ACADEMIC SENATE FOR CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGES (ASCCC), reported by Dan Crump

The ASCCC recently completed its Fall Plenary Session in Costa Mesa (November 3-5).  Among the many topics discussed in breakouts was Zero-Textbook-Cost (ZTC) Degrees (see more below).

Many resolutions were considered by the Session delegates for adoption---one of special interest is Resolution 16.01---Resolution in Support of a Statewide Integrated Library System.  I was not able to participate in the debate of the resolution (I am serving as the Elections Chair for the Academic Senate Foundation and spent 90% of my time away from the floor), but I was told that it passed handily.  The only change from the resolution that I presented was the addition of “and accessible” in the last sentence.  Here is the text:

16.01 F16 Resolution in Support of a Statewide Integrated Library System

Whereas, The California Community College (CCC) Student Success Task Force recognizes the importance of libraries in student persistence, retention, and successful achievement of goals and a system-wide integrated library system (ILS) will allow each student in California’s community colleges to access essential academic materials via a cloud-based library catalog that can be retrieved through a variety of means, including mobile devices as well as through existing learning management systems, including Canvas, which has been adopted by more than 92 colleges as of September 22, 2016;

Whereas, The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges has included a proposal for a system-wide ILS in the 2017-18 CCC System Budget Proposal, and an August 2016 survey conducted by the Council of Chief Librarians, the statewide organization of faculty and administrative library leadership, had overwhelming support from the faculty respondents for a system-wide ILS;

Whereas, The ILS proposal is an opportunity in CCC library services to further strengthen student success and equity initiatives, enhance the development of the Online Education Initiative (OEI), and significantly reduce colleges’ current and future library system costs by a transition to a statewide ILS; and

Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has position papers and resolutions stating the importance of library resources and services for student success by CCC students;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges support a statewide integrated and accessible library system.

They are still organizing the adopted resolutions in a final format and I have been informed that all the resolutions will be available on the ASCCC website (www.asccc.org) within the next several days.

ZERO-TEXTOOK-COST DEGREES

The California Community College Chancellor’s Office is pleased to announce the creation of the Zero-Textbook-Cost Degree Grant program as a continuing effort to improve student access and success.  The Legislature intends for community college districts to develop and implement zero-textbook-cost degrees to reduce the overall cost of education for students and decrease the time it takes students to complete degree programs.  This program is consistent with existing legislative policy and fiscal investments in the development and implementation of Open Education Resources (OER) in California Higher Education including the California Community Colleges System.

These are one-time grant funds to be distributed as follows:

• Enable community colleges receiving an award to develop and/or implement associate degrees and career technical education certificate programs earned entirely by completing courses that eliminate conventional textbook costs by using alternative instructional materials and methodologies.

• Enable community college districts develop and implement zero-textbook-cost degrees to reduce the overall cost of education for students and decrease the time it takes students to complete degree programs

• There are two performance periods within this RFA process.  The first performance period is for planning grants.  The second performance period is for implementation grants.

• The maximum award amount of each planning grant is limited to $35,000.  [DC note: there will be a maximum of 21 awards with a performance period of January 1, 2017 to September 30, 2017]

• The maximum award amount of each implementation grant is limited to $150,000. [DC note: there will be a maximum of 7 awards with a performance period of January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017]

[DC note: Notice of the grants went out on October 19 and the deadline for submission is December 12, 2016, 5pm]

(note: the above information was taken from the Chancellor’s Office website---www.cccco.edu/Divisions/Academic Affairs/Online Education Resources)

There was a breakout on ZTC at the ASCCC Plenary Session (PowerPoint available on the ASCCC website---www.asccc.org/Events/Plenary Sessions/Fall 2016//Presentation Materials---if this link doesn’t work---http://asccc.org/content/zero-textbook-cost-ztc-degrees-moving-forward.

A webinar from the Chancellor’s Office was conducted on November 14 to inform interested applicants from the colleges.  I anticipate that the PowerPoint and updated FAQ will be on the Chancellor’s Office website very soon.  It was good to note that many librarians were listening to the webinar.

From Mashable.com “New Apple accessibility videos showcase real people using life-changing assistive tech” By Katie Dupere Oct 27, 2016

Apple launched a new accessibility web site, promoting several disability-friendly features with a series of videos that show the assistive technology in action

The Center produces a blog "Read for Later," a weekly wrap-up of news and articles to help library professionals think about the future of our collections, spaces, services, partners, and roles in the community. The blog roll can be accessed at:

http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/future/blog/

Subscribe to email notification of latest  “Read for Later” at:

http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/future

CCL 2016 Fall Assessment Workshop -- Participant Satisfaction Evaluation Survey Report -- Summary Results           

(Pearl Ly, Skyline)

1. I found the workshop on Interactive Assessment relevant to my work – 95% strongly agree or agree
2.  I took away at least one idea to bring back to my library related to assessment - 95% strongly agree or agree
3. I found the discussion on Demonstrating the Impact of Library Services relevant to my work – 89% strongly agree or agree
4. I took away at least one idea to bring back to my library related to demonstrating impact – 81 % strongly agree or agree

Comments:

• Really appreciated the time to discuss information with colleagues and share with the group as a whole
• The opportunity to listen and exchange ideas with colleagues regarding their experiences (both successes and challenges) in conducting assessment activities. Also, the presenter, Lola, was really good and very inspiring.
• I liked knowing that data I now collect is being collected by others
• Interaction and sharing with colleagues. Lola the presenter was an excellent choice!
• The opportunity to get together and share with other community college librarians. Learning about the depth of information collected and reported by ACC.
• I liked the afternoon sessions where we shared what we learned.
• Learning about best practices of assessment of library services.
• I thought the presenter was well organized and that her examples were useful.
• Content, relevance to my work, opportunity to gain practical insight from colleagues doing similar work
• I liked the ideas that Lola presented, especially the concept of measuring LOs at the reference desk
• I found various ways of Library service assessments helpful.
• Good break-up of time between listening to a speaker and discussion. The pace of the day allowed for a lot of questions and interaction.
• Topic's relevance to data California Community College libraries have to collect. Speaker's use of materials or ideas that we can utilize in our libraries - not special to larger.
• Repeated points of reflection to exchange ideas with colleagues
• The speaker was great
• Collaboration with peers and usable product from presenter!!
• Collaboration and discussion with librarians based off Lola's suggestions and presentation
• Talking with other ccc librarians about how they do what I do at their schools
• Reconnecting with colleagues at other colleges. Recognizing that we are already doing some of these assessment best practices

Assessment: CCL Fall Workshop

On October 19th and 20th nearly 100 of our colleagues gathered for workshops on Assessment. The morning presentation by Lola Cowling detailed the processes and outcomes for Austin Community College.  The afternoon session allowed attendees to break out and brainstorm assessment ideas that might inform our own campus efforts.

Materials from the Workshop are available at:

http://cclccc.org/workshops/2016-oct-Assessment/2016-Assessment-Workshop.docx

On June 7, voters in the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District approved Measure A, a $950 million capital bond.  A bond project list includes a new library/learning resource center.

At: http://www.cla-net.org/?page=415

This issue includes:

Mobile Hotspots 101

Innovation Fest

Assistive Listening Technology: Hearing Loops In The Library

Renewals and New Orders

The deadline for returning the fall renewal order forms was November 11th.  Please fax your renewal or new order forms to the League office as soon as possible if you have not already.  When we place the fall orders with the vendors we will provide them with updated IP addresses. Please check your IP addresses in the consortium procurement system to verify we have the correct IP’s on file. To do so, login to your procurement account. Click on Settings and you will see a section called My College IP addresses. This is where new IP’s would be added.

CountryWatch

Students and faculty in all of the California community colleges will continue to have free access to one of the premier online information databases covering countries of the world, CountryWatch Premium.  The database, which is a major resource tool for businesses, consultants and researchers, contains up-to-date economic, political, and social data about every country on the globe.

For more information about CountryWatch, including a description of its current features, visit the following URL:   http://www.countrywatch.com/home/about

The Council of Chief Librarians and the Community College League are continuing their joint commitment to full coverage of the cost.  This is the fifteenth year that the resource has been provided to the colleges at no cost.  Both organizations – partners in the cooperative purchasing program for online resources for CCC libraries – use a portion of the fees generated by the program to provide the database to every college regardless of the level of participation in the purchasing program.  CCL and the League see this as an opportunity to use the program to benefit the colleges over and above the main focus of the purchasing program.

– James Wiser Consortium Director

Computers In Libraries 2016- Presentation Materials

This meeting focused on innovation labs, incubating spaces, and ways to stimulate imagination and support research. The theme, Library Labs: Research, Innovation, & Imagination, aimed to do the following:

• Highlight library research that translates into useful strategies and practices for libraries.
• Share new and exciting projects from information industry labs.
• Feature innovative services and libraries.
• Stretch our imagination with possible areas for further library research and testing.

• http://computersinlibraries.infotoday.com/2016/Presentations.aspx

Creating a Library Presence in Canvas, contributed by Alicia Virtue (Santa Rosa Junior College)

As California community colleges adopt the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) as part of the state’s Online Education Initiative, librarians have new opportunities to bring library research and information literacy instruction into the online environment.  Sponsored by the Council of Chief Librarians (CCL), Erin Daniels and Phyllis Usina, librarians at Santa Rosa Junior College, have prepared a guide that identifies ways in which commonly available library services, resources, and programs can be integrated into Canvas. Called, Creating a Library Presence in Canvas, this guide contains features that can be implemented at different levels of the Canvas LMS, including System-wide, Global Navigation, Course Navigation, Module Level, or Page Level.

In addition, the authors created digital examples of those resources that lent themselves to replication by preparing a public Canvas course. Librarians are encouraged to visit the public course to see these examples for potential adaptation, and to download a copy of the 41-page guide.

Find the guide and sample resources in this public Canvas course: https://canvas.santarosa.edu/courses/19390

The Diablo Valley College Library has partnered with the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) to help improve library services for students by training a cohort of district employees through DVC’s library technology certificate program. This 18-month program started in April 2016 and will run through 2017.

The ECC librarians launched “One Search,” a new library discovery system that is hosted on an EBSCO platform.  From the library’s homepage, users can now conduct their research using the One Search feature and they will access results that are aggregated from across the library’s online resources including the library’s book catalog and most all of our subscription databases.  Users can then filter down their results from the one interface.  Access to the full-text of articles from off-campus still requires login and having a library account established, in accordance with our subscription licenses.  There are a few library databases that do not currently integrate with One Search, due to agreement issues between our vendors or the nature of the database content, including Proquest National Newspaper and CQ Researcher.  However, all databases can still be searched independently if preferred and are still accessible from the library’s website.

ECC’s Schauerman Library hosted several art exhibits this semester including a display of amazing photos taken by the members of the South Bay Camera Club highlighting our national parks; a beautiful exhibit by artist Lala Raminov (also a part-time tutor here at ECC) of mixed media pieces including portraits and facets of nature featured in oils, watercolors and sketchings; a historical look at the Spanish Civil War via photographs through the lens of opposing sides curated by professor Sylvia Ribelles de la Vega; and works by the El Camino woodworking classes installed by professor Jack Selph.

Due to the reconstruction of the Administration building in 2017, the library’s archive spaces are being prepared for hosting the college President and her staff, along with Public Relations staff with a move in date scheduled for winter.  Archival materials have been stored for preservation-sake and more heavily requested items (course catalogs, sabbatical reports, literary magazines) have been moved over to the Reserve department for easy access.  Historical yearbooks and student newspapers continue to be available via the ECC Digital Archives, accessible from the library’s website homepage.

EAR Committee Report -- Norman Buchwald (Chabot College) Committee Chair

The CCL-EAR Committee has been working hard on reviews in the Fall, with our review on SIPX now available and a number of previews on ACLS Humanities Ebooks, Swank Digital Campus, Rittenhouse, and APA Central, coming soon, along with a comparison review on library tutorials databases such as Credo InfoLit Modules and ProQuest Research Companion.

Around Thanksgiving, check your email in ccearinfo for a forthcoming survey on what reviews you would like us to write up in the Spring.  Please respond and submit as what we write is based on what you need.

If you ever want to give us feedback of any of our reviews, we have a platform where you can easily post comments.  We welcome all our readers, including even our vendors to give us any feedback, including any corrections, alert of any changes made since the date of our written review, or even just to simply praise or vent the reviewers or the product.  Go to: http://www.cclibraries.org/reviews/ to read and then click where it says “leave a comment and rate its appropriateness” below any review.

At our September meeting in Oakland we had invited Sean Keegan of the CCC Accesibility Center, to give the committee and the consortium director suggested guidelines for considering products from vendors related to ADA compliance.  In general, if we are looking at hardware or software to apply section 508 standards but for websites, the more contemporary standards are based on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 at AA level.   For negotiating with vendors, he advised the following:

● Inform vendors which accessibility standards are expected.

● Request specific documentation from the vendor (e.g. Voluntary Product Accessibility Template - VPAT) and review the vendor’s responses.

● Ask questions and request demonstrations (e.g. “How would a student use your product with a screen reader?”).

● Understand the response process for accessibility issues that are reported.

● Find out who is the designated accessibility representative at the company charged with addressing issues. A single point of contact is key.

● Find out what the timeline is for making accessibility improvements

He advised that vendors’ intention to move toward accessibility standards is fine, however the vendor is expected to follow the standards it claims to strive toward.  His report can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6160ldJZKYBNDBYcjdobWRob2c/view

The CCL-EAR Committee then recommended to the Board that we want the consortium to ask all of our vendors to strive towards WCAG 2.0 AA .

Earlier this month, I went to the Charleston Conference  where I attended and took notes at sixteen different sessions, which included a panel and discussion on online reviews of databases, how the Orbis Cascade Alliance (Pacific Northwest consortium) has been wrangling with a shared E-books collection the past five years, a number of sessions about E-book usage by students and E-book collection development, and the potential of an ambitious, open source ILS system and how it could be if librarians put in the time the code and volunteer work.  As I am putting my notes together and hoping for some of the presentations to eventually be posted online so I can link you to them, I plan to provide a report of what I gained from this conference in the next issue of the Outlook.

Our next meeting will be a teleconference on December 2, 10 a.m. to 12 noon.  As always, we welcome visitors from the California Community College Library community, so as the date gets closer, check the ccearinfo listserv for more details.  Our next face to face meeting will take place in San Diego on January 26 and 27 2017.

Nominations Due by Dec. 2 2016

The Excellence in Academic Libraries Award recognizes academic librarians and staff who work together as a team to develop academic libraries that are outstanding in furthering the educational missions of their institutions. Academic libraries may demonstrate excellence through one or more of the following criteria, or in other ways that reflect the purpose and philosophy of this award:

•Creativity and innovation in meeting the needs of their academic community

•Leadership in developing and implementing exemplary programs that other libraries can emulate

•Substantial and productive relationships with classroom faculty and students

Award: $3,000 and a plaque for each type of academic library (community college, college, and university), sponsored by YBP Library Services.

Nominations are due December 2, 2016.

See details in the Awards & Scholarships section of the ACRL Web site: www.ala.org/acrl

Please contact Alicia Virtue, avirtue@santarosa.edu if you have any questions.

Future of Libraries 12.0 “Online Communities: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” Wednesday, October 5, 2016

This is the twelfth in an ongoing series of conferences where speakers highlight innovations taking place in the library world today.

Videos of all the presentations from the recent Future of Libraries conference in San Francisco are now available for viewing at http://www.plpinfo.org/plpsdc/the-future-of-libraries .

Presenters’ PowerPoint and other presentation files and presenter biographical information are also there.

The event was sponsored by the Pacific Library Partnership Staff Development Committee.

Internet Librarian 2016: The internet Conference and Exhibition for Librarians and Information Managers

“… Internet Librarians have been on the leading edge for 20 years. What makes them different? They are innovative, willing to take risks and try different technologies before they hit the mainstream – they take actions and have an impact on their communities. 

Speaker presentations and handouts are available at:

http://internet-librarian.infotoday.com/2016/Presentations.aspx

David Lee King: Interesting Tidbits from Internet Librarian 2016

At: http://www.davidleeking.com/interesting-tidbits-from-internet-librarian-2016/

The Lake Tahoe Community College Library just subscribed to Ebsco's Community College and North American eBook collections.  This brings their total eBooks to over 159,000.

Thanks to California voters who approved Proposition 51 on November 8, the Peralta Community College District will receive nearly $24 million towards a new Laney College Library & Learning Resource Center.  The new facility will overlook the Oakland estuary.  The district is using local bonds to pay the remaining costs of the building.

Lassen College is happy to announce that our library remodel is complete. We re-opened in the now-new library facility just before school started and had books in stacks on day 1 for students to access. It has been approximately 24 months since the library was closed and books sent to storage. I am attaching a few photos to show the look and feel of the new space. Circulation was up 16.3% over the first few weeks compared to last year, and we are comfortably full of students every morning. Our tutoring area has new whiteboard tables (in photo) so that students and tutors can use whiteboard markers directly on the tabletop. We have 2 new groups study rooms and they are self-booked online from the library website (arc.lassencollege.edu or library.lassencollege.edu). We are happy to be back in full service mode, helping the students access information and improving the quality of research on campus.

Dear CCL colleagues:

The CCL Board of Directors continues its work to support our library community. The fall workshop on outcomes assessment drew strong participation as we recognize the need to keep demonstrating the impact of libraries on student learning and success. Megan Oakley reminds us that we need talk about libraries in language and metrics non-library people understand. We also need to translate that understanding, especially among influential people, into advocacy and ongoing resources for libraries. How are we telling the community college world that “Libraries Transform” our students, institutions, and communities?

The CCL Board is keenly interested in how we engage with and serve our library community. We have organized ourselves into committees: Executive (officers), Advocacy, Communication, Learning and Professional Development, and of course, Electronic Access and Resources. Each group is working on activities to carry out our Strategic Plan action items. You already know about the ILS proposal getting some traction, the now annual CCL Library Leadership Scholarship (due January 31), and Creating A Library Presence in Canvas module commissioned by CCL. Plans are underway to get our members’ feedback on CCL information needs and methods of communication so we can be more effective, for example, combining CCL and the consortium websites and modernizing it for different devices.  The Professional Learning and Development Committee is working on the annual Deans and Directors meeting March 23-24 and a spring workshop in April on library facilities. These are just a few examples of our service to our beloved community. More information on our work is in this issue of The Outlook.

As our nation recovers from a bitter, contentious presidential election, let us reaffirm with deep conviction and resolve that libraries are a safe space for diverse learners: we renew our dedication to the freedom to pursue knowledge and information; to honor inquisitiveness; to engage in open, honest, and civil discourse; to foster diverse viewpoints; to critically challenge biases and partial truths; and to shape our community for a better tomorrow, for everyone. How are libraries overtly expressing these core values at a particularly sensitive time for our students when many have whispered genuine fear for their lives? What can we do more of or differently to provide a safe haven for them and direct them to urgently needed support across campuses and in our communities?

Thanksgiving is right around the bend as 2016 draws to a close. I am thankful for all that I am blessed with, including my amazing library colleagues that make California community colleges extraordinary beacons of hope.

Sincerely,

Meghan

"Accessible Technology for our Libraries and Institutions" from  Sean Keegan, CCC Accessibility Center/CCC Technology Center

Whether for the acquisition of knowledge or sharing of ideas, libraries provide an opportunity for educational enrichment. Technology contributes to this opportunity by providing access to a diverse array of web-based resources and services, including online databases and journals, e-book reserves, and electronic document repositories. As we introduce these web-based technology solutions into our college libraries and across the institution, it is imperative that we ensure access for all members of the campus community, including our students, faculty, and staff with disabilities.

In 1999, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, 1.0 (WCAG 1.0) was released and provided guidance to web developers and designers as to how to make web content accessible to people with disabilities. Two years later, the US Section 508 Standards were enacted and set accessibility standards for the Federal government when developing or purchasing electronic and information technology products. In 2010, more than a decade after the original web accessibility guidelines were released, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, 2.0 (WCAG 2.0) was accepted as an international standard for accessible websites and web-applications. Yet while these accessibility standards established minimum levels of access for web and information technology systems, confusion and uncertainty persisted regarding these accessibility standards and what the term “accessible” meant for educational institutions.

To raise awareness of potential technology and accessibility issues for students with disabilities, the US Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division and US Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a joint Dear Colleague letter to college and university presidents in 2010. The Dear Colleague letter expressed concern about the use of inaccessible technology in the classroom environment and stated, “It is unacceptable for universities to use emerging technologies without insisting that this technology be accessible to all students.”

Since that letter, and from compliance reviews, resolution agreements and legal settlements, OCR has clarified the meaning of the term “accessible,” particularly as it applies to the use of websites and information technology at institutions:

“Accessible” means a person with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use.” (OCR Compliance Review No. 11-11-6002)

Throughout many of these same resolutions and legal settlements, the Department of Justice and OCR identified WCAG 2.0, Level AA as the minimum technology standard for web accessibility. This has resulted in a two-fold outcome by defining what is meant by an accessible user experience as well as specifying a technical standard by which to measure that experience.

Libraries serve an important role both as a physical and virtual resource for the campus community. As technology transforms our physical into virtual environments, we must ensure our libraries implement online resources so as to provide students with disabilities the opportunity to participate in an integrated manner. Building the accessible technology environment can include multiple strategies, such as:

• Establishing policies and procedures that includes accessibility as a requirement when purchasing web and information technology products.
• Communicating with vendors the institutional expectations and accessibility standards (i.e., WCAG 2.0, Level AA) and insist vendors demonstrate how their products conform to these standards.
• Reviewing all institutional websites and web applications for conformance with the WCAG 2.0, Level AA standard.
• Using web browser tools and manual checks to validate remediation efforts.

As we adopt new web and information technology solutions for our students, faculty, and staff, we must pursue options that ensure support for students with disabilities. Building that accessible technology environment will take time and require ongoing commitment and dedication on behalf of those working locally, regionally, and system-wide. Libraries can serve as the institutional model for technology access, providing opportunity to all members of the campus community, including our students with disabilities.

Chancellor, Los Rios Community College District President, Chief Executive Officers of the California Community Colleges

Author Jarrett J. Krosoczka once said, “The library is the heart of a school, and without a librarian, it is but an empty shell.” I want to thank you for your service within the heart of your college.

I don’t have to tell you that your work is challenging. You know. You are continually adapting to change. You have to be flexible as needs shift.

While the printed book is not dead (despite many predictions of its demise through the years), information appetites are always evolving. And you respond. You have your finger on the pulse of your community and work hard to adjust your services.

When you work with faculty to set aside textbooks on reserve for students who have financial struggles, you are the heart of your community. When you work tirelessly to make sure your research databases are the best they can be, you are the heart of your community.

One of your greatest services is helping your community – students, faculty, and staff alike – make sense of the information overload that is out there. Author Neil Gaiman has famously said, “Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.”

There are two truths in that statement.

• One, you empower people to focus on the best information possible. Whether it is a student working on their first research paper or a colleague trying to find a resource that is just beyond their reach, you help narrow down and define what people are looking for.
• Second, you help train people to be researchers themselves, so they can take your mentorship and apply it to their daily lives.

In many ways, you are helping us all deal with an unprecedented flood of information. With information coming at all of us from so many directions, who will help us learn to prioritize this data tsunami? Who will help new college students develop long-term habits that will serve them throughout their lives? Who will help our communities make sense of a search engine world that returns thousands of replies but little real direction?

Thank you for your service in watching over this information avalanche. I encourage you to keep up the great work you are doing. I know it is often difficult work. But it is vital work to our colleges and communities. You are helping create a more educated and empowered society. It is hard to imagine more important work than that.

LETTER TO CCL FROM MARY KAY RUDOLPH--PRESIDENT OF CHIEF INSTRUCTION OFFICERS (CIO’s )FOR THE CCC

If you know me at all, you’ll know that I'm a huge Science Fiction fan. In fact, my husband understands that if Worf ever shows up at my door, I’m gone for at least the weekend.  (Lt. Worf – NOT the actor). I like all kinds of science fiction and fantasy, but time travel is one of those Sci Fi genres that even the least enthusiastic of fans can enjoy. Who doesn't imagine "what if I could go to any place in time?" Visiting the library of Alexandria is definitely on my top ten list.  The library in the book/film "The Name of the Rose," which recalls the Irish and English monastic libraries of the Middle Ages, or the fabulous libraries of Persian Antiquity prior to the conquest by Alexander the Great also rank up near the top of my time travel bucket list.

Even though my earliest and best experiences with libraries revolve around borrowing great fiction and entering alternative worlds, the truth is that the libraries of today, and especially those at our Community Colleges, provide far more than a convenient place to borrow books, or a comfortable setting in which to read them.

The libraries of today, and the librarians that staff them, are the docents for digital exploration.  Their guidance and stewardship of electronic resources can be the key to our students' college success.  Librarians are the magicians who transforms naive electronic surfers into informed and savvy citizens.

At Santa Rosa Junior College we have a local requirement for a one unit information literacy course in order to graduate with an associate's degree.  The reasoning behind the development of the course was simple – many of our students have never been inside a library. If they are digital natives, they still have no idea how to analyze the data that they access, to look for inconsistencies in presentation of materials, to evaluate the source, or to critique the arguments presented.

The course curriculum is well designed to develop these critical and analytical thinking skills. After completion, students almost uniformly rate it as an essential component for their future academic success. They also almost uniformly report that they delayed taking the course until their final semester and wish they would have done so sooner. For several years we have discussed requiring the course to be taken during the first or second semester for all students indicating a goal of transfer.  However, the transition to Transfer Model Curriculum (Associate Degrees for Transfer) means that local requirements for Information Literacy are elective and not included in the ADTs.  Fewer students are choosing to take the course when specifically looking at transfer to the CSU system.

This is an interesting conundrum.  Do we all agree that information literacy is an important part of a college education and preparation for life?  Shall we consider incorporating it into existing courses for college success?  Shall we keep it as an elective for ADTs but a requirement for a local degree?  And what about certificate earners?  Skills builders?  Concurrent and dual enrollment students?  Non-credit students?  Isn't information literacy critical to success for our non-credit and basic skills students – perhaps even more so?

Librarians across the State were among the first constituent group to develop statewide purchasing agreements and consortia for effective and consistent acquisition of software and hardware.  Librarians routinely work together to develop systems and then share those results or products widely and with their peers.  I request that the questions I raised above regarding the best way to infuse information literacy within a college curriculum while meeting the requirements of the ADTs be a topic of discussion at the statewide level.

As President of the California Community College Chief Instructional Officers this year, I invite and eagerly await your best thinking and recommendation.

Library Orientation 3.0: Welcome to the Scholarly Conversation 

By Smita Avasthi   (Santa Rosa Junior College)

Like many librarians, I have been grappling with ACRL’s framework. For the past 2 years, I have been introducing these concepts in one-shots, and I find I always return to the idea that scholarship is a conversation. I’d like to share why I think this frame resonates with community college students, particularly if they are unfamiliar with academic culture.

During a presentation about cultural awareness, I was struck by the observation that academic “introductions” emphasize physical or digital environments; however, the greater source of confusion for our students has been the introduction into a new cultural environment. They are strangers in a strange land; of course, they feel lost or even bewildered by college expectations.

Because of the dearth of librarians in California high schools, most students are deeply unaware of the breadth of resources available to them. Additionally, they are accustomed to operating with the text provided by the instructor; if asked to find supplemental information, a website will generally suffice.

The nature of assignments changes drastically when they enter a college-level class, and students are flummoxed by the open parameters of college-level work. Even if an instructor provides a rubric, students do not understand what they are supposed to produce. They stumble through the assignment, hoping for the best.

I believe this dynamic can be disrupted when we introduce the notion that scholarship is a conversation. First-year college students assume there is only one member of their audience: their teacher. And, as long as students define their audience narrowly, they see an essay assignment as an exercise instead of an opportunity to explore their ideas.

Once students realize they are contributing to an ongoing dialogue about a topic, however, they begin to understand the open-ended nature of college research assignments. There isn’t a singular answer they need to seek out; rather, they have been asked to add their perspective to a large conversation. And, depressingly, this may be the first time they have been expected to take their ideas seriously.

The exploration and development of ideas is, of course, central to scholarly research. When we adopt the framework, we position ourselves as experts in scholarly practices. If we use orientations to introduce students to the practice of research, we give them a cultural context for their work. Our orientations, then, are not about the physical layout of the library or the virtual layout of a research interface; instead, they orient students in the unfamiliar landscape of academia.

I believe this frame resonates with students precisely because it provides an introduction to academic culture. The introduction to academic culture will impact students more than a demonstration of a research interface. Community college students, in particular, are unclear about academic norms, and librarians have unique insight into scholarly practices. Let’s use these insights to provide a new kind of library orientation.

Library Survey Report: California Community College Library / Learning Resources Survey Report contributed by Doug Achterman   Now available on the CCL website is a summary report of the California Community College Library / Learning Resources Survey from 2007-2008 to 2013-2014. The report highlights key data from the annual data surveys related to staffing, expenditures, hours open, facilities, and information literacy instruction. Written by researchers Terrence Willett and Jennifer Cross, the report divides California's 113 community colleges into six distinct cohorts for comparison. These groups include:

1. Smaller remote
2. Average college
3. Close to universities
4. Lower socioeconomic status
5. Workforce development focused
6. Higher socioeconomic status

The data include charts and graphs that offer easy comparison between one's own college and other similar colleges. One chart, for example, notes staffing levels within these cohort groups before and after the Great Recession:

It's quite easy to tell whether one's own college has kept pace with others in its cohort in terms of staffing. Other charts offer information about total expenditures, on hours open, and ratio of spending on electronic and print resources over time.   Also available on the CCL web site is the comprehensive Survey Data With Pivot Tables  from 2005-2006 to 2013-2014. While comparisons within the cohorts in the report are useful to show how one college compares to the others in a group, there are other local or regional comparisons librarians may want to make to advocate for their own programs more strongly. The data are arranged in one spreadsheet, so sorting information by FTES, staffing, or expenditures is quick and easy.  Some pre-constructed pivot tables also allow for deeper exploration of the data.   Both resources offer ways to communicate back to one's board, administration and faculty how a college library stacks up in comparison to other libraries in the system, both for bragging rights and in making the case for more resources. This is a valuable addition to a librarian's advocacy toolkit.

by Kim Morrison (Chabot)

At Chabot Community College I saw a media need and began to fill it with grant money that purchased 2 laptops for 2 hour in library use.  Our media lending library has extended to iPads, Go-pro cameras, digital cameras, Nikon black & white 35 millimeter cameras, voice recorders, pocket projectors, video recorders, telescopes, calculators, molecular models and many more laptops—all  can be checked out for up to 3 days at a time.  After surveying and keeping track of students participating in our laptop loaner program--we have been fortunate to be awarded 30,000 in Equity Funding to increase our laptop holdings.  Most if not all of the surveyed identified as students of color.  With increased advertisement and word of mouth our media loaning program is so popular we never have enough supply for the shown need.

We as Community College librarians can play an important part in providing loaner media in our audiovisual departments.  In thinking “out of the media loaning box” I’d like to soon be able to loan out, musical instruments, Internet hotspots, art paintbrushes, easels and other items to help our students thrive with access to the media tools they require.

Chabot College has recently installed an area in the library where our community can come together to make, share and learn together.  This make, learn share space also hosts story-time for our early childhood development program. Soon we will have a drop-in story time for students with children that need an hour to research, or work on homework.  We invite surrounding community members to come and teach a craft, teach day of the dead skull decorating, teach the games of chess, dominos, and bid wiz, teach jewelry making, origami, and 3d printing, just to name a few activities.

In providing the resources and space mentioned above Chabot College Library is not only on the way to being a central meeting place on our campus, but also a place supplying the media our students need.

Membership Report -- Gregg Atkins, CCL Executive Director

And we’re off to a great new membership year!  More than 50 colleges have flooded the CCL mailbox with 2016-17 membership payments!  It seems like a sign that you all value the work that CCL does, year in and year out.

And as I open each envelope, I find myself thinking about what I know about your library and your college; I often go to your websites to “see you now.”  As ever, I’m impressed and proud by what I see in your services and support to students and faculty!

Can’t remember getting your 2016-17 invoice?  Just email me – a follow-up copy can be sent via email.

And I want to acknowledge BARSTOW as the first in line this year!

Are you kidding? Susan Walsh is really retiring?

Having threatened to retire for years, Susan Walsh will be retiring from Merced College in February 2016.  She came to community college libraries from public library land where she served for ten years in reference, and branch services.  Susan left the Branch Manager position of the Davis Branch  (Yolo County Library) to become the Director of the Merced College Learning Resources Center in 1985. The LRC Director job, then (as now) included oversight of library services, collection development, reference services, library instruction, audio-visual services, classroom technology, and technology training for faculty and staff. Distance education responsibilities came and went and then came and went again.  Over the 31+ years Susan served as the LRC Director, her temporary titles and accompanying “part-time” duties changed nearly as often as the library content formats and classroom and library technologies did.

During her college career, the library was automated, full time reference librarians went from 1 to 4 (one assigned to the Los Banos Campus), the book  budget reached over $80,000, online subscriptions and databases were added, information literacy competencies became a graduation requirement, faculty librarians served as Academic Senate Presidents and Curriculum Chairs, computers were added to the library for student use, and the library held firm that it was only open during hours when faculty librarians were available. The Audio-Visual Department left cassette recorders, VHS tapes and players, and 16mm projectors in the rear view mirror to move to Internet and multi-media enabled classrooms complete with digital projectors, document cameras, dvd players, and streaming media.  Technology training came to include not only computer training, but also digital and video image production and manipulation, a multitude of software packages, and learning management systems platforms. The crowning glory in her career was when the Learning Resources Center moved into a new, beautiful, well-planned 53,000 square foot facility.  The LRC has seen over 3 million visitors since it opened February 27, 2007.

Susan also served as the Director of Distance Education, Title III / Title V HSA  Grants Director, Faculty /Staff Development Coordinator,  Interim Associate Vice President of Technology, Interim Vice President of Instruction, and, her last position, Interim President.

In the community she served as president and / or a board member of AAUW, Soroptimist International, League of Women Voters, and the County Chamber of Commerce. She just finished her second term as an elected trustee of the local elementary school district.

In retirement, Susan will not be still.  She plans on volunteering in the Merced College Archives (which she established as part of the library) and for the Merced County Library.  She will be active in county-wide literacy initiatives and LWV study groups.

She will also do traditional things like read more and garden more, activities dear to her heart now. She will also hold the hand of the love of her life, her husband Phil Wilson, more often and spend more time with him watching the garden grow.

We have two new librarians: Karrie Bullock at the Merced Campus and Christina Golm at the Los Banos Campus.

Dr. Nancy Golz was recently hired as Merced College’s Dean of the Learning Resource Center, a position which will also oversee the library, audiovisual, and  Distance Education at Merced College. Previously, Nancy served as an Electronic Resources Librarian at Merced College where she initiated the library’s launch into social media and text reference services. Nancy recently completed a doctorate in Education Leadership at Saint Mary’s College with a dissertation that was focused on the use of social media and emerging communication technologies in the California Community College system. Nancy continues to produce original research on social media, student engagement, and student success which she presented at the California Library Association and the American Educational Research Association Annual meetings in Philadelphia, San Antonio, and Washington D.C.

Edit Boghozian joined Mission College Library in August 2016 as the Access Services/Systems Librarian. She has a strong background in cataloging, acquisitions, and technical processes; and has also provided oversight to circulation activities. Edit started her library career as a Library Aide within the San Mateo County Library System. She was later promoted to Library Assistant and eventually hired as a Librarian. Her most recent position was as a Senior Cataloger in the Palo Alto Public Library System where she played an instrumental role in converting from SirsiDynix Horizon to Sierra. Edit is currently working with our Public Services team and supporting the Millennium integrated library management system for us. She received her Master of Library and Information Science degree from San Jose State University.

The Mt. SAC Library recently enjoyed new investments to expand our capacity to teach and serve students. Our team welcomed new librarians Eva Rios-Alvarado this fall and Jared Burton in fall 2015 Jared, Eva, and Hong Guo (hired 2013-14) represent three new librarians hired in the past four years (all growth positions). Susanne Maguire is a part-time Library Technician who augments support for weekend and early morning hours. Additionally, Dr. Romelia Salinas, Associate Dean of Library and Learning Resources (also a growth position), brings expertise and vision from Cal State L.A.’s JFK Memorial Library and her leadership roles as an adjunct professor of library science at UCLA and as Counsilor-at-Large of the American Library Association.

Through our Campus SE Master Plan (2015-2016)  B.10 (information competency) and B.11 access to textbooks, our librarians have been reaching out to the campus community and under-served student groups. (Tree-saving advice: before clicking “print,” please note library specific content is on pages 73-75 out of 222 pages!) Some activities so far:

• Banned Books Week
• Student Equity Strategy, Fall 2016 (draft shared in Faculty Meeting) - final draft version in progress
• Established focus groups, with four SSSPs, to gather information on the student experience with libraries and specific barriers to info. comp. at Mt. SAC Library
• Outreach to specific programs and services to start embedded librarian hours
• Today we launched Pop-up Library Outreach
• Outreach Toolkit - in progress of being built
• Outreach Calendar - in progress of being built
• Student Equity LibGuides for faculty & students - in progress of being built

Our library is far too small for a college of our size: current capacity serves about 2% of our students. While the glacial pace of getting a new library is a reality, we count our facilities improvements as blessings: new carpet, new coat of paint, and additional seating by removing two ranges and demolishing two counters. More small projects are planned to transform the library: e.g., a variety of student-friendly furniture and configuration in the new quiet reading room will better serve diverse learning needs; reference instruction is being reimagined through our librarians’ vision of what it should be, instead of the outdated counters that do not reflect our librarians’ inviting, warm, and engaging approach to teaching and helping students.

Our collection received urgently needed funds in the past three years through Prop. 20 lottery, instructional equipment, and Student Equity Initiative sources. These funds help restore the 24.7% cut to the lottery budget sustained for five consecutive years and strength the collection. We are thankful for the College’s investment in the library, and we will continue to seek resources to support the College’s participation in the Strong Workforce Initiative and other new curriculum, certificates, and programs.

Luis Gonzales, Ed.D., Returns to Oxnard College as Library Dean

In early 2014, Oxnard College hired Luis Gonzalez as Assistant Dean of Transitional Studies, Academic Support & Library Services.  He left in August 2016 for an interim full dean position at Moorpark College.  We’re pleased to announce that Luis is returning as our [permanent, full] Dean, effective November 14, 2016.

One Book One Campus has been gaining momentum this year. Many departments have incorporated the book into their curriculum. There was a film screening of He Named Me Malala with a UN panel discussion afterwards. There will be a screening of the documentary, A Path Appears, which deals with human trafficking and gender-based violence, which is a companion to the exhibit noted below. A concert is planned for Spring, with an original piece performed by the Pierce College Symphonic Concert Band that was inspired by Malala Yousafzai, entitled “Celebrations of the Human Spirit.”

In support of our book for the year, I am Malala, our Outreach librarian, Lisa Valdez, collaborated with the Art department to have the “Women Hold Up Half the Sky” exhibit, which was organized by the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

Fall 2016 semester, Rio Hondo College Library welcomes intern, Brian Young, from San Jose State University.  Brian is working toward the completion of his MLIS degree in Spring 2016.   Adele Enright, is the intern supervisor of record; in addition, all librarians and library staff will participate in providing guidance and information about our community college library’s operation, services, and programs.  Brian will be completing 130 hours of internship that will include, but are not limited to job shadowing in reference, instruction, collection development, and other librarian tasks.  He will also learn about and participate in:

·       Reference service to students.

·       Library instruction for classes.

·       Workshops for small groups of students

·       Collection development projects

·       Library research guides (known as LibGuides)

·       Library instruction content development

·       Reference and library use enhancements that will assist students in   effective library research and library use.

·       Other projects, such as participating in strategic planning for the library

Sacramento City College is currently celebrating its Centennial year. The Learning Resource Center, which houses the Library, will feature a lobby display of 100 Moments and Mementos from December 1-15 and a reception on Thursday, December 8 from 2 - 4 pm. http://www.scc.losrios.edu/calendar/event/scc-100-moments-and-mementos-reception/

The Sacramento City College student-run newspaper, which was founded in 1923 and has gone under the names The Blotter, The Pony Express and The Express, was digitized by Backstage Library Works and is now hosted at the California Digital Newspaper Collection. http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=cl&cl=CL1&sp=EXP

SCC was awarded funding under the state’s AB 798 Textbook Affordability Program. Antonio López, currently in his second year as a librarian at SCC, led the application effort and will be serving as the Textbook Affordability Campus Coordinator.

Over the summer, SCC brought its DVD collection out from behind a first-floor media circulation desk to the open stacks. All circulation now is conducted from a single desk.

Mary Ann Robinson, who joined the SCC Library nearly 20 years ago, has announced her retirement, effective May 2017. Mary Ann has long coordinated collection development at SCC, compiling annual analyses and materials funding requests, cheerfully reminding area selectors of deadlines, rationalizing selection processes, compiling qualitative and quantitative data on collection needs and usage, getting teaching faculty involved in weeding the collection, and, more recently, investigating and implementing ebook acquisition. She has advocated for the library and for students, helping for instance secure the expansion of study rooms; contributed to staff equity, textbook affordability, and sustainability initiatives; and served as a library liaison to several departments in Allied Health, the sciences, History and other areas. She will be missed dearly by her colleagues, students, and the larger college community.

Two ACRL reports show evidence of library contributions to student learning and success

The 2016 report issued by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), "Documented Library Contributions to Student Learning and Success: Building Evidence with Team-Based Assessment in Action Campus Projects," shows compelling evidence for library contributions to student learning and success. The report focuses on dozens of projects conducted as part of the program Assessment in Action: Academic Libraries and Student Success (AiA) by teams that participated in the second year of the program, from April 2014 to June 2015. Synthesizing more than 60 individual project reports (fully searchable online) and using past findings from projects completed during the first year of the AiA program as context, the report identifies strong evidence of the positive contributions of academic libraries to student learning and success in four key areas:

1. Students benefit from library instruction in their initial coursework.
2. Library use increases student success. 
3. Collaborative academic programs and services involving the library enhance student learning. 
4. Information literacy instruction strengthens general education outcomes.

The 2015 report issued by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) “Academic Library Contributions to Student Successs:  Documented Practices from the Field”

The findings from the assessment work of the first year campus teams are impressive…A few examples of the project findings are highlighted below.

1. Library instruction builds students’ confidence with the research process.
2. Library instruction contributes to retention and persistence, particularly for students in first-year experience courses and programs.
3. Students who receive library instruction as part of their courses achieve higher grades and demonstrate better information literacy competencies than students who do not receive course-related library instruction.
4. A library’s research and study space fosters social and academic community among students

“Victor Valley College is pleased to welcome Yvonne Reed as our new Systems and Technology Librarian.  Our former systems librarian, John Akins, retired after 25 years at VVC.  As a result of the program review process, we were awarded $100,000 to update furniture in our library building. ”

(Contributed at the July 14 Board Retreat in Santa Barbara)

Dark Invasion, by Harold Blum  -- Meghan Chen (Mt San Antonio)

Moon Kaua’a (Moon Handbooks) -- Pearl Ly   (Skyline)

Collaborative Intelligence: Thinking with People Who Think Differently

By Dawna Makova, Ph. D. and Angie McArthur-- Leslie Tirapelle (Pasadena)

Millennials & Management; The Essential Guide to Making it Work at Work by Lee Caraher -- Paula Paggi  (LA Pierce)

Emotional Sobriety… by Tian Dayton -- Mary Catherine Oxford  (Sequoias)

Hillbilly Ellegy by J.D. Vance -- James Wiser: (CC Libraries Consortium)

On Managing Yourself  Harvard Business Review – Van Rider   (Antelope Valley)

The Secret History of Twin Peaks; a novel by Mark Frost -- Norman Buchwald (Chabot)

The Bathhouse at Midnight: An Historical Survey of Magic and Divination In Russia by W.F.Ryan -- Carol Hutte (Chaffey)

American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers by Nancy Jo Sales -- Doug Achterman (Gavilan)

The Pan Am Clipper by Roy Allen – Gregg Atkins (Executive Director)

A Manual For Cleaning Women : selected stories by Lucia Berlin -- Evelyn Lord (Laney)

The Skilled Facilitator  by Roger Schwarz -- Alicia Virtue (Santa Rosa)

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker -- Kenley Neufeld (Santa Barbara)

Artemisia Gentileschi: The Language of Painting  by Jesse M. Locker – Darryl Swarm (Feather River)

Moby Dick by Herman Melville -- Johanna Bowen (editor CCL Outlook, Directory, and Web)