2023-2024 ANNUAL REPORT:
Christopher Center Library
A message from Dean Patricia J. Mileham
I would like to take this opportunity to focus initially on the work of the library faculty by highlighting our academic passion in context. For us, it’s all about student learning. Librarians are faculty at Valpo, which is not always the case on every academic campus. This shows how much the University values the library, its personnel, and its role in student learning. This isn’t lip service given to the trope “the library is the heart of campus,” nor is it merely a reflection of our adjacency to the Chapel. Our academic practices are infused throughout our students’ curricular and co-curricular activities.
Like other faculty, we are in the classrooms, teaching the discipline of information literacy. In general, information literacy is akin to general education: a foundational practice, like writing, that impacts students and lifelong learning no matter what their specific disciplinary practice is, from art to engineering to nursing to theology. At Valpo, our students are fortunate in that both their writing and information literacy development are scaffolded throughout the curriculum. Our information literacy program is comprehensive, curricular-based, and integrated across disciplines. From the first year through the capstone experience, library faculty work with other faculty and students to ensure our students graduate having mastered the skills and critical mindsets needed to be responsible, effective consumers and creators of information in academic, professional, and social contexts.
Like other faculty who assign textbooks and readings for academic study, we have the local library collection, selected and curated for curricular support, as well as online resources providing access to other collections worldwide. And finally, like other faculty, our research and scholarship informs our practice, which in turn, informs further research.
That said, library faculty are responsible for academic work that is distinct from other faculty whose primary roles are classroom teaching. All librarians have administrative roles, from managing our information literacy program to managing our electronic resources to managing our special and archival collections. We hold ourselves responsible for meeting the disciplinary support needs of everyone on campus, including students, faculty, and staff. Our resources are selected to support the research and curricular needs of everyone across campus, not just certain departments or majors. Librarians work directly with students in the academic mind-space between their classroom learning and their scholarly research needs. In this unique place, we are able to provide students with the safe space they need for considering and researching ideas and concepts new to them. I believe that this teaching dynamic, this engagement, is the largest shift in my professional practice over these past 25 years.
Go Valpo,
Patricia J. Mileham, MLIS
INSTRUCTION AND Students
Students are our number one priority. Instruction sessions can run across a full spectrum: from simply introducing the librarian as a friendly face to answer questions to an in-depth discussion about misinformation and how to identify it, library instruction sessions are an important part of a student’s career. Librarians also provide students with individual or small-group research consultations. The smaller format allows for more specific help, to dive deeper into a student’s research question, and to help obtain more specific information.
269
students served by research consultations
4,060
students served by information literacy sessions
873
students served by Valparaiso University first year program, Core
203 INFORMATION LITERACY SESSIONS
207 RESEARCH CONSULTATIONS
At Valpo, our library’s collections encompass purchased books, journals, newspapers, music scores, maps, visual and auditory media, all in a mix of print or electronic format. Our collections include work created and produced by Valparaiso University students, faculty, staff, and alumni, found in our online institutional repositories, such as Valpo Scholar, Digital Collections, and Special Collections, or within the care of the University Archives and Special Collections physical holdings.
143 DATABASES
2,373
TOTAL LIBRARY LOANS TO OTHER LIBRARIES
2,434
TOTAL LIBRARY LOANS FROM OTHER LIBRARIES
2,809
new materials, including 64 gift books
4,356
items checked out between July 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024
3,864 assets within our digital asset management system, ContentDM, digital collection
512 documents scanned and delivered to Valpo patrons
92,819 items stored within automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS)
ValpoScholar is the University’s institutional repository, which operates like a database of Valpo’s scholarly output, including faculty, student, and archival materials. The platform also hosts seven journals and a handful of open textbooks.
FROM JULY 1, 2023 TO JUNE 30, 2024:
745,065 downloads
OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (OER)
Initiatives
“Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that are freely available online for everyone to use, whether you are an instructor, student, or self-learner. Examples of OER include: full courses, course modules, syllabi, lectures, homework assignments, quizzes, lab and classroom activities, pedagogical materials, games, simulations, and many more resources contained in digital media collections from around the world.”
- oercommons.org
$56,000 –$138,000 total potential cost savings range for students 971 students impacted in total since the program began
223
COUNTRIES ACCESSED VALPOSCHOLAR LAST YEAR
RECORDS DEPOSITED/ PUBLISHED
1,347
RECORDS IN SOURCE 994
Top Downloaded Item: “Social Media and its Effects on Mental Health on High School Students” (with 9,353 downloads)
DEPARTMENTAL Highlights
VENUE VISION:
TRANSFORMING THE COMMUNITY ROOM
In concert with the Strategic Planning Committee, student leaders, and student life administration, the Community Room underwent a reconceptualization process. When the Community Room was created, it was an event space that could be used by students during non-event times, especially when the library was closed. Almost 20 years later, we flipped the script, reconceptualizing it as a student-centered space that can be used as an event space when needed during large campus events such as Homecoming and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Community Room was transformed into a “campus living room” context, aligning with other campus spaces in furnishings and design to support the current students making Valpo their home.
REVITALIZING RETREATS: WELLNESS SPACE RENEWAL
The library’s original wellness spaces (one on each floor of the library) were so well received in their first year, we expanded the project in the 20232024 academic year. Two study rooms, one on the third floor and one on the fourth floor, were transformed into semi-private wellness spaces. Each room is a welcoming environment which contains soft lighting, greenery, and other soothing decorations, as well as a noise-muffling egg chair, and comfort items like blankets and pillows, along with wellness activities. The library received the 2023 Guild Grant for the creation and maintenance of these spaces, without which we would not be able to do our work to this standard. With student feedback, we hope to expand this initiative further and to reach more of our community. Our goal of making the library into a place of both learning and comfort is starting to unfold!
SOFTWARE REVOLUTION: EMBRACING CHANGE WITH FOLIO
The library is pleased to announce the successful migration of several core library systems. FOLIO, our new system, is an open source platform created by a community of libraries with vendor support. We contracted with EBSCO to provide migration and ongoing support for FOLIO. Valpo is in good company with this switch. According to the Library Technology Reports database, there are 168 academic libraries in the United States currently using FOLIO with EBSCO support. Two years ago, the Library of Congress announced that they are also migrating to FOLIO. More information can be found here. This is an exciting development. It means that Library of Congress resources will be infused into development and innovation that will better FOLIO for all users.
The primary reason for this switch was cost, but an added benefit is that FOLIO is a next-generation system. Our previous vendor still supports our old system, Sierra, but is no longer marketing it for new sales. More information can be found here. With no new Sierra customers and many libraries dropping that system, its days are numbered.
Although the switch to FOLIO has been largely positive, there have been some challenges. The largest of these is that we have not been able to get our automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) to integrate with FOLIO. Some libraries have been able to successfully integrate their ASRS with FOLIO, including Grand Valley State, University of Chicago, and University of Missouri-Kansas City, but the age of our software and security concerns have impeded our ability to do the same. Another challenge has been that almost every aspect of cataloging, circulation, and acquisitions has been impacted, requiring training and new processes. According to Associate Professor of Library Science Alison Downey, MLS, “It has certainly been an adjustment, however, it is encouraging that it is consistently evolving and improving.”
For Valpo users, there are three public facing changes. These include a switch from our former library catalog, Galileo, to Locate; a transition from our old eresource management system for ebooks and journals to the new Publication Finder; and finally, a change of discovery tools from Summon to Discovery (EDS).
COURSE REFINEMENT: ENHANCEMENT AND CHANGES TO CORE
As part of the University-wide strategic plan, the Learn Initiative was tasked with a re-imagined first-year experience. Changing what has been CORE, the new Valparaiso University Experience (VUE) is an opportunity for students to engage in experiential learning, leadership, and service through high-impact practices. With these changes, there are opportunities in teaching and learning to evaluate engagement with students in the first year, create a stronger baseline for information literacy skills, and continue to reinforce the library as an available resource.
Uplift Valpo: Mapping the Path Forward
From the first roundtable conversations held in summer 2021 to the current year’s initiatives grounded in the plan’s four themes — Learn, Serve, Lead, Thrive — the library has been a fully engaged campus department in all aspects of the plan’s work. While the annual key initiatives provide unique and varied opportunities for the library faculty and staff to explore these themes in their daily work, you’ll also find them directly leading and collaborating with direct specific initiatives. From general education consideration to care for campus personnel to campus diversity engagement to academic organizational considerations — and more — library faculty and staff are campus partners that you’ll want on your team.
Valpo Day: Dinosaur Trek Success
DEPARTMENTAL Highlights Continued
ARTISTRY UNVEILED:
CELEBRATING STUDENT CREATIVITY
This year, the library celebrates the 11th annual Library Student Art Purchase Award, an incredibly successful collaboration with the communication and visual arts department. Every year, art majors and minors can present pieces to a library committee, consisting of three library faculty members and two members of library staff, who select pieces for the library to purchase for their permanent collection. This award fills a pedagogical hole in the communication and visual arts curriculum — finishing and presenting a piece in an artist/client relationship. This year’s artists are: Charlie Cozad ’26 with “The Chapel in Print,” a digital collage; Maria del Mar Mack ’24 M.A., with “I See You,” a digital photograph; Sami Jefferson ’26 with “Branches,” a digital photograph; Zion Gifford ’24 with “VHARE,” a paper collage with magnetic tape and linocut print; and Eliot Aust ’24 with “Vibing,” a digital photograph. Including this year’s pieces, the library now has 51 pieces of original student art in its collection.
A breakdown of the award by year and shows where the art is currently located in the building can be found at libguides.valpo.edu/LSAPA.
High resolution images of these pieces can be found in the library’s digital collection at collections.valpo.edu/digital/collection/studentwork.
Stress Less for Student Success
The end of the semester is always one of the most stressful for students, especially in the week before finals when papers are due, deadlines are looming, and exams need cramming for. That’s when the library hosts DeStress Week, a week of both active and passive programs, designed for students to take a break and know that the library is here to support them. This year, we hosted a contest that students could enter to win a reserved study room for a day. Over 80 students entered to win, and five winners claimed the room from Sunday to Thursday of DeStress Week. The room was fully loaded with snacks, drinks, study essentials (including candy and caffeine), and will be a part of DeStress Week going forward.
This past year we began working more closely with the Lutheran Diaconal Association (LDA) to help preserve their history. We began digitizing their many publications, including “The Lutheran Deaconess,” which was first published in 1924. To see what has been completed so far, please visit ValpoScholar.
Most recently, we have provided access to Reverend Walter E. Keller’s, M.Div., Ph.D., devotional studies of Psalms. Reverend Keller was a member of the theology department for many years, retiring in 1995. Back in 2014, Reverend Mark O. Kretzmann ‘73 shared the files with archives and special collections, along with his own introduction to the collection. Now, these studies can be accessed through ValpoScholar at scholar.valpo.edu/kellerpsalms. This collection, along with the materials from the LDA and many other collections, will soon be available through the Lutheran Digital Spotlight which is under development as of this writing. Stay tuned for updates!
Our rare book collection was enhanced this past year due to several donations. Thanks to the Bruegmann family collection, we received an eighth edition of the “Ernestinische, Kurfürsten oder Weimarer Bibel,” that was first published in 1641, printed in 1692, and edited under the auspices of Ernst, Duke of Saxe-Weimar. Additionally, we received the 1736 edition of Johann Jacob Rambach’s commentary, “Christus in Mose, oder, Betrachtungen über die vornehmsten weissagungen und vorbilder in den fünf büchern Mosis auf Christum.” The Bretscher family then donated seven volumes of the Wittenberg edition of Martin Luther’s writings published between 1553 and 1558. While the rare book collection contains many editions of Luther’s works, these are the first of the Wittenberg edition to enter the collection. The final donation for the rare book collection of English translations of “Martin Luther’s Commentary upon the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians” printed in 1580 and “Special and Chosen Sermons of Dr. Martin Luther” printed in 1581 came from Dr. Neal Christiansen ’77, M.D., DBE, and the Reverend Anne Christiansen ’78. These are a special edition to the collection as we have few English translations of Martin Luther’s works.
Traveling Exhibit: Weather You Like it or Not: Considering Climate Change
From March 6 to May 14, the library hosted “Real People, Real Climate, Real Changes,” a traveling exhibit by the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Center for Atmospheric Research. This interactive exhibit, about what is known of climate change, included stories about how people are being affected by climate change impacts, such as rising seas, droughts, and severe storms, across the United States and specifically Valparaiso, Indiana. The exhibit brought in visitors from campus as well as the local community.
Updates
ACADEMIC INSIGHTS: SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATION
We awarded two OER Development Awards in the fall of 2023 to Lucas Kelley, M.A., Ph.D., and Chloe Kiser ’22 M.S., for their work on CORE 115 as well as Nirupama Devaraj, Ph.D., for her work on Economics 136. Additionally, we have another OER Development Award in progress with Kevin Goebbert ’03, Ph.D., and Craig Clark, Ph.D., for piloting a new textbook for Meteorology 130.
We started development of our eighth open access journal. Partnering with the Indiana Political Science Association, the Journal of Political Science Studies will restart publication on ValpoScholar in the summer of 2024.
Finally, we implemented a new process for acquiring open access (OA) books into the collection. Our previous process for adding to the collection only allowed for books that were purchased to be added to the collection due to our vendors’ processes; however, with more OA publications becoming available, we created a new procedure that streamlines the acquisition process for these materials, making sure they will be discovered in the collection like all other materials.
Circulation Chronicles: Keeping You in the Loop
The circulation department successfully proposed and implemented an initiative to improve benefits for student employees. Student wages were lagging behind other units on campus, so, the managers wrote a proposal to reduce the number of students working during the evenings in order to fund a starting wage increase of $1 more per hour. As an additional new benefit, continuing student employees will receive a small raise each year. Although the circulation department initiated this proposal, all library student employees benefit from these wage increases.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE LIBRARY
• 2023 Access Services Conference
• 2023 ISNA-MSE International Conference: Creating Meaningful Moments in the Multi-Sensory Environment
• Academic Libraries of Indiana (ALI) Resource Allocation Rendezvous Conference
• ADVANCE training, Valparaiso University
• AI app testing, various AI apps and research assistants
• AI in the Library: Professional Development Talks
• American Library Association (ALA) 2023 Annual Conference
• American Sign Language for Library Staff: Levels 1 and 2 (ALA eLearning course)
• Assigning Library of Congress Subject Headings (MCLS workshop)
• Authorities: Records, Content, and Interpretation (MCLS workshop)
• Charleston Conference 2023
• Clifton Strengths assessment
• Conference on Academic Library Management (CALM), two attendees
• Copy Descriptive Cataloging of Monographs Using RDA (MCLS workshop)
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) executive training, Valparaiso University
• Digital Commons North American Conference 2023
• Discovery to Delivery Conference 2023
• EBSCO User Group Annual Meeting 2024
• FOLIO system training, multiple iterations, library-wide
• Grace in the Workplace (Indiana State Library webinar)
• Introduction to Workplace Etiquette (MCLS course)
• Indiana Library Federation (ILF) 2023 Annual Conference
• Library 2.0 mini-conferences
- Individual Responsibility for Creating Belonging and Connection in the Library Profession
- Language as Inclusion: Creating Multilingual Browsing Spaces in Libraries
- Coffee and Collaboration: Creating Discussion Based Programming for Graduate Students
- Collaborative Programming: How We Reach Our Communities by Working Together
- Ethical Co-Working and Kindness in Academic Libraries
• Library Marketing and Communications 2023 Conference
• Library Orientation Exchange (LOEX) 2024 Conference
• MARC: An Introduction (MCLS workshop)
• Marketing for Libraries: Learn Principles and Methods that Help You Identify You
• Emerging Trends in Libraries: The Impact of Generative AI on Library Discovery and Resource Management, featuring Marshall Breeding, M.A. (multiple attendees, ALI Technology webinar)
• Ohio Valley Group of Technical Services Librarians (OVGTSL) Hybrid Conference 2024
• Original Descriptive Cataloging of Monographs Using RDA (MCLS workshop)
• Performance Evaluations: Process, Methods (multiple attendees, Lyrasis)
• Reluctant Leadership: Embracing Authenticity and Intrinsic Qualities for Enhanced Leadership (LibraryWorks webinar)
• Society of Indiana Archivists 2024 Annual Meeting
• We Need More Than Just Yoga & Meditation: Really Support the Mental Health Needs of Library Workers (multiple attendees, Indiana State Library webinar)
Behind the Scenes: Committee Contributions and Service Showcase
VALPO-BASED
• 2023 Guild Grant, recipients
• Action Agenda on Racial Equity & Inclusion 2.3: Valparaiso University Uniform Tenure and Promotion Processes (U-TaPP)
• Chapel Morning Prayer, speaker - view here
• Center for Innovation in Teaching, Assessment, and Learning (CITAL) Affiliate Committee
• College of Arts & Sciences Dean Search, chair
• Committee for Intercollegiate Athletics (CIA)
• Creative Work & Research Committee
• Faculty Concerns Committee
• Faculty Grievance Committee
• Faculty Senate (January 2024 - present)
• General Education Committee (GEC)
• Graduate Service & Leadership Award Committee
• Library Student Art Selection Committee
• Library Tenure and Promotion Committee
• Learning Management System Selection Committee
• rpk/Valpo Steering, leadership teams, 3 members
• Scholarly Communications Committee, multiple members
• Search Process Advocate (SPA) Training
• Staff Employee Advocacy Committee (SEAC), New Staff Welcome and By-Laws Subcommittees
• Strategic Plan – LEARN 2, faculty member
• Strategic Plan – SERVE 6, faculty member
• Strategic Plan – THRIVE 1, faculty member
• Strategic Plan - THRIVE 4, executive owner
• University Budget Review Committee, dean and faculty member
• VALE! Task Force, Service & Retention Subcommittee
• Valpo Administrative Support Team (VAST)
• Valpo Board of Directors: Academic Affairs Committee, staff
• Valpo Bookstore & Merch: Vendor Review Selection Committee
• Valpo’s Lutheran Centennial Planning Committee
EXTERNAL
• Academic Libraries of Indiana (ALI) Board of Directors
• ALI Affordable Learning Committee
• ALI Resource Advisory Committee
• Association of College & Research Libraries: College Library Director Mentoring Program, mentor for new library director
• External evaluators for librarians in review for tenure and/or promotion, multiple instances
• Indiana State Library’s Resource Sharing Committee
• Internal Review Board (IRB) for SUNY, Buffalo, New York
• Journal of Web Librarianship, editorial board and peer-reviewer
• Lutheran Diaconal Association (LDA) Executive Director Search Committee, University representative
• LDA Annual Phonathon
• LDA 75th Anniversary of association with Valparaiso University, board of directors presentation
• Library Marketing and Communications Conference Program Committee
• Midwest Collaborative for Library Services (MCLS) Exploratory Task Force
LIBRARY LENS: PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
MLIS READ
Ruth Connell, M.S., presented at the Academic Libraries of Indiana Resource Rendezvous meeting at Butler University in March, 2024. She and co-presenter, Becca Neel, MLS, of the University of Southern Indiana, spoke about their experiences with migrating to open source integrated library systems.
Publication: Bull, J., & Downey, A. (2024). Not a Special Project Anymore: Creating a Culture of Sustainable Deselection and Gifts-In-Kind with Limited Staffing. Technical Services Quarterly, 41(1), 64-81. tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/073171 31.2023.2300512
TERESA AUGUSTINE,
JONATHAN BULL ’06, MLS
ALISON DOWNEY, MLS
RACHAEL MUSZKIEWICZ, MLIS
RUTH CONNELL, M.S.
GRACE BIERMANN ’21, MLS
Donor Acknowledgements
AND HOW TO CONTRIBUTE IN THE FUTURE
Libraries at Valpo have a rich grounding in donor consideration: neither the Moellering Library nor the Christopher Center Library would have existed without the intentionality of those donors who believed in the vision of what an academic library’s role is at Valparaiso University.
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
The Christopher Center Library is where people and information meet to bring about discovery and build knowledge with integrity. In an effort to enhance student learning and information literacy, we aim to create an inclusive environment where the campus community can ask hard questions, engage in scholarly conversations, and contribute to society with critical thought and compassion.
OUR VISION STATEMENTS
• The library will provide Valparaiso University students and faculty with a transformative experience in their lifelong pursuit of information, knowledge, and wisdom.
• The library will lead and proactively partner with Valparaiso University students and faculty in the creation, dissemination, and preservation of their scholarship and research.
• The library will be renowned worldwide as a center for Lutheran and interfaith studies.
The Christopher Center Library serves as a constant reminder of the deliberative generosity and care for Valpo’s future evidenced by so many donors over 20 years ago. Today’s Dean’s Fund provides for initiatives, programming, and resources that go beyond the standard curricular support traditionally handled by academic libraries. The Christopher Center Library prides itself on our innovative and pedagogically-based Student Art Award Program, our studentfocused and -influenced wellness spaces throughout the building, and our refreshed and re-conceptualized Community Room, a former event space that now serves as a campus living room. The library’s focus is on our students’ success, and through creative engagement with our campus community — and financial support from our donor community — we can continue to be a campus resource for everyone.
Thank you to all our donors who have shared in the development of Valpo’s libraries over the years. We wouldn’t be here today without your support!
