Dual-Campus Subject Librarians at the University of Central Florida (Charleston Conf. Proceed. 2019)

Keywords

Subject Librarians; University of Central Florida Downtown; UCF Downtown; University of Central Florida Libraries; Valencia College

Abstract

Dual-Campus Subject Librarians at the University of Central FloridaBarbara G. Tierney, Head of Research & Information Services Dept., University of Central Florida Libraries, Barbara.Tierney@ucf.eduCorinne Bishop, EdD, Social Sciences Subject Librarian, University of Central Florida Libraries,Corinne.Bishop@ucf.eduKEYWORDS: Subject Librarians; University of Central Florida Downtown; UCF Downtown; University of Central Florida Libraries; Valencia College Abstract A new dual-campus subject librarian program is being rolled out at the University of Central Florida (UCF) whereby several subject librarians divide their time between two campuses, the legacy main campus in East Orlando and the new Downtown Orlando Campus. As of Fall 2019, four UCF subject librarians regularly travel to the new Downtown Campus to provide library support for academic programs, faculty, and students who recently relocated to the new facility. Dual-campus subject librarians are also maintaining support services for their assigned academic programs that remain at the UCF Main Campus. This article provides information and reflections about how the dual-campus subject librarian model operates and how it impacts staff duties from two perspectives. The first perspective is from the UCF Social Sciences subject librarian, who supports graduate and undergraduate programs in The School of Public Administration and Public Affairs graduate programs at the Downtown Campus, as well as graduate and undergraduate programs in Politics, Security & International Affairs and Criminal Justice at the Main Campus. The second perspective is from the Main Campus Head of the Research and Information Services Department, who supervises the dual-campus subject librarians. Overview of Shared Downtown Orlando CampusUCF Downtown Campus, renderings of Dr. Phillips Academic CommonsThe University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university located in Orlando, Florida with an enrollment in 2018-2019 of more than 68,000 students. UCF is home to 13 colleges that offer over 200 majors. It offers 101 bachelor’s, 88 master’s, and 35 doctoral and professional degree programs. At the new Downtown Orlando Campus, UCF’s undergraduate programs include Communication & Conflict, Digital Media, Emergency Management, Health Informatics and Information Management, Health Services Administration, Human Communication, Legal Studies, Nonprofit Management, Public Administration, and Urban and Regional Planning. UCF’s Graduate Programs include Communication M.A., Digital Media M.A., Emergency and Crisis Management M.E.C.M., Health Administration M.H.A., Health Care Informatics M.S., Interactive Entertainment M.S., Nonprofit Management M.N.M., Public Administration M.P.A., Public Policy (MPP), Research Administration M.R.A., Strategic Communication Ph.D., Urban and Regional Planning M.S., and an Interdisciplinary Public Affairs Ph.D (1). Valencia College is a public state college located in Orlando, Florida that currently offers classes on seven campuses with an enrollment of over 76,000 students in 2017-2018 (2). It was founded as Valencia Junior College in 1967, then became Valencia Community College in 1971, and in December 2010 its name was changed to Valencia College because the academic scope of the school had expanded to include bachelor's degrees. Valencia is ranked fourth in the United States for the number of associate's degrees awarded. (3). A longstanding partnership between Valencia College and the University of Central Florida has contributed to Valencia’s transfer rate, considered to be the highest in the country. DirectConnect to UCF guarantees Valencia graduates acceptance and streamlined admission to the University of Central Florida (4). At the new Downtown Orlando Campus, Valencia offers Digital Media, General Education, and Health Information Technology and Associate in Science degrees in Baking and Pastry Management, Culinary Management, Digital Media Technology, Health Information Technology, Hospitality and Tourism, Management, New Media Communication, and Restaurant and Food Management (5). The Downtown Campus is a 15-acre campus located in Orlando’s Creative Village that opened on August 26, 2019 and is a partnership between the University of Central Florida and Valencia College. It brings approximately 7,700 UCF and Valencia students to live, learn and work in downtown Orlando. “The campus’s proximity to Orlando’s Central Business District places students within walking distance of job and internship opportunities and makes it easy for faculty to invite guest speakers to campus or collaborate with professionals in their field of study” (6). Downtown LibraryThe new Downtown Campus includes a shared branch library that supports the many graduate and undergraduate programs transferred from UCF’s Main Campus and from Valencia College. This new 2,400 square foot facility, located on the second floor of the Dr. Phillips Academic Commons building, provides a blended library staff from UCF and Valencia College, a blended UCF and Valencia collection of print and online resources, a spacious reading room, several research consultation areas, and library staff offices. UCF and Valencia are striving to maintain the same outstanding level of library services and resources to their users who are accustomed to their main campuses.Library Seating, Downtown UpdatesDecisions on Dual-Campus Subject LibrariansDuring the planning for the UCF Downtown Campus, one of UCF Libraries’ first concerns was how best to provide librarian support for the graduate and undergraduate programs that would be transferred from the Main Campus to the Downtown Campus. In addition to hiring a full-time Head Librarian for the Downtown Library, as well as paraprofessional staff, should UCF also hire full-time downtown subject librarians? Or, would it be better for UCF’s transferred academic programs to simply retain their trusted, veteran Main Campus subject librarians by asking those librarians to split their time between two campuses? If this dual-campus librarian strategy was followed, four out of twelve subject librarians would then have program assignments on two campuses. Another consideration was whom should the downtown subject librarians report to? Should it be the Main Campus Head of the Research & Information Services Department (whom these subject librarians had reported to for more than six years) or the new Downtown Head Librarian? The decision was made that the four subject librarians who served programs transferred to the Downtown Campus would continue to support these programs, while also continuing to support their programs remaining at the Main Campus. It was also decided that the same reporting structure would remain in place and dual-campus subject librarians would continue to report to the Head of the Research & Information Services Department.The four UCF dual-campus subject librarians include a librarian who has Downtown Campus duties in the School of Public Administration and Public Affairs and Main Campus duties in Political Science, Criminal Justice, and Interdisciplinary Studies. The second librarian has Downtown Campus duties in Human Communication and Main Campus duties in History, Philosophy, Religion, and Woman & Gender Studies. The third librarian has Downtown Campus duties in Legal Studies and Main Campus duties in Government Information and Theatre, and the fourth librarian has Downtown Campus duties in Health Informatics and Information Management and Health Services Administration and Main Campus duties in Communication Disorders.Preparation for New Dual-Campus Subject Librarians’ Roles Before the Downtown Campus opened, the four subject librarians were busy preparing for their first year of dual-campus duties. Librarians participated in Downtown Campus orientation sessions; contributed to reassuring newsletters sent to faculty and students transferred to the Downtown Campus; worked with program faculty on collection development for Downtown Campus materials; selected materials from the Main Campus legacy collections to be transferred downtown; ordered new resources for downtown programs; and became familiar with transportation routes between campuses and downtown parking options. To plan for the fall semester, dual-campus librarians made preparations to use Downtown Library offices that offered ‘hoteling spaces’ and research consultation (‘Library Huddle’) spaces where they could meet with faculty and students. Librarians also attended training sessions to learn more about the technology-enhanced classroom model provided at the Downtown Campus. Initial Challenges of Downtown Campus OpeningAs the final countdown began for the official August 26th opening, the subject librarians encountered several 11th hour challenges: the Downtown Library opening was delayed by two months, which meant transfer of the print collections selected for downtown programs would be delayed. Additionally, the Downtown Library computers and printers were delayed; there were some difficulties finding classroom space for downtown face-to-face instruction sessions and research consultations; and difficulties finding parking. Construction on the Downtown Library was finally completed on October 14th and the Downtown Library staff who had been offering limited library services at a Technology Assistance area nearby the Downtown Library entrance, happily moved into their official home. The new Downtown Library space offers a research help desk and a check-out area for collections and course reserves. It also provides courier services for Interlibrary Loan requests, access to electronic resources, printing, copying, scanning, and Ask a Librarian virtual reference services.Activities of Dual-Campus Subject LibrariansSubject librarians are initially scheduling specific days and/or blocks of times to work at the Downtown Library each week. While downtown, they provide instruction in classrooms designed to facilitate active learning. All Downtown Campus classroom furniture is movable, and projectors are available in each classroom. Some classrooms include several wall monitors to display presentations throughout the room, and many classrooms have multiple whiteboards available. In addition to reserving library office ‘hoteling space,’ subject librarians have access to four ‘Library Huddle’ spaces where they can meet with faculty and students for consultations. These consultation areas are located on the second floor of the Dr. Phillips Academic Commons and are glass-enclosed spaces that overlook the building’s atrium. Library Huddle, Downtown UpdatesTo accommodate research consultations on dual campuses, subject librarians are using Springshare’s Libcal software for appointment requests at both campus locations. Since many Downtown Campus programs are offered online, subject librarians already have an embedded presence in selected courses. To provide the same high-quality support, some subject librarians are also making use of Springshare’s LibWizard tool and LibGuides and using Skype and Zoom to provide instruction and consultations for students and faculty in their assigned programs when they are not at the Downtown Campus.With regard to collection development, some dual-campus subject librarians are now being asked to order new materials in separate ordering systems. For the downtown Public Administration programs, the subject librarian is ordering materials using ProQuest’s OASIS (a free web-based acquisitions and selection system) and for main campus programs the ordering is done through EBSCO’s Gobi system. This new ordering strategy was put in place for two reasons: to keep Downtown Campus orders (OASIS) separate from main campus orders (GOBI) for better tracking. Separate ordering processes also provide an opportunity to test OASIS versus GOBI and allows UCF Acquisitions staff to compare the pros/cons of each system. This dual process also requires subject librarians to become proficient with ordering in both systems.With regard to commuting, dual-campus subject librarians have the choice of either driving their own vehicles or taking a free UCF shuttle. A Downtown Campus parking garage is available for those librarians who commute using their own vehicles, and UCF Transportation Services operates 15 daily roundtrip express shuttles between UCF’s Main Campus and the Downtown Campus. Pros and Cons of Dual-Campus ModelSome positive aspects of serving as a dual-campus subject librarian are maintaining the connections with faculty and students that have developed over time. Others include the excitement of working at a new, smaller campus where the library and academic programs are in close physical proximity. This has already allowed for some impromptu interactions between program faculty and subject librarians. Initially, some cons were based on the two-month construction delay in opening the Downtown Library and the subsequent delay in the availability of print collections. The construction delays also extended to the new parking garage, which caused short-term traffic and parking issues at the beginning of the busy fall semester. Looking ahead, a potential outreach concern is the availability of space to meet with groups of students or to host student workshops. The main campus library has two dedicated classrooms that librarians can use to host groups. However, there is a limited number of rooms at the Downtown Campus that can be reserved, so this may require new outreach strategies by offering more workshops online such as synchronous ZOOM sessions for faculty and students to overcome the barrier of distance.Impact of Dual-Campus Subject Librarian on Main Campus Library ManagersMain campus library managers must make sure that communication lines are open and free-flowing with the dual-campus subject librarians, keep abreast of dual-campus librarians’ schedules, and make accommodations that Reference Services and Collection Development meetings are available via online technologies. Providing additional training (for programs such as Libcal, LibWizard, ZOOM, and Skype) is also key to strengthening subject librarians’ skills to facilitate online instruction and communication tools. Managers must also coordinate assessment of the dual-campus subject librarian model.Assessment of Dual-Campus Subject Librarian ModelTo formatively assess the dual-campus subject librarian model, the Downtown subject librarians share their experiences with each other as well as with the entire group of subject librarians at monthly Reference Services meetings. They also share their experiences with the RIS Department Head via their monthly written activity reports. Additionally, each dual-campus librarian’s research consultations are followed up with a client online feedback survey and each instruction session is followed with the librarian’s after-class report. These client feedback options and librarian reports are reviewed by the RIS Department Head and the Head of the Teaching and Engagement Department. During the first two semesters of implementing this new model, it was agreed that changes in the way the dual-campus subject librarians operate can be made on the fly, to best suit the needs of faculty, students, and the librarians. Summative assessment will be conducted at the close of the academic year, during the RIS Department’s annual May retreat. The subject librarian group, as a whole, will discuss and evaluate the effectiveness and success of the dual-campus subject librarian model and make recommendations for the upcoming academic year. REFERENCES1. University of Central Florida. (n.d.). UCF facts. Retrieved from https://www.ucf.edu/about-ucf/facts2. Valencia College (n.d.). Valencia College facts. Retrieved from https://valenciacollege.edu/about/facts.php3. Valencia College. (n.d.). About Valencia College. Retrieved from https://valenciacollege.edu/about/history.php4. Valencia College. (n.d.) Future students. Retrieved from https://net1.valenciacollege.edu/future-students/directconnect-to-ucf/5. UCF Downtown. (n.d.). Academics. Retrieved from https://www.ucf.edu/downtown/academics/6. UCF Downtown. (n.d.). About the campus. Retrieved from https://www.ucf.edu/downtown/IMAGES1. University of Central Florida. (2019). UCF Downtown Campus, renderings of Dr. Phillips Academic Commons. Retrieved from https://www.ucf.edu/downtown/campus2. “Downtown Updates [library seating]” by Rachel Mulvihill, 20193. “Downtown Updates [library huddle]” by Rachel Mulvihill, 2019

Date Created

October 2020

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