CHEMISTRY LIBRARY
ANNUAL REPORT, July 1, 2007– June 30, 2008
Prepared by: Tina E. Chrzastowski
I.
Unit Narrative
Overview and Changes
The second full year in our new location (170 Noyes Laboratory) proved to be active and
informative, as we provided service to an increasing number of patrons who rely on the
Chemistry Library for public computers, wireless internet and a “clean, well-lighted place” in
which to work. Two additional public workstations were added to our lineup over the
summer to handle demand, increasing the number available from ten to twelve. Numbers of
patrons using the Chemistry Library continue to grow, increasing approximately 32% from
FY07*. Our busiest hours are Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to approximately 5 p.m.
Major activities of this year include continuing to move materials to Oak Street as they were
acquired online, purchasing online backfiles and focusing on the purchase of e-books, both
single monographs and continuation series. These activities result in collection maintenance
such as shifting and Voyager bibliographic record corrections. Facilities issues continued to
have a major impact on operations in FY08, as both heating and cooling system failures
resulted in pink goo oozing from wall radiators and overhead ceilings, water leaks and
dramatically hot air temperatures. We are hopeful that these basic systems problems have
been addressed and resolved. Chemistry Library staff also continued to review and test
online journal links for chemistry journals, maintaining this major monetary investment and
essential, primary service. As mentioned, basic collection maintenance was conducted that
included the shifting of our monograph and bound serial collection (once journal runs had
been sent to Oak Street) and reorganizing the unbound serial collection as journals were
“flipped” and no longer received in print.
At the end of FY07, chemistry library staffing was reduced from 2 full time staff to 1.5 full
time staff. This reduction was based on the fewer number of journals we receive in print,
meaning fewer journals to check-in and less binding and shelving. In terms of workflow, this
reduction seems to be working; problems arise when staffing is low due to vacations and/or
illness. Our inability to cover emergencies is our biggest weakness. Further reductions in
staff are taking place in FY09, as two part-time Graduate Assistant positions have been cut
and student wages have been reduced by 20%. These cuts, in addition to the staff losses of
last year, total nearly 50 fewer hours per week of staff time in FY09 compared to FY07-08.
The results of these reductions have only begun to emerge, but they include a cut in library
hours (closing 3 hours earlier weeknights and Sundays), a loss in productivity and the need
for the chemistry librarian to substitute for staff more frequently. It is also likely that internal
projects will take much longer and our move to the CMS will depend on the resources of
Webmaster
.
Continued efforts were made this year to acquire e-books, e-continuation series and online
reference materials in chemistry. The Chemistry Library Endowment fund was used, as well
as monograph funds, to acquire online access to the Springer e-book series, major
encyclopedias, handbooks and databases. These purchases reflect the continued move to
electronic formats that began nearly 10 years ago with serials and serial backfiles. The
progression in online access has now moved to e-books and e-reference, and the Chemistry
Library is actively purchasing e-books in response to our clientele’s preference for this
format. A goal for the coming year is to continue to purchase e-books. We will begin by
acquiring the Royal Society of Chemistry’s current e-book list and backfile as well as the
American Chemical Society’s e-book series, ACS Symposium Series.
Contributions to Library-Wide Programs
Chemistry Library staff contributed to Library-wide programs in FY08 in a number of ways.
We provided reference service, conducted library assessment (patron counts, shelving counts,
database use counts, e-journal use counts) and diligently revised and corrected chemistry
library bibliographic records. We participated in staff training sessions, trained new student
workers and conducted numerous instruction sessions for students, faculty and staff.
Chemistry Librarian Tina Chrzastowski was chair of the Library Assessment Working Group
in FY08 and supervised the implementation of the LibQUAL+ survey. She also mentored
librarians who expressed interest in promotion by organizing two panels to address questions
and provide information and motivation.
Goals for the Coming Year
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Continue to measure all activities conducted at the Chemistry Library including
patron counts, reshelving counts, e-journal and e-book use, and other measures as
identified.
Continue to monitor use of the library in order to match our users’ needs for open
hours to available staff funding.
Pursue, with Library Development, the installation of the Periodic Table (possible
donor identified).
Anticipate moving more books to Oak Street as we buy e-book backfiles and the
opportunity to access UIUC online theses is made available. These e-acquisitions
will allow for many hundreds of books to be moved to preservation-quality storage
and will afford improved accessibility through indexing in databases such as
SciFinder Scholar at the chapter level.
Continue to work with staff to find the best use of their talents. Reassignment of
duties will be done due to shifts in acquisition formats, changes in patron service
needs and the basic need to cover service commitments. Due to the loss of 50 hours
per week of staffing in FY09, cuts are being made and projects curtailed. A basic
goal for this year is to see how we can make this work.
Participate in the creation of the Retrospective Reference section at the main library
by transferring major reference works in chemistry to this location. The ultimate goal
is to eliminate the Chemistry Library reference section (creating more table and group
study space). Major works in chemistry reference are now available online, and use
of the print collection is nearly nonexistent.
Graduate Assistants
Graduate Assistants (GAs) are an essential component of our staff and are critical to the
success of this unit. In FY08, the Chemistry Library was funded for two .25 GAs from state
funds and one .25 GA from the Wert Endowment. Due to staffing cuts, our only source of
Graduate Assistant funding in FY09 will be the Wert Endowment. In FY08, we hired a 25%
GA on our Wert Endowment to join two 25% GAs funded by the Chemistry Library budget.
Tragically, the Wert Endowment position was vacant from November to August due to the
death of the graduate assistant holding that position. Despite this loss, productivity remained
high in these positions as the two remaining GAs assumed additional duties. Exit interviews
were conducted with two GAs:
and
. Major projects included
statistics and data reporting, improving signage and displays, updating journal lists,
monitoring e-journal availability, updating and maintaining web pages (including the
Chemistry Library and Library Assessment sites), working with
to ready
Chemistry Library web pages for the CMS, supervising student workers during evening and
weekends, answering reference questions in person, by phone and online, managing the
Chemistry Library email, and other duties as assigned by the Chemistry Librarian.
* Patron counts are conducted 4 times daily. Counts were totaled annually for FY07 and
FY08 and compared.
II.
Statistical Profile
ANNUAL REPORT STATISTICS:
Unit: Chemistry
SPACE
Total square feet of unit
Linear feet of shelving
Seating
a. At tables
b. At carrels
c. Informal
d. At public workstations
e. in group study rooms
7860
3234
24
13
8
12
33
ANNUAL REPORT STATISTICS:
UNIT: Chemistry
Direct Services
Personnel
Professional Staff, FTE
Graduate Assistants, FTE
Staff, FTE
Students, FTE
ANNUAL REPORT STATISTICS:
Personnel
1.0
.75
1.5
3.75
UNIT: Chemistry
Start Date
Mo/Yr
End Date
Mo/Yr
Jul 87
Present
Aug 07
Dec 07
Aug 07
Aug 08
Dec 07
Present
Aug 07
Nov 07
Mar 95
Present
Aug 05
July 07
Sept07
Present
Academic Employees
(GA)
(GA)
(GA)
(GA)
Non-academic Employees
(50%)
ANNUAL REPORT STATISTICS:
Number of Instruction Session Taught
Number of Persons Reached
Instructor:
UNIT: Chemistry
12
574
PRESERVATION STATISTICS
I. Personnel: Chemistry
Name
FTE
1
0.0
Student Assistants
Position (faculty, AP, staff)
Senior Library Specialist
Student Assistants
II. Expenditures
Amount
Description
Contract Conservation:
Contract Commercial Binding:
Contract Pres. Photocopying:
Contract Pres. Microfilming
Other Contract Expenditures
Total Contract Expenditures
Preservation Supplies
Preservation Equipment
$25
$
III. In-house Conservation/Book Repair Treatments
1,
2.
3.
4.
5.
Number of volumes given a level 1 conservation treatment:
Number of volumes given a level 2 conservation treatment:
Number of unbound sheets given conservation treatment:
Number of photos and non-paper items given conservation treatment:
Number of custom-fitted protective enclosures constructed:
60
6
0
0
0
IV. Outsourced Conservation/Book Repair Treatments
1.
2.
3.
4.
Number of Volumes treated:
Number of unbound sheets given conservation treatment:
Number of photos and non-paper items given conservation treatment:
Number of custom-fitted protective enclosures constructed:
V. Reformatting
19
0
0
0
1. Number of photos and non-paper items (tapes, motion picture film)
reformatted:
2. Number of books reformatted to microfilm:
3. Number of single pages of manuscript or archival materials reformatted to film:
0
0
0