CHEMISTRY LIBRARY
ANNUAL REPORT, July 1, 2004– June 30, 2005
Prepared by: Tina E. Chrzastowski
I.
Narrative Summary of the Year’s Activities
I.A.
Core Processes
I.A.1. Services and Access
A continuing commitment to service continues to drive activities and outreach at the UIUC
Chemistry Library. With the implementation of the “new model” chemistry library (which
focuses on electronic access), numerous changes have taken place and are planned for this
unit, all centered on electronic access to materials. Service implications for the new model
include maintaining viable links, training all staff to competently answer questions about
electronic access, following up on Voyager record changes to correctly link to electronic
access and current print locations, and educating our clientele on access issues, both print and
electronic.
In FY05 chemistry library staff moved both monographs and serials to Oak Street. With help
from the numerous library units, over 13,000 volumes have been moved, with nearly 30,000
more selected to move in FY06. Restructuring a collection of this size takes a lot of
teamwork, and we gratefully acknowledge the support and work provided by our colleagues
in the Serials Cataloging Unit (record changes in Voyager), Central Circulation (Oak Street
personnel), Library Systems and Acquisitions (creating and maintaining ORR records and
links) and Library Facilities (moving many, many boxes from CHX to Oak Street). It truly
takes a village to change a library.
I.A.2. Collection Development
Although now more virtual than physical, collections remain at the heart of the Chemistry
Library. Through numerous methods of measuring, it is clear that electronic access to
materials increases use. Ease of access and 24/7 availability make our collections “open”
and ready whenever or wherever our users need an article, references to a chemical structure,
or even reserve material.
FY05 was another year focused primarily on collecting backfiles to electronic journals. We
added a number of these backfiles including Wiley’s Chemistry Backfile Collection, three
Elsevier backfile “supplements” (formerly Academic Press titles) covering Organic
Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and Wiley’s Analytical
Chemistry backfiles. These purchases now provide access for our users to hundreds of
chemistry journals online back to volume 1, literally millions of pages of digitized text.
Since our new model library is centered on electronic access, a number of print journals were
cancelled in FY05 when print archives were secured. This year, these cancellations include
chemistry titles published by Wiley and Kluwer. It is our intention to continue with the
policy of cancelling print journals when electronic access is available and print archiving is
guaranteed by a reliable source, most notably within the CIC.
The chemistry collection was also affected this year by the opening of the Oak Street facility.
This new space is critical to the overall plan for a new model chemistry library since it
provides access to the collection when needed, but at a site that allows that location to be
separate from the working collection. Oak Street allowed us to rethink and remap our
collection in terms of our users and their needs.
I.B.
Training and Staff Development
Again in FY05, Chemistry Library staff members were encouraged to attend librarysponsored training sessions, seminars that enhance their jobs, and divisional meetings with
other PSED library staff. PSE Division support-staff meetings were held regularly and staff
attendance is a critical part of our successful Division. Graduate Assistants attended librarytraining sessions in the fall, and follow-up Voyager circulation training was conducted for all
student workers.
A great deal of staff development came out of this year’s collection remapping and
relocating. Students and staff at all levels were involved in plans for Oak Street. Staff
created spreadsheets of electronically-available titles, titles cancelled or no longer held, and
low-use titles. Student workers streamered over 35,000 volumes for Oak Street based on the
spreadsheets, then packed, boxed and shifted collections. All staff members have been
involved in helping patrons with this new model, including using Voyager to request
volumes, using the ORR to demonstrate online access, and using Electronic Reserves to
explain access to online reserves. The entire process has helped everyone to be involved and
to better understand the goals and objectives of the project.
I.C.
Innovative Ideas, New Initiatives
While no longer perhaps a “new” or “innovative” idea, the Chemistry Library’s aggressive
acquisition of electronic journals, journal backfiles, and other types of electronic access have
signaled a new day in this unit. Since making the decision a few years ago with our users to
actively pursue “all electronic, all the time,” steps have been taken each year to ensure the
success of this model. In FY05, as the first pallets of packed boxes of bound serial volumes
left Noyes Laboratory, the model moved from a philosophy to a reality. We will continue to
move ahead with more boxing, palletizing and moving, while planning for a re-envisioned,
21st Century library.
II.
Measurement, Evaluation, and Assessment Activities
Measuring the use of chemistry-related materials and services is a continuing commitment in
the UIUC Chemistry Library. In FY05 we supported the Undergraduate Student Survey
conducted by the Library’s Services Advisory Committee. The results of the survey found
that, although undergraduate students differ from graduate students in a number of ways,
they align with graduate students in their acceptance and preference for electronic access to
library materials. Data from use studies (began in the chemistry library in 1988 and
conducted regularly) show that by 2004 our users were obtaining 99% of their journal articles
from electronic sources and only 1% from print sources. These and other data help to
support this library’s aggressive move to a new model library, one that focuses on electronic
access to materials.
III.
Public Relations and Promotional Activities
The Chemistry Library connects with our patrons in a number of ways. We actively pursue
feedback from our patrons concerning cancellation lists, remodeling plans, and the direction
of the library. We accomplish this with email, surveys, lists of proposed cancellations, and
by taking the time to talk to faculty and students who visit the library. In FYO5 outreach also
included involvement in the Library Fall Festival, a great way to welcome students to the
Library.
The Chemistry Library will continue to monitor use in all formats to gauge user needs.
Specific outreach in FY06 will include the January-March 2006 journal use survey (print and
electronic) and the Library-sponsored Faculty Survey and Library Fall Festival. In addition,
research sponsored by an NSF grant will include web site usability studies, offering us the
opportunity to meet individually with chemistry undergraduate and graduate students from
UIUC and Parkland College.
IV.
Involvement with other Units in the Library and on Campus or Beyond
In FY05, involvement with the School of Chemical Sciences (SCS), the Departments of
Chemistry and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and the adjunct Biochemistry
Department continued to be an important goal. Meetings were held with the faculty and
presentations were made outlining remodeling and collection plans. Feedback from faculty
and graduate students (our primary clientele) was sought in other ways as well, again
soliciting any concerns, but focusing on the collection and remodeling plans. As in previous
years, faculty and students continue to express their desires for electronic resources. And
again, as in the past, decisions were made to move boldly into electronic access and cancel
print journals, maintaining electronic access, when pushed to do so by budget constraints and
allowed to do so because of secured print archives.. Interactions with other library units
continued this year with staff job-sharing at both Oak Street and the Undergraduate Library
(electronic reserves work). In addition, the movement of materials from the Chemistry
Library to Oak Street meant interactions with units such as Serials Cataloging, Systems,
Library Facilities, and Central Circulation. This year we also began meeting regularly with
Life Science Division librarians in monthly joint-division meetings. Interaction with LSD
and PSED libraries continues to be our primary focus as we share responsibilities with our
divisional and cross-divisional partners for access to science collections.
Planning for library remodeling has involved numerous campus units including Operations
and Maintenance, Campus Facilities and CITES as well as beyond-campus units such as our
architectural firm, Harley Ellis. FY06 should bring us relationships with construction and
demolition workers, library movers, and new stacks installers.
V.
Additional Topics Deemed Unique to the Unit in Question
Chemistry Library staff have yet another incredible year ahead of us. For the first time in
nearly 100 years we are planning a new facility. It seems possible from this perspective
(August 2005) that we will move into a new library within the next year. We have much to
do before this happens, from planning to boxing to moving tens of thousands of volumes.
But the opportunity to create a new library with a new model of research and service is both
exciting and invigorating.
VI.
Goals and Planning
VI.A. Last Year’s Plans and Goals
Last year’s plans were mostly completely achieved. They included:
 Purchase second Wiley electronic-journal backfile in chemistry.
 Host SciFinder Scholar training sessions for students and faculty.
 Move 3,000 monographs to Oak Street the second week of January, 2005.
 Prepare and move tens of thousands of monographs and print journal volumes to Oak
Street in preparation for our move to the remodeled and redesigned new Chemistry
Library. Early estimate of the size of the collection to move is approximately 30,000
volumes (this project was begun and 10,000 volumes were moved in fiscal year 05).
 Survey undergraduate students and faculty in surveys similar to last year’s Graduate and
Professional Student survey. Respond to their comments and suggestions..
 Continue to contribute staff time to Oak Street and to other units when they need
additional, temporary help (such as electronic reserves or computer data migration
projects).
 Conduct a focus group of graduate students to gauge their response to the proposed new
library plan. Also present the plan to chemistry faculty at Department meetings to gather
feedback. Create outreach via our web homepage to allow for other user feedback to the
remodeling plan.
 Finalize and begin to implement the Chemistry Library remodeling plan.
VI.B. Next Year’s Plans and Goals
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Conduct the 2006 journal-use study of print and electronic materials. This will be the
first year we have many fewer print journals in the library. However, use of these
materials was incredibly low in the 2004 study and materials sent to Oak Street were
selected for their low use. This study will help define our print collection even further
and will determine if, yet again, electronic use is rising.
Continue to plan for new space, including packing and moving approximately 30,000
volumes to Oak Street.
Continue to monitor finding tools including Voyager bibliographic records and ORR
links in order to provide accurate records for our users.
In conjunction with Library Systems, offer SciFinder Scholar 2006 to users via Citrix,
rather than individual client downloads.
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With UIC, explore the possibility of moving Beilstein access to Elsevier’s
DiscoveryGate.
With UIC, explore the possibility of merging SciFinder Scholar seats in order to improve
turnaway rates for both Universities.
Purchase a suite of electronic books in response to a number of requests received last
year. Follow-up with a review of use statistics for these e-books.
Begin to explore electronic serial check-in within PSED and possibly cross-divisionally
to LSD.