Annual Report 1997/98

From the Executive Director

Strong and vibrant libraries are at the center of great universities. The James Branch Cabell Library on the Academic Campus and the Tompkins-McCaw Library on the Medical College of Virginia are resources that unite our diverse university. The popularity of the libraries and the respect they have earned among the students and faculty are a result of a focus on service by a dedicated staff.

The celebration of the centennial of the Tompkins-McCaw Library is another important milestone in the progress of VCU libraries towards increased stature, visibility and leadership. This centennial builds on the millionth volume celebration, the leadership of VCU libraries in the establishment of the Virtual Library of Virginia, and the development of digital libraries.

The library continues to re-invent itself in a variety of ways and is working with the Office for Information Technology to develop a strong strategic plan. VCU's libraries connect students and faculty to global resources. At the same time they provide a strong local connection by faculty and staff who provide education and assistance in using electronic and other resources. Through cooperation with the rest of the university community and other libraries around the world, University Library Services will continue to acquire and make available the scholarly resources faculty and students will need to work in the 21st century.

-- Barbara J. Ford

User Services

• The Web has taken on increasing importance in the libraries, becoming a gateway to an abundance of electronic resources, instructional activities, outreach, and reference services. The libraries' homepage continues to be one of the most frequently accessed on campus. A new, professional design enhanced the appearance and consistency of the pages, with a growing number of new and revised subject guides to assist users in navigating their way to information. Also of note is a large and growing list of electronic journals, Web-based tutorials, interactive floor maps, presentation of collections held in the libraries, and online exhibits. The ULS help page was redesigned to give clearer access to help topics, and an experimental interactive library skills quiz was added to this page. A Java tutorial for Boolean searching was created, as was a dissertation Web page with interactive links to the library Web catalog. Most of the library publications are now available on the Web, facilitating 24-hour access and more timely revisions.
  
  
• The phrase "library without walls" came closer to reality. Access to the libraries' electronic resources was given a tremendous boost by using names in the VCU One Card database to create a library "proxy server," authenticating off-campus users. For a significant number of resources, it is no longer necessary to visit campus to have equal access.
  
  
• Tompkins-McCaw Library has increased the number of bibliographic training sessions it is offering in response to the growing complexity of Web and other electronic resources. There has been a payoff in larger number of students enrolling in classes, resulting in a 38 per cent increase in attendance. New user aids were created for Web versions of Medline, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. New courses were developed on using the library’s proxy server and on searching Medline with Internet Grateful Med and PubMed. A pilot program for M-III surgery students on searching and evaluating Internet resources was created. There was an increased interest from MCV Hospital personnel for library educational programs.
  
  
• On the Academic Campus, University Computing Services’ staff and ULS faculty and staff presented Internet Brown Bag lunches. ULS classes for university faculty, staff and students included "Statistical Sources on the Internet" and "Censuses -- The Roadmap to the U.S. Economy", among others. A new instructional and outreach initiative was also launched -- Brown Bag lunch sessions targeted at specific departmental audiences. Initial sessions were scheduled for the Arts, Business, Education, Engineering, English/History, and Social Work.
  
  
• Cabell Academic User Services faculty and staff provided library instruction and outreach services to undergraduate and graduate level classes. For example, Government Documents faculty and staff provided instruction on federal and state government information, including census, defense, environmental management, fashion, international trade, marketing, social work, urban studies and planning, scientific and technical reports, statistics. As a second example, following the migration of databases from the mainframe to other platforms, Instruction and Outreach faculty and others offered workshops on database alternatives.
  
  
• To provide higher quality and more reliable printing services to faculty and students, the library and other units in the university contracted with a vendor to implement a pay-for-print operation. Segments of the student population were vocal in their opposition to having to pay for printing, leading OIT to reduce charges, which helped to quiet objections in the latter half of the year. For the first time, the library could offer color and laser printing to the public. By spring, the library was able to reduce costs further through duplex printing.
  
  
• Users now find it easier to renew books, with the revision of a Web-based renewal form and with the implementation of telephone renewals. Web-based forms for requesting holds and recalls and delivery services were also revised.
  
  
• A reduction in staff accelerated the library’s decision to move most of its mainframe databases to a client-server environment. Almost all those databases are now running on remote servers at a vendor’s site and accessible through a Web interface. The library elected to retain running Medline on a local server to ensure better response time, but its mainframe version was similarly discontinued. At the very close of the year, Medline was upgraded to a more advanced version, permitting, among other things, more sophisticated searching, more complete information, and the potential for automatic updating for better currency.
  
  
• Cabell services to persons with disabilities were enhanced through re-conditioning the Perkins Brailler, installing DecTalk on the public adapted computer workstation, and re-loading JAWS screen reading software on the public adapted computer workstation.
  
  
• A new relationship between the university and the Medical College of Virginia Hospital affected operations within the library. The most visible impact was the closure of the Hospital Library, which served for many years as an outpost to the Tompkins-McCaw Library. Serials, monographs, and multimedia materials from the Hospital Library were integrated into the Tompkins-McCaw Library collection.
  
  
• As part of the new Ph.D. in Allied Health Sciences, the Tompkins-McCaw Library developed a Health Informatics course proposal.
  
  
• Tompkins-McCaw Library was awarded a $33,000 contract from the national Library of Medicine for the initiation of the "Western Virginia AIDS Information Outreach Project."
  
  
• In response to user needs, the Tompkins-McCaw Library began offering e-mail access in the computer lab.

Collections

• The library continues to add to its electronic holdings. Important full-text databases unveiled in the past year include the African-American Biographical Database and LION (Literature Online). Other major electronic acquisitions included Periodicals Contents Index, the Web versions of Lexis-Nexus Universe and Dow Jones News Retrieval, and a growing collection of electronic journals. Significant effort was focused on publicizing the new acquisitions to increase usage. Catalog records were created to provide convenient links to the full text when using the catalog’s Web interface.
  
  
• As part of a continuing shift in formats and to reduce costs, print subscriptions from certain publishers were canceled in favor of electronic delivery.
  
  
• The Virginia Black History Archives Project was reorganized, making guides to collections and other resources available through its Web site and scanning only if digitization enhances the collection. Staff are committed to both working more closely with area repositories and with faculty and to making sure collections are known to professors and used by the appropriate classes. An exhibit poster and a new brochure for the project were created to promote the collection. A contractor was hired to convert image files in a proprietary format into a more accessible format in preparation for moving the files into the Digital Library.
  
  
• Cabell Special Collections and Archives mounted several exhibits, both on and off the Web. On-site exhibits featured the pop-up book collection, various editions of Cabell's Jurgen, the John L. Clark Jazz Collection, and African-American resources. Web exhibits included "Rarely Seen Richmond," an exhibit of postcards, and "Online Historic Building Survey."
  
  
• The library established a new fund and selection policy for Environmental Studies.
  
  
• A major project to evaluate, deselect, and update the curriculum and textbook collection in Cabell Media Resources resulted in the withdrawal of over 1,600 items. At Tompkins-McCaw, the monograph collection was shifted and duplicates of textbooks were withdrawn as one step to alleviate overcrowding in the stacks.
  
  
• Staff completed a long-standing project to catalog a collection of art exhibition catalogs that had been transferred from the School of the Arts, giving the library one of the largest collections of such catalogs in the nation.
  
  
• The library initiated a project to retrospectively catalog all pre-1994 federal documents and to circulate governmental CD-ROMs. Government Documents continues to create provisional cataloging of older Virginia state publications for the VCU library catalog.
  
  
• The quantity of sound recordings represented in the catalog increased dramatically. A concentrated effort was made to complete the cataloging for a collection of gift recordings of musicals and theatrical productions. In addition, a number of spoken recordings on cassette tape were converted from the old Dewey collection and work was begun on the cataloging of selected vinyl LP's.
  
  
• Tompkins-McCaw Library Special Collections and Archives received the records of the Southside Regional Medical Center School of Nursing and the papers of Evelyn C. Bacon, nurse educator and former ULS volunteer.

Events

• Tompkins-McCaw Library celebrated one hundred years of service to health care professionals with a number of special events. The festivities began in the fall with the unveiling of a banner featuring the Centennial Celebration mark. In October, Tompkins-McCaw Library held Founder’s Day activities to commemorate the founding of the library and to acknowledge MCV Campus authors, many of whom autographed special bookplates for their published works. In December, the library hosted "Tea@TML," where guests were offered behind-the-scenes tours and an opportunity to view centennial exhibits. The year-long activities culminated with a major conference on "Digital Libraries in the New Millennium: Building on Our Past," which drew a national audience. A special staff luncheon was held at the conclusion of the conference and VCU President Eugene Trani joined the library staff for the Second Century Ribbon Ceremony that marked the beginning of the library’s second century of operation.
  
  
• The Eighth Annual Peter N. Pastore Memorial Lecture was held in conjunction with the Tompkins-McCaw Library Centennial Conference on March 13. Henry L. Lemkau, Jr., director of the Louis Calder Memorial Library at the University of Miami, spoke on "Medical Libraries: Where We Have Been, Where We Are Now, and Where We are Going" in recognition of the Tompkins-McCaw Library one-hundredth anniversary.
  
  
• The topic of the 1997 VCU Friends of the Library Fall Program was an important and controversial one: "Libraries, The Internet, Restricted Access: Censorship or Good Taste?" This November 1997 discussion/debate included two Virginians with extensive experience on Internet access and free speech. Virginia Delegate Robert Marshall presented the restricted access position during the program. Rod Smolla, the Arthur B. Hanson Professor of Law at the College of William and Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law, presented the unrestricted access position. Forrest M. (Frosty) Landon, the executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, moderated the lively event.
  
  
• The VCU Friends of the Library, along with the VCU Center for Judaic Studies, sponsored the 1998 Selma and Jacob Brown Lecture in March 1998. Dr. Cliff Edwards, professor of religious studies at VCU for more than 20 years, was the guest speaker. His topic of discussion was "When Bad Things Happen to Anyone: Venturing East of Uz."
  
  
• Dr. Nelson D. Lankford, the Virginius Dabney Editor of the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography and the author of the 1996 book The Last American Aristocrat: The Biography of David K.E. Bruce, 1898-1977, presented "A Virginian Abroad: David Bruce of Staunton Hill and the World" at the 1998 Cabell Lecture. The event, sponsored by the James Branch Cabell Library Associates, was held in April 1998.
  
  
• Also in April, the 1998 National Library Week activities included a library staff appreciation reception, the presentation of the VCU Friends of the Library Student Worker Achievement Awards, instruction and outreach activities at both Cabell Library and Tompkins-McCaw Library, a Preservation Open House, where Preservation Services staff provided advice and simple repairs for personal books and papers, and an Internet Scavenger Hunt, where VCU students, faculty, and staff had a chance to win free photocopies.
  
  
• The 1998 RPI Reunion Weekend library activities in April included a "Walk Down Memory Lane" (a display of newspapers, photographs, yearbooks, and other memorabilia from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s), tours of Cabell Library, and demonstrations of electronic resources.
  
  
• University Library Services is a visible leader among libraries in Virginia. Virginia Commonwealth University hosted a statewide conference in December 1997 for the Virtual Library of Virginia on authentication methods and proxy servers for access to library resources by off-campus and distance education users. The library also sponsored a workshop for area librarians on "Delivering Library Services for Distance Learning: Maneuvering the Curves, Bumps, and Blind Spots." In May 1988, Tompkins-McCaw hosted "The Digital Library: An Oxymoron," a videoconference from the Medical Library Association. Also in May, Cabell Library was the host site for the Virginia Library Association Region IV workshop on "Taming the Wild, Wild West of the World Wide Web."

Technology

• NOTIS, the integrated library system for ULS, was upgraded twice, ensuring, among other features, year 2000 compliance. Most databases that were formerly accessible through NOTIS were shifted to other platforms, reducing the library's reliance upon the mainframe. The library made progress on developing its Web-based interface to NOTIS, although it is not nearly as robust or full-featured yet as the character interface.
  
  
• A year of sustained activity witnessed a number of changes to the PC environment. Staff on the Banyan network migrated to Novell, the Novell public servers were consolidated when the version was upgraded, all operating systems were changed to Windows 95, the CD network was replaced and improved, and a large number of new and upgraded computer systems were installed. Similarly, application software was improved in a number of areas. For the staff, this included first an upgrade to the latest Corel suite, and then the beginnings of a migration to MS Office and Lotus Notes. For the public, this included new patent and trademark software and GIS mapping software.
  
  
• The library's network and server infrastructure was strengthened. New server, repair, and storage rooms were established, new network drops were installed, and all hubs and switches were replaced at Tompkins-McCaw Library. Several of the key library servers were upgraded, as well as software components.
  
  
• The teaching environment on the Tompkins-McCaw Library first floor classroom was enhanced with a system to permit the instructor to monitor and control computers at each student's desk.
  
  
• Cabell Media Resource Services faculty continued evaluations on various Z39.50 client software products for possible use in simultaneously searching catalogs of the Richmond Academic Library Consortium.
  
  
• As a result of an internal audit, system security procedures were reviewed and improved.

People

• Promoting the successful theme of "Global Reach, Local Touch," Executive Director Barbara Ford assumed the presidency of the American Library Association, one of the most prestigious professional library offices in the world. She traveled widely and campaigned tirelessly on such themes as international librarianship, Internet freedom of speech, support for local school and public libraries, and extension of copyright to the digital world.
  
  
• Archivist Jodi Koste, along with Joan Echtenkamp Klein (University of Virginia), was presented the 1998 Publications Award by the Archivists and Librarians in the History of the Health Sciences for their columns in The Watermark and editing the newsletter from 1993-1998.
  
  
• Classified staff members Valencia Jackson and Linette Fields were sponsored by ULS to attend the Virginia Library Association’s Paraprofessional Forum in May. At this session, ULS government documents faculty conducted a presentation on "How to Find Government Documents: Traditional Resources and Internet Web Sites".
  
  
• Several faculty positions were created by redefining existing positions to help the libraries meet the service demands posed by the digital age. These include an Advanced Technologies Librarian and a librarian for instructional technologies.
  
  
• ULS librarians have remained active in professional organizations, including the American Library Association, the Medical Library Association, and state and regional organizations. They continued to play pivotal roles in the Virtual Library of Virginia, including the Steering Committee and committees for collections, user services, technical services, interlibrary loan, and special collections. Librarians also contributed to the profession via a host of books, articles and professional papers, presentations, and book reviews.
  
  
• An unusually large number of professional vacancies, along with budget reductions forcing the elimination of three classified positions, created a certain amount of stress within the organization and made it more difficult to deliver high-quality services to students and faculty. A cooperative attitude, creative workflow, and judicious use of temporary positions has worked to minimize the problems until longer-term solutions can be found. Faculty vacancies included, in Administration, the Fiscal Officer and the Personnel Officer; in Academic User Services, the Electronic User Services position and the Head, Special Collections and Archives; in Health Sciences User Services, the Access Services Manager; and in Network and Technical Services, one vacancy in Acquisitions -- the Assistant Head, and three vacancies in Collection Management (Arts and Humanities, Health Sciences, and Sciences).
  
  
• ULS increased its staff development efforts, both in targeting general staff workshops and in support for individuals to participate in classes and workshops. Computing, diversity, and management headed the list of topics addressed. Cabell Instruction and Outreach faculty completed a reference interview training tutorial using JavaScript.

Facilities

• The physical appearance in both buildings has improved markedly over the past year, with new planning efforts continuing. Work on the first floor of the James Branch Cabell Library culminated in a new circulation desk, new security gates, and a dramatic sign welcoming visitors. Tompkins-McCaw Library also focused on security with new gates and a card access control system. The medical library took a fresh look at signage within the building, increased handicapped access, and installed a new service desk in the Periodicals area. Planning began for the further renovation of the first floor of Cabell Library, a $130,000 initiative supported by the Provost's Office.
  
  
• In cooperation with other units of the Office for Information Technology, a state-of-the-art computer classroom was installed on the second floor of the Tompkins-McCaw Library. The facility will support Leonardo and the Digital Library with capabilities for digital video and other multimedia. When not being used to support the innovative new doctoral program in Allied Health and other classes, the facility will be used as an open lab and to support library users.
  
  
• Several years of effort to equip staff with ergonomic workstations in the main workspace for Network and Technical Services was finished. Along with a new circulation desk, Cabell Access Services also worked on a re-design of its staff work area. The reception area in ULS Administration was redesigned with furnishings more adaptive to technology.
  
  
• In spite of the attention placed on technology and databases, traditional book collections continue to expand at roughly 50,000 volumes a year. Additional shelving was been added to Cabell Library to keep pace with growing collections. Plans are under development to bring relief to the Tompkins-McCaw Library, where collections have taken over virtually all reader space.
  
  
• Security in the libraries was strengthened, including defining a set of duties for evening and weekend security guards. Security guard conduct was addressed, as was scheduling. Modifications were made to the computer classroom on the first floor of Cabell, allowing staff to monitor conduct more easily. Tighter procedures were instituted for staff areas.
  
  
• Late in the academic year, the Office for Information Technology agreed to reallocate space in the Cabell Storage Room to Facilities Management. Cabell Storage Room tenants were convened to begin to address their storage and staging requirements.

Budget and Organization

• There was a modest increase in the acquisitions budget, but not sufficient to keep pace with serial inflation of over 10 per cent.
  
  
• The Web has become a delivery mechanism not only for services to the public, but also for library staff. Many departments and units within the library have developed Intranet nodes on the Web, permitting a more free-flowing and open organization. Policies, procedures, tools, minutes, a calendar, and other documents are increasingly easily available to library faculty and staff.
  
  
• The challenge of managing collections in a changing environment was debated at considerable length. Collection management was reorganized into a team to more effectively select, manage, service and promote resources in all disciplines and formats, adding a component for direct public service.
  
  
• The new relationship of the University to the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals resulted in a new relationship with the library as well. The Hospital Library was dissolved and an operating service agreement hammered out. How to deliver and pay for services to the hospital is still under discussion.
  
  
• Cabell Access Services was reorganized into two sections determined by responsibilities rather than by shifts -- Customer Services and Billing Services.
  
  
• Budget reductions from the university resulted in the permanent elimination of three positions, in addition to a reduction in the permanent acquisitions budget and the operating budget. Vacant positions were used so that no staff had to be laid off. Staff were shifted to maintain essential services in public service areas.
  
  
• All ordering is now being performed online, including both routine library purchases and acquisitions.

Goals 1998/99

Administrative services, leadership and organizational change

• Improve communication between the ULS administration and the staff.
• Encourage and reward leadership and responsibility for planning and implementing change.
• Increase collaboration among staff and units
• Empower the workforce to respond to user needs.
• Organize work for efficiency.

Collections

• Participate in developing new and more cost effective means of scholarly communication in a time of reduced purchasing power.
• Strengthen digital resources while maintaining core traditional collections.
• Enhance, support and promote multimedia.
• Develop user-friendly systems that enhance and expand access to print and digital resources.
• Develop cooperative relationships with consortia and other local and regional libraries to enhance collections.

Technology

• Ensure library systems are Year 2000 compliant.
• Improve the stability and reliability of the networked environment.
• Expand network and enhance staff and public computing environment.
• Improve staff computer expertise.
• Expand and promote access to networked information.
• Plan for the next generation integrated library system.

User Services

• Manage the budget to respond with flexibility to meet the changing needs and expectations of users.
• Increase communication with the University community.
• Enable users to become more information- and network- literate and more effective consumers of information.
• Enhance Web services.
• Develop library service and support for off-site users and distributed learning initiatives.
• Develop patron-initiated services supported by technology.

Facilities

• Improve physical appearance and comfort of the Libraries for users.
• Enhance instructional facilities.
• Increase opportunities for students to work and study collaboratively.
• Renovate the Cabell storage room (B-46) to accommodate Physical Plant, the storage and staging requirements of various storage room tenants, and older volumes from Tompkins-McCaw.
• Improve safety of people and collections in the Libraries.