by Langsdale the numbers Library FY17 107,957 Walk-In Visitors
16,740
90,887 Special Collections Flickr Views
5,980
107,876 Website Visitors
300,736
12,792 Questions Answered
2,426
Instruction Session Attendees
4,049
Appointments Served by ALC Services
1,634
Unduplicated Students Served by ALC Services
35,111 Computer Log Ins
1,370
20,372
26,535
Group Study Hours
Materials Circulated
Titles Borrowed via ILL
Database Searches
Online Tutorial Views
Individual Study Hours
E
nhancing and supporting student success is imperative to Langsdale’s mission. The integration of the ALC’s academic support services coupled with the commitment of our Reference department and Special Collections only expands the level of support we can offer. In FY17, the ALC conducted six successful staff searches and hires, including a new Director, four Coordinators (tutoring, writing, learning, and computer skills), and an Administrative Assistant.
Throughout the year, Langsdale Library continued to promote information literacy across the University of Baltimore. In the fall of 2017, faculty approved information literacy as a graduation requirement in the revised general education program. Reference librarians took the lead in developing learning objectives that courses must incorporate in order to meet these revised requirements. Assessment of these skills taught by librarians in INFO 110 and WRIT 300 led to the redevelopment of assignments in both classes. Special Collections also committed to increasing course instruction on archival literacy by working in conjunction with INFO 110.
The Langsdale team continues to assess and improve efforts to support student success throughout the UB community with unprecedented levels of dedication.
FY17 required a critical eye toward finding and implementing cost effective solutions and Langsdale has been committed to doing so. For our Special Collections, this was the implementation of its online archival collection management database. Access Services compared the usage of three of UB’s colleges to develop and implement strategies for improving service by encouraging student use of library services to faculty. They also targeted a 75% reduction of loaned items marked as “Lost� by allowing unlimited renewals for all users. This resulted in a better user experience and less staff resources dedicated to these items.
The ALC introduced a multitude of new web-based, paperless systems for capturing attendance and other data. And our Acquisition & Discovery Services reviewed individual journal subscriptions, which resulted in cancelling 11 titles (still accessible through databases) leading to a cost savings of $11,000. Langsdale also submitted its five-year effectiveness review, which outlines improvements and efficiencies in our services and processes. In an effort to engage in a consistent process of systematic and sustained planning, Langsdale also submitted its five-year assessment plan to the UB administration.
T
his year Acquisition & Discovery Services collaborated with UB’s Office of Alumni Relations to allow UB graduates remote access to the Academic Search Alumni Edition database, a comprehensive resource for post-college research.
Langsdale’s unique Game Collection of more than 200 board and historic video games also moved a step closer to circulation, as we developed policy and documentation for its cataloging.
Lastly, the Achievement & Learning Center rebuilt its Writing Fellows program, which embeds writing support directly into courses. Its goal is to raise Acquisition & Discovery awareness about the work Services also worked with of the Writing Center and the Klein Family School of to better serve the writing Communications Design to and learning needs of catalog the 4,000+ item graduate and undergraduate Baltimore Poetry Library, students in the College of which is housed in the Public Affairs as well as the Liberal Arts & Policy building. Merrick School of Business.
AT THE FOREFRONT OF LANGSDALE’S MISSION, WE STRIVE TO CELEBRATE THE SCHOLARSHIP AND HARD WORK OF UB’S STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF.
One way we show our commitment to celebrating scholarship is by highlighting the research and creative works of undergraduate students every spring during Inspired Discoveries. Undergraduate students present their research or creative works to a panel of judges to receive recognition of their academic achievements, as well as a chance to win a $500 prize.
and Learns to help them upload their work.
Special Collections continued their 2-year summer archival research fellowship program, made possible by the UB Fund for Excellence grant received in FY16. The first year’s fellows completed their research and the second year’s fellows began their projects. The fellowship program has generated competitive applications and Similarly, RED Talks offered support from the UB community. graduate students and faculty the Acquisition & Discovery Services opportunity to share their research also created a new collection with the UB community through for UB theses and dissertations, highly-focused five minute including updating the web site presentations. for thesis submission. Our Integrated Digital Services team worked to promote KnowledgeWorks@UB, the digital information repository that hosts scholarly material created by UB faculty members. They promoted it by creating a brochure and by meeting with each academic department and UB’s research council. They worked with Acquisition & Discovery Services to add faculty and staff scholarship and started hosting KnowledgeWorks@UB Lunch
“Thanks so much for the quick turnout. It’s a joy
“I come have to your office or the library desk multiple
seeing these old documents coming back to life. I
times every semester for advice about structuring
would think these men would be pleased to know
my paper, certain topics regarding assignments, or
great-great-grandsons are following their footsteps.”
just to catch up and discuss classes, schedules, or
[Special Collections]
personal matters… You always took the time to help and encourage me. I appreciate you looking over
testimonials
and analyzing my papers page by page for editing, “Thank you for fulfilling – so perfectly and so fast – all the items in my most recent list of ILL requests! As always, you are the best. Thoroughly spoiled, Faculty” [Access Services]
suggestions, and critique. I was always greeted with a warm welcome and a smile. I specifically remember you helping me go from a D to A in one of my classes by providing close assistance and following up with me about my paper.” [Reference Department]
“Your tailored lectures to each of my four very different classes this month have been extraordinary and well-received, thank you! Your hard work and preparation for last evening’s … class was ‘over the
“I felt better about my writing! [The writing
top,’ it exemplified the best of UB and set the bar
consultant] gave me easy tips and explained things to
high for what is expected of these students. And,
me in a way that made me happy about learning, not
I learn so much each time you come to one of my
so much in a way that made me feel stupid. She also
classes that I am now trying to figure out how to
gave me opportunities to rewrite my own sentences, so
schedule return visits for you!”
it was a group effort.”
[Reference Department]
[Achievement & Learning Center]
accomplishments Kyle Breneman presented “User-Driven Website Design: You CAN Do User Research!” and “MD-SOAR: Collaborative, Centralized Infrastructure for Open Access Scholarship in Maryland” (with Joseph Koivisto and Annamarie Klose Hrubes) as poster sessions at the 2017 Maryland Library Association Annual Conference. Natalie Burclaff co-authored “Teaching information literacy via social media: An exploration of connectivism” in Library Philosophy and Practice; co-presented “Critical and Conflicted: A Reflection on Existing Tensions in Curriculum Mapping” at the LOEX 2017 Annual Conference; and co-presented “Information Literacy as Smuggled Cargo: Embedding Learning Outcomes using Curriculum Mapp” at the 2017 Maryland Library Association Conference. Aiden Faust presented “What Baltimore Learned from the War on Poverty” at Baltimore City Historical Society’s 2017 History Evenings Lecture Series; presented “African American History in the Baltimore Regional Studies Archives” at Johns Hopkins University’s Baltimore Africana Archives Symposium; and received a University of Baltimore Foundation Fund for Excellence grant for “Summer Research Fellowship on Structural Inequality.” Mike Kiel was elected Vice-President/President Elect for the Association of College & Research Libraries, Maryland Chapter and concluded a successful multiyear tenure as Treasurer for Maryland Information Literacy Exchange. Sean Hogan presented and authored “Assessing Access Services: Executing a 5-Year Plan for Sustainable Assessment” at the 2017 American Library Association Annual Conference; chaired “MAILL Update” at the Maryland Interlibrary Loan 2017 Summer Meeting; moderated “Statistics” at the Maryland Interlibrary Loan Group 2017 Summer Meeting; presented “Implementing Book Chapter Borrowing/Lending in RapidILL” at the 2017 University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions Interlibrary Loan All-Supervisors Meeting; presented “Mining ILLiad Data to Develop User Profiles” at the 2017 University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions Interlibrary Loan All-Supervisors Meeting; and moderated “Free Resources on the Internet” to the Maryland Interlibrary Loan Group.
Layout and Design by Mandy May.