services
During the 2006/2007 academic year, the Library Department conducted a search for a Coordinator of Technical Services. Eight applications for the position were received, four of which were judged to meet the minimum qualifications for the position. After conducting interviews, the library faculty recommended that Jesse Holden be offered the position. Mr. Holden has subsequently accepted the position and will begin at the beginning of the Fall 2007 semester.
Staff Training in Technical Services
Faculty and staff have received training in a number of areas relevant to technical services. In late summer 2006, Connie Braun, a Voyager training specialist, offered a multi-day training session on the use of Voyager’s Acquisitions and Serials module. In September, representatives from Baker & Taylor trained library faculty and staff in the use of B&T’s TitleSource III selection and ordering software. After completing the training, library faculty began submitting orders for most monographic titles to the Acquisitions unit through Title Source III. In April 2007, a representative from Blackwell North American (BNA) demonstrated Blackwell’s Collection Manager product, similar to TitleSource III. Since Blackwell and Baker and Taylor are the two vendors which have been approved through the state contract process, the library may need to use the electronic ordering mechanisms of either or both during the 2007/2008 academic year.
As processes are streamlined and developed, new documentation is created. At present, documentation of the revised standing order process is under review.
Since late 2006, appropriate library faculty and staff have been meeting regularly to develop a streamlined process for the handling of standing orders. Responsibility for much of the process has been transferred from the Standing Orders Assistant and the Cataloging Technician to the Periodicals Technician. The ultimate goal is to incorporate handling of standing orders into the workflow already in place for the receipt of other types of subscription materials whenever possible. Some special handling will still be required for particular titles, but the new process is designed to reduce the number of people who must handle each title in most cases. At this point, new procedures have been developed and are in the process of being tested and documented.
LibQual+
With other PASSHE libraries, the Millersville Unviersity Library participated in the LibQual+ survey in Spring 2007.
Singing Needles: Crafting Connections Stitch by Stitch
Library faculty and staff mounted an exhibit focusing on the social, educational, historical, literary, and artistic aspects of knitting, crocheting, quilting, and other needle crafts. On the afternoon of Saturday, February 24, 2007 we hosted a knitting and crocheting session in the Library Living Room, open to all members of the community. Members of the community were also encouraged to donate knitted or crocheted rectangles to the Keep Warm America project.
The Friends of Ganser Library sponsored a fall lecture by Dr. Robert Sayre of the Department of History, “Dear Miss Lizzie: The Civil War Correspondence of Lizzie Brick and the Huffville Boys, 1861-1865,” and a spring lecture by Eric Horst, Director of the MU Weather Information Center, on weather basics at the annual spring dinner.
The Friends also sponsored bus trips to the National Book Festival in Washington DC in September and the King Tut exhibit in Philadelphia in March. More than 150 people went on each of these trips.
The Friends sponsored the Sally Woodward Miller English 110 award. The annual awards are given to students who write the best papers, as determined by a panel of judges, that make use of primary source materials from the University Archives and Special Collections. This year's winners, recognized at the spring dinner, were Rachael Van Sant for "Millersville Revolt of 1881," Alyssa Eichen for "Nineteenth Century Awakening in Millersville," and Amy Wiggins for "Integration of Women into the Medical Field."
The total for the Friends' books sale was $4900, bringing the grand total raised from the 29-year event to $109,969.
Faculty
Scott R. Anderson
Linda Carvell
Jessica George
Marjorie White Greenawalt
Cheryl Lutz
Leo Shelley
Gregory Szczyrbak
William Walters
Marjorie Warmkessel
Teresa Weisser
Support Staff
Janet Dotterer
Thelma Eckerd
Krista Higham
Sally Levit
D'Ann Ressler
Linda Rogers
Sue Rohrer
Deborah Sowers
Loree Strickler
Joan Tollinger
Milta Vega