Summer 2009
Friends of the Library C.G. O’Kelly Library Newsletter
Deferred Dreams
Budget Shortfalls Suspend Library Improvements Title III Grant: O’K Fellows Institute Institutional Repository O’K Media Production Technical Services Staff Development O’K Fellows Featured at Entrepreneurial Conference Anniversary Celebration Upcoming Benefit: A Change Has Come… Now What? Slater Book Society
Contents 3| Deferred Dreams
Budgetary constraints limit the course of action at C. G. O’Kelly Library
4| Title III Grant: O’K Fellows Institute Still going strong, librarians and staff work together to increase student’s educational skills
5| Institutional Repository
Recently added, the Rams Commons Repository documents the rich research and publication activity of Winston-Salem State University
6| O’K Media Production The word is out and O’Kelly’s Media Production Lab use steadily increases
7| Technical Services
O’Kelly, like other academic libraries is shifting directions from the technical services staff to public services
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Staff Development Recent O’Kelly staff happenings
8| O’K Fellows Featured during “Inspiration,
Innovation, Celebration: an Entrepreneurial Conference for Librarians” The O’K Fellows Institute was highlighted during the Entrepreneurial Conference hosted at UNC-Greensboro
8| Anniversary Celebration
Mark your calendars! WSSU C.G. O’Kelly Friends of the Library is celebrating 25 years of service in November 2010
9| Upcoming Benefit: A Change Has Come… Now What?
The 2009 Friends of the Library Benefit asks how the essence of change in the American society affects our lives
11| Slater Book Society
Showcase of the 2008’s Slater Book Society Dinner event
Editorial Team:
Mae L. Rodney, Staff Writer Jeff McGill, Contributor, Photographer, & Proof Reader Mel Rutledge, Photographer, Proofreader, & Reporter Cotina Jones & Cynthia Levine, Contributors Luchrita Fulton, Publisher & Graphic Artist
The North Carolina budget shortfall created a situation of “deferred dreams” for O’Kelly Library’s programs and services. The 2008-09 academic year was one of the most unusual budget periods for North Carolina’s academic libraries since the 1970’s. The “dream budget” allowed planning for the first phase of the refreshing of the library’s architecture–including constructing a new third floor meeting room, expanding a second floor meeting area and replacing the carpet on the second floor, along with installing a section of space saving shelving on the east wing, first floor. Just as the first purchase orders were generated, spending for major acquisitions was put on hold. By the end of February, the entire budget process came to a complete halt. Along with the building interruptions, the end of staff travel, a second major impact of the lack of funds, has significantly reduced off-campus development opportunities for library staff. Efforts to develop strong teaching
Deferred Dreams
and presentation skills were hindered as librarians’ travel plans came to an end; travel to conference favorites, the Association of College Research Libraries (ACRL) and the must-attend American Library Association (ALA) 2009 Annual Conference were canceled. Unfortunately, O’Kelly’s Technical Team also canceled plans and missed their annual Innovative Interfaces meeting and staff development sessions in California. Now, staff members must rely more heavily upon journal articles and favorite web sites to acquire news and new service strategies. While a majority of staff members were unable to make educational excursions, a few staff members chose to attend regional conferences using their own money. Cotina Jones and Cynthia Levine attended the Book Expo America 2009 (BEA) event held in New York May 25-27. Levine was also able to attend the American Library Association annual conference in Chicago July 10-14, 2009 with a little help from her personal friends.
WSSU Friends of the Library
While the reduction in spending and staff travel was painful, significant staff changes occurred that have been very challenging. Staff reductions, including three resignations, one retirement and a termination resulted in several vacant positions which will remain unfilled until the state budget begins to revive itself again. Although these positions are vital to O’Kelly’s ability to expand the variety of teaching and learning services which the students and faculty have grown accustomed to receiving, they are still not accessible and cannot be filled! Today’s weak economy and the inability to hire replacement staff has come at a time when every member of the library staff is engaged in providing assistance to a growing student enrollment. The 2008-09 annual statistics document (see the article on O’K Fellows for data) the library’s service level. Another major impact of the budget reduction will in fact be felt during
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2009-10. Students and faculty alike enjoy access to the library’s DVD and film collection and will undoubtedly notice that O’Kelly Media Services, to compensate for fewer dollars, will begin to purchase fewer titles. This means that in most cases, the library will acquire only one copy of popular DVD titles, unless the titles are in extremely high demand. Likewise, fewer titles will be purchased for the Popular Book Collection. On a more positive note, the reference librarians are carefully comparing standing order titles to the electronic databases and canceling any remaining print titles that are still being received to avoid unnecessary duplication. Some electronic database titles that are not utilized may also be subject to cancellation in order to streamline educational access and ensure that library purchases remain within the budget. As the work of the library increases, existing staff poses the question: “how can we provide our trademark “human touch” service offered last year in 2009-10 with a much smaller staff and reduced materials budget?” Though the answer will not come easily, the library is looking for ideas and strategies that can be utilized to help services continue to advance while protecting the collection of services open to students and faculty from the O’Kelly brand.
Title III Grant: O’K Fellows Institute The O’K Fellows Institute is still opening doors to writing and research techniques for students and faculty. New knowledge and better relationships with librarians caused noticeable growth in information literacy and research services offered during the second year of the program. Library instruction sessions rose from 289 to 317, an 18 % increase over the 2007-08 academic year, with classes offered across the disciplines. Even more significant, the number of oneon-one consultations offered to WSSU librarians and faculty members share information during the Summer 2009 students increased by 150%! O’K Fellows Institute Stay in Touch” gathering with former O’K Fellows Institute Librarians became an important partner in the teaching pro- participants on April 2, 2009. Over 20 faculty members cess by providing one-on-one consultations with students participated in the event. Selected academics – Dr. Janella to help them better understand their primary task, how to Melius, Dr. Jesse Pittsley, Dr. Michael McKenzie, and Dr. refine search terms and select the best database for their as- Kenneth Brown – all shared their experiences creating and signment. These consultations last 45 minutes to an hour refining library assignments, as well as their students’ reacand were likely the reason for a major increase in electronic tions to them. In all instances professors were very pleased database usage, which was 300 % higher than last year. An with students’ performance after having the instruction sesunexpected but rewarding result is that students and faculty sions and companion consultation with librarians, and deare beginning to appreciate the role of librarians within the lighted that they are now receiving completed assignments learning process. that are more reflective of what they as faculty members exThe library staff hosted an informal, yet informative, “Let’s pect – use of electronic databases instead of use of Google. Other WSSU faculty members echoed that they had simi4 | Summer 2009
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lar results with their students. New participants were delighted to know that improved final assignments could result from their work with the librarians. Participants were very appreciative of their experience working with the librarians. The impact of the Institute across the curriculum is increasing as additional faculty members are trained each semester. Presently 55 faculty members, teaching general education and major courses, have been introduced to O’K Fellows Institute techniques. The program is a great advantage to the university because nearly 25 % of the participants are also members of the Southern Association Colleges and Schools (SACS) required Quality Enhancement Program (QEP) faculty cohort. These individuals have agreed to design assignments which will help students develop their writing skills within their chosen disciplines. Faculty members who have participated in the library’s institute gained useful strategies for creating effective assignments, requiring students to include valid information to make a point; use information to expand concepts, and accurately cite information used. The aforementioned are important aspects in quality writing.
The fourth Institute was held June 3-4. Again, a cross section of the faculty participated in the experience. The class size was 11 faculty members, representing the disciplines of English, Chemistry, Business and Fine Arts. Fewer people were trained since the instruction team is presently short staffed and did not want to be overwhelmed by instruction sessions and student consultations during the fall that they could not fulfill. Several of the new participants are members of the QEP cohort. As writing is a major university concern, the O’K Fellows planning team’s desire is for the institute to have the largest possible impact. In order to do so, training should be provided to a cross section of faculty members who teach research courses and individuals who have a major writing requirement in their course outlines. Although the library is presently short staffed, the institute was held to satisfy Title III grant requirements. The Institute’s benefits are being recognized by the faculty and a participants’ waiting list is developing. Members from the Department of Education will be trained in January 2010. Dr. Cathy Griffin-Famble, Department Chair, desired an earlier date, but with the large number of instruction classes offered during the fall semester it was not possible to schedule the education faculty until the spring semester.
Institutional Repository C. Jones, Contributor An institutional repository has been added to the list of collections maintained in O’Kelly Library. The mission for this collection is to document the rich research and publication activity of Winston-Salem State University. This is an online collection of faculty publications including conference papers, as well as faculty teaching and research portfolios. Also present in the repository are graduate student theses and documents concerning university events. The overall goal is to foster research across the university community by providing digital access to faculty and student publications. A secondary goal is to supplement the Archives Collection by offering digital access to WSSU history – including papers, policies and images. Efforts to populate the institutional repository beyond master’s theses made significant progress during the 2008-09 academic year. The collection includes select dissertations of former chancellors, C.E. Gaines memorabilia, and abstracts for WSSU 2008-09 research recipients. WSSU teaching portfolios for the last two years have been scanned and are being uploaded. Numerous photos and documents have also been included from WSSU Friends of the Library and Slater Book SoWSSU Friends of the Library
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ciety events from the last 25 years. Electronic access has also been provided to public documents, such as university policies approved by the Board of Trustees. The information included in the repository is searchable by keyword and by collection such as “Gaines”, “thesis”, or “WSSU Friends of the Library”. The collection can be accessed via the library’s Web site by selecting “Digital Commons” under the Research section page link.
O’K Media Production J. McGill, contributor
After using a variety of marketing strategies for the last two years–posters, news articles, video clips, presentations to faculty members, in class presentations and media production workshops– use of the media production lab finally increased during the spring semester. Although the staff always used the best possible marketing strategy available to them, it appears that word of mouth was the most powerful means to get students in the lab as use of the Media Production area increased more than 300 % during spring 2009! More faculty members made multimedia assignments during the semester and instructed their students to seek assistance from the media production team. Mass Communications students received word and began to use the Media Production Lab when their own lab was overbooked. Upon request from the Mass Communications Department, additional software was added to accommodate audio editing. The majority of students using the lab were assisted in the production of videos, however there were other multimedia presentations patrons requested assistance with such as: adding audio/video to PowerPoint presentations, recording audio/video for Windows Movie Maker productions, formatting existing video files for use in projects, transferring final productions to DVD, and uploading their completed projects to their professors via the internet. In addition, the production team assisted several faculty members with transforming their media to DVD format and students were engaged in using a variety of software packages. During the Spring ’09 semester, the lab’s most frequent time of use was from 3pm-8pm.
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Technical Services C. Levine, contributor Like many other academic libraries, O’Kelly Library is looking for cost effective savings without decreasing the quality of customer service. The Innovative Interfaces Online System allows the library to be involved in streamlining the workflow in technical services without reducing the access to materials and quality of services. Standardized communication methods between book vendors and WSSU technical services staff permit books orders and bibliographic records to be shared via the system, reducing the daily role of technical services staff. The new electronic transfer of files within the Innovative partnership
permits book vendors to complete 85 % of the materials processing at their site. O’Kelly’s Acquisitions Staff selects the best bibliographic record at the time that the order is placed. After the books are received, the support staff prints and affixes spine labels on each item and it is ready for shelving within the collection. The Technical Services staff is still responsible for the reliability of the online catalog, which includes providing quality control of all new items received and routine maintenance of the catalog. With tight budgets limiting book acquisition, staff members’ few free hours during the week will be
Staff Development Patricia Mack and Melde Rutledge have been accepted in the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Department of Library and Information Studies master’s program. Mack has been chosen to be an Academic and Cultural Enrichment Scholar (ACE), which pays her tuition and provides her a laptop computer. She has served as Technical Assistant in the Technical Services Department since March 2008. Rutledge was appointed in January 2008 as the Instruction/Reference Technical Assistant. Good luck to the both of them. Kizzy Lewis-Phillips, Patricia Mack and Mel Rutledge are participating in an in-house summer training program where they are receiving instruction emphasizing the use of electronic databases, conducting effective reference interviews and building their teaching skills. These individuals will assist the librarians with offering some of the basic information literacy classes during the upcoming fall semester since the library is so short staffed. They are being introduced to the real world of librarianship through the daily assignments in O’Kelly Library.
WSSU Friends of the Library
Cindy Levine working in technical services
shared with either public service areas or the introduction of new technical assignments in the institutional repository. More academic libraries are shifting portions of the technical services staff to public services to guarantee that patrons’ research and technical needs are fulfilled.
Through Title III grant funds, a new librarian position was created because of the significant increase in instruction sessions and research consultations gen- Mack Rutledge erated by the O’K Fellows program. The Coordinator of the O’K Fellows Institute is responsible for recruiting new faculty members to participate in the next institute and to work Lewis-Phillips Wilson with faculty members who may be having some issues with their assignments. Angela Wilson, who worked part-time in Archives in 2008-09, will serve as the interim coordinator of the O’K Fellows program until a person can be selected during late summer. The coordinator will offer some instruction sessions and provide one-on-one-consultations with students and faculty. Wilson has a MLS from UNC -Greensboro and has worked in the local public school system as a media specialist and in academic libraries at NC A&T State University and Wake Forest University.
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O’K Fellows featured at entreprenurial confrence M. Rutledge, contributor Word is spreading on the value of the O’K Fellows Institute. Dr. Mae L. Rodney, WSSU’s Director of Library Services, submitted a proposal sharing information about the WSSU Institute during “Inspiration, Innovation, Celebration: an entrepreneurial conference for librarians,” which was organized by the library staff of UNC-Greensboro and Wake Forest University. Hosted at UNC-Greensboro, the two day conference ( June 3-4, 2009) was designed with intentions of commemorating entrepreneurial achievements in libraries. Although the recession and budget shortfalls occurred in the midst of planning for the conference, nearly 100 library professionals—hailing from as far away as Utah and Pennsylvania—participated in the event. There were 20 sessions scheduled during the conference with four presentations occurring simultaneously during each concurrent session. Other noteworthy sessions included presentations on topics such as, “going green” in the library, creating study space for students with children, and building a 21st century library with a golf course. Information literacy was a popular topic for the conference. Dr. Rodney was one of five presenters who expressed their techniques for teaching students how to effectively use library resources. The hour-long presentation on the O’K Fellows Institute was unique in several ways, offering a blend of dialogue with varied multimedia packages within a PowerPoint presentation. The O’Kelly Library program emphasizes faculty development activities, including strategies to create effective library assignments—which in turn lead to
Dr. Mae L. Rodney, director of C.G. O’Kelly Library, delivers an infromative presentation over the O’K
students acquiring information literacy skills. O’Kelly’s Media Production Team created the conference presentation in which Dr. Rodney documented how the library staff identified several longstanding problems linked to students’ writing and targeted those via the O’K Fellows program—particularly plagiarism, undocumented resources and having a lack of resources within their research papers. Rodney was also able to illustrate how the program has positively impacted library services at WSSU. Contact between students and librarians has increased by over 100 % and the number of electronic searches completed has risen by 300% during 2007-08 and 2008-09. The O’K Fellows Institute is a two day event where WSSU instructors collaborate with a consultant, librarians and other faculty members to improve students’ information literacy skills. Most recently, the Summer 2009 O’K Fellows Institute took place June 4 and 5 inside O’Kelly Library with 11 faculty members taking participating.
WSSU Friends of the Library News Anniversary Celebration Don’t forget 2010 is 25th anniversary of the WSSU Friends of the Library (FOL). The first public event for the organization was the groundbreaking for the library addition and a black tie reception in April 1985. Did you attend that event? Dr. Cleon F. Thompson was the Chancellor when the organization was formed. He was instrumental in acquiring funding for the library addition. After several chancellors had requested funds from the state legislature and failed to receive the funds, Chancellor Thompson knew the right people to talk to and funds were finally appropriated to construct a new library addition. The black tie reception was truly a long awaited celebration. The Winston-Salem mayor and several local officials as 8 | Summer 2009
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well as the chancellor from NC A&T attended the event. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in 1985 but construction on the building did not begin on the building until the summer of 1987 Keep November 2010 on your schedule, the WSSU Friends of the Library anniversary will truly be a celebration. Individuals are asked to plan now for a major $25, $250, $2500 or $250,000 contribution! Stay tuned for updates.
Upcoming Benefit: A Change has come… now what?
Change is the emphasis for the 2009 WSSU Friends of the Library Benefit. Mark your calendar for Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 6:30pm in the McNeil Banquet Hall. Ticket cost will remain at $50 which includes dinner and live music, along with a premier presentation of a documentary prepared specifically for the WSSU Friends of the Library. Tables with 6, 8 or 10 seats can be reserved. Reservation should be made by October 22, 2009 and tickets must be purchased by November 13, 2009.
able to talk to their audience, offering their goods and services! Advertisers are invited to present digital/video or PowerPoint displays. The video ads will be projected several times during the evening and be included in the final DVD. Advertisers who do not have pre-produced commercials can include a short PowerPoint presentation of 2-3 slides that the staff can voice-over. Business card size advertisements will still be accepted.
The main feature will be our master performer Lorenzo Meachum, who charmed the audience last year with his wit and smooth sounding voice. “Logie” will bring his guitar and a suitcase full of reflections and reactions to the changes from yesterday, today and tomorrow. You will want to attend and enjoy the full range of his talent and charm. RSVP cards are included with this newsletter mailing. One major change that the FOL organization has planned is offering major advertisers the opportunity to share a 30 second “commercial.” Businesses and individuals will be
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Advertising rates, projection times, and locations are included in a separate listing in this mailing. The FOL annual benefit is an excellent opportunity to support the library and make your fellow Rams aware of your accomplishments. Join this exciting opportunity to tell your story. You are invited to come and see how the O’K Production Team will capture the essence of change in the American society. What changed your life?
A Change
Has Come...
Now What? Presented by: Winston Salem State University Friends of the Library
Power in Change Wordsearch
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SLATER BOOK SOCIETY Hundreds gather to honor WSSU nursing notable M. Rutledge, Reporter Dr. Sadie Brown Webster has been the focus of much acclaim throughout her years with Winston-Salem State University. The special tribute that she received from Slater Book Society on March 19, 2009 documented her outstanding career at WSSU, her many accomplishments, and love for her Alma mater. Dr. Webster’s family, friends, church members and other special guests (approximately 210), witnessed the presentation of a heart-warming video and the presentation of the Spirit of Slater Award. Upon receiving the award, Webster expressed her appreciation to the audience. “As I stand here looking over this beautiful audience filled with my dedicated and devoted family, friends and longtime associates, I am indeed grateful and humbly blessed. I accept this award with a deep sense of humility and gratitude.” Dr. Webster is one the first 11 nursing students to graduate from Winston-Salem Teacher’s College (later to become known as WSSU) in the spring of 1957. Over a 30 year span, she was a member of the nursing faculty and division director. She retired as an associate professor of nursing in June 1999. Her remarkable career includes receiving numerous honors and awards, and participation in several professional and community organizations. A strong WSSU nursing program was developed under her leadership, which trained generic nurses and granted the opportunity for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) and Registered Nurses (RN) to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Throughout her 10 year stretch as division director, the program constantly upheld state and national nursing accreditations. Several of Dr. Webster’s colleagues and friends helped make the evening another milestone for the honoree. Dr. Peggy Valentine, current Dean of WSSU’s School of Health Sciences, was the mistress of ceremony and Webster’s pastor, Rev. Ronald Fisher, Sr. of Dreamland Park Missionary BapWSSU Friends of the Library
tist Church, shared the blessing for the evening and the meal. WSSU’s Raminiscence Jazz Ensemble entertained guests with live entertainment that garnered applause. The evening’s highlight consisted of a 25 minute video documentary which captured Webster’s accomplishments both as a student and her 30 plus years as a WSSU faculty member. Family, colleagues and former students provided testimonials throughout the film praising Sadie Webster’s work, leadership and dedication. It was created by the O’Kelly Library Media Production Team. During her acceptance speech, Dr. Webster commented on the video chronicle of her life’s work stating, “I have nothing but praises for the experience,” and “I think a lot about the times of the first nursing class, how eager they were to get an education.” She also expressed satisfaction with how the nursing program has expanded and expressed her pleasure in “knowing that so many are functioning well” in the nursing department. The event came to a close following a selection of rhythmic, foot-stomping, hand-clapping spiritual hymns from the St. Stevens Missionary Baptist Church Gospel Choir. Being a spiritual person, Webster credits her faith for the successes she has acquired. She testified, “He (God) has made all of what I have accomplished possible.”
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The Slater Book Society presents this prestigious honor each year—with the assistance of the O’Kelly Library media production team—to exceptional WSSU alumni who have made a considerable impact to both the university and the community. Proceeds from this past event created a chapter in honor of Sadie B. Webster. Past honorees include Judge Roland Hayes, Sylvia Sprinkle Hamlin, and N.C. State Representative Larry Womble; deceased honorees include C. B. Hauser, Barbara Phillips, Louise Smith, Rachel Wilkinson and last year’s honoree, Evon Reid. Other paid up chapters include Carolyn Anderson, Barbara Hayes, the Lipscomb Family, and Mae L. Rodney. The Cedric S. Rodney chapter was also opened during 2008-09. Earnings from Slater Book Society events are the primary means used to increase the library endowment which is close to the $160,000 level. Additional information about the Slater Book Society can be acquired by calling O’Kelly Library at 336-750-2440.
Top: Dr. Sadie B. Webster & Gerald Pauling Left : The Raminiscence Jazz Combo. Right: The St. Stevens Missionary Baptist Church Gospel Choir
Winston-Salem State University 601 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive Winston-Salem NC, 27710 C.G. O’Kelly Library library@wssu.edu