June 2012 ERI Services Update

I have been relying on email, various meetings, and f2f sessions for communication rather than the ERI News blog. Much has happened since my last update in December and I won't try to catch-up on those months in this June Update; however, I will sprinkle in a bit of "history" through this post.

Organization and Personnel

1.Gama Viesca, IDS Specialist, was hired at the beginning of March. Gama is our Ask Us Desk weekend supervisor and, as Reserves work lead, will contribute to envisioning the future of Course Reserves including how it will be integrated into the processes of the Library and student learning and how we will communicate more effectively with faculty and students.Gama has a masters in Library and Information Science from Simmons and a bachelors in Music from Berklee College of Music in Boston plus has circulation and customer service experience.

2.Doug Flint is now Shelving work lead. He has worked with several people, including Cindy M, Gama, and Kathy, to make some changes in the Shelving operation. Beginning immediately, the sorting operation has been relocated to the space behind the Ask Us Desk. So as materials are returned, they are checked in; RFIDed if needed; sorted on shelves; put on book trucks to be taken (mostly) to 2nd floor. Doug will work with Hannah and others later in the summer on a shifting project in the J-N area on 2nd floor that will allow about 2 ranges of formerly Ref Collection materials to go upstairs. Many thanks to Kathy for doing an admirable job in coordinating Shelving on an interim basis and as we determined how best to move forward with that operation.

3.Liz Cooper was hired at the beginning of April as the Research and Instruction Head. She comes to us most recently from Emory University. Our newly updated organization chart on the ERI intranet page describes her areas of responsibility including the staff reporting to her. Liz's immediate goals are many and include understanding the complexities of the Auraria Campus, meeting with her colleagues (both internally and externally), pouring over all the pertinent content on the library intranet, examining the research help and instruction programs, leading the Subject Teams, etc.

4.Judith Valdez is once again part of ERI Services. Hooray! As the Disability Services Librarian, she will continue to work with us to provide disability services, assists with instructional services/scheduling, reports directly to Liz, and is part of the Library's Academic Support Team (other members are Mary D, Karen, and Cindy H).

Renovations and Moving Operations/Services/Collections

Research Help desk:
Has been restored with 2 stations, signage, and a clock. We have made a couple of tweaks to the setup. Please share any comments about the current arrangement with Liz or Cindy H.

Group Study Rooms:
6 new group study rooms on 1st floor opened in mid-May. Reservations may be made online (including on the iPad mounted on the outside wall of the study rooms). Desktop computers are in the rooms and students may hook up laptops (either their own or ones they checkout from Ask Us).

Renovated and Expanded First Floor Restrooms:
Opened in April. Improvement in decible level of the new hand dryers. Generally, as in the past, problems with the restrooms can be reported directly to Becky.

Shelving/Sorting Area and Ask Us:
With a shrinking VHS collection, a little imagination, and lots of "can do" spirit, the Shelving/Sorting operation has moved to the area behind Ask Us. IDS personnel continue to tweak the layout of the Ask Us staffing area. Doug reports that we are already seeing the organizational benefit of this as workflow is improving and we will likely be in a better situation with what our student shelvers will be able to accomplish.

Maps:
The Map collection is moving into the former Shelving/Sorting area on June 6. Training for Ask Me personnel will follow as they will be helping patrons with that collection when the Ask Me desk is staffed. Hannah will be on hand for the move. Ian is looking into placing digital help (computer/screencast) in the immediate area. Library floorplans will be updated before the Fall semester.

Rm 118 Tweaks:
After moving into the space the first week of January, we identified a few changes needed in layout (desk placements, configurations, bookcase needs, filing cabinet and overhead bin arrangements), ordered whiteboards to pilot as "screens", installed dual monitors and keyboard trays upon request, etc.

Library Cafe:
The new cafe should be opened before the start of Fall 2012. AHEC is leading that RFP process and will likely soon be announcing the successful vendor. The cafe vendor will be building a counter in the area adjacent to the new Vending machines. Liz and Cindy H are working with a designer and looking at the purchase of some additional furniture for that area of the building.

South Courtyard:
A UCD Landscape Architectural summer class is working with several Library personnel, students, a construction professional (co-teaching the class), and AHEC to create a design for an enhanced South Courtyard, turning it into a usable/functional space thus increasing our student learning spaces. On June 7, the class will have a charrette with the group identified above. Since there is funding to do some of this renovation, the transformation may begin before the Fall semester starts.

Electrical and Microforms:
We are getting estimates for moving the electrical raceways in the Microform area so that they do not pose a trip hazard and so we can have a more flexible furniture arrangement there. Eventually, and as we downsize the Microform collection by moving more aggressively to digital archives (online versions), we will likely move the reduced Microform collection to the 2nd floor. Most likely, this move would be in the area that is opened up by a downsized physical Government Publications collection. Becky is in the process of getting quotes from the electrician and in confirming that the weight of the Microforms is not a problem on 2nd floor.

Government Publications:
On June 18th, Hannah, Ian, and Cindy H will work with Peggy Jobe (CU Boulder) to determine streamlined methods for deselecting print equivalents to the online versions of government publications. Some materials will remain in print, especially when those materials are tied directly to the curriculum (such as the CFR in print).

Summon Update
The Summon implementation task group, chaired by Lorrie, is working on getting feedback, improving the user experience, and determining how this discovery layer can enhance student learning and research. Soon, they will be working with various Library groups including the Subject Teams, IDS, and IT (in addition to student focus groups)to get input, so please be ready to lend a hand to the task group. Your feedback is important.