“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

That famous first sentence from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities lodged itself firmly in my brain (so many) years ago.  It has always served to remind me to search for both aspects of a situation.  (And to be thankful that I was not a French aristocrat.)

I don’t have to outline the “worst of times” realities and difficulties for any of you, but consider these “best” examples:

• The LSP moves forward despite severe challenges.  109 or 110 colleges continue to participate, CCL and the League have fashioned a very workable operational structure and two new staff (Program Director and NZ Manager) are about to be hired. And the extraordinary collaborative effort of librarians working together to understand and shape the tools and fashion approaches is the very best part.
• The work of CCL moves forward thanks to dedicated efforts by its officers and Board members (and new Board members stepped in to serve when needed).  A great fall online workshop on a critical issue is drawing more than 350 participants (including non-library colleagues and administrators in the colleges).  CCL’s proposal for ongoing funding for the LSP is once again supported by the system.  And our LSP Task Force continues to work with the League to identify issues, solutions and opportunities for building and supporting a robust collective effort for equitable library and information services to the 2.1 million students we serve.
• You and your colleges continue to support the work of CCL through payment of membership fees even as $ are so tight. Almost 2/3 of the colleges have paid, and I know many payments are in process. (Need another copy of the invoice? Or never saw it? Or the ether ate it? Easy to remedy – let me know!)

2021 (even with the vaccines) will still be a difficult time of re-assessment, rebuilding, and hard choices for your library and your college. Please consider how your colleagues and CCL can help in that experience.

The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) held its Fall Plenary session November 5-7 --- virtually.  The theme of the Session was “Addressing Anti-Blackness & IDEAs (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Anti-Racism) in Academic and Professional Matters” and the first two days of the session consisted of breakouts on a variety of topics of interest to faculty, focusing on equity, anti-racism and inclusion.  On the last day of the session (November  7), delegates voted on resolutions that will shape the positions and actions of the ASCCC.  The full text of the resolutions is on the ASCCC website.

Of special interest for library and learning assistance/tutoring faculty was Resolution 8.01---Counseling Faculty and the 50% Law.  The text of the resolution is in the file linked above. Basically, the message of the resolution was that the ASCCC work with the Chancellor’s Office and other stakeholders to “explore means to include counselor salaries and benefits as instructional expenses under California Education Code §84362, also known as the 50% Law, in order to provide the support that students need for successful certificate or degree attainment or transfer to baccalaureate institutions.”  While this is a laudable goal, it leaves librarians, tutor and learning assistance faculty out of the “right” side of the 50% Law and it is somewhat contrary to previous recommendations. There has been discussion for many years about the lack of inclusion of non-instructional faculty (yikes, I can hear Sally Flotho protesting me and stating that ALL faculty are instructional faculty!) on the “right” side in the calculation of instructional expenses for the 50 % Law. Chancellor Brice Harris (state chancellor prior to Chancellor Oakley) had convened a Consultation Council Task Force to discuss the issues of the 50% and the Faculty Obligation Number (FON).  The recommendations of this group to the Chancellor’s Office included the determination that the salaries and benefits of counselors and librarians should be included in the 50% calculation---“counselors and librarians are faculty members who serve necessary functions for the instruction of students, whether inside or outside the classroom.”  The recommendations were received by the Chancellor’s Office, but were not accepted/endorsed/implemented (you pick your word).

Getting back to the resolution.  It was “referred” back to the ASCCC Executive Committee “to review for inclusion of all non-instructional faculty and to return to the body by Spring 2021.”  Rest assured that the CCL will be working with the ASCCC on this referred resolution.

Just as California’s community college libraries have deftly pivoted to offering electronic resources and support that successfully meet student and instructor needs while our campuses are closed to most on-site services, so too has the EAR Committee been busily fulfilling its charge entirely online. In support of CCL membership’s efforts to facilitate student learning during these difficult and challenging times, EAR continues to “explore ways in which the resources of our community college libraries could be maximized through cooperative ventures for electronic resources, databases and information.”

To this end, here are just a few of the things we have been working on since September:

• EAR Committee distributed its fourth annual electronic access and resources survey of California community college libraries. The findings will help inform decisions we make and actions we take in the near future. The survey link was emailed on Nov. 16 to the dean, director, head librarian, coordinator, or department chair on record with CCL for each institution. Your input is valuable. If you have not yet submitted it, please do so or delegate to another person at your institution. If you didn’t receive the survey but believe it should have been sent to you, please contact me.
• Statistics Resources Comparison review examining Statista, Rand State Statistics, and ProQuest’s Statistical Abstract was posted in Nov.
• Additional products reviews are underway.
• The product review format revision is almost complete, and will help facilitate access to EAR reviews.
• We’re developing plans for a second NetLibrary/EBSCO eBooks shared collection deselection project. Keep your eyes open for the call for volunteers to work on the project in Spring 2021.

Want to be a part of all this? Consider joining CCL-EAR as a Regional Representative or attending our meetings– all Consortium members are invited.Learn more about what’s involved

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

That famous first sentence from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities lodged itself firmly in my brain (so many) years ago.  It has always served to remind me to search for both aspects of a situation.  (And to be thankful that I was not a French aristocrat.)

I don’t have to outline the “worst of times” realities and difficulties for any of you, but consider these “best” examples:

• The LSP moves forward despite severe challenges.  109 or 110 colleges continue to participate, CCL and the League have fashioned a very workable operational structure and two new staff (Program Director and NZ Manager) are about to be hired. And the extraordinary collaborative effort of librarians working together to understand and shape the tools and fashion approaches is the very best part.
• The work of CCL moves forward thanks to dedicated efforts by its officers and Board members (and new Board members stepped in to serve when needed).  A great fall online workshop on a critical issue is drawing more than 350 participants (including non-library colleagues and administrators in the colleges).  CCL’s proposal for ongoing funding for the LSP is once again supported by the system.  And our LSP Task Force continues to work with the League to identify issues, solutions and opportunities for building and supporting a robust collective effort for equitable library and information services to the 2.1 million students we serve.
• You and your colleges continue to support the work of CCL through payment of membership fees even as $ are so tight. Almost 2/3 of the colleges have paid, and I know many payments are in process. (Need another copy of the invoice? Or never saw it? Or the ether ate it? Easy to remedy – let me know!)

2021 (even with the vaccines) will still be a difficult time of re-assessment, rebuilding, and hard choices for your library and your college. Please consider how your colleagues and CCL can help in that experience.

LLRPAC held its first meeting in December. Co-chairs this year are Dan Crump and Ted Blake (Mt San Jacinto College). The committee discussed the ASCCC referred resolution (see ASCCC article), revisions to the Annual Data Survey, survey(s) for the tutoring and learning assistance community, what to include on the LLRPAC page on the Chancellor’s Office website to make it more helpful and useful to both faculty and students, and how the goals of the committee work with the Vision for Success goals of the Chancellor’s Office. I have to say that the meeting was informative and productive and the committee is excited and energized to advocate for library and tutoring/learning assistance communities.

January 15, 2021

More info: http://www.carl-acrl.org/ig/scil/

ALA Midwinter
January 22-26, 2021

More info: https://2021.alamidwinter.org/

Conference on Academic Library Management (CALM)
Week of March 15, 2021

More info: https://www.conferenceonacademiclibrarymanagement.com/

ACRL 2021
April 13-16, 2021

More info: https://conference.acrl.org/

California Conference on Library Instruction
May 21, 2021

More info: https://www.cclibinstruction.org/call-for-speaker-proposals-2021/

Under stress and smoky skies, librarians and staff make a concerted effort to provide comparable services for students during the library closure.

In spring 2020, in the face of the pandemic, Fullerton College closed its campus and everyone hit the ground running to make the transition to a virtual environment. The library was no exception. Librarians were already using LibAnswers for chat reference, so Fullerton’s instruction librarian configured LibCal for research consultations, allowing students to schedule their own Zoom sessions for one-on-one assistance from a librarian.

Librarians amped up outreach, attending technology and engineering departmental Zoom meetings to promote new and extended trial databases that filled in some of their gaps in fashion, welding, and technical careers. Networking with art faculty resulted in the art division’s purchase of the Drama Online National Theatre Collection to add to the library’s streaming video offerings. To help students who are feeling isolated, the circulation, acquisitions, and student programming/reference librarians offered community-building opportunities via online gatherings, such as game days, leisure reading group, queer book club, LGBTQIA+ social hour, a Brave Space Student Forum, and an LGBTQIA+ forum.

Curbside Pick-Up Workflow

Students began clamoring for library books, particularly reserve titles. In response, the systems librarian configured Alma to support student requests and facilitate a remote workflow. He worked with circulation staff to create fulfillment loan rules and terms of use to accommodate one-week check-outs for our reserve, reference, and general circulation materials. The assessment librarian created an online form using Qualtrics to capture student requests and corresponding pickup dates and times.

Library staff working remotely in Alma used the data from the Qualtrics form to process requests and coordinate the on-site workflow with co-workers. Throughout the process, library staff used Microsoft Teams to communicate, handle logistics, and share files. Upon receiving a student’s item request via email through the Qualtrics form, staff search for the item is then searched for in Alma. Once the item is located, staff confirm the item status is “In place” and not “Loan”.

After the item is verified “In Place,” staff select the Request Button and choose the Request Type “Patron Physical Item Request,” and then enter the “Requestor” (Student’s name or school I.D.). Staff then select the appropriate “Pickup At,” “Material Type,” and “Date Needed By,” which is the pick-up date.  The “Loan Period” can be 1 or 2 weeks, even for reference books that formerly were in-house use only, and reserve books that formerly were two-hour loans.

Once the selections are entered and submitted, staff receive a confirmation message. Staff then copy the barcode of the requested item and select “Scan In” under Fulfillment. Once the item is scanned in, an image of a Hold Slip will pop up on the screen and the status becomes “Hold Shelf.” Staff saves the hold slip as a PDF file with the requestor’s name and title of the book in a designated Teams folder. On-site staff retrieve the requested books and place the printed PDF in the books, allowing distribution staff to easily identify the borrowers as they arrive. If questions arise, a staff member maintains a master spreadsheet in Teams that lists information relevant to the loans, including student names, student I.D. number, contact number, e-mail address, request date, request approval status, method of communication with the student (e-mail or phone), title of item requested, barcode of item requested, check-out status, check-out date, staff initials checking out the item, and any comments describing issues.

Distribution staff consult a spreadsheet with student requests and pick-up appointments. They take the requested items for the day and move their operations to a curbside location, where students can pull up in their vehicles or approach by foot. Students pick up their items on Mondays or Thursdays during a three-hour time block. Using the library’s VOIP phone number, students call staff when they arrive. After confirming the student requests, distribution staff place items in the trunk or passenger seat. When a student walks up, items are placed on a table to allow for social distancing. After the student leaves, staff perform the loan transaction in Alma.

In order to provide a safe alternative for returning materials, the library purchased an outdoor book drop. The book drop is open 24/7 and emptied three times a week by library staff. Items removed from the drop box are quarantined in a secure area for three days before being re-shelved.

Despite the strenuous requests by some students for the curbside service, there have been only 173 approved title requests from August to November. Twenty-six requests were denied because the titles are faculty property on reserve, missing, on order, or in-process in technical services. Of these 173 titles, 62 titles were never claimed. Though on ten-month contracts, the systems and assessment librarians worked summer hours to prepare this service for fall semester. In addition to the extra librarian hours, the library also hired two new staff members to staff the curbside pick-up location. The quick work of librarians and staff to increase resource accessibility was recognized by the Vice President of Student Services, whose office included the library’s work in its convocation video and their "Inside the Hive" newsletter article. In addition, a circulation worker was nominated for the college’s classified appreciation award for his work on the curbside pick-up service. Fullerton College Library is dedicated to serving our students and has adapted services to meet student needs.

By Venice Lombardo and Darryl Swarm, Feather River College

Introduction

Feather River College (FRC), located in rural northeastern California, decided to open its campus during the Fall 2020 semester. This presented a number of challenges. This article will discuss the strategies the FRC Library employed to successfully reopen, the obstacles encountered along the way and the lessons learned, in hopes that other institutions will be more informed when considering reopening.

Initial Closure

FRC closed its campus when Governor Newsom issued a shelter in place order on March 19. The President’s staff created a tiered system for employees which determined who was allowed on campus during a COVID-19-related closure and under what circumstances. Library Director Darryl Swarm and Senior Library Assistant Venice Lombardo requested special permission according to the tiered system guidelines to return to campus in order to access needed physical and electronic documents. Lombardo worked with Desktop Support Specialist Mark Downey from the IT Department to set up remote access to the Library office computer and the college’s Enterprise Resource Planning/Student Information System.

Establishing Continuity of Service during Disruption

Library staff reacted quickly by developing some of FRC’s earliest guides for learning and teaching remotely. Staff had previous experience with campus disruptions, having built a guide to direct students and faculty to important resources in the wake of the 2018 Camp Fire. While the Library worked throughout the closure to improve its response, Spring Break in particular allowed us to develop a comprehensive and timely response prior to the resumption of classes as follows:

• Webpages (drafted in anticipation of a transition to online instruction):
  • We created a For Students remote learning guide that:
    • Promotes academic resources, including free access to e-textbooks; discounts at language-learning websites; a free transcription app and free access to Microsoft Office; and
    • Promotes personal resources, including free media (e-books, e-audiobooks, music, films, etc.); parenting guides; wellness, exercise and stress management advice; and virtual tours and exhibits.
  • We modified our existing For Faculty guide:
    • Remote Teaching tab added and made the default landing page;
    • Promotes the same academic resources as the For Students guide; and
    • Also includes guidance on online course design and courseware.
  • Circulation:
    • All items on loan were renewed and due at the end of the semester.
    • Library returns were accepted by mail with the postmark date considered the date of return, rather than the date of arrival.
  • Communication:
    • Google Voice numbers were created for each Library staff member.
  • Other outreach:
    • We replaced our usual physical book and film displays with online e-book “exhibits” centered on themes of common interest.
    • We used our monthly newsletter to promote distance education resources and created an online archive for previous newsletter issues.
    • Two Library staff members served as chat operators for the college’s new Chat feature.

  Expectations for Reopening for Fall 2020

  

  While most courses were to be delivered online, athletes and students enrolled in hard-to-convert classes were expected on campus. Library staff were unsure what to anticipate for foot traffic, since on-campus students taking simultaneous online classes might converge on the Library for online class meetings. We wondered: would we have an influx of local and dormitory students eager to take advantage of in-person services; would there be a demand to speak face-to-face; with most students learning remotely, would in-person interactions last longer due to less “competition” for our attention?

  It was also expected that access to college email accounts and the Library’s electronic collections, difficulties with courseware and obstacles to registration would be the most common issues.

  While a local influx never materialized, with foot traffic reduced anywhere from 62%-82% during a typical week compared with Fall 2019, longer interactions did become more frequent, especially among less tech-savvy students who relied on the Library’s computer lab and technical assistance to complete their coursework.

  Measures Taken to Reopen the Library Building for Fall 2020

  Capacity, social distancing and hygiene considerations were put into place as early as February in anticipation of later disruptions, easing reopening efforts for the Fall. When County Public Health Agency officials toured our facility during the Summer Session, they recognized our ability to address their primary concerns and were pleased with the steps we had taken. These and other measures were carried forward through the Fall semester, including:

  

  • Public health promotion:
    • Library staff and student workers circulate throughout the Library looking for public health concerns, including social distancing, mask compliance, patron health status, identifying areas in need of sanitizing or clean up, etc.
    • The Library has established an environment where student workers promote peer accountability.
  • Capacity
    • The number of available computer lab stations is reduced from 30 to 15.
    • The group study table capacity is reduced from four to one.
    • The group study room capacity is reduced from six to one and the door must remain open at all times.
  • Hygiene:
    • Hand sanitizer is available at the front desk, computer lab and building entrances.
    • Sanitizing wipes, anti-viral tissues and disposable masks are available for patron and staff use at the front desk and/or computer lab.
  • Schedule changes:
    • We open a half hour later and close a half hour earlier for cleaning; and
    • We close from 1:00pm-2:30pm daily for mandatory cleaning procedures by Library staff, our student worker and the deep cleaning done by Facilities.
  • Deep cleaning:
    • A Facilities staff member is scheduled to come every day during our closure with a fogging machine that sprays a fine mist of disinfectant throughout the Library.
    • Library staff maintains a checklist of areas requiring regular disinfecting, such as door handles, desks, tables, chairs, countertops, computer stations, light switches and other frequently touched surfaces.
    • Library staff have inquired with Facilities to ensure the fresh air intake of the building’s HVAC system is at its maximum.
  • Circulation:
    • Our physical collections are entirely closed stacks. Library staff retrieves physical items requested by patrons.
    • Physical items are checked out for the entire semester.
    • Physical items are quarantined for 14 days after return.
    • Reserve textbooks are not available for checkout, but patrons can request that staff photocopy or scan <10%. Textbooks are also accessible through Student Services and the Bookstore.
    • Periodicals are also not available for checkout, but patrons can request that staff photocopy or scan the desired article(s).
    • A new partnership with Plumas County Public Library System now allows students without a local physical address to access their electronic collections, which include e-books, e-audiobooks, the New York Times online, a historical document database, online tutoring and job help, etc.

  While many classes during the Fall remained online-only, a core group of students returned to campus for athletics, laboratories and hard-to-convert classes. After the Thanksgiving holiday, all classes switched to online-only and will remain so for the remainder of the semester.

  Obstacles Encountered during Reopening

  

  Effective communication with the college community remains a challenge. Even with notices on the Library’s website, our newsletter, email announcements and physical signage throughout the building, we do not always reach as many as we would like.

  Additionally, reopening effectively involves cooperation with other departments. The Library is especially dependent on the IT Department to ensure remote access to our electronic collections and the Facilities Department for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies. IT staff are not always available during Library hours and the Facilities Department sometimes encountered supply shortages. Staff in both departments are also often stretched thin attending to various issues on and off campus.

  The Library is also in frequent dialog with Administration regarding implementation of appropriate measures, such as reduced hours. This means we are sometimes unable to answer patron inquiries until Administration has reached a final decision, telling patrons to “stay tuned” or “we’ll get back to you.”

  Lessons Learned from Reopening

  

  Flexibility is crucial. No matter how well thought-out your plans are and how thoroughly you’ve prepared, these situations will remain fluid and unpredictable. Be ready to change your plans at any time and communicate such news promptly with the rest of the college. Know who you need to collaborate with and keep in mind that others won’t always be able to respond immediately and may have different perspectives on how to approach a shared problem.

  Conclusion

  In conclusion, reopening an academic library can be done with reasonable confidence when appropriate measures are taken. Reopening is also made more successful by the measures taken during the closure to ensure a continuity of services. This prevents disruptions for students in their classes and means that patrons, regardless of whether the physical location is open, have access to what they need when they need it.

  If a continuity of services is ensured during the closure, patrons won’t feel as if they’ve been missing out and submitting subpar coursework. They’ll view the reopening with optimism and confidence, rather than uncertainty.

By mid-March of Spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly changed the way students accessed their learning environments. Suddenly, every student was working online for every course they were enrolled in. For many students and faculty, this was their first time in the online environment and their first time using the Canvas learning management system. Many students could not find their online courses, and once they did, they had difficulty navigating Canvas. They could not find their assignments, resources, or even a way to communicate with their instructor to get help.

To support this unforeseen cyberspace chaos, we had an Online and Digital Education (ODE) Office of just two people: one faculty member and one Learning Management Systems Specialist. As their workload continued to explode, these two became the campus stars overnight with their patience and dedication. Their email inboxes were stuffed daily to capacity with questions from students and faculty about Canvas, and there was not enough time in a day to answer all the inquiries.

To provide some support for the ODE office and redirect Canvas-related questions, we turned to our best student staff from the Library & Learning Resources. They had already supported students in the face-to-face environment and had excellent customer service skills to support our diverse student population. Like their peers, they were suddenly logging into Canvas for a virtual learning experience. They were perfect for supporting their peers online. We decided to call the new service Canvas Assist.

These student staff members became our first Canvas Assistants to use the LibAnswers  platform’s LibChat feature. When students have a Canvas-related question, they go to the LibChat widget located on the ODE or Learning Resources Center webpage and type in their question in the chat box, which sends the question to the Canvas Assistant queue. Then, a Canvas Assistant connects to the student through LibChat and replies in real time. Demand for the service has been high, with nearly 3,000 times since we launched it in the spring.

The first step to developing the Canvas Assistant support service was extensive training for working in the virtual LibChat environment. To begin, the Canvas Assistants met with our Learning Management Systems Specialist to learn about the typical Canvas-related FAQs students ask, such as how to find their Canvas courses, how to submit assignments, and how to change their passwords.

Next, the Canvas Assistants met with our Reference librarian to learn how to use the LibChat platform. They learned how to log onto LibChat, respond to questions in real time, access the canned messages, transfer messages to a librarian, and maintain a professional presence online.

Even with a significant amount of training for the Canvas Assistants in this new role, unexpected situations did occur. For example, Canvas Assistants often receive Canvas-related questions from faculty and staff. However, since the Canvas Assistants are students, they do not have access to Canvas from the faculty’s perspective and therefore cannot answer the questions. Since Canvas Assistants answer questions in LibChat in real time, we discovered they needed access to someone who could provide quick answers to questions they could not answer.

To give Canvas Assistants a direct line to supervisors who can give immediate answers to their questions, we use a communication app that is accessed via a smart phone or computer. Through this app, the Canvas Assistants ask their questions directly to the appropriate supervisor, and the supervisor responds through the app. Then the Canvas Assistant provides the student waiting in LibChat with an immediate, correct response.

As Canvas Assist became known on campus and more students began to utilize the service, our Canvas Assistants found that certain questions were asked repeatedly, so they made videos to answer these questions. Over time, the broader technology needs of students became part of the mission of the Canvas Assistants. They answer questions about a variety of software that students use in class. The videos and resources that the Canvas Assistants have assembled are available on the Learning Resources Center webpage.

Faculty and staff have had to make many changes to the way we support students since this pandemic began. Going back on campus to our libraries and classrooms with our students and colleagues is something we dream of daily.  On the other hand, some of the changes we have had to make will be here to stay.  As faculty become comfortable using Canvas or other learning management systems, it will become a standard component of the learning experience. With Canvas becoming ubiquitous, the need for our Canvas Assistants to support their peers as they navigate through Canvas will continue even when our lives return to campus where we belong.

When the Merced College Library faculty and staff suddenly began working remotely on March 21, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we realized we needed to create a more robust online presence to continue providing services and resources to the campus community. We have made several changes, outlined below, to help us with this endeavor. In the process, we have also increased some of our offerings.

Library Website

In 2016, the Merced College website received a major update, and while the library homepage was also updated and had good bones, some information gaps remained. After a website analysis of a variety of library websites from California community colleges, we opted to redesign the site. Specifically, we added new tabs on the left to highlight answers to some frequently asked questions for both students and faculty, added our Anti-Racism and Equity guide, listed citation guides separately from the course research guides, and added contact information to the right. While we will continue to make updates, the website has improved dramatically.

Student Hub in Canvas

Karissa Morehouse, Dean of the Library, Distance Education, and Incarcerated Education, initiated a project to develop a "course" in Canvas that points students to academic and student support services. Every student now has this Student Hub in their Canvas account. The library was invited to create its space using a template provided by the campus’ Educational Technology Training Center. While the library website is available in the Canvas course navigation, the Student Hub provides another avenue for students to access the library.

Subscriptions

After making some decisions related to the print budget and electronic subscriptions, we were able to expand our Springshare subscription to include LibWizard and the full version of LibInsight, expand our Films on Demand package to include more foreign films, and subscribe to JSTOR Essential. JSTOR went live this November, and there have been lots of excitement in the History, Philosophy, and English Departments. Our Language faculty is excited about our foreign film additions.

Instructor Reserves, Curbside Pick-Up, & Reference Materials

We have continued to provide access to Instructor Reserves. One of our classified circulation staff members volunteered to come to the building every day to scan chapters of textbooks as students request them. The amount of material students can request, however, is limited in order to adhere to copyright law. To submit requests, students submit a LibWizard form, and material is emailed to students using a unique link that expires. We have received a substantial number of requests (942 as of early December).

We are also offering contactless “curbside pick-up" for circulating materials. Students, staff, faculty, and administrators can place books, DVDs, and CDs on hold through OneSearch and then pick them up in the library lobby during specific hours. Classified staff members work on rotation to monitor and process holds. While this service has been less utilized than we had hoped, we realize that we need to better advertise this service and our print collection in the spring.

On occasion, students have also needed access to print reference books. One of our faculty librarians has volunteered to come into the building to scan reference material to send to students as needed. We primarily offer this option to students while we are actively assisting them with research.

We could not offer access to these print materials without library staff and faculty who have volunteered to come into the building.

LibWizard Forms

In addition to creating a LibWizard form to receive textbook reserve requests, we also created quite a few other forms. While the library has always encouraged faculty to recommend titles for purchase, there wasn't an easy path to make those recommendations. The new purchase recommendation form can now be included in messages to our liaison areas and new faculty members. Our previous interlibrary loan forms were a bit clunky to fill out as they were fillable PDFs that students and faculty had to email as attachments to the library. The new book request and periodical request forms are much easier to fill out. Prior to campus closure, we also didn’t have an online form for faculty to make instruction requests, so we created simple forms for both our Merced and Los Baños campuses (request forms feed to our reference email account and are also calendared in this account). When we return to campus, we will need to revise the form to account for both online and in-person classes. All the forms are available on the library website. Using LibWizard forms has enabled us to create clearer communication channels and keep track of data in one place.

LibWizard Tutorials & Canvas

Lindsay Davis, Instruction Lead, began making online instructional modules in December 2019, but in March we needed to pivot much more quickly as all instruction needed to be moved to an asynchronous modality. Using instructional design principles, she developed three modules in Canvas in the late spring and developed several more in the summer. However, it quickly became apparent that utilizing Canvas Commons for faculty to import instructional modules was not sustainable. She recognized that we wouldn’t be able to track usage very well in this format and that we couldn't ensure that faculty would have the most updated materials going forward. In October, Lindsay removed the library’s modules from the Canvas Commons and began converting materials into LibWizard tutorials. The tutorials are used as assignments in Canvas modules, so we are still utilizing Canvas but can more easily track usage and make edits to materials via LibWizard. Some materials are still being converted, but most of them are available on our research instruction services guide. On the guide, each tutorial includes a time estimate, outcomes, and suggestions for usage. Lindsay has also created other online materials in Canvas for classes and will be adding some of these as samples to the guide.

Workshops

Using LibCal, we also added an events calendar to the library website and began offering Zoom workshops to students, faculty, staff and administration. Some of the topics we’ve covered include OER and copyright, research instruction services, citation, plagiarism, and using JSTOR. In the spring, we plan to have more robust offerings.

LibGuides

Joey Merritt, Faculty Lead and OER / Copyright Lead, spent her sabbatical this past summer redesigning our LibGuides and guides homepage. We moved from the confusion of multiple guides per course to a single guide per discipline. There were 68 guides for English alone, and these had already been edited down the previous fall! When necessary, links to smaller guides for specific classes can be added to the bottom of the discipline guides, allowing students to more easily find their specific guide than in our previous guide structure. This project also allowed us to standardize our guides, so students know what to expect when they move between different guides.

Joey also added new guide groups, including “How do I?...for Students” and “How do I?...for Faculty," which created locations for guides that didn’t have homes before. Some of the new guides in these groups include Copyright for Merced College, Open Educational Resources, and How to find Books, E-Books, and Textbooks.

Feedback about the changes has been very positive. We are also continuing to make changes to adhere to our new guide format.

The Merced College Library faculty and staff have worked hard during the COVID-19 campus closure to provide existing library services, as well as find new ways to increase services to the campus community. While the library will remain closed for regular services in Spring 2021, we will continue to build on the work we have done to assist our students, staff, faculty, and administrators with their research, learning, and teaching needs.

By Julie Cornett, Cerro Coso Community College

For over a decade, Cerro Coso librarians have joined online classes as embedded librarians. Due to COVID-19 forcing the majority of courses online, many instructors who usually signed up for in-person library sessions opted instead for the embedded version, making fall 2020 the busiest yet with 24 sections!  The Embedded Librarian Program allows librarians to collaborate with instructional faculty in designing activities that scaffold research skills and work directly with online students as they locate, evaluate, and cite sources for their high-stakes research papers and projects.

Typically, the librarian joins the course for one or two weeks to moderate asynchronous forums in which students develop topics, locate scholarly articles, and practice citation. The forums are graded assignments, providing an incentive for students to take advantage of the librarian expertise and support. Additionally, the librarian embeds tutorials, LibGuides, and other resources into course pages at key points. Embedded librarians spend an average of 5 hours per section curating content and moderating/grading the forum(s).

For example, in a Child Development Capstone course, students are required to develop, implement, and evaluate an Action Research Project in the preschool centers where they are interns. To complete this project, students must develop manageable topics, research extensively, and build an APA annotated bibliography. For several years, Professor Fuller has had Julie Cornett join her class as Embedded Librarian to provide support to students as they embark on this time-intensive project. Julie works with students in several weekly forums to scaffold research activities that lead up to the final project. In reflecting on the collaboration, Prof. Fuller had this to say:

When I first assigned the Action Research Project, students did not seem to understand the research component of the assignment and often saved the project until the last few weeks of the course, which meant they did not have the time to complete a thoughtful, reflective project over time. Now that the research forums are built into the course structure starting in week 5, everyone who completes the final assignment has been successful. I attribute this to the embedded librarian who helps students develop a research question, find appropriate resources, and develop the annotated bibliography.

Julie finds that students are very appreciative of the support, and particularly value guidance in searching complex databases and differentiating among various types of information sources. Many of the students become avid library users because of the positive experience. Also, the librarians have been able to more intentionally curate collections specific to the course topics as a result of their deep exposure to the course content. The newly acquired SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Childhood Education and the Handbook of Play and Learning in Early Childhood are two such examples.

To learn more, contact Julie Cornett (jcornett@cerrocoso.edu) or Sharlene Paxton (sharlene.paxton@cerrocoso.edu).

Sally is a Southern California native. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in English. She completed her M.S., LIS at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2013. Sally has worked as a librarian adjunct/associate part-time faculty for the past 6 years for community college libraries including Riverside City College, Norco College, and Chaffey College after her first career as an at-home mom. Recently, Sally served in the role of distance education faculty mentor assisting faculty transition to online as a result of COVID during the spring 2020 semester, and subsequently as a accessibility mentor.

 
While a student at Ohlone in 2003, Sim worked at the Ohlone Library as a student assistant. In his new full-time librarian role at Ohlone, Sim will have primary responsibility for Library Instruction, Reference, and Outreach. We are delighted to have him back, and look forward to finally working with him in person as well as through zoom!
 
Sim’s hiring follows the recent retirements of two full-time librarians: KG Greenstein, who served as Information Literacy and Collection Development Librarian from 1999-2017, and who we are delighted to still count as an adjunct librarian at Ohlone; and Barbara Duggal, who joined our staff in 2007 as Coordinator of the Newark Center LRC, and whose last week at Ohlone coincided with the first week of the COVID campus closure. We miss them both and wish them the best in their retirements.