ACRL Administration Questions
The library should be administered in a manner that permits and encourages the most effective use of available library resources. The library director/dean should report to the president or to the appropriate chief academic or instructional officer of the institution. There should be a standing library advisory committee. The responsibilities and authority of the library director/dean should be defined in writing. If there are distance learning services provided, they should be administered in keeping with the suggestions offered in the ACRL Guidelines for Distance Learning Library Services. The library should be administered in accordance with the spirit of the ALA "Library Bill of Rights."
1. How does the library administration encourage effective use of available library resources?
The Library Administration encourages effective use of library resources in a variety of ways. There is an organizational structure of teamwork in place that fosters the publicity, literacy, selection of, and access to library resources. These committees/teams, in particular, have the direct responsibility to effectively encourage use of the library and its resources. The Publicity Team has goals and objectives to publicize library resources through its webpage, newsletters and other marketing endeavors. The Collection Development Team selects and evaluates information resources while the access team insures that library resources are highly accessible for their effective utilization. Subject specialists have been hired to work as liaisons with departments to foster use. Efforts are currently underway by the collection development librarian and subject specialists to announce new acquisitions to library users via the webpage on a regular basis. The Information Literacy program and library subject specialists are charged with the responsibility to teach and encourage the use of the library and its resources to users. The information literacy librarian has been asked to work directly with faculty in general education courses of University College to promote the teaching of library skills to further encourage use of resources. The Library Dean in January, 2008 made a presentation to the faculty of University College on developing partnerships with faculty in library education that promote the effective use of library resources. Library Administrators are also members of the digitization team that is implementing efforts to digitize archival resources to make them more accessible and encourage greater use of these primary library resources that were previously under-utilized by patrons.
Supporting Documentation:
2. What is the statutory or legal foundation (e.g., institutional bylaws) for the library's activities?
The statutory foundation for the library’s activities is derived from Alabama State University’s Institutional Mission Statement and Institutional Goals. The Institutional Mission Statement reads, “Alabama State University is a student-centered, nurturing, comprehensive and diverse public historically black university that is committed to advancing and imparting knowledge to leaders of tomorrow and to fostering critical thought, artistic creativity, professional competence and responsible citizenship. The University serves the region and global community through excellent service, quality instruction, research and public service. The University offers baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees in various disciplines. Furthermore, library activities are also based on the Divisional Mission Statement for Academic Affairs which reads, “The mission of Academic Affairs is to provide a high quality educational experience for a diverse population of students to prepare them, from a global perspective, to demonstrate a mastery of skills and competencies in their chosen field of study. Academic Affairs also offers opportunities for professional development and personal enrichment for faculty, staff, and others pursuing academic reinforcement. Programs at Alabama State University promote effective teaching methodologies, scientifically based research, service, and lifelong learning through continuing education.”
3. To whom does the library director/dean report? Is that reporting relationship appropriate?
The Dean of the University Library reports directly to the Vice-President for Academic Affairs. The Vice-President for Academic Affairs reports directly to the University President and the University President reports directly to the Board of Trustees. The Vice-President for Academic Affairs is responsible for supervising all the academic areas including the Assistant Vice-President for Academic Affairs, the University Library, College of Education, College of Business Administration, College of Arts and Sciences, University College, College of Health Sciences, College of Visual and Performing Arts, Graduate School, Continuing Education, Records and Registration, Admissions and Recruitment, Instructional Resources, and the Testing Center. Based on the organizational structure of the institution, the reporting relationship for the library dean is very appropriate.
4. Is there a document that defines the responsibilities and authority of the library director/dean?
The document that defines the responsibilities and authority of the dean of the library is the job description for that position. The Office of Human Resources is the official repository for all job descriptions on campus.
5. Does the library have a standing advisory committee? Does the committee have adequate classroom faculty and student representation? How effective is the committee?
The Collection Development Librarian serves on the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee as the University Library’s representative. The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee consists of faculty members from various academic departments on campus to include the Department of Communications, Department of Music, Department of Visual and Performing Arts, College of education, College of Business Administration, University College, College of Arts & Sciences, and College of Health Sciences. The goals of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee is to review proposed change requests to the undergraduate curriculum whether it is the name, scope, or existence of a particular course. While there is not student representation on the committee in terms of appointment, all committee members review the needs and requests voiced by the faculty who have received changes from the students, especially the Student Government Association (SGA). The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee is very effective in planning and implementing various initiatives to improve the curriculum, services, and resources for students. Several initiatives of the committee has consisted of review of Fall 2004 proposed revision of the academic structure, Fall 2007 replacement of teaching of COBOL in favor of newer programming languages, Spring 2008 revised concentrations for the Theatre Arts Department, and Spring 2008 combination of English Literature into two survey courses. The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee had a face to face meeting in December 2004. The committee primarily uses memos and packets distributed by the Committee Chair as the main thrust of communication in FY2007 and FY2008. Members of the Committee then phone in to indicate their approval or disapproval of the changes. If the majority indicates disapproval or there are questions regarding the proposed change, a face-to-face meeting will be held. The Committee Chair then sends on the decision to the Vice-President of Academic Affairs. As there has not been a face-to-face meeting, changes made to the curriculum have been approved by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. It is very effective as it provides a representative review from all academic departments regarding proposed changes to the curriculum and then the response is delivered in a centralized manner.
6. How effective are the policies and procedures that determine internal library governance and operations?
The library is composed of several departments: public services, technical services, computer/ media services, the National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture and the Library Administration. Policies and procedures are formalized within all areas of the library that allows for effective management of departments under the supervision of library managers, following the chain of command. In addition to these direct lines of communication that are hierarchical in governance, the library has a structure of teams/committees that allows for open communication in the accomplishing of specific library goals and objectives. The team goals and objectives and team effectiveness are evaluated in a committee on committee (teams) reviews to refine the process. Policies and procedures, and, goals and objectives are reviewed by the library’s planning team that, in monthly meetings, not only looks at the strategic planning process, but also reviews internal issues of importance to the library. Each library team and department representative is encouraged to report on progress in achieving goals and objectives, thereby allowing for participatory management input from team members.
7. Does the library operate in accord with the spirit of the ALA "Library Bill of Rights"?
The University Library operates in accordance with the ALA Library Bill of Rights. The Library serves as a conduit by allowing its users to access a wealth of information in a variety of formats. The University Library’s collections contain a plethora of materials supporting various views related to the courses offered by the University. The collection of this information materialized as a result of direct input from its users---students, faculty and staff. As demonstrated in its Values Statement, the Library supports intellectual freedom and has worked diligently to maintain an open exchange of information within its user community. Relationships have been established with other libraries and consortia to offer users greater access to electronic information and services that support their research needs. The University Library has worked to prevent the implementation of technical solutions that may censor or limit user access to information. True to our values statement, “Serving as the premier information resource for Alabama State University’s academic community”, the Library will continue to support and operate in accordance with the ALA Library Bill of Rights.