About the Library: 2019-2020

Accomplishments

Online chat and the ability to reserve study rooms and schedule library instruction were made available mid-year. These services were immediately utilized by students and faculty. The chat service proved to be an invaluable addition in light of the pandemic and allowed librarians to continue to easily connect with students. 

Additional Huddle Stations were added to study rooms, which allow students to work collaboratively using technology. Two of the reserveable study rooms include Huddle Stations and two other Huddle Stations are available in study rooms that are first come, first served. 

Librarians collaboratively formalized a Library Assessment Plan which included the development of library instruction surveys, an updated process for receiving faculty feedback, and identifying library usage reports, many of which were already being utilized, to assist the library when making decisions regarding services, electronic resources, and physical collections. 

The Library continues to provide assistance to faculty transitioning to Open Educational Resources. The Library Director coordinated an OER training course. Ten faculty participated in the training, including English faculty, who then adopted and adapted OER materials for English Composition I and II. These classes are also now supported by library guides that were developed by the Arts, English, and Humanities Division library liaison.

As a response to the COVID pandemic, the library worked to continue to provide essential services to students. Temporary access to additional article and film databases were made available and new resource tutorials were created. During the campus closure, efforts were made to continue to provide access to the Library textbook collection, so that access for students was not greatly impacted. A library guide to COVID was also created, both to inform students about changes on campus and in the Library, as well as information about COVID in general. Once the Library reopened, the space was modified to provide distance between patrons, plexiglass and demarcations on the floor for where to stand were added, and a new cleaning process was created to mitigate the spread and provide a safe space to students and employees. 

Goals for FY 2021

OER will continue to be a focus for the OCCC Library, offering support to faculty in located and adopted material for their courses. The Library Director will take advantage of opportunities to learn more about OER adoption and creation in order to be an informed advocate for Open Educational Resources. 

The OCCC Library will focus on updating and creating new library instruction videos in order to have multiple means for OCCC students to learn about and engage with library resources.