The Library Without Walls: continued from page 4
Collection Services Acquisitions, Cataloging, eResources and the Digital Archive JULIE KANE, HEAD OF COLLECTION SERVICES Collection Services, the unit that purchases material, catalogs books, manages eResources, and maintains our Digital Archive, has worked diligently to provide materials for the W&L community—wherever community members are located. In the earliest days of the pandemic, print purchasing quickly ceased and we transitioned to an acquisition model that prioritized electronic resources. The shift to virtual learning brought an increased demand for ebooks and expensive streaming media, which required vigilance in monitoring a potentially precarious budget situation. During the spring and early summer, as staff worked from home, we reconfigured job duties to ensure the continuation of essential functions: ordering, activating resources, paying bills, and communicating with each other and the Business Office. A staff retirement during the summer precipitated the reorganization of duties, prompting others to learn new tasks to ensure coverage of needed services. As some returned to in-building work, print ordering resumed. We instituted changes in our processes, procedures and spaces to keep our staff and community
members as safe as possible. Quarantining materials at each stage of processing helps us ensure safety and minimizes contact among staff members. Unfortunately, supply chain issues and safety procedures slow the time from order to fulfillment—but, even with these necessary delays, users receive both the physical and digital resources they need. Many thanks go to Kaci Resau, our electronic resources librarian, who has shouldered the bulk of collections’ burdens during this time. Kudos are owed to Jamie Di Risio (see picture of her office workstation below), serials assistant, and Cricket Brittigan, library assistant in cataloging. Highlighted in a recent Columns article, our Digital Scholarship Librarian Paula Kiser and Digital Services Manager Cindy Morton worked tirelessly, along with the Special Collections staff, on projects to capture and preserve documents and borndigital artifacts relating to both the COVID pandemic and anti-racism efforts on campus. These dual herculean efforts will extend far into the future for researchers and students looking for information on the different ways in which our community met this moment. Above image: Jamie Di Risio’s cat, Mr. Cat, looks on as she catalogs ebooks from her remote workspace.
FAIRLY DIGITAL The Academic Fair Moves Online JEFF BARRY, ASSOCIATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIAN
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highlight of orientation week for first-year students is the academic fair, typically held on the main level of Leyburn Library. An opportunity for students to meet faculty from all academic programs prior to registration, it was held virtually this year on August 20 due to the pandemic. Jason Rodocker, dean of first-year students, normally coordinates the fair but requested a point person from Academic Affairs to handle the details. Interim Provost Elizabeth Oliver reached out to KT Vaughan, university librarian, and the library stepped up to the challenge. To keep the technological hurdles to a minimum, an academic fair website was created to serve as a central hub for listing Zoom links to the various majors and minors. A big thanks goes out to Helen MacDermott of Academic Technology Services for help in getting the site ready.
FOLIOS FALL 2020 FOLIOS Spring Fall 2016 2017 FOLIOS SPRING 2018
Fifty-six academic programs and offices participated. Students connected via Zoom to visit programs of interests. Several programs opted to post videos, handouts, suggested course sequencing and other details on the academic fair site. The site has remained up throughout the year for students who want to revisit the information. With less than a month to plan and implement, the virtual academic fair was a complex task. Breaking the components into simple steps made the initiative manageable for a small team. On the day of the fair, no major glitches were reported. While we hope the fair returns to an in-person event next fall, it’s exciting that everyone pulled together to make sure the virtual fair was successful this year.
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