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Amanda S. PalmerINFO 651 - Paper 1February 5, 2012
INFO 651 - Paper 12I. IntroductionThe purpose of this paper is to examine firsthand the duties and challenges that academiclibraries face. My previous academic library experiences have been through public libraries and theacademic library of a public four-year institution. In order to expand my understanding of the day-to-dayoperations and standard practices of an academic library, and gain more experience in diverse librarysettings, I have selected to analyze the library on the main campus of Central Virginia CommunityCollege. The purpose of this project is to explore the unique challenges that CVCC and other two-yearinstitutions academic libraries face, and analyze the library’s strengths and weaknesses. This paper, thefirst of four, focuses on CVCC, the role of its library, and some of the challenges that a small library faces.II. Institutional BackgroundCentral Virginia Community College (CVCC) is located in Lynchburg, Virginia and is one of fortybranches of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS); it is the only 2-year institution servingLynchburg and the surrounding counties, a geographic area that is home to over 243,000 people (20102012 College Catalog, 2011). CVCC grants 2-year Associates Degrees, as well as occupational andtechnical certifications (About CVCC, 2011), and serves approximately 5,400 students (CarnegieFoundation, 2010). The school’s Carnegie Classification is as follows (Carnegie Foundation, 2010):Level2-yearControlPublicStudent Population5,420ClassificationCategoryUndergraduate Instructional Program:Assoc: AssociatesGraduate Instructional Program:(not applicable)Enrollment Profile:ExU2: Exclusively undergraduate two-yearUndergraduate Profile:PT2: Higher part-time two-year
INFO 651 - Paper 13Size and Setting:M2: Medium two-yearBasicAssoc/Pub-R-M: Associate's--Public Rural-serving MediumCVCC faculty and staff have dedicated themselves to supporting the Lynchburg community byproviding affordable education that enables citizens to meet regional business’ needs. They are alsofocused on providing transfer opportunities for students who wish to pursue four-year degrees throughVirginia’s public high education system - anyone who earns an Associate’s Degree through a VCCS schoolgains automatic transfer admission to Virginia’s public four-year universities (Mission Statement, 2011;Fast Facts, 2012). In addition, community college enrollment in Virginia is increasing in part due to itsrelatively low cost, but funds are not increasing at the same rate (Hayes, 2010). This increase inenrollment is something community colleges will have to be creative about addressing in the midst of asluggish economy.As part of the VCCS, CVCC is charged with achieving the goals outlined in the Achieve 2015 plan.In short, these goals encourage each institution within the system to focus on five key areas: access,affordability, student success, workforce, and resources (Achieve 2015, 2012). CVCC is accredited by theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS Self Study at CVCC, 2011).III. Library BackgroundThe CVCC Library does not have its own building, or even its own name. The library is located onthe first floor of Bedford Hall on CVCC’s main campus (the school also conducts classes through localhigh schools and other institutions). The building and library area are centrally located for ease ofaccess, but this means that at least for the time being the library space, including all of its resources,offices and study space, is restricted to a few rooms. The library is open Monday through Friday duringnormal business hours and also on Saturday mornings. The library’s staff is relatively small, with onlyfour full-time and five part-time employees (Departmental Directory, 2011) - it is important to note that,at least in the online directory, library employees’ faculty status (or lack thereof) is not mentioned. In
INFO 651 - Paper 14addition, library staff is only listed by name in the CVCC general directory and not anywhere on specificlibrary sites. The only contact information given are one phone number and one email address which arefor the library as a whole, and not for any specific person or department.When speaking with the Library Director, Michael Fein, about working with CVCC on this project,he expressed concern that the small size of the library’s staff would hinder my ability to meet withlibrarians and collect enough information for the project (M. Fein, personal communication, January 25,2012). This has so far proved to be accurate as neither he nor other librarians were able to scheduleinterviews with me before the deadline for this assignment. In addition, it is not clear who Mr. Feinreports to, and how the hierarchy of employees below him is organized.The size of the library’s collection is not posted on their website, nor are the names of specificjournals or other publications to which they subscribe. Databases are listed alphabetically and bysubject. The CVCC Library, in addition to offering print resources in-house and through interlibrary loanagreements with other schools in the VCCS, offers a number of electronic resources through agreementswith EBSCOHost, Safari Books Online, and VIVA (Library Information Reference Page, 2011). The CVCCLibrary website (http://www.cv.cc.va.us/Library/default.asp) is straightforward and offers access tothese resources as well as the library’s online catalog and a chat reference service. Since it serves a verydiverse population with wide-ranging experience with library resources, there are also a number of linkson this page to exactly what the library can and can’t do for students, as well as instruction for usingmany of the resources; they also feature the Google Scholar and Ask.com internet search engines ontheir main resource page.While the library offers electronic resources and has a number of computers available for publicuse, the IT department and library staff seems to be separate. Campus IT serves the entire college and isnot listed as part of the library’s staff or faculty, and each has listed separate 5-year departmental goals
INFO 651 - Paper 15(Strategic Long Range Plans, 2011). There is no library-specific strategic plan available online, but theirCollection Development policy is (Collection Development Policy, 2011).IV. Reflection and ConclusionI was able to visit the CVCC Library informally near the beginning of this quarter, and I found thefacility to be small but welcoming. The outside of the building is nondescript, but the interior feels opendespite the relatively small space the library utilizes. The print resources, while not great in number,appeared to cover a range of topics, and the numerous computers and ample study space (tables,cubbies, and rooms) create an environment that facilitates learning. Given the diverse student body andthe broad range of general education classes being taught on campus, the CVCC Library seems wellprepared to offer its students consistent and quality information services.Because of the diverse student body, it is evident that the library spends much of their efforteducating students on decidedly non-library activities, such as teaching students where to get theirstudent ID cards and what they are used for. But there are also highly detailed but concise tutorials andQuickstart Guides (in both video and PDF form) about various aspects of library services that will guideeven the most inexperienced patron. Every library faces the challenge of making sure that the strictlyacademic is not overshadowed by the important but seemingly mundane, and vice versa. But the factthat CVCC is a community college makes this especially true, because the population they serve willrange from the highly educated to the information illiterate, and everything in between.I have yet to determine if the small staff is an issue in determining the library’s success. I amcurious to see how specific duties (cataloging, reference desk supervision, etc.) are divided among sucha small group of people who are only listed online by their full-time or part-time employment status andnot by their actual job description; it’s impossible to tell without speaking with them firsthand. While Iwas evaluating local academic libraries to work with for this project, CVCC was my first choice, despitethe abundance of four-year colleges in the area (Lynchburg College, Liberty University, and Sweet Briar
INFO 651 - Paper 16College, to name just a few). But it was nearly impossible to get in touch with them. It took five days forthem to get back to my email, and even then I had to call the library and Michael Fein to getconfirmation that I could work with them on the project. I understand that my request was probably notone they see every day and perhaps warranted more consideration and a longer response time, but Ihope that this is not the norm for everyday reference inquiries from students. I was also a bitdisappointed that no library staff was able to meet with me in time and offer insight into this portion ofthe project, but understand their time constraints and look forward to meeting with them andexamining this area in Paper 2.
INFO 651 - Paper 17V. ResourcesCVCC. (2011). 2010-2012 college catalog. Retrieved 2012/CVCC. (2011). About CVCC. Retrieved from http://www.cv.cc.va.us/About/default.aspCVCC. (2011). Collection development policy. Retrieved tion.aspCVCC. (2011). Departmental directory. Retrieved aspxCVCC. (2011). Library information reference page. Retrieved rence.aspCVCC. (2011). SACS self study at CVCC. Retrieved from http://www.cv.cc.va.us/SACS/default.aspCVCC. (2011). Strategic long range plan. Retrieved from . (2011). Mission statement. Retrieved from http://www.cv.cc.va.us/SLRP/Mission.aspCarnegie Foundation. (2010). Central Virginia Community College: Lynchburg, Virginia. Retrieved lookup listings/view institution.php?unit id 231697&start page institution.php&clq %7B%22ipug2005 ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22ipgrad2005 ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22enrprofile2005 ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22ugprfile2005 ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22sizeset2005 ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22basic2005 ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22eng2005 ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22search string%22%3A%22central virginia community s, H. (2010). Virginia’s community colleges see record enrollments: Community colleges see recordgrowth and younger students. Retrieved /article/all-about-the-moneyVirginia’s Community Colleges. (2012) Achieve 2015. Retrieved irginia’s Community Colleges. (2012). Fast facts. Retrieved fromhttp://www.vccs.edu/WhoWeAre/FastFacts.aspx
CVCC grants 2-year Associates Degrees, as well as occupational and technical certifications (About CVCC, 2011), and serves
