Annual Report 2010

Library

Director’s Overview

Significant growth in the University’s student and staff numbers combined with an increasing diversification in academic programs and a strengthening emphasis on research presented significant challenges to the Library Service. These challenges were heightened by a freeze onstaffing numbers and a limited growth in the overall budget. Nonetheless considerable progress was made in the provision of Library collections and services, as well as a more limited improvement in the physical facilities of each campus library.

The main highlights for the Library in 2010 were:

• Following a thorough consultative process a new staffing structure was implemented in the middle of the year. Library personnel are now grouped into two broad areas under the leadership of two senior staff, the Associate Library Director (Client Services) and the Associate Library Director (Resources and Access). A number of services are now centralised under the Associate Library Director (Resources and Access).  The new structure is now working smoothly with positive gains in overall performance, as well as providing enhanced career paths for Library staff. 
• Usage of our libraries continued to be very healthy. Gate counts were well up on last year’s record totals, demand for informational literacy services jumped again and loans of print material only fell marginally (although loans per student showed a greater fall) but this was offset by another stunning increase in the use of electronic resources and online services.
• The Library undertook its fifth Survey of Client Satisfaction in second semester. The results were quite pleasing particularly in respect of the collections and Library staff performance.  The major negatives were lack of space in the larger libraries and the general lack of adequate computer facilities. 
• Library staff played a key role in strengthening ACU’s response to the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative not only through strong support for our researchers but also through the development of ACU Research Bank, the University’s digital repository of research output.

• Some minor improvements were made to the physical amenities of several libraries, more student-use computers were provided (including the successful completion of the laptop lending trial in the Melbourne Campus Library) and wireless networks were significantly upgraded.  However the level of over-crowding in our Melbourne, Strathfield and North Sydney campus libraries is now beyond severe and this is beginning to emerge as a challenge in the remaining three libraries - this was a major negative in the Survey of Client Satisfaction. The need to provide more space for the libraries is being addressed as part of the University’s capital works master planning exercise with the Melbourne Library due for a major extension by the end of 2012.

• Acquisitions expenditure remained robust and was greatly boosted by the high value of the Australian dollar. The Library continued to provide a very good level of support to new and existing courses, especially through the expansion of electronic resources but also was able to make substantial purchases of back-runs of electronic journals and individual collections of electronic books. The liaison librarians worked cooperatively with academic staff, as well as collaboratively with each other across the campuses, to ensure that collection development was closely aligned with strategic developments in the academic areas. 
• The overall Library budget remained in strong surplus, which led to a strong carry forward of funds into 2011.
• The Library generally met it targets as set out in the 2010 Library Operational Plan. A progress report is included as Appendix 1.

Chris Sheargold
Director of Libraries

 
The Library’s Mission and Vision

The Library’s mission is to enable and enrich the teaching, learning and research endeavours of the University by delivering flexible access to

extensive and relevant information resources and by providing quality services and facilities.

Our vision for the library service is to have:

• Resource provision and access that is coordinated and futures-oriented, and that finds integrated and innovative solutions to optimise the effectiveness of a limited resource base.
• Stronger partnerships with Australian Catholic University’s teaching, learning and research community to enable a more direct contribution to the educational mission of the University.
• Staff members who, by building on their professional expertise, provide an exemplary service that demonstrates a commitment to meeting the individual and collective information needs of clients.
• Management practices and operations that embody a commitment to Quality Assurance principles, and are attuned to the changing needs of the University.
• Technological and physical infrastructure developments that better enable the provision of flexible and responsive access to services and resources into the future.

 
The Library’s Core Values

The core values on which the Library bases its service are:

• Client focus
  We are attentive to the individual learning and educational needs of our diverse and dispersed clientele.  We strive to provide equitable service to all clients.
• Ethical conduct
  We commit ourselves to ethical behaviour, treating one another and our clients with respect, dignity and fairness.
• Quality
  We evaluate what we do and strive for continuous improvement in service through the application of Quality Assurance systems and practices.  We strive to deliver high quality services efficiently and cost-effectively.
• Cooperation
  We foster a spirit of cooperation and collaboration within the Library, within ACU and beyond.  We work collectively to achieve our goals, with each staff member taking personal responsibility for their role in the success of the team.
• Professional rigour
  We set and attain high standards of professional performance.  We ensure that all Library staff are enabled to fulfil their role.
• Education and learning
  We value learning and, as professionals, contribute actively to the University’s educational and research mission.

 

About the Library

Clientele

The Library has a major presence on each of the University’s six campuses and serves a range of client groups with varying information and access

requirements.  These clients include:

• All students of Australian Catholic University, including those remotely located.
• All staff of Australian Catholic University.
• Staff and students from institutions with which ACU libraries have reciprocal arrangements.
• Members of the general public, who are welcome to use the libraries and for whom borrowing conditions are specified in the Australian Catholic University Library's Circulation Policy.
• Other libraries through Inter-Library Loan and Document Delivery services in accordance with the Library's inter-library-lending policies.

Management

Two Associate Library Directors report to the Director of Libraries with the following management structure below them:

Associate Library Director (Client Services):

• Campus Librarian (Ballarat)
• Campus Librarian (Brisbane)
• Campus Librarian (Canberra)
• Campus Librarian (Melbourne)
• Campus Librarian (North Sydney)
• Campus Librarian (Strathfield)
• Senior Library Technician (Inter-Library Loans)

Associate Library Director (Resources and Access):

• Library Manager (Administration)
• Library Manager (Resources Services)
• Library Manager Access Services)

The Director formally reports to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students Learning and Teaching), who also chairs the University’s Library Committee.
The Director and the two Associate Library Directors form the Library Executive. The Senior Library Forum (SLF), which is chaired by the Director with other senior Library staff as members (those at HEW Level 8 and above), is responsible for policy development, review and implementation. 

Library Standing Committees

There are now six internal Library standing committees, with broad internal representation. Standing committee meetings deal with operational issues, allow information sharing and play a role in the formulation of policy recommendations that are then considered by the SLF and, where appropriate, by the Library Committee. The six Standing Committees are:

• Communications
• Disability Services
• Information Services
• Lending Services
• Research
• Technical Services

The Library Committee

The Library Committee met twice in 2010 and has the following Terms of Reference:

• To approve policy directions for the Library and, where necessary, to make appropriate recommendations to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students Learning and Teaching),
• To provide an effective link between the Library and its stakeholders,
• To consider any matter referred to the Committee by the Vice-Chancellor or Academic Board,
• To give advice to the Budget Advisory Committee on the budgetary needs of the Library,
• To receive and distribute the Annual Report of the Director of Libraries.

The new membership reflected changes to the University’s structure with the Library moving to a new portfolio and a new Faculty being established.

The 2009 membership of the Library Committee was:

• Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students Learning and Teaching) (Chair)
• Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)
• Director of Libraries
• External university librarian
• Director of Information Technology
• Dean’s nominee from each Faculty
• One postgraduate student
• One undergraduate student

External Relationships

The Library is a member of:

• CAUL (Council of Australian University Librarians),
• QULOC (Queensland University Libraries Office of Cooperation),
• CAVAL (Cooperative Action by Victorian Academic Libraries),
• ACTUAL (ACT University and Academic Libraries),
• UNISON (University Librarians in the State of NSW).

Statistical Snapshot

Our statistics remained healthy for 2010 with the major highlights being:

Loans

Year	Total Loans
2005	294.569
2006	274,245
2007	301,432
2008	305,709
2009	326,700
2010	322,787

While there is clear statistical evidence that our clientele is making greater use of electronic resources, these figures indicated that printed material is still well used.  Last year saw the first decline in the actual number of print loans in five years, a trend that is more pronounced when the growth in student population is taken into account.

Inter-Library Loans

Year	Supplied	Received
2005	2,414	1,963
2006	2,878	1,986
2007	2,948	1,903
2008	3,153	1,585
2009	4,031	1,572
2010	3,901	2,073

While ACU remained a strong inter-library loan net lender, 2010 did see a substantial jump in requests to other libraries probably reflecting a growth in student population and an increasing emphasis on research activities.

Acquisitions Expenditure

Year	Serials	Monographs	Total
2005	$674,791	$1,022,489	$1,697,280
2006	$833,776	$1,056,156	$1,889,932
2007	$1,151,083	$1,037,866	$2,188,949
2008	$1,322,195	$1,226,787	$2,548,982
2009	$1,650,519	$1,546,371	$3,196,890
2010	$1,781,887	$1,428,982	$3,210,869

Acquisitions expenditure registered only a very small growth in 2010 with expenditure on books actually falling. This did not reflect any budget restrictions nor demand for new material but rather the very substantial increase in the value of the Australian currency.

Serial Titles

Year	Total serial titles
2005	25,028
2006	26,499
2007	31,357
2008	39,091
2009	56,341
2010	56,774

After three years of very solid growth the number of serial titles held at around the same level as recorded in 2009. However, there were a large number of cancellations of print titles

Non-Serial Print Volumes

Year	Total volumes
2005	459,133
2006	479,505
2007	486,607
2008	474,662
2009	472186
2010	462,939

The number of non-serial print titles held in the collection decreased due in large part to the removal of out-dated and unused material from the collections.

  
Standing Committee Reports

Communication Standing Committee

Membership

Leticia Medwell (Chair)
Kate Bunker (Electronic Services Unit)
Rachael Bahl (Canberra)
Francesca Higgins (North Sydney)
Geraldine Marsh (Strathfield)
John Eliot (Brisbane)
Rachel Forrest (Ballarat)
Kathryn Duncan (Melbourne)
Joanna Coad (Electronic Services Unit)

Meetings

The Committee met regularly during 2010.

Principal Matters Attended to during the Year

The Committee continued their excellent work during 2010.  The Communications Strategy, developed in 2009, to identify key messages to be sent each month to stakeholders via the Library website, the Blog, email and TV screens in campus libraries proved highly successful.  A key development for the year was a series of common templates for campus library guides, book marks and other A4 handouts.  These feature the ACU Library “logo” and will provide the Library with a consistent and professional look across all its campuses.  The Communications Standing Committee continues to be a forum for discussion of wide ranging issues and sharing of information across all campus libraries.

Leticia Medwell
Chair, Communication Standing Committee

Disability Services Standing Committee

Membership

Liz Hayward (Chair)
Marianne Gration (Ballarat)
Fiona Gibson (Melbourne)
Jane Black (Canberra)
Janette Telford (North Sydney)
Vicki Bourbous (Strathfield)
Jon Elliott (Brisbane)

Meetings

November 9

Principal Matters Attended to during the Year

This standing committee has been reformed after a lull in activity due to the intense development of the Disability Service in collaboration with the ACU Equity and Disability Unit.
A meeting was convened in November and initiated discussion about service levels and requirements at campus library level. An overview of the unit's activities and document production was also conducted.

Liz Hayward
Chair, Library Disability Services Committee

 

Information Services Standing Committee

Membership & Meetings

Annette McGuiness - Chair (Canberra)
Vicki Bourbous (Strathfield)
Barbara Adamson (Brisbane)
Kate Bunker (Electronic Services Unit)
Jane Black (Canberra)
Colleen Hutchison (North Sydney)
Narelle Love (Melbourne)
Marianne Gration (Ballarat)

A change of representation at our Brisbane campus with Barbara Adamson replaying Freya Bruce was the only alteration in the membership of the Information Services Standing Committee (ISSC) in 2010. The ISSC met three times in the first six months of 2010 before the Library restructure came in to place in July 2010.  From this point the Information Services Standing Committee ceased to function as it had formerly, however the many areas covered by the ISSC have been incorporated into the terms of reference of the faculty-based library committees that have been formed in the restructure. 

Principal Matters Attended to during the Year

Information Services Working Parties: Three working parties were formed in 2009 and two of these (Referencing Support and Information Literacy) continued through 2010.

Referencing support - The ACU Library - Assistance with Referencing guidelines were developed and approved at the end of 2009 and implemented from 2010.  APA, Harvard, MLA and Chicago information is now available through the Academic Skills site with the Library’s Referencing webpage now acting as a pathfinder to this information rather than the repository.

Information Literacy - This group was not able to commit as much to this area as it did in 2009 however the team continued to contribute to the Graduate Attributes project and is still working to complete an assessment toolkit to assist academics to scaffold students’ information literacy skills development.

Research support:   During 2010 there was a strong focus on enhancing the Library’s support of supporting higher degree students and academics undertaking research and building relationships, not just with these groups but also with other key units (e.g. Academic Skills, IT, LTC and Research Office) who also provide research support. Throughout the year, liaison librarians worked with research students and academics to develop their knowledge and skills in a range of research related areas such as literature reviews; the research process; ERA/ResearchBank; bibliometrics and impact factors, and EndNote.  This work will continue into the future with liaison librarians at each campus combining their ideas and efforts even more, to work together to produce guides, tutorials and other support tools for this and our other client groups.

Annette McGuiness
Chair - Information Services Standing Committee

Lending Services Standing Committee

Membership

Josephine Frawley, Chair, January – August (Strathfield),
Marianne Gration, Chair, August– December (Ballarat)
Jessica Morgan, Nica Tsakmakis (Melbourne)
Corene Jones (Ballarat)
Alma Lukic, Michelle Matek/Frances Liston (Strathfield) 
Janette Telford (North Sydney)
Anita Godley (Canberra)
John Eliot, Anne Edwards (Brisbane)
Donna Laffan (Electronic Services Unit)
Patricia D’Arcy (Inter Library Loans)

Meetings

19 February
10 May
23 June
13 August
15-17 November (face-to-face, Ballarat campus)

Principal Matters Attended to during the Year

Inter-library Loans Coordinator appointed and casual staff made permanent
Patricia D’Arcy applied for and was appointed to the position of ILL Coordinator after the library restructure was implemented on 5th July 2010.Further staff consolidation followed. These changes allowed the Coordinator to take greater control of the ILL Service. She continued to liaise with colleagues in other libraries and with UNILINC to develop ILL2 module capabilities; Mrs. D’Arcy also worked directly with Committee members by email and through personal visits to their campuses to train new staff and update experienced staff. Her Inter-library Loans report provides further details.

Staff Patron Load Interface (PLIF) program developed
Trevor Goodall from Management Information Systems (MIS) worked closely with the Chair, with Human Resources (HR) systems staff and with UNILINC (Helen Loosli) to adapt the library system’s patron load interface program to the HR staff database. On 22nd July, Trevor successfully uploaded a large file of continuing staff records. In the following months he modified the program to include casual academic staff records. By October he had resolved system compatibility issues to enable regular automated uploads from the ACU network to the UNILINC server. In the following December-January, UNILINC implemented a major update of the ACU staff patron file by removing thousands of manually created records. In future the majority of staff patron records will be automatically updated and/or removed to reflect current staff status.

New Aleph Course Reading module implemented
The new module was implemented during the mid-year break and Helen Loosli from UNILINC conducted staff training for all sites in July via the internet. Having managed without such a module during first semester, staff with no experience of the previous version questioned its use. The Committee agreed to review the module at the end of 2010. At the August meeting first impressions were positive: the new module was simpler to use and improved student access to required reading resources. However members reported that the CR collection had for some time been significantly under-used and requested that this issue be taken up with relevant academic staff. It was agreed to verify this perception with system generated reports and bring them to the attention of the Liaison Librarians.
 
Change management of student print/copy service
The change management process commenced in December 2009, and proceeded with increasing intensity throughout first semester, stabilising in second semester. The change of service provider coincided with management of the service moving from the Library to the IT Directorate, and both changes impacted significantly on Lending Services staff. They are the first service point for most students who use the print/copy service. The change management process concluded in December 2010 when IT Projects Services took responsibility for the resolution of disputes and requests for refunds.

Face-to-face meeting
The Committee met in Ballarat in November 15 – 17, the final meeting of the year. The first morning session, run by Helen Loosli (UNILINC) covered: Tab 17, the advantages & disadvantages of recalls, the proposed booking system and reports. The rest of the 2 days was spent in a formal meeting. Customer service issues reviewed included:- fines, loan periods, ways of improving all aspects of our service, rationalisation and standardisation of forms such as the Course Reading form, etc. The committee made a recommendation to the Client Services Management Committee (CSMC) to increase the number of requests for external students.  This has subsequently been approved and acted upon. All members agreed that the new Course Reading module is working well and should continue to be used in 2011. Members made a recommendation to the CSMC to trial the recall system but the CSMC agreed that there was no need to go ahead with it at this stage. The Face to Face meeting was very productive and provided the new chair, Marianne Gration, and all members with an opportunity to get to know each other better.

Josephine Frawley/Marianne Gration
Chairs, Lending Services Standing Committee, 2010

 
Research Standing Committee

Membership

Dr Stephen Oakshott (Chair)
Leticia Medwell (Access Services)
Wai-Leng Wong (Access Services)
Annette McGuiness (Canberra)
Sally Kudrna (North Sydney)
Tatum McPherson-Crowie (Melbourne)

Meetings

The Committee held its inaugural meeting on November 4.

Principal Matters Attended to during the Year

The Committee was established following the restructure in response to the increasing focus on research within the university and the important role the library plays in supporting this activity, including advising researchers on accessing resources and managing the ACU research repository.

Business of the first meeting included:

• Drafting the Committee’s terms of reference
• Discussing the range of research services and processes currently being undertaken by the Library
• Agreeing on the need to develop a Library Research Support Plan that defines the role of the Library in support of ACU’s research objectives and that outlines strategies to improve support to key stakeholders engaged in research activity
• Discussing ways of fostering closer ties with Research Services, ACU research committees and other key staff.

Dr Stephen Oakshott
Chair, Research Standing Committee

 

Technical Services Standing Committee

Membership

Freya Bruce (Chair)
Rebecca Henson (Electronic Services Unit)
Sam Hou (North Sydney)
Liz Jamieson (Signadou)
Anthony McCall (Brisbane)
Marianne Gration (Ballarat)
Jurij Suchowerskyj (Strathfield)

Committee Membership Changes
In January 2010 Jim Graham was appointed to the new position of Associate Director (Client Services) in anticipation of the library re-structure in July. As a consequence Freya Bruce took over as Chair of the committee.  With the introduction of the new library structure in July the responsibilities of the committee were taken over by Resources and Access staff and the committee was disbanded.

Meetings

The committee did not meet in 2010 with problems either being solved locally, or within the practitioner groups or referred to Freya for passing onto UNILINC.

Principle Matters Attended to during the Year

The Technical Services Standing Committee oversaw the following matters in 2010:

• Statistics
• Cataloguing queries and problems
• Acquisitions queries
• Preparation for the new structure

Client Services

With ACU Library’s new structure being enacted in July the second half of 2010 was a busy time for the new Service.

Staffing

The following staff were appointed to the principal positions in Client Services:

 Associate Library Director (Client Services) Jim Graham
 Campus Librarian (Melbourne) Narelle Love
 Campus Librarian (Ballarat) Marianne Gration
 Campus Librarian (Canberra) Annette McGuiness
 Campus Librarian (Strathfield) Marianne Chauvet
 Campus Librarian (North Sydney) Sam Hou
 Campus Librarian (Banyo) Freya Bruce
 Inter Library Loans Coordinator Patricia D’Arcy

Structure

Campus Librarians met regularly with the Associate Library Director (Client Services) as the Client Services Management Committee.  This committee oversees the operation of the Service.  Each Campus Librarian has been made responsible for a faculty grouping of Liaison Librarians assigned to schools in that faculty. These groups meet informally and communicate predominately by email.  Any requests from Deans, etc are dealt with by these committees.  The Lending Services Standing Committee continues and reports to the CSMC.  An Information Literacy Subcommittee has been re-constituted. Client Services has representatives on two cross-service committees, the Research Committee and the Communications Standing Committee.  In the interest of cross-service communication an Access staff member attends CSMC meetings and a Campus Librarian attends Access meetings.

Highlights:

• The 2010 Insync survey provided the library with some good information on performance and areas for improvement.
• Technology. The Library negotiated with IT the provision in 2011 of additional computer equipment for public areas. e.g., PCs, laptops, ipads at North Sydney, flat screens, touch screens, etc.
• Printing.  The introduction of the new IT managed printing system was problematic.  Facilities Management transferred from the Library to IT in mid year but by the end of 2010 secure printing was still not in place.
• Collections. In December the CSMC made some wide ranging decisions about the rationalisation and standardisation of Collections and informed Technical Services of the changes.  Our Collections are steadily being standardized so that in the near future a floating collection can be introduced.
• Canberra CEO. In December the library negotiated and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Canberra/Goulburn Catholic Education Office for ACU to provide the CEO with a Library service.
• St Paul’s Collection. During the year the Library negotiated with Holy Spirit Seminary and the QLD Bishops for some changes to be made to the way in which St Paul’s collection material is catalogued.
• Inter Library Loans.  The centralized Inter Library Loan Unit became fully functioning in July.  The unit, with 2.6 staff, is working well sourcing books and articles not held by ACU Library for academics and higher degree students. 

 

Ballarat Campus Library

Staffing

Due to the ACU libraries restructure, there has been significant change for Ballarat Library. Stuart Whelan moved on to take up the position of Library Manager, Resource Services in Melbourne and no longer manages both Victorian campus libraries. Each library now has its own Campus Librarian and Marianne Gration has taken this position. Two additional Liaison Librarians have now been appointed to be the primary contacts for academic staff in all Schools and Faculties represented at Ballarat. All positions at Ballarat library are now filled with permanent staff.

Collections

Developing and maintaining the collection continues with 2,321 new print items added this year. Many more electronic books are now available and this collection is being used more. Print serials have been consolidated on the Mezzanine floor to allow for the re-arrangement the early childhood collection and for more casual seating space. The reference collection has been evaluated with many items being moved into the main collection so they can be borrowed.

Client services

Student numbers have increased dramatically in the past two years on Ballarat campus, and as a consequence there has been an appreciable increase in door counts and enquiry statistics. 5,462 queries were answered across the Information and Loans desks and 67,969 people came through the doors. Staff engaged with the students through the instant messaging service as well as the email service – Ask Your Librarian, which is more popular.  The Liaison Librarians also led information classes, teaching 878 students in vital research skills. The new large flat TV screen in the entry of the library helps relay messages & information to staff & students.

Highlights

In early 2010, the library space expanded incorporating a large Computer lab as well as an additional group discussion space for students. The computer lab seats 25 and the discussion room seats another 24 people. Ballarat Library also enjoyed a very positive response from the client survey, held across all libraries. The staff are to be commended for upholding high levels of service consistently throughout the year. This has been most welcome given the increase in student numbers over the past two years.

Brisbane Campus Library

Staffing

2010 saw the retirement of Susan Geary after 24 years of service to ACU. Her skills and expertise will be missed. The restructure was successfully implemented in July and by the end of 2010 there was only one position being filled by a locum. Peter Blake joined Client Services from Access Services late in 2010.

Collections

2745 items were added to the collection in 2010. This is down from 4219 in 2009. Of these 612 were added to the St Paul’s Collection. Changes were negotiated with the Holy Spirit Seminary to facilitate easier cataloguing of the St Paul’s Collection late in 2010.

Client Services

There were 225,765 visitors to Banyo Library in 2010, an increase of 15%. Loans and in-house use of print resources were down slightly to 69,668 and 16,428 respectively. However it was pleasing to note that 9000 loans were made through the new self check machine that was installed in time for semester two. Information Services staff gave 110 information literacy classes to over 2270 students. This is a significant increase on 2009 (88 classes to 1745 students). This includes teaching in some Schools that the library had not had access to previously and is not just the result of increased student numbers.

Highlights

Staff members were able to attend a variety of staff development opportunities including VALA, ALIAaccess and an EndNote masterclass. Anne Edwards co-hosted a QULOC meeting at ACU soon after her appointment as Lending Services Coordinator. Sarah Howard successfully completed the Graduate Certificate of Higher Education.

Canberra Campus Library

Staffing

The Canberra Campus Library Team remained very stable over the year – with all staff now permanent in their positions, it was a year of consolidation as staff focused on continuing to provide high level service to the various clients of the Canberra Campus Library.  The one major staffing change for the Canberra Library in 2010 was the retirement of Ruth Rankin (Acquisitions Officer) who had been working part-time with this campus library for over 33 years. The Library's restructure in July did bring with it some changes for the Canberra Campus Library, the major one being the movement of technical services functions to the Melbourne Campus. There was some impact on staffing in regards to changes in cataloguing duties and the ordering or materials, but it has also allowed for some positions (namely the liaison librarians) to concentrate their efforts more on information literacy, collection building, and more support for teaching and research. Staff undertook several development opportunities throughout the year, participating in training courses and major library and information management conferences and seminars.  Rachael Bahl continued to serve on the national level ACU Staff Consultative Committee.

Collections

Throughout the year, the Liaison Librarians continued to order thousands of books, ebooks, and various curriculum, and teaching resources to support the major courses offered in Canberra – Education, Educational Leadership, Religious Education, Theology, Philosophy, Nursing, and Social Work.  Staff also undertook a substantial review of the collection, weeding dated material and ordering new items to strengthen and update holdings in curriculum resources and other areas. A major collection related initiative that began at the end of 2010 was the signing of a MOU between ACU Canberra Campus and the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn CEO for the Canberra Library to incorporate the CEO Library's collection.  The merger of these two collections enhances holdings in both general and religious education areas, which in turn will enable greater support and diversity of materials to be provided to CEO General Staff and teachers and schools within the Archdiocese from 2011. 

Client services

Canberra Library staff continued to participate in the ACU Library's “Ask Your Librarian” program as well as working with colleagues on local and national initiatives to develop lending services, information literacy activities, subject-based information sessions and guides, and research support.

 Highlights

• Kate Bunker and Rachael Bahl won scholarships to attend The Australian Regional Women Leaders Convention in April 2010.
• Involvement in a range of fund-raising and promotional activities:
• • Library & Information Week (24-30 May 2010)
  • Children’s Book Week (21-27 August, 2010) with the theme “Across the Story Bridge”. Events included a BBQ and Book Character Dress-Up Day, a talk by our ACT Book Council Judge, Rosemary Thomas, and a visit by Rosary Primary school students.
  • Library display to celebrate the Canonisation of Mary MacKillop (October 2010)
• Heather Bullock graduated from her CIT Library course and Alison Withers and Jane Black completed the Library's 23 Things program.
• Construction of two new study rooms towards the back of the Library.

Melbourne Campus Library

Staffing

As a result of the library restructure Narelle Love took up the position of Campus Librarian when Stuart Whelan moved to set up Resource Services, and Nica Tsakmakis joined as Lending Services Co-ordinator when Jessica Morgan also moved to Resource Services. Earl Stuart was a new appointment to the Lending Services team as a Library Assistant. All Resource Services staff relocated to 250 Victoria Pde in July but continued to provide valuable assistance at the desks. Binoy Zacharias enjoyed some paternity leave and five staff members took extended overseas leave during the second half of the year. Tania Sloan covered many of the needed hours and with assistance from some very able industry placement students. Anne Moule began a transition to retirement process and is now working reduced hours. Daryl Bailey completed his term as Chair of CRIG (Caval Reference Interest Group). Daryl held the position of Chair for 4 years and has represented ACU at CRIG for 15 years. Jessica Morgan completed her Masters of Information Management through RMIT. Binoy Zacharias won the Melbourne Campus footy tipping competition – no mean feat!

Collections

Liaison librarians continued to monitor the collection, ordering new items or updating editions as needed. A major project is still underway to rejuvenate the audiovisual collection and replace aging and outdated Videos with DVDs. There has also been a concerted effort to update and refresh material in the 600s section of the collection. During 2010 3,994 items were added to the Melbourne collection which now numbers 112,096. This of course does not include the many thousands of ebooks also available.

Client Services

Staff continued to offer a very professional and high quality service to staff and students despite growing student numbers, a lack of space and a difficult implementation of the new printing and copying service. The handover of the printing and copying service to IT has now been completed. IT, Academic Skills and ACUonline continued to share the Information Desk in semester time and provide valuable assistance to students as well as ease the pressure on Information Desk staff. Information Literacy sessions were conducted throughout the year for small and large groups in venues including lecture theatres, teaching spaces and the library Online Centre. In semester 1 there were 120 sessions offered with 4,643 attendees while in semester 2 there were 37 sessions offered with 1,378 attendees.

Highlights

A self check machine was installed on level 1 in time for semester 2 and after initial teething issues is beginning to reduce the pressure on staff at the Loans Desk.
As demand for computers continues to be high, it was pleasing to have powerboards fitted to all study tables on level 1 which has resulted in much higher use of personal and library laptops. There are also 14 more fixed PCs on level 1. The MyPC booking system was loaded onto many of the library PCs and has been successful in addressing some of the queuing issues at busy times of the day. MyPC will now be added to all library computers. Funding from IT will enable the former Library Manager’s office on level 1 to be fitted out as a Teaching/Discussion Room with an interactive whiteboard and state of the art presentation facilities. There will be a second Discussion Room set up on the ground floor in a space  previously occupied by library staff. While there was no major renovation work in 2010, the purchase of additional modern and attractive art works has been welcomed by staff and students. Thanks go to all staff whose genuine commitment to the library and to each other helped to deliver an excellent service to library users throughout 2010.

North Sydney Campus Library

Staffing

Significant staff changes occurred in 2010 at North Sydney Campus Library.  As a result of the library restructure Sam Hou became the Campus Librarian.  Four library technicians, Jooae Paek, Gertrud An Huef, Beauty Mool and Huy Nguyen went to Resource and Access services.  Sophie Chen was appointed as a semester based library assistant, looking after intercampus loans.  Lorna Diaz took over online reading support and interlibrary loans.  Caitlin Hollins performed course reading and serials check in tasks.  In second semester a casual staff, Julia Jung, had to be appointed to cover the gap due to Consuelo Tattersall’s Workcover leave.

Collections

The library continues its drive to update the collection to make it more relevant and supportive of the needs of teaching, learning and research of the University.  In total 1458 new items were added to the campus library collection in 2010.  Meanwhile, the collection was weeded on an ongoing basis.   Old items, including some videos which have not been borrowed in the last five years, were removed from the collection.  A number of reference tools, which had become available electronically, were withdrawn as well.  So far the library has updated the business law collection as well as the following topic areas: anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, pathophysiology, medical-surgical nursing, health psychology and reference collection for nursing. 

Client Services

There were 7007 queries from clients.  Among them 6724 queries were answered via the reference and circulation desk, 219 queries were answered via Refchatter and 64 queries were answered via Reftracker.  There were 111,132 circulation transactions in 2010, including 40508 transactions for loans. The library supplied 174 items and 308 copies to other institutions as interlibrary loans.  In total 312 loans were issued via reciprocal borrowing with 27 renewals.   The library conducted 19 tours with 179 participants and 133 information literacy group sessions with 2402 participants. All group sessions focussed on library catalogue and databases with hands on exercises.  Some of the sessions were conducted in conjunction with Academic Skills staff for referencing.  Some were follow up sessions, covering more advanced searching skills.  In addition, 8 group sessions were conducted for staff and postgraduate students for EndNote and other referencing software. 65 participants attended. 

Highlights

• Sophie Chen was appointed to a new position, ICL, at the beginning of second semester;
• All library staff attended a full day Across Cultures Communication Skills workshop;
• Sam Hou went to the Leading Library Teams workshop and Library Innovation workshop;
• Francesca Higgins and Colleen Hutchison attended  Copyright updates workshop run by the Australian Copyright Council;
• Colleen Hutchison attended one day Endnote master course at the University of Queensland;
• Sally Kudrna finished successfully two units of the Graduate Certificate of Higher Education Certificate;
• Janette Telford presented at the Canadian Library Conference;
• Janette Telford presented at the ALIA conference in Brisbane;
• Janette Telford visited TAFE colleges and Universities in Australia and Canada in conjunction with her ALIA Library Technician Research Award;
• Lorna Diaz attended the ALA conference in Washington DC;
• Implementation of self charge unit;
• New photocopiers and printers were installed and Unicard system was implemented;
• MyPC booking was expanded to all library PCs except those in group study rooms;
• Library participated in the 2010 Insync Survey;
• 116 new titles were added to the collection for Physiotherapy.

Strathfield Campus Library

Staffing

Jurij Suchowersky, Liaison Librarian for the Schools of Social Work, Theology & Philosophy retired after 17 years in various roles at Australian Catholic University. Jurij was an active member of the Strathfield Campus Social Club and was heavily involved in Campus Orientation activities. The library will miss him and wishes Jurij well in the future.

Collections

Liaison librarians continue to tailor the purchase of resources to support the research and academic profiles of the campus’ schools. They are very active in liaising with faculty and updating the collection and in promoting new resources to academics and students. The positive feedback received on the Strathfield collection from the 2010 Client Satisfaction survey was due largely to the Liaison librarians in the effective use of electronic technologies to improve on services whilst not denying the importance of print resources.

Client Services

Strathfield campus library was full of students and buzzing with activity. 2010 saw a general increase in library activity, in gate count, loans comprising 24% of ACU total loan statistics and intercampus loans. In response to user requests to increase availability of student access PCs, a PC booking application system, “MyPC”, was implemented at Strathfield. This application controls PC session duration and allows students to book a PC and a seminar room in advance. Walk-up non bookable 30 minute express PCs are available for quick tasks  long with bookable 2 hour (+ 1 hour extension) PCs for more extensive work. Further to feedback received from the Client Satisfaction Survey, quiet study areas were introduced on level 2.  Levels 1 and 3 are more for collaborative work. There were increases in the number of Information Literacy classes given and in the number of participants. Classes were delivered on campus and as far as Wagga Wagga in mixed mode, lectures and tutorials and all were integrated. Selected highlights included:

• Orientation for visiting scholars
• EndNote sessions given to academic staff and research students.
• Orientation for Clemente students.
• Evaluation forms were distributed in most sessions.
• Responses indicated that students felt that
• • they gained knowledge in the variety of electronic resources available and on how to access
  • the content was relevant to their needs
  • they felt more confident in using the library and its resources.

As the number of enrolments increase, the online mode of delivery will be used for 2011.

Highlights

Orientation Week
Orientation at the Strathfield campus was held over 3 days in February to accommodate the growing number of students in the various schools. The Library had a stand where posters, pictures and resources in various formats were displayed. Staff in their white T-shirts with the logo “Information, Innovation, Inspiration” promoted the library and answered queries  whilst mingling with new students. Many library tours were conducted by Lending Services staff whilst the Liaison librarians were busy giving the “Linking Learning” sessions in collaboration with IT and Blackboard. Lucky dip prizes were won. Liaison librarians were also part of the welcome to new students’ sessions in the auditorium where a DVD, created by Danica Knezevic, ACU Visual Art & Design student, showcased the library.

Assistive Technology room
In 2010, the Strathfield library created a new study space comprising of facilities and assistive technologies for students with disabilities. The room, on level two in the library, is spacious and consists of a recliner chair and two PCs with assistive technology software, giving more students the opportunity to use the room concurrently. It is also located away from passive areas so that students can study quietly.

Learning Commons Rovers
From Semester 2, 2010, IT implemented a Student  Rovers service.   ACU students were employed to support IT staff in various tasks including being rostered in the library. When rostered in the library, the rovers assisted students in setting up their laptops, in logging into their email, printing and copying queries etc. Rovers are located at the IT desk in the library from 11am to 1pm Monday to Friday.

Conclusion
Feedback from the 2010 Insync survey provided some very positive feedback on library staff at Strathfield. The library‘s success is due to the hard work, dedication and professionalism of all staff who met the challenges of 2010 with a positive outlook. 

Interlibrary Loans

Staffing

As an interim measure, from 4 January 2010, the ILL team was staffed by 2 fulltime staff.  Changes to the way Interlibrary Loans were requested by ACU staff and eligible students meant that only the Banyo Central ILL unit handled these requests.  Unfortunately, for an extended period of time, the ILL unit was faced with a large backlog of requests.  However, with appropriate prioritising of requests, the unit was still able to offer a timely and efficient service. From 5 July 2010, the day when the library re-structure was officially implemented, the ILL unit was provided with its anticipated staffing – i.e. 1 HEW5 fulltime coordinator, 1 HEW4 fulltime team member, and 1 HEW4 part-time (.6) member.  This increase in staffing certainly assisted this unit enormously as the backlog was still occurring. 

Systems

From 23 August 2010 the library’s Aleph Interlibrary Loan module was configured to allow for interoperability with Libraries Australia Document Delivery service (LADD).  Prior to this change, ILL requests had to be actioned through 2 databases – LADD and Aleph.  This was time-consuming and cumbersome as actions and data input had to be duplicated at times.  With the advent of the ISO interoperability with LADD, almost all requests are now handled only through the Aleph ILL module, with the exception of a small number of requests from libraries which are not part of the LADD Payments scheme.

Sources

In August 2010, the central ILL unit subscribed to OCLC, the world’s largest library cooperative.  This database provides access to worldwide libraries, in particular US libraries.  It is being trialled for 1 year to ascertain its viability.  So far, it has proven to be a worthwhile resource for sourcing titles for research staff and PhD students.

Ongoing Training (Professional Development)

Lending Services staff at all campuses currently action requests for Supply – i.e. items owned by ACU campus libraries which can be supplied to other libraries.  Also, these staff action part of the Requesting process, i.e. receipt and return of items to libraries which supply loan materials to ACU.  These actions all require expertise and ongoing supervision to ensure this process is timely and efficient. In the later part of 2010 the ILL Coordinator visited each campus to re-train and update skills and procedures with the local ILL staff – a necessary action as processes changed quite frequently during the transition phase of the full implementation of the Aleph ILL system.  Microsoft Office Communicator, available to all campus library staff, is used to manage this training and updating of procedures.  Communicator allows the ILL Coordinator to guide staff on other campuses in the correct processes required for an efficient service.  This process will be employed more throughout the coming year and should eliminate the need for face-to-face consultation between the Coordinator and individual campus ILL staff.

Jim Graham
Associate Library Director (Client Services)

 

Resource and Access Services

Overview

Increasing student numbers and technological advances prompted the Library to restructure in July 2010 to improve services and rationalize resources across the six campus libraries.  Resource Services, a combination of Technical Services and Electronic Resources, underwent considerable changes in the restructuring process.  It was centralised from six to three campuses to streamline operations and offer a more efficient provision of print and electronic resources.  Access Services was an expansion of the former Electronic Services Unit with additional staff and areas of responsibility such as the introduction of Primo and the increasing demands of the Library Disability Services.

Resource Services

The work of acquiring and providing access to print and electronic collections to support teaching, learning and research is now undertaken by Resources Services, which includes Electronic and Technical Services. The re-organisation of the Library saw major changes for our Technical Services operation with activity now concentrated in three campuses, Melbourne, Strathfield and North Sydney. Work to establish a new Technical Services operation has taken some time to bed down and work on this was continuing in the latter part of the year. Work in Electronic Services continues as it did before the re-organisation and is still based in North Sydney.

Technical Services

Acquisitions and Cataloguing have continued without pause throughout the changes to the Technical Services operation. Manual acquisitions are ordered and received on the three campuses, while all materials ordered from DA are received in Melbourne.  Items for the two Sydney campuses and Brisbane are then sent to Strathfield and North Sydney for cataloguing.  New workflows have been defined and there is ongoing work to rationalise procedures and practices for cataloguing for all of the campuses.

Staffing

Not all positions were able to be filled following the library structure, with two positions currently vacant. This was in part due to the absence of two full-time staff who unfortunately were unable to attend work during the second half of the year. We have been fortunate in having three contract staff to assist with cataloguing and acquisitions.  The intention is to finalise all positions as early as possible in 2011.  The full staffing complement for Resource Services will be 15 people, with an EFT of 13.1. Training and induction has been given to staff new to Resource Services.

Supplier Relations

The Library is continuing to use DA for the supply of most monographs with orders placed directly online by the liaison librarians. In 2010 DA was supplying approximately 85% of items ordered. This system has been operating very smoothly on the whole with prompt supply of items. Regular communication between the Library and DA has helped in addressing any issues as they arise.  After some initial teething problems the service supplied by Australia Post in the timely shipment of items between the libraries has settled down and is working well.  UNILINC has again provided support and advice in relation to our changed needs of the shared library management system. The establishment of Resource Services has not been without its challenges in maintaining service levels while still defining and refining process.  The staff of the unit have put in a great effort to keep things going and their work is appreciated.

Electronic Resources

Following the work done in previous years the library has reached a level of stability in relation to the databases and electronic collections that it provides, having acquired access to the major collections and aggregations that are appropriate at this time. Most of the work during the year was in the nature of maintenance and administration.  Participation in CAUL and UNILINC consortium purchases continues to provide an advantage. The library continued its acquisition of eBooks, both through the purchase of individual titles and through purchase of sub-collections within aggregations. While most eBook titles are added to the catalogue through a quarterly SFX batch load by UNILINC, some individual titles are added manually.

Access Services

Access Services team was formed following the July restructure, largely from staff that comprised the previous Electronic Services Unit. Key responsibilities include the Library’s web presence, access to eresources, library systems, library support for clients with disabilities, ACU Research Bank, copyright and EndNote. The following staff were appointed to Access Services during the year:

• Stephen Oakshott (Library Manager – Access Services)
• Pam Trimmer (Disability Services)
• Jooae Paek (Electronic Services)
• Tony McCall (Research Support and Copyright)

Other staffing changes included the secondment of Peter Blake from Research Support and Copyright to the Banyo Campus Library. Peter has been replaced by Wai-Leng Wong.

Electronic Services

The Electronic Services team manages the Library web site, access to online resources, and the maintenance and development of a variety of Library products, including RefTracker and RefChatter.  In the second part of 2010 the team was also responsible for the development of a library “logo” and a series of templates that campus libraries can use to promote the Library, its services and facilities. 

Key developments in 2010 include:

• Consultant hired to review and re-develop the Library web site.
• Mobile web site option now available for Library users.
• Development of Primo, the new search and discovery software from Ex Libris.
• Introduction of LibGuides software to replace the current Subject Guides. 

Ongoing tasks include:

• Administration of RefChatter and RefTracker.
• Maintenance and development of Metalib.
• Co-ordination of Library involvement in, and development of resources for, LTC/ACUonline training.

Electronic Services staff  participate in campus desk rosters and RefTracker and RefChatter rosters.

Research Support and Copyright

During the restructure transition period, Leticia Medwell, with support from Client Services, worked on supporting the Research Services for the Excellence in Research Initiative 2010 reporting. An initial repository was developed with support from UNILINC to enable ACU to meet ERA reporting deadlines. Post-ERA for 2010, the team (Wai-Leng Wong and Tony McCall) continued to work on further migration of research data and customisation of the research repository interface. The team also provides copyright support to library staff who assist staff and students with copyright queries relating to the use of teaching and learning resources. In September a Copyright Knowledge Base was established as a reference tool for library staff.

An EndNote Support Group was set up in October comprising staff from Client Services and Access Services to coordinate access, promotion and training to clients in this product. To further achieve consistency of support an EndNote Knowledge Base was subsequently established.

Systems Infrastructure

The team continues to provide systems and software support for library client services as well as internal staff requirement. In terms of the latter, support was provided in configuring SharePoint to improve workflows and communication.  Apart from ongoing support to library staff, the team was involved in other projects using SharePoint including the implementation of electronic Academic Progress Report submissions for Research Services and the SharePoint-Banner project with the Faculty of Health Science.

The Copyright database procedures were revised and updated and training provided to all online reading staff new to the system. Authentication between UNILINC and ACU LDAP same sign on was achieved. This will be used as a basis for improving same sign on across all library systems and services.

In April ACU library was invited to participate in the IT pilot rollout of Office Communicator. Since that time the use of Communicator has been extended from one-to-one communication (instant messaging, voice calls, video calls and desktop sharing) to group communication. The Access Services team and many of the Library Standing Committees (Communications, Research Services, Education and Arts & Sciences) now use the video-conferencing facility via Communicator and it is anticipated that further take-up will in 2011.

Disability Services

The main responsibility for Library Disability Services is to make resources accessible to a range of students with disabilities. 2010 has been another busy year for the team. Workflows have continued to improve as staff skills increase and as the software used in converting files develops and improves. Text book files from publishers are generally provided promptly, more frequently and in accessible PDF format which decreases the amount of manipulation required by this unit. Production of reading 'bricks' remains staff intensive and consumes most of our staff time. The quality of scanning received from campus libraries now conforms to standard guidelines developed by this unit in consultation with Resource Services staff and has led to an improvement in turn-around times. A new generation of the propitiatory software OmniPage has also decreased the amount of time required to proof read converted documents. The quality of our converted documents has improved with the introduction of tagging such as heading level structure that enables better navigation by assistive technology.

Service delivery statistics 2010

2010	Semester 1	Semester 2
Students assisted	40	38
Textbooks provided	97	86
Readings provided	200+	300+

 

Administration

The following aspects of Infrastructure and Strategic Initiatives continued into the restructured position of Administration:

Bi-annual Client Survey
In July/August, working with Access Services and Client Services staff, survey questions were finalised and the survey promoted to students and academic staff. Insync Surveys delivered the survey over two weeks in August. Survey reports were distributed to Library Management and staff and their comments reported back to the senior project officer of Insync Surveys.

Staff Survey – planning for 2011
In October 2010, a Library staff survey was discussed with Insync Surveys, who provided samples from other universities. This survey would support the library’s objectives under the People and Culture theme of the Operational Plan and inform staff development initiatives planned for 2011. May 2011 was booked as the delivery date.

Library Statistics
2009 statistics were submitted to Annual Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) in the mid-year break. Campus library statistics were distributed to managers and staff via Sharepoint. In 2011it is proposed to run more campus-based collection usage reports and consult ACU Statistical Unit about an interactive spreadsheet for library statistics. Planning for the new area of Staff Development within the library context was delayed due to the extended transition period required to hand over prior responsibilities. Some proposals for 2011 include:

• Assisting staff to develop their profile in the online Staff Directory
• Assisting staff to develop their personal Sharepoint page
• Encouraging staff participation on ALIA committees
• Mentoring staff to write and present papers and publish articles. The latter objective would be supported by stronger coordination and promotion of staff attendance at conferences and appropriate courses.

It is anticipated that staff will use the May survey to give a clearer direction to such proposals and contribute others. It is an area still to be explored.

Printing and Photocopying
From December 2009 and January 2010, the Library collaborated with the Student Centres, Management Information Systems (MIS) and UNILINC to facilitate production of the new student ACU Card. During first semester, the Library collaborated with Student Centres, Unicard Systems and Student Equity and Disability to develop access policy and procedures for student Note-takers; liaised with Finance to facilitate their access to the Unicard reporting system and management of the Student Printing account; worked with Unicard to establish departmental accounts for library and other staff and goodwill/courtesy card accounts. In February 2010 we began working closely with the newly appointed IT Coordinator of the Student Printing Service to meet the new handover date of July 2010. Management of student complaints and requests for refunds was handed over in December, thus completing the change management process.

 

Heather Pearsall
Associate Library Director (Resources and Access)

Staff Achievements

Awards:

Joanna Coad received the ALIA Student Award for the most outstanding graduating student with the highest GPA in the Graduate Diploma of Applied Science (Library and Information Management) course at Charles Sturt University.

Publications and Presentations:

Liz Hayward presented at the Annual Conference of the Round Table on Information access for people with disabilities in Auckland, NZ.  Her paper was titled: Beginning is easy continuing is hard: Establishing an alternative format service in a multi-campus, nationally dispersed university

Janette Telford  presented to the Canadian Library Association Conference, 2-5 June 2010, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Career paths and courses in Australia; poster presentation

Janette Telford presented to the ALIA Access 2010 Conference, 1 -3 September, 2010, Brisbane: Treasure hunt career paths.

Graduations and Continuing Education:

Joanna Coad graduated from Charles Sturt University with a Diploma of Applied Science (Library and Information Management) with distinction.