Committee on the Library

Academic Year 2022-2023

Committee on the Library

Report for Academic Year 2022-2023

AY 2022-2023 Committee Members

Arroyo, Julia- Sociology and Anthropology      

Crabtree, Mari- African American Studies

Dingley, Zeb - History 

Koellner, Sarah- German and Russian Studies

Jakes, Kelly- Communication

Oprisan Ana- Physics and Astronomy

Swart, Katie (Chair) - Teacher Education

Committee Business

The committee met in person twice during the academic year, on October 26, 2022 and on March 27, 2023. Dean of the Library John White and Associate Dean of Collection & Content Services Heather Gilbert attended the first meeting in an ex-officio capacity. The Dean of Collection & Content Services Heather Gilbert was unable to attend the second meeting. The main topics discussed were the Library budget, Library operations and construction phases, as well as staffing changes and grants.

In addition to business conducted at the committee's meetings, in the periods before and between these meetings Chair Swart co-signed letters from Dean White in support of several curriculum proposals: for a new graduate program in Multilingual Learners (August 2022); for a new undergraduate certificate in Musical Theatre (August 2022); for two new undergraduate programs in Environmental and Sustainability Studies (August 2022); for a new executive MBA (EMBA) (August 2022); for a new BA undergraduate program in Biochemistry (August 2022); for a new undergraduate minor in Health Informatics (September 2022); for a new interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in Financial Technology (September 2022): for a new undergraduate minor in Statistics (October 2022); for a new interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in Financial Technology (October 2022): for a new undergraduate minor in Computing in the Arts (October 2022); for a new undergraduate minor program in Digital Manufacturing Technology (November 2022); for a new interdisciplinary undergraduate program in Health Services Administration and Management (HSAM) (December 2022); for a new Doctor of Education of Advocacy, Learning, and Inquiry (December 2022).

Library Materials Budget

The materials budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-23 was $3,250,308 a 3.5% increase from the previous year's budget of $3,140,000. The serials budget increase included $110,308 for serials inflation. The firm order budget remained the same. (For more discussion, see October Meeting Minutes).

During the March meeting of the committee, Dean White positively commented on the Library and campus-wide budgets. Additionally, through diligent management and negotiation, librarians have held costs for the streaming platform Kanopy PDA (Patron Driven Access) at $80k. The Library expects to close the FY slightly under budget. (For more discussion, see March Meeting Minutes).

The Library has requested an increased budget of $3,323,000 for FY2023-24. This includes a 2.5% increase ($80,692k) in the serials budget. The budget for FY2024 will cover inflationary costs for serials, which means the library will not have to cut other budget items. This was possible, in large part, because the library staff negotiated with platforms that host digital content to keep the inflationary costs below 4%.
New editions to the Library include:
  • New Play Exchange
  • Wiley Online Library
  • Illustrated London News Historical Archive, 1842-2003
  • National Geographic Magazine Archive, 1888-2015
  • More resources as well as any current database trials can be found on the Databases page of the library website: https://libguides.library.cofc.edu/az.php?

 

Library Operations

The Dean reported that usage of the library is above pre-pandemic levels.

The Dean confirmed the policy requiring ID card swipes when entering and exiting the library is permanent. This policy was implemented, in part, to monitor the number of library visitors in the library during the early stages of the pandemic. However, the primary reason for the policy was safety.

Library Construction

Phase one of the construction was supposed to have been completed by August 17, 2022, but the project experienced several delays. This phase included the addition of electric outlets to desks on the first floor to facilitate student collaboration. The circulation and reference desk area has also been renovated to include more space for staff offices, a consultation room for reference requests, secure storage for expensive technology that circulates, a conference room, and a staff lounge. Phase one of the construction was completed earlier this year, including two podcast studios that we had the opportunity to see up close. There is a Lib Guide for using the podcast studios.

Phase two of the construction will happen over the summer of 2023. This phase largely involves exterior work on leaking windows and doors.

Staff Updates and Grants

There is an ongoing search for a Public Historian and Curator of the Jewish Heritage Collection, who would replace Dale Rosengarten. This will be a faculty position that requires teaching two courses per year in addition to covering curatorial duties.

The Library will be hiring a Director for the Lowcountry Oral History (LOHI) program. The Director would train community organizations to record oral histories and design guidelines for conducting, transcribing, and housing virtually oral histories. The Dean is hoping this will become a permanent position.

The Avery Research Center received a $2 million Mellon grant, which will be primarily used to digitize existing collections, facilitate community outreach, and hire full-time but non-permanent staff to provide more time to focus on processing the archives.

New Committee

Chair Swart also convened a meeting with members of the incoming Committee on the Library in late April 2023, for the purpose of electing a chair and secretary. Mari Crabtree (African American Studies) was elected as Chair. Julia Arroyo will serve as Secretary.