(PDF version)

Libraries
by Ann Wolpert

Public Services
by Steve Gass

Collection Services
by Carol Fleishauer

Administrative Services
by James Mullins

Technology Planning and Administration
by MacKenzie Smith

Appendix A

About Us > Annual Reports

MIT Libraries
Annual Report FY 2002-2003

Public Services

This past year has seen the MIT Libraries build on the strong momentum of recent years fulfilling the goals of our current five year strategic plan – providing easy access to high quality information, ensuring library spaces and operations facilitate campus intellectual life, and being a leader in applied library technology. Improved physical space in Hayden Library for user study and service provision, increases in instructional activities and support for electronic reserves, reorienting reference service to better support users whether they are in the library or using services and resources remotely, new web-based tools for improving information discovery and management, and long term planning for new library spaces are among the many accomplishments. Key elements of our success have been our commitment to collaboration – across library departments, academic departments, research centers and laboratories, administrative departments, and student organizations; our focus on user needs; and our determination to develop staff and provide them with an environment to experiment and grow.

Evolving the Service Model

While the traditional strength of the Libraries has been its decentralized configuration, collocating libraries with schools and departments, the expanding digital service environment and the ever increasing interdisciplinary research and teaching agenda strain this decentralized model. As we stride into the 21st century we must evolve our service model, focusing on the needs of faculty and students – ensuring their productivity and success while at the same time being responsible stewards of our scholarly and fiscal resources. As new needs arise we must exhibit the flexibility necessary to respond, working creatively to reallocate resources and partner effectively with others across the Institute.

Evolving our service model requires a vision. Over the last year and half Public Services has developed and articulated a new reference vision for the MIT Libraries that provides a simple but rich framework for developing library services to better support the needs of the MIT community:

The MIT Libraries will provide a reference environment that enables user self-sufficiency and easy access to information staff. Library space, both physical and virtual, will be intuitive. It will facilitate independent discovery and provide quick connectivity to appropriate experts when needed. The availability of real-time assistance will be extended to better meet community needs. Staff will be well trained in customer service, library policies and procedures, and a core set of information tools and resources. A robust referral system will provide the timely linkage of users to subject and technical experts, and ensure necessary follow-up and assessment.

The vision goes on to highlight three key goals:

• Simplify access to Libraries’ materials, services, and staff expertise.
  • Enable user self-sufficiency through effective self-help mechanisms
  • Simplify access for people in community who have general questions or who don’t know where to start
  • Simplify access for people in community who could/should utilize expert help
    
• Foster flexibility and experimentation for library staff and services.
  • Break out of 9-5 mold
  • Encourage growth and experimentation
  • Evolve services to the changing face of research and teaching at MIT
    
• Successfully market services, internally and externally.
  • Brand and unify services
  • Build strong relationships with user communities
  • Support teaching and development of life-long learning skills
  • Develop appropriate assessment mechanisms

Improving the Physical Infrastructure

Simplifying access to library materials, services, and staff requires good facilities. Great progress has been made this past year. The most dramatic and obvious enhancement is the renovation of the entrance area to Hayden Library, the home of the Science and Humanities Libraries, resulting in new user spaces, a service desk reconfiguration, and a revitalized public computing cluster area. By imaginative design, the user space allows for 24-hour study space and includes two group study rooms, the first ever offered in Hayden. The new service desk configuration brings together for the first time circulation, reserve, and references service points, creating a more friendly and obvious service profile as well as allowing for staffing efficiencies. Student feedback on the new space has been overwhelmingly positive:

Love the new 24-hour study area and the new desk setups. Renovation of Humanities Library is needed now!!

The 24-hour study room in Hayden is amazing. There should be more of them all over campus.

– 2003 Enrolled Student Survey

Additional benefits of the renovation have been a more rational organization of collections in the first floor Science Library and the creation of a new Digital Instruction Resource Center (in the space formerly occupied by the Reserve Book Room) that provides improved support for an expanding instructional program. Due in no small part to this successful renovation visits to Hayden increased by 19%, from 295,545 in 2002 to 350,675 in 2003.

Significant efforts took place this past year planning for future space improvements. The Dewey Library management team worked collaboratively with representatives from the Sloan School and SHASS to complete a strategic architectural program and 50% schematic design for a new management and social sciences library to be part of the new Sloan/East Campus building complex. The project now awaits fundraising thresholds to be achieved before moving forward.

Substantial progress has also been made in achieving the recommendations of the Faculty Committee on the Library System for a new combined Science and Engineering Library and the renovation and expansion of an integrated Humanities and Social Science Library in Building 14. Work has begun on a programming and feasibility study for a new Engineering and Science Library. Efforts have centered on developing an exciting vision for the library of the future, providing alternative programming scenarios, benchmarking activities and operations at peer institutions, and garnering input from both our own staff and experts from other organizations. A completed report is expected this fall.

Efforts were also focused on more immediate facility improvements in the Rotch Visual Collections (RVC) and the Barker Engineering Library. Overcrowding of collections and staff has contributed to difficult working environments for both library staff and users in the RVC. An analysis of options for better organizing the space was prepared this past year, resulting in an approved plan to renovate parts of the space this summer. The changes will better delineate staff and user space, resulting in improved working conditions for everyone. Staff in the Barker Engineering Library developed a creative redesign of part of Barker’s main floor space to incorporate much needed group study space. Work has already begun in reconstructing the former photocopier space to accommodate two group study spaces and some new soft seating. The new space will be ready for the upcoming fall semester.

New Online Self-Help Tools

Complementing facilities’ improvements and planning have been powerful new self-help tools that facilitate information discovery and management for the MIT community. Notable among them are:

• DSpace – a digital repository for capturing, distributing and preserving the intellectual output of MIT.
• SFX – a context sensitive linkage tool that makes it easier for users navigating our web space to link from bibliographic citations to full-text articles.
• Business Database Advisor – a web-based tool that allows users to save time and work more efficiently by quickly choosing the best business database for their needs.
• Information Navigator – a web resource designed to help students get started finding quality information.
• “Your Account” – a Barton feature allowing users to identify the material they have checked out, automatically renew materials, and place holds on material out to other users, all through the web.
• Geodata Search Tool – allows GIS Users to search and retrieve data in the MIT GIS spatial data repository.

All these tools have been enabled by collaborations by Public Service staff with colleagues from Collections Services, Systems and Technology Services, and the Digital Library Research Group in the Libraries, and in the case of the Geodata Search tool with colleagues from Information Systems.

Expanding Electronic Reserves

Self-help has been further aided for students by our collaboration with Academic Media Production Services to develop support for electronic reserves within Stellar, MIT’s locally produced course management system. While in the past the Libraries were only able to support electronic reserves for a handful of courses using a stand-alone system, partnering with Stellar has allowed us to expand support dramatically, with over twenty-five courses supported during fall semester and over thirty-five courses in the spring. This has been accomplished within existing resources, and we expect a modest increase in support of up to fifty courses each semester this academic year. We hope over time that this functionality will be transportable to any course management system used at MIT.

Enhancing Evening Service

Improving reference service in the evening hours is a goal that has required serious planning and coordination. After a thorough review of options and informed by our previous experience with digital reference, Public Service is setting up the infrastructure to launch a new central help service this fall that will expand reference support until 9pm Monday through Thursday. Led by our Coordinator of Central Reference Services working with reference, circulation, and systems staff, this effort is focusing on implementing the help email management system, training staff in its use, and developing appropriate assessment criteria to evaluate its success. In addition, Public Service has been focusing on improving the level of knowledge among all public service staff by developing a series of training modules covering the core information competencies identified for providing high quality service in support of the MIT community.

Teaching

The library's teaching role should put less emphasis on the acquisition of information per se, and more on the need for students to acquire lifelong skills in locating, filtering, evaluating, and using effectively the wealth of information available to them.

– 1998 Report of the Task For on Student Life and Learning

Since the report was issued in 1998, the Libraries have rededicated itself to fulfilling the report’s challenge of helping students better understand today’s expanding and complicated information environment. While the improvements we have made in website design and self-help tools have been substantial, at the core of our success in meeting this challenge is our instruction program. Last year’s report highlighted the enormous growth in the Libraries’ instructional program, when activity increased 71% in the number of sessions offered and 95% in the number of attendees. This year again saw the program growing with an increase of 26% in sessions offered (307 sessions) and 17% in number of attendees (6570 attendees). While the number of programs is too overwhelming to list, highlighting a few illustrates their range and nature:

• 2.009 Product Manufacturing Processes – a collaboration between Mechanical Engineering and the Libraries, this is a full semester commitment by the ME Librarian with assistance from colleagues in other units in support of this required senior level ME course.
• 9.00 Introduction to Psychology – 300 students are given a library orientation and 180 of them also attend a course related instruction session. Supported by a team of librarians across the system coordinated by the Psychology Librarian.
• 12.00 Solving Complex Problems – a combination of activities including orientations to relevant libraries and resources for 90 students, and presentations to the course teaching fellows (“teach the teachers”). Coordinated by the Associate Head of the Science Library working with a team of library staff across the system.
• Business Research Workshops – 41 workshops, attended by over 300 participants, were provided by the Dewey Library staff. The workshops, the first phase of the Dewey Library Instruction Plan, were designed to fit the busy schedule of Sloan School students (offered primarily during lunch hours and after 5pm).
• GIS Workshops – the Libraries’ GIS Specialist provided over 20 instructional sessions during the year on the use of GIS tools and finding data for GIS applications.

While many instructional activities are directly related to subjects and courses, the Libraries also offer a wide variety of sessions about general and specific services and resources, e.g., overviews of the library system, tours of specific locations, DSpace, EndNote, thesis preparation, and document conversion services. Fundamental to our success in teaching students effective lifelong learning skills are the close relationships subject selectors have with the departments, centers, and laboratories. Over two-dozen librarians have in-depth knowledge of specific subject areas and the faculty and students at MIT involved in those areas. In addition, we have developed a user group structure to concentrate on broad needs for particular user types that cross subject lines. Faculty, graduate students, undergraduates, alumni are all important components of the MIT community, and our user group structure allows us to better understand their general needs and develop and improve services on their behalf. This fall will see the establishment of a new user group in support of post -doctoral researchers at MIT.

Advancing Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Having successfully established a physical lab in Rotch Library and a virtual lab at http://libraries.mit.edu/gis in partnership with Information Systems, this year the Spatial Data Services team has created two new important tools in support of the MIT GIS community. The first is the Geospatial Data Repository. The Repository allows the Libraries to store GIS data, and provides an infrastructure for the development of tailored user interfaces for access and delivery of the data. The first user interface created is the Geodata Search Tool, developed as an extension of the ArcView software. Future plans are to create a web interface for this tool. Another significant milestone this past year was the creation of an ongoing collection development fund in support of GIS. The demand for GIS services on campus remains high. The web site now receives three thousand to over four thousand hits per month during the semester. The GIS Specialist handled over 800 reference transactions this past year, was involved in teaching ten IAP courses and giving nine lectures within existing courses for Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Urban Studies and Planning, and provided numerous orientation sessions.

Laptop Program

In yet another partnership with Information Systems (IS), the Libraries began circulating laptop computers to students. IS provided the Libraries with six laptops that were then configured with a core set of software in support of research and teaching. In November 2002, three laptops each were made available from Hayden Library (Humanities and Science Libraries) and Barker Library. They circulated over 1,200 times between November and the following June. This new service has been well received. User surveys conducted during the first few months of the service revealed the primary use of the machines to be to help in writing papers and working on class projects, followed by email, other research, web surfing, and other class work. Students commented on the value of the service and suggested that it be extended to other libraries.

Focus on Collections

As always, subject selectors, with support from their processing and circulation staff, concentrated on collection building and management issues to insure effective support for teaching and research of the faculty and students. Though burdened by a physical infrastructure that necessitates a never ending need to select, process, and send material to off-campus storage, staff never lose sight of their mission to make accessible to the community the core resources they need to be productive. The challenges of managing collection resources in the existing mixed digital and physical environment are complicated by a number of issues ranging from licensing restrictions, bundled pricing options, cancellation restrictions, archiving, and ever increasing prices. Despite these challenges staff remain steadfast in their commitment to provide the best possible collections and resources in support of the community, all the while juggling the multiple responsibilities for outreach, instruction, and reference alongside their collection development and management activities.

Service Trends

Activity in the Libraries remains healthy, growing in many areas and showing modest declines in others. Circulation activity on Barton grew 4%.

Table 1. Barton Circulation Activity

Library	2002	2003	Change FY02/03
Aero	9,261	9,355	+1%
Barker	60,675	61,869	+2%
Dewey	71,856	69,107	-4%
Hayden	136,539	142,544	+4%
Lewis Music	27,413	27,389	0%
Lindgren	9,770	8,581	-12%
Rotch	51,721	57,471	+11%
Rotch Visual Col.	52	233	+348%
RSC	3,851	5,188	+35%
Schering-Plough	3,362	3,727	+10%
Your Account	N/A	3,170	N/A
Total	374,500	388,634	+4%

Visits to the Libraries jumped significantly with an overall increase of 13%

Table 2. Library Occupancy

Library	2002	2003	Change FY02/03
Aero	25,577	27,917	+9%
Barker	81,139	92,910	+15%
Dewey	158,745	166,215	+5%
Hayden*	295,545	350,675	+19%
Lewis Music	N/A	N/A	N/A
Lindgren	23,064	20,355	-12%
Rotch	102,241	118,706	+16%
Rotch Visual Col.	N/A	N/A	N/A
Schering-Plough	23,187	21,607	-7%
Total	709,498	798,385	+13%

*Includes both Humanities and ScienceLibraries

As reported earlier, instructional activity again grew substantially with an increase of 26% in sessions offered (307 sessions) and 17% in number of attendees (6570 attendees).

Table 3. Instructional Activity

	2002	2003	Change FY02/03
Instructional Sessions	244	307	+26%
Instructional Attendance	5,714	6,570	+17%

Based on sampling, reference transactions exhibited a slight decline, falling 5% to 61,008. This may have been partially due to the improved usability of our website, better online self-help tools, improved layout of collections and services in Hayden Library, and the fact that one of the sample periods took place during reconstruction in Hayden when library visits were dramatically down.

Interlibrary Borrowing (ILB) requests jumped 9% to a total of 14,177. Of that number more than 10% were actually found at MIT, demonstrating an ongoing need to focus on user education regarding the use of Barton, Vera, and other tools for the discovery of collections available locally to the MIT community. The ILB unit improved on its customary high fill rate, successfully filling a remarkable 98.5% of the requests compared to last year’s 97.4% fill rate.

Staff Excellence

Recognizing the extraordinary talents, initiative, and responsible nature of the staff of Public Services is both a privilege and a welcome duty. They work with an unparalleled dedication to providing the MIT community with the best possible support in their research, teaching, and learning endeavors. The entire staff works in a collaborative and participatory style that makes the whole greater than the sum of the parts. It is my pleasure to lead such an impressive group of people. Particularly worthy of note this year are those staff who were acknowledged by their peers this past year with the Libraries’ Infinite Mile Award (see Appendix A).

Simply stated, the Public Services staff of the MIT Libraries are outstanding. In order to maintain our high standard, we must remain committed to staff and provide them with the resources and training necessary to fulfill their responsibilities and develop their true potential. We must continue our efforts to insure that staff at all levels are properly acknowledged and compensated for their efforts.

In Conclusion

I have only been able to touch on some of the accomplishments and challenges of the past year in Public Services. A more detailed account of the many achievements of the departments, units, committees, and groups is available in their individual annual reports.

Finally, as Public Services prepares for a dynamic and exciting future, we will continue to develop a library service environment that is dispersed into the fabric of the MIT community. We will continue to develop programs for instruction, reference, and collections that are effectively marketed, personalized to the needs of our users, and integrate print and virtual versions seamlessly. We will value modes of working that are flexible, collaborative, and incorporate development and training. We will work tirelessly in support of the physical space and technology necessary to support faculty, students, and staff.

Steve Gass
Associate Director for Public Services