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2005/2006 Annual Report

 

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Peabody Library Annual Report 2005/2006
By Sharon Weiner, Director

"Thanks so much for your help and taking such good care of our students. It really makes a difference."
Administrator

"Peabody's library services are unmatched."
Faculty

"I just love y'all at the library. Everyone is so thoughtful, efficient, and delightful to work with."
Peabody administrator

"You guys are impressive! The library is full of people who willingly provide more and better service than patrons expect or knew that a library could provide."
Student

"I am very impressed with the spaces you have created...Thank you for letting me see how innovative a library space can be."
Mother of a student

"I was a libraryphobe before coming here to begin my doctorate, and now I am happy each time I have an excuse to walk through your doors."
Student

"I wonder what would happen if the whole world was as flexible and as accommodating as you guys."
Faculty

"I love coming to this library, it is very inviting and very classical at the same time."
Faculty

"Your staff really understand the concept of customer service! :-) I am most grateful for everyone's help."
Student

"Thank you very much for thinking about us and sending the special issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education."
Administrator

"You and your staff have been so helpful in all the many requests we have had in the past year. Besides the traditional information functions, we more and more rely on the library for space to hold events, teach courses, prepare course materials, and defend dissertations."
Administrator

"You are a genius. I followed the website, and found a dozen other examples and will be able to do this on my own next time. Thanks a lot."
Faculty

"What great service! Your help is much appreciated."
Faculty

"I simply cannot tell you enough how wonderful y'all are... truly an asset to Peabody."
Administrator

"I am always so impressed with all the things that you do over in Peabody!"
Librarian

"You are indeed an angel and I am delightedly grateful. You've made it possible for me to complete the bibliography for an article in an encyclopedia for which much, much thanks."
Non-affiliated researcher

"With the books that I am receiving from the library, I finally feel that I am getting value for the money (over $40k already) I have paid for tuition!! Thank you very, very much."
Student

"You are awesome thanks!"
Student

"You totally rock!"
Faculty

Introduction.

There was much activity in the Library this year due to the attractiveness of the facility and the strong service philosophy and networking activities of the staff. The Library has achieved its vision of becoming vital to the mission of Peabody College and Vanderbilt University; it has become an agent for positive change for the University and for the library profession. Following are the highlights of the year.

We received national recognition. The December "Architectural Issue" of Library Journal included a photo of the beautifully renovated Library. Dean Camilla Benbow described the Library's transformation in a case study in the book, Higher Education in the Internet Age: Libraries Creating a Strategic Edge by Patricia Senn Breivik and E. Gordon Gee (Praeger, 2006), pp. 287-91.

The library hosted a planning meeting of the leaders of the National Forum on Information Literacy. During their visit, Dr. Lana Jackman and Dr. Patricia Breivik discussed information literacy with administrators and librarians from Vanderbilt at a lunch hosted by the Library.

The Library's Grand Reading Room was the site for the filming of a public service announcement by State Farm Insurance for the NCAA. Their donation purchased a sculpture by HOD senior Sean Kelley, which is located on the third floor in the hall.

Planning for the first Peabody Academic Library Leadership Institute took place. Sharon Weiner and Dr. Patricia Breivik were Co-Chairs. The purpose of the Institute was for library administrators to develop an understanding of the higher education environment in which libraries exist. This Institute was part of the series of new Peabody Professional Institutes first held in Summer 2006.

The library terrace was dedicated on the day before graduation in honor of the Niebart family. Chancellor Gee remarked during the ceremony that the library was an excellent example of a 21st century library.

For more detailed information, see the Library's monthly reports.

Statistics.

205,278 patrons entered the library (increase of 4% over 2004/05)
17,100 average number of patrons who entered the library each month

15,921 items charged out (increase of 3% over 2004/05)
1,799 interlibrary loans filled (decrease of 13% over 2004/05)

886 room reservations made

7,897 questions answered (no change from 2004/05)
2,439 reference questions answered (increase of 29% over 2004/05)
208 funding announcements distributed (decrease of 2% over 2004/05)
85 research consultations (increase of 45% over 2004/05)

48 library instruction sessions for 1,388 people (sessions increased by 25% over 2004/05)
24 tours for 43 people (same number of tours as 2004/05)

13,122 electronic reserve pages scanned (decrease of 43% over 2004/05)
27 courses and 161 items processed for print/media reserves

Planning and Assessment.

The following planning and assessment activities occurred:

Promotion and Outreach.

The Peabody Merger Oral History Project continued. Molly Dohrmann (Special Collections) continued to interview people who experienced the merger. The project was partially funded by Dr. Hal Ramer. The interviews will be transcribed. Spoken excerpts will be selected and linked to a "Voices of Peabody" web page.

Outreach to the alumni of the Peabody library science program continued. Mr. Robert Bohanan, Deputy Director of the Jimmy Carter Library and Archives, gave a presentation on the history of presidential libraries during Homecoming Weekend. Dr. Jessie Carney Smith and Dr. Ernest Heard gave programs during informal lunches in the Fireside Room.

We developed an exhibit in memory of Dr. Lloyd Dunn for the Grand Reading Room. Artwork by the illustrator of the childrens book series "The Mad Scientists' Club" was also on exhibit. We displayed books from the collection that changed monthly according to a theme.

The Tennessee Performing Arts Center promoted the Bert Roller Collection in program flyers for the musical "Little Women."

Lee Ann and Lara Beth organized a Curriculum Materials Showcase for faculty before the fall semester to highlight new materials.

Services.

Stacy's creative desktops provided essential information in a very visible manner to users of the public workstations.

Eli's 24-hour turnaround time for reserves was highly satisfactory to faculty and students.

Brian Christens did an excellent job of providing instruction, consultation, and maps using census data from the Census Information Service. The service will be expanded to be a campus-wide GIS service and transferred to Heard Library on July 1.

Service improvements:

Curriculum Support.

Due to Leslie and Lee Ann's active and ongoing promotion and networking with Peabody administrators and faculty, we were involved in many student and new faculty orientation activities. The greatest amount of activity occurred in August, but we also contacted each new graduate student who entered programs in January. This personal contact with the students helps with their academic integration into the university and therefore promotes retention and program completion.

Sharon attended meetings of the Peabody HOD Coordinating Committee every other week. She developed proposals for integrating information literacy competencies into the curriculum.

Leslie produced a Library Database Comparison Chart so that students will have information to help them select the best databases for their research topic. She prepared a Menu of Instruction Topics from which faculty can select topics for library instruction.

Collections and Electronic Resources.

Bryan did an excellent job of keeping the stacks in order and coordinating the new books display. He also maintained the book sale shelves, which resulted in revenue of $338 for the library.

Lara Beth provided outstanding service to patrons of the Curriculum Materials Center, Youth Collection, Test Collection, and Curriculum Design Studio. In addition, she added notes to the ACORN records of award-winning youth books so that patrons can now search the catalog for award winners.

In collaboration with other Heard libraries, we acquired access to the JSTOR IV collection of electronic journals, the ScienceDirect Psychology backfile, and backfiles of the Journal of Marketing in Higher Education and the Journal of Social Service Research.

We transferred all of the books that were in the ML and MT classification sections to the Music Library.

The library received book and CD donations from:

We initiated subscriptions to these new journals:

We cancelled subscriptions to:

Facility.

Karen did an outstanding job of making sure that the heavily-used building was always in good repair and clean. This meant identifying and following up on problems daily. She also handled the numerous room reservations and accompanying questions and arrangements.

Chris continually monitored the library's workstations and kept the software in the Learning Commons up-to-date. He promptly responded to many questions from patrons and the staff about technology.

Remodeling of the third floor added 1 group study room, 1 small reading room, and 3 staff offices. Staff who had offices in remote areas moved to more visible offices. As a result, there is more interaction between staff and patrons, further promoting our patron-centered philosophy of service.

Other improvements were:

The following are some of the groups that reserved meeting rooms:

Dissertation defenses
EDUC 2115, 3070, 3230, 3900
French tutoring
Heard Library GIS Coordinator Search Committee, Meeting Management Team, Library and Information Technology Services, Primo Team, Web Update Team
HOD 1000, HOD 1700, 2260, 3621
Ingram Scholars
Iris Cafe Managers
Iris Center
ITS Staff
LPO 3340
LPO Masters Students
Oasis Center
Peabody Library Advisory Committee
Peabody Professional Institutes
PSYC 1150
Special Libraries Association
SPED 2030
Vanderbilt Employee Celebration lecture
Vanderbilt Women's Dissertation Group
Violence Prevention Project

The following are some of the events that were held in the library:

Center for Evaluation and Program Evaluation Institute
George Peabody Birthday Celebration
HealthPlus screenings
Heard Library retirement reception
Library Science Alumni lunch programs
National Forum on Information Literacy program
Parents Weekend reception
Peabody College Reunion
Peabody Dean's Staff Holiday Lunch
Peabody Faculty meetings
Pre-K Institute
Principals Leadership Academy programs
Robert Penn Warren Center program

Library Advisory Committee.

The Library Advisory Committee met three times during the academic year. The members of the Library Advisory Committee were:

Mark Bandas (Assistant Vice Chancellor, Housing and Residential Education)
Prof. Sally Barton-Arwood (SPED)
Prof. James Hearn (LPO)
Ralph Knapp (Peabody College Assistant Director of Information Technology)
Prof. Ann Neely (Chair)
Prof. Georgene Pion (P&HD)
Prof. Isaac Prilleltensky (HOD)
Prof. Debbie Rowe (T&L)
Sharon Weiner (Library Director)
Jackie Wood (Development and Alumni Relations)

Student Representatives:

Amy Mart
Stacy Tolos
Barbara Washington

Library Staff.

We celebrated staff milestones and achievements:

This is a list of the Peabody Library staff and student assistants:

Chris Benda
Bryan Campbell
Brian Christens
Leslie (Boyd) Foutch
Lee Ann Lannom
Lara Beth Lehman
Eli Moody
Stacy Owens
Karen Swoopes
Sharon Weiner

Student Assistants:

Charlotte A. Agger
Yaw O. Awuah
Eileen R. Bouldin
Thomas (Chris) Brown
Sherrod D. Camp
Nathan K. Cearley
Anne E. Childress
Amanda K. Condon
Sherry K. Culbertson
Lilia Drovnikova
Samira M. Halabi
Joel W. Jones
Ereni Kouladis
Adrian F. Reif
Melinda R. Rogers
Emily C. Skelton
Leon A. Solimani
Meghan A. Still
Charles K. Watts

Professional Activities.

Staff served on the following committees:

Heard Library Center for Academic Life/Shared Services Subcommittee (Boyd)
Heard Library Circulation and Access Committee (Campbell)
Heard Library Collections Committee (Lannom)
Heard Library Directors Council and Library Management Council (Weiner)
Heard Library GIS Task Force and GIS Coordinator Search Committee (Weiner)
Heard Library Journal Club Team (Foutch)
Heard Library ILLIAD Committee (Campbell)
Heard Library MetaLib Implmentation Team (Benda)
Heard Library Meeting Management Team (Swoopes)
Heard Library Research Services Committee (Foutch)
Heard Library SFX Team (Benda)
Heard Library Space Planning and Utilization Committee (Weiner)
Heard Library Technology Training Coordinators (Benda)
Heard Library Technology Support Coordinators (Benda)
Peabody Committee on Teaching (Weiner)
Peabody Curriculum Committee (Lannom)
Peabody Executive Committee (Weiner)
Peabody Freshman Commons Committee (Weiner)
Peabody HOD Coordinating Committee (Weiner)

Sharon Weiner continued to work with library directors from the top 30 education schools on planning for a national Education Information Commons and on a proposal for a special issue of Teachers College Record on education informatics. She served on the editorial board of Tennessee Libraries, as Chair-Elect of the Education Division of the Special Libraries Association, and on the Executive Board of the Special Libraries Association Southern Appalachian Chapter.

Professional Development.

Staff attended many professional development activities. Some of the highlights were:

ACRL/Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians (Weiner)
American Library Association Mid-Winter and Annual Meetings (Lannom)
Association of Mental Health Librarians Conference (Foutch)
Children's Literature Tour of New England (Lehman, Swoopes)
Living the Future (Foutch, Lannom, Owens)
National Forum on Information Literacy (Weiner)
Special Libraries Association Leadership Summit and Annual Meeting (Weiner)

Publications.

Adlington, Janice, and Chris Benda. (2005). “Checking Under the Hood: Evaluating Google Scholar for Reference Use.” Internet Reference Services Quarterly 10(3/4):135-48.

Weiner, Sharon A. "Library quality and impact: Is there a relationship between new measures and traditional measures?" Journal of Academic Librarianship 31(5):432-7, Sept. 2005.

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Last updated October 6, 2006