North Carolina State University Libraries
Annual Report, 2006/2007

I.  Changes in Service Environment

After the completion of the renovation of the D. H. Hill Library’s East Wing in March, students surged into the new learning spaces enthusiastically, especially the Learning Commons.  The Commons offers access to significant technology and information resources, including multimedia tools and the full Unity suite of software applications, help in using those resources, and areas for both collaborative work and self-directed study.  Students filled the Learning Commons for the remainder of the academic year and rated it as one of the most productive and appealing places on campus.  This intellectual and social center has rapidly emerged as a highly valued asset for the university, and new partnerships with faculty and students are being identified based on innovative uses of the space.  The Libraries has raised the bar in terms of students’ expectations, and we anticipate continued intensive use during the 07/08 academic year.

II. Compact Plan: Major Initiatives

Critical Space Needs of the NCSU Libraries (Initiative 1)

• Completed Phase I of the Libraries’ Master Plan to improve the quality and quantity of both collaborative and quiet study space.  The project upgraded the entire East Wing’s building infrastructure, expanded and improved the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC), and introduced the Learning Commons, a new technology-enriched learning space.  A museum-quality exhibit gallery and a reading room with bookshelves dedicated to displaying the scholarship of NC State faculty have made the SCRC more visible and accessible.  Compared to each of the past three years, use of special collections in the new space has already increased by 175%.
• Continued to maximize the use of space in the D. H. Hill Library by relocating the Course Reserves service point from the West (Erdahl-Cloyd) Wing to the Main Circulation Desk.  The move created more student seating space in the West Wing, allowed the library to combine staffing for the merged service points, and provided the convenience of 24-hour, one-stop access to full circulation and course reserves services for faculty and students.

Collections for Researchers and Students (Initiative 3)

• Received a state-funded $113,000 allocation for inflation.  This allocation partially offset the annual impact of inflation on the collections ($450,000) and enabled the Libraries to retain critical journal subscriptions while expanding the amount of digital content available to students, faculty, and staff.
• Through efficient stewardship and one-time appropriations to enhance digital collections and programs, added over 1 million electronic journal articles and 30,000 electronic books to the research collection.  New electronic resources include a collection from JSTOR that provides a number of important architecture and design journals; back-file packages of online scholarly journals from publishers such as Blackwell, Sage, Taylor & Francis, and the Canadian Forestry Society; new digital media offerings for online music and images; two dozen online reference encyclopedias in subjects such as electrical engineering, agriculture, and genetics; and a pioneering subscription to the National Center for Charitable Statistics' (NCCS) Data Web service.
• Enhanced the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) with the addition of papers from the prominent modernist architect and NC State alumnus, Milton Small; the papers of Mary Dell Chilton documenting the discovery of the process that provides the foundation for all genetic manipulation of plants; and a collection containing a number of seminal rare and unique materials in the history of computing and simulation.
• Expanded the SCRC’s digital collections with an additional 1,000 images for the University Archives Photo Collection; over 1,300 images for the B. W. Wells image collection; and over 25,000 images (visual and texts) documenting NC State’s agricultural and 4-H extension and engagement activities during the twentieth century.
• With the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN), joined Portico, a national, member-supported electronic archiving service.  Already a member of the Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe (LOCKSS) Alliance, the NCSU Libraries joins Portico to signal its support of national collaborative electronic archiving efforts and the long-term preservation of electronic journals for use by students and faculty.
• Initiated the TRLN Endeca project to provide one-stop access to the entire body of research collections from the TRLN member libraries and to improve the user experience with new faceted browsing capabilities.  Seventy-one percent of TRLN’s collective titles are unique to a single institution, making this new discovery tool a significant advance.
• Under the direction of Scholarly Communication Librarian Peggy Hoon, led the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Campus Copyright Education Initiative to provide tools for faculty and graduate students in understanding and retaining rights to their scholarly work for future use.

Student Learning in a Technology-Rich Environment (Initiative 4) (see also Initiative 5)

• Launched WolfWikis, a wiki hosting service designed to support the personal, curricular, and scholarly communication activities of students, faculty, and staff at NC State.
• In collaboration with the NCSU Communications Technology Department, extended wireless networking access coverage throughout the entire D. H. Hill Library.

The “Commons” Infrastructure (Initiative 5)

• Opened the Learning Commons with state-of-the art technology.
• Used the Libraries’ first Education and Technology Fee (ETF) base allocation to acquire equipment and software for the Learning Commons, the Digital Media Lab, and other study spaces.

Next-Generation Digital Library (Initiative 7)

• With support from an NC ECHO grant, continued work on the “Green ’N’ Growing” project in the SCRC (http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/specialcollections/greenngrowing/).  Over 25,000 documents and photographs have been digitized, and the NC ECHO review board has cited the project as a model of innovation, efficiency, and quality.  The site provides valuable information about agriculture, women, children, race relations, education, and rural life in North Carolina during the twentieth century.
• Completed work on the “Living off the Land” digital collection in the SCRC (http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/specialcollections/digital/livingofftheland/).  The site provides access to rare and unique items on the state’s tobacco and crop science history dating from 1850 though 1950.
• Using the NC State University Authors Database as a basis, put the new NCSU Scholarly Publications Repository into production with bibliographic citations, full-text of some scholarly articles and of technical reports series produced on campus, and electronic theses and dissertations.  An advisory council has been established to help guide future development of the repository.

GIS: Library Support and Services  (Initiative 8)

• Through a partnership with the Library of Congress, worked with state and local officials to create mechanisms for geospatial data sharing, long-term data archiving, and access methodologies. 
• Led in the planning for the tenth biennial NC GIS Conference, held in Winston-Salem, which had the highest participation from North Carolina's higher education community in its history.
• Provided support for university units such as Transportation, Campus Police, Facilities, COMtech, and others to integrate GIS into NC State's operations.

Security and Safety in the Libraries (Initiative 9)

• In collaboration with the student body president, added a shuttle escort service at D. H. Hill Library to provide safe transportation from the library entrance to the Wolfline bus stop on Hillsborough Street.
• Added large-screen display of real-time Wolfline bus locations (with student-created software by TransLoc, Inc.) in convenient public areas at the D. H. Hill Library.

III. Diversity: Initiatives and progress

Initiatives:  *Continued to recruit librarians who represent ethnic as well as intellectual diversity through the NCSU Libraries Fellows program.  Two of the five incoming fellows (appointments from 2007-2009) are from underrepresented groups.  *Recruited outstanding, diverse undergraduates for the Libraries’ Peer Research Advisor program.  The program trains the advisors to provide peer-to-peer research assistance to other students and encourages individuals from underrepresented groups to learn about career opportunities in libraries.  *Continued a series of programs highlighting the experiences, challenges, and learning needs of minority student groups with a presentation on “Lumbee Identity at NC State” by Brett Locklear, assistant director, Department of Multicultural Student Affairs.  *Addressed current research in diversity with a talk on “Diversity: The Value, the Research, and the Lack of Progress” by Dr. Mark Winston, associate professor at UNC-CH and recipient of the 2005 American Library Association’s Achievement in Library Diversity Research Award.  *Hosted Julie Mayberry, lecturer in the Department of Communication, for a presentation and discussion of gender communication in the workplace.  *Mentored support staff enrolled or interested in graduate education in librarianship with a panel on "Getting Into, and Getting the Most Out of, Library/Information Science Masters Programs" and provided information on scholarship opportunities for minority students.  Staff members Judy Allen-Dodson and RaShauna Brannon were selected as Diversity Scholars by the School of Library and Information Science, North Carolina Central University, and will receive full tuition, fees, and a $5,000 annual stipend.

Progress: Data for combined EPA/SPA hires in 2006/07 show that 18% of appointments to permanent positions were made to persons from underrepresented populations.

IV. Special program reviews, studies, or plans

• In the 2006 Faculty Well-Being Survey, 95.1% of faculty said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the availability of materials through the NCSU Libraries; comments about the library were uniformly positive.
• Began planning for an ice cream shop in D. H. Hill Library’s Erdahl-Cloyd wing, in collaboration with the Food Science Department.  This initiative carries forward the goal of creating comfortable learning spaces for students that combine the social with the intellectual.

V. Research/Grant-funded Activities

• Received a $1.2 million project extension to the library’s cooperative agreement with the Library of Congress and the North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis to preserve geospatial data.
• Received year-two funding of $49,998 for an NC ECHO grant (funded by the Library Services and Technology Act) to digitize items in the SCRC related to the history of N.C. agriculture and extension (4-H and Home Demonstration) (http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/specialcollections/greenngrowing/).
• Received support for the “Living off the Land” project from the N.C. Farm Bureau ($10,000), the N.C. Tobacco Research Commission ($15,000), and the N.C. Tobacco Foundation ($4,867).
• Led a UNC-wide planning grant project for a union catalog, resource delivery system, and comparative collection analysis for the UNC libraries, funded with a grant from North Carolina’s Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) program.  Submitted a subsequent two-year grant proposal for implementation of this plan in 2007-09.
• The NC LIVE trust fund receives $4.5 million annually to provide a rich collection of electronic resources (full-text journals, e-books, e-audiobooks, image collections, and online maps) for all state residents and to support the main server site and staff based at the NCSU Libraries.

VI. Extension: Initiatives and community service activities

• Drew upon the Special Collections Research Center and collaborations with faculty from the Department of Plant Biology to develop and mount B.W. Wells: Pioneer Ecologist, the inaugural exhibition in the Libraries’ new exhibit gallery.  The exhibit highlighted the unique story of a popular, early North Carolina ecologist and the botanically diverse savannah ecosystem he identified in 1920.  In addition to the museum-quality exhibition, the project included a published catalog of essays and images, a new digital collection, and an accompanying web site.
• Participated in hiring a new executive director for NC LIVE.  The director, housed at the NCSU Libraries, guides collection development and develops partnerships across the state.
• Held several well-attended events through the Friends of the Library, including the 2006 fall luncheon featuring Assoc. Professor of History James Crisp; a reading by Jill McCorkle, Lee M. Smith Visiting Professor of English; a lecture by wildlife biologist Karsten Heuer co-sponsored with the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Design; and a reception to celebrate the opening of the Wells exhibit.
• Explored massively multi-player online games (MMOs) at the I. T. Littleton seminar.  Constance Steinkuehler, asst. professor at the U. of Wisconsin-Madison, spoke about cognitive and social skills developed in virtual worlds, such as informal scientific reasoning and collaborative problem solving.
• Awarded Susan Osborne, associate professor of special education, Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Counselor Education, the 2006 NCSU Libraries Faculty Award.  Osborne has been a vocal and ardent supporter of the Libraries’ scholarly communication initiatives.
• As a service to the profession, hosted the first of three institutes of the Association of Research Libraries’ 2007/08 Research Library Leadership Fellows Program.

VII. Honors, awards and recognitions

*The NCSU Endeca catalog was voted #1 in the Top Ten Models of Technology Innovation in a survey of librarians conducted in February 2007 (results presented at the ACRL 2007 National Conference).  *Library Journal designated Emily Lynema as one of its 2007 “Movers and Shakers who are transforming libraries for the future.”  *Andrew Pace was elected vice-president/president-elect of the Library and Information Technology Association division of the American Library Association.  *Jim Tuttle received a Digital Library Federation (DLF) Fellowship for Librarians New to the Profession to attend DLF’s spring forum.  *Kristin Antelman and Wendy Scott were selected to participate in the Association of Research Libraries’ prestigious Research Library Leadership Fellows Program.

VIII. Students: Activities

• Presented the first annual Library Student Assistant of the Year Award to Jeff Curry and Above & Beyond Student Service Awards to Milton V. Cahoon IV, Chris Hill, Prableen Kaur, Robert Waldrup, Christopher Wentworth, and Anna-Marie Zylicz.
• Hosted a week of student-focused activities in March to celebrate the opening of the Learning Commons and to encourage students’ exploration and use of their new learning spaces.

IX. Fund-raising: Private fund-raising successes

• As of May 2007, reached $8.6 million toward the Libraries’ Achieve! Campaign goal of $10 million.  As part of the effort, the Libraries held a special dedication ceremony for its “Building a Dream One Brick at a Time” campaign to thank donors.
• In 2006/2007, raised approximately $700,000 in private monetary gifts and in-kind donations.
• Dedicated the William Rand Kenan, Jr. Library of Veterinary Medicine in honor of one of NC State University’s most generous philanthropists and in recognition of the Randleigh Foundation Trust’s ongoing commitment to the Libraries and the College of Veterinary Medicine.
• Received two pledges of $25,000 each in support of the innovative NCSU Libraries Fellows Program, which is designed to develop leaders for careers in science, engineering, and digital librarianship, and in library management and administration.
• Conducted an end-of-year solicitation encompassing more than 10,000 letters to over 8,200 NC State alumni (10 classes and graduate students) and more than 50 solicitations for new Corporate Partners.

X. Administration: Major new appointments

*David Goldsmith (Associate Director for Materials Management)  *Greg Raschke (Associate Director for Collections and Scholarly Communication)  *Suzanne Weiner (Associate Vice Provost for Library Advancement)  *Robert Farrell (Director of Finance and Business)  *Mary Chimato (Head, Access and Delivery Services)

XI. Recommendations and concerns for the future

• Delay in construction of the James B. Hunt, Jr. Library on Centennial Campus will jeopardize the university’s goals of meeting current and future enrollment needs and of providing a technology-rich environment for students and faculty.  In the short term, addressing the escalating pressures for off-site storage of collections essential for research will place an unsustainable burden on the Libraries’ operating budget.
• Severe inflationary pressures are eroding the library’s purchasing power for collections by 7 to 8 percent ($400,000+) annually.  In addition, new collections of digital media, electronic books, and expanded access to both historic and current electronic journals are in high demand by faculty and students.  New sources of funding must be found if the university is to maintain the strength of the collections while expanding the availability of new digital content, both of which are highly valued by faculty and students and are integral to the success of the university’s mission.
• The Libraries has been aggressive and successful in attracting outstanding talent through a variety of initiatives and programs.  However, recruitment and retention of information professionals, particularly in the sciences and in underrepresented groups, continues to be a challenge.  In addition, state personnel classification of library support positions is woefully outdated and does not recognize the impact of profound changes in the field of information science and knowledge management in the past 30 years.  For both professional and support personnel, funds are needed to implement salary adjustments for retention and to offer competitive salaries for recruitment.

Collection Statistics

Library Services

Library Services (continued), Expenditures, and ARL Ranking

Footnotes:

a) includes NC LIVE resources
b) includes circulation of reserve materials, both print and (beginning in 1998/99) electronic
c) excludes benefits