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Strengths
Electronic information
Delivering access to content; ability to point at information and deliver that information
Collection management: hard to improve on
Instructional program; concerns about scalability and breadth
UC ILL
OAC/Calisphere
HathiTrust
Collections—info itself, mechanisms to point to and access to information
Digital Reference
Other reference models: meet with students
Orientation, outreach efforts
Internal strengths: project gateway helps with efficiency
Website as an avenue for services and content
Collaboration with Writing Program
Existence of assessment program; WASC documentation
Space – collaborative workrooms
Space we provide: need to ensure it is comfortable, but it is great for studying, socializing
Face to face customer service: way we do it and the quality of it is unparalleled
Reshelving time for materials same day
Collections
Access to published resources when people need it (ILL, purchase)
Digitization of textual materials
SCR as a service
Partnership with Writing Program, CRTE
Digital Reference
Digital signage – content
Showcase student and faculty work through exhibits
Space support, instructional support
Communication with our community
Quality and consistency of study and research space we provide to campus
Room reservation mechanism
Speed of shelving new materials
Collaborate with campus partners, e.g. IEW
iPod touch tour
LibGuides getting a lot of use, well-received by faculty
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Weaknesses
Small book collection
Small staff that isn’t growing fast enough
Size of our building
Our forward-thinking ideas may not be well understood by others on campus. Perception of “digital smoke and mirrors”
Self-selected, like-minded group of staff: similarities in problem-solving approaches and vision
Size of the staff forces us to not do things we ought to be doing, e.g. improving accessibility of electronic resources in technical services
No redundancy of skills
Difficulty to communicate some things (ditto Donald’s comment)
Heavily reliant on student staffing
- Requires more management
- Turnover
Concern about things falling through the cracks for reference support
Fledgling partnerships: Office of Research—getting traction with initiatives e.g. open access, support for research
No time to investigate new initiatives
Building, configuration: needs much broader than we can meet both in terms of space and people, means to equip/manage facility
- We are currently the “Student Union”
Structure of building: noise
Staffing—technology support thin
Specialized reference support (language, content, format)
Not well positioned to handle new programs
Archival services: digital, print
Better relationship with Student Services
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Opportunities
Budget crisis forces transformation
UC resources that are untapped (C3 funds?)
UC Library system – resources, benefits from being a part of the larger system
Enhance efficiency through technology – automate repetitive activities
Self-service models: redefining library services
Open access policies
Shift from print to digital
Retrospectively converting analog to digital
This shifts what is made broadly available to people
New models for sharing, access, e.g. ILL of digital materials
Changes in research practice: opportunity to help people
Hybrid learning partnerships, pedagogical partnerships
Community-engaged research
Focus on assessment by UC campus
Online instruction (new UC initiative)
Cloud computing
Mobile computing
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Threats
Budget crisis
Growth of demands: student body, new programs
Salaries and benefits (not growing)
Staffing
Space crunch
Brain drain
Cost of information resources (rising)
Unresponsive, under-resourced partners
Variety of UC campus outlooks
Others view us (UCM) as an outlier
Problems/issues are attributed or attached to us for which we may not be responsible (e.g. printing in the library)
Niche faculty
Traditional expectations – conventional thinking
Shift from print to digital
Proliferation of published resources
Library no longer “gatekeeper” or major provider of information resources
Faculty don’t physically step into the library anymore
NSF data management plan mandate (1/28/2010)
Mandates from external entities that may be unanticipated
Audit requirements (IT, admin)
Diversity of computing devices, operating systems
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