Performance Standard

Outcomes

Planned Activities

80% of surveyed students, faculty and staff members will agree that at least one library staff member is available for assistance at the reference desk between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Faculty and staff members were not surveyed this year.  79.3% of student respondents agreed that a library staff member is available at the reference desk “most of the time” or more.  75% of community patrons reached the same conclusion.   These results are much higher than in previous years, indicating that the planned activities were effective.  In the upcoming year, this standard will be re-written to gain a better understanding about the overall service of the reference desk. 

Schedule library personnel to work at the reference desk during the designated time periods.

Advertise the reference desk to students during campus tours and bibliographic instruction sessions.

Remind faculty and staff that reference assistance is available at staff/division meetings.

Schedule, advertise and perform training sessions for faculty and staff on the new Voyager online catalog system.

80% of surveyed off-campus students and patrons will agree that the library is open adequate hours.

Off-campus faculty and staff members were not surveyed this year.  86% of student respondents agreed that the library is open adequate hours.  83.3% of community patrons agreed that the library is open adequate hours.  This result is consistent with the findings from the previous three years and indicates a positive trend.  Based on this feedback, the library hours will not be changed in the upcoming year.  However, the performance standard will be changed to address the opinions and attitudes of all constituents of the college – not simply those at off-campus locations.  Assessment methods will continue to determine satisfaction levels.

Advertise the library’s hours on the library web page and handouts.

Inform adjunct faculty and new faculty about the library’s hours and services.

Communicate with local public libraries about interlibrary loan services to off-campus patrons in their areas.

Investigate electronic databases of articles which are accessible from home or off-campus sites.

80% of surveyed students, faculty and staff members will agree that the library’s collections are easily accessible.

Faculty and staff members were not surveyed this year.  86% of students indicated that the library’s collections were easily accessible, and 78% of community patrons reached the same conclusion.  Several respondents indicated that they “didn’t know” if the collections were easily accessible.  From 1998 to 2001, over 90% of students, faculty, staff and community patrons indicated that the library’s collections were easily accessible.  This decline is troublesome since the library has not changed cataloging, filing systems, shelf arrangement or floor plan.  Emphasis will be placed on the planned activities to see if outcomes improve.  The standard of 80% will be maintained.

Schedule library staff to “read” library shelves to find misplaced material.

Train library staff to find missing material and to make corrections.

Develop proper signage in the library for patrons.

Provide an adequate number of computer workstations for patrons.

80% of surveyed students, faculty, and staff members will agree that they are able to check out material in five minutes or less.

Faculty and staff were not surveyed this year.  47.5% of students agreed that they are able to check out library material in five minutes or less.   52.5% indicated that they “didn’t know.”  52.7% of community patrons indicated that they could check out library in five minutes or less with 44.4% saying they “didn’t know” how long it took.  Like the past four years before this assessment, the performance standard was not met, and again, it is because most patrons do not know how long they must wait for their material to be checked out.  In an attempt to solve this problem, the performance standard will be re-written.  None of the library’s current expense budget was spent on equipment – indicating a possible shortcoming.  All library personnel, including student employees, received training on process changes and software updates.  Employees were scheduled on a weekly basis to ensure adequate coverage.

Schedule library personnel at the circulation desk to ensure that assistance is available.

Train library personnel to handle circulation requests efficiently.

25% of the library’s current expense budget will be spent on equipment needed to improve the speed of circulation transactions.

80% of students completing the Pathfinder to the Library Workbooks I & II will receive a grade of B or above.

83.4% of students completing the Pathfinder workbooks during Summer (2001), Fall (2001), and Spring (2002) received a grade B or above.  This exceeds the set performance standard of 80%.  All planned activities were performed this year.  In addition, preparation began to transfer the Pathfinder workbooks from the hardcopy format to online.  This performance standard will continue to be monitored to see if this change has an effect on students’ test scores.

Provide an overview for students of the subject material discussed in the Pathfinder Workbook I and explain the related assignments.

Provide an overview for students of the subject material discussed in the Pathfinder II and explain the related assignments.

Provide tours and training sessions for students enrolled in English 101/102.

Work with faculty members to ensure that students understand the material.

80% of students and faculty will agree that the new, Internet based library skills instruction format is helpful/effective in learning about libraries.

72% of students completing the online Pathfinder workbook for English 101 determined this format to be “helpful,” “very helpful,” or “most helpful.”  The online workbook for English 102 students was not completed during this academic year.  A 72% approval rating for the online Pathfinder I workbook is a good start.  The evaluation of this standard was limited due to the unavailability of the online Pathfinder II workbook.  This workbook must be finished prior to the start of the fall semester.  A SMART Board has yet to be secured along with the related media equipment.  To assess the bibliographic instruction efforts and the implementation of the new format, this standard will be revised for next year.  Evaluation will focus on the presentations for specific courses and the content of the supportive web pages.  

Update the library’s Pathfinder workbooks and place them on the library’s web page.

Write new library assignments for English 101 and 102 students and place them on the library’s web page.

Secure funds to purchase a “rear SMART projection system” to aid in the delivery and instruction of the Internet based lessons.  Cost = $20,000.

Learn to use the new technology and demonstrate its abilities to interested faculty

80% of surveyed students, faculty and staff members will agree that interlibrary loan orders are filled within three weeks after a request has been made.

Faculty and staff were not surveyed.  Only 13.1% of students indicated that ILLs were filled within three weeks, and only 22.2% of community patrons reached the same conclusion.  The remaining respondents all indicated they “did not use this service” and were unable to judge.  5% of the library’s current expense budget was spent on software upgrades for electronic ILLs.  Patrons were notified about their ILL arrival on the same day.  A new ILL web page was set on the library’s web page.  This standard needs to be modified to assess only those faculty, staff, students and community patrons who have actually used the interlibrary loan service.  Until this is done, the attainment of this performance standard is highly unlikely. 

15% of the library’s current expense budget will be spent on equipment needed to bring about faster ILL transactions.

Work with the computer services department to include the ILL form on the new Intranet.

Notify patrons that their requested material is available on the same day that the material arrives via phone and/or email.

80% of surveyed students, faculty and staff members will agree that the electronic resources collection contains sufficient, quality material.

81.8% of students agreed that the electronic databases and resources contain “good” or “adequate” material, and 72% of community patrons reached the same conclusion.  Most of the remaining respondents indicated that the “didn’t know.”  Faculty and staff were not surveyed.  Nearly 15% of the library’s book budget was spent on the purchase of electronic resources.  Faculty input was received from some divisions, but not all.  Most faculty assistance involved the Division of Biological Sciences and the Division of Physical Sciences.  Workshops were attended at the Kentucky Library Association, but other conferences must be attended that directly focus on electronic resources.  ProQuest online was added this year to accommodate more technical education students in nursing and information technology.  Approximately 18% of the library’s current expense budget was spent on printer cartridges and computer repairs with leases amounting to about $1200.  Although this standard has been repeatedly met from one year to the next, more information is needed to learn the strengths and weaknesses of individual databases.  Next year, each electronic database will be evaluated in lieu of this performance standard.

20% of the library’s book budget will be spent on electronic resources.

Solicit help from faculty and staff when developing the library’s electronic resources.

Attend state and local workshops on electronic databases to keep abreast of changes within this format.

Acquire electronic resources (and install if necessary) within one month after selection.

Notify patrons about the availability of new electronic resources within two weeks after installation via e-mail, The Green Street Journal, and handouts.

40% of the library’s current expense budget will be spent on maintaining the library’s computers, related supplies and accessories.

80% of surveyed students, faculty and staff members will agree that the periodical collection consisting of magazines, journals and newspapers contains sufficient, quality material.

This survey question was accidentally omitted this year and cannot be reported for students.  16.6% of the library’s book budget was spent – up from the anticipated 11%.  Increase in title costs did not permit the achievement of this goal.  Feedback was received from faculty members from all divisions for the enhancement of the periodical collection, and written reviews were consulted.  Ebsco was used as a vendor this past year, and some savings were realized, but the increased title costs surpassed all vendor savings.  New periodical listings were posted to the library’s web page since the distribution of information via e-mail was not feasible.  The periodical hardcopy collection was reduced by nearly fifty titles to a new total of 185.  This standard will be measured next year for internal purposes, but no more reductions are expected in the budget or title count.

11% of the library’s book budget will be spent on the periodical collection.

Solicit help from faculty and staff when developing the periodical collection.

Read Katz Magazines for Libraries and other evaluative sources to keep abreast of needed titles for the periodical collection.

Acquire selected materials through Ebsco, or another vendor to minimize shipping, handling, and labor costs.

Process new periodical material the same day that it arrives.

Notify library patrons about new periodical material via e-mail and handouts.

Reduce the collection size to free up budgetary funds for the reference and circulating collections.

80% of surveyed students, faculty and staff members will agree that the audio-visual collections contain sufficient, quality material.

66.2% of students agreed that the audio-visual collections contain “adequate” or “good” material, and 58.3% of community patrons reached the same conclusion.  Most respondents indicated that they “didn’t know” and less than 1% said that the collection was “less than adequate” or “poor.” Faculty and staff members were not surveyed.  Although circulation records indicate and increase in the use of audio-visual materials, lack of respondent knowledge about the audio-visual collection indicates that many are still unaware of its availability.  Those that are aware and have used this collection appear generally satisfied with it.  More emphasis needs to be placed on advertising this collection and service during bibliographic instruction and library tours.

10% of the library’s book budget will be spent on audio-visual resources.

Solicit help from faculty and staff when developing the library’s audio-visual resources.

Keep abreast of changes in audio-visual resources by reading related trade journals.

Acquire audio-visual materials within two weeks after selection.

Notify library patrons about new acquisitions via e-mail, The Green Street Journal, and other handouts.