Director's Cut
(December 2013) Where did the semester go? I am always amazed by how quickly time passes
during some semesters, and how others can drag on interminably... We had yet another very
active semester in the library and our related worlds, and we're on the threshold of some very
exciting longish-term initiatives. As always, it is a pleasure and an honor to work with all of you!
-GR
Technology Clips

Additional Student Computers. Later this month we will be adding four additional VDI
stations to the library, expanding our student computer world just a bit. This addition is in
response to the continuing full-capacity use of our computers, and should help a tiny bit
with the churn and the ever-growing student need.

Writing for the Web Workshop. In October the MOBAC Technology Committee
sponsored a workshop at MPC on writing for the web. A report, from attendee Aleah
Kropholler: "The... workshop... was educational with advice on how to enhance your
website using small changes. Split into two parts the workshop started out with a broad
sense of information on how to direct, display and improve usability of your website.
While tips like “Happy writing must die” and “cut down your current website content by
50% and then do it again”, sound extreme, they actually create a cleaner, more usable
space with clear direction for user’s needs. The second half was filled with more detailed
tips and information. Items like “don’t use red” to write items, or “make your links blue”,
create an easier scanning atmosphere. Topics such as a consistent online presence were
expanded upon, i.e. making all web pages have the same font and style. As a library you
don’t want your users to feel as if they have moved to a different space. Perhaps the
library’s website will be seeing some new language and some new pathways in the
future!" And, a few additional tidbits attendee Stephanie Staley found interesting:
o
o
o
"Readers don't read on the Web, they scan or skim content. Scanning a
webpage is much different than reading a book or newspaper. You only
have a few seconds before they are clicking somewhere else."
"Omit needless words. Be concise. Avoid 'Happy Talk' 'such as Welcome
to the library's homepage'. Don't use webpages as handouts. Use an active
voice: 'You' and 'We' in text. Be conversational."
"Avoid using terms 'Click Here' and 'More' -- instead use the text as the
link and spell out exactly what more is (i.e. 'See more departments') so
user won't need to go there if that's not what they are looking for."
Library Clips

Staff Changes. Andree LeBourveau joined the library on October 1, filling the half-time
vacancy in Technical Services created by Meredith Sarmento's departure to take her first
librarian position up north. Andree continues to work half-time at the Slide Library, so
she is now getting a double-dose of libraries and collections!

New Adjunct Librarians. In Spring 2014, Cynthia Ainsworth will be joining our
librarian ranks with an assignment of two Library 10 sections plus a Thursday morning
reference shift. In addition, Jasmine Colon has accepted membership in our substitute
librarian pool, and will be available beginning in Spring for substituting at the reference
desk, plus potential future Library 10 assignments if they come up. Please welcome
Cynthia when she joins us during Spring FLEX week, and welcome Jasmine when I
bring her in for training next semester. I do believe you will agree with Stephanie Staley
and I that we are adding two exceptional colleagues to our mix!

Weeding Project. The massive weeding project described in an earlier email is well
underway, as we begin the process of reducing the size of our physical collection by
about a third. We have already withdrawn about 500 books, with hundreds more in the
pipeline. Stephanie Staley is coordinating the project (Weeding Czar?), and all collection
development librarians have begin to nibble away at reviewing their assigned areas. In a
related effort, the shifting of the back periodicals is nearly complete, freeing up room
behind Circulation for all the back newspapers as well as a large staging area to use for
the weeding project. The weeding project is a scary-big project, but the benefits should be
considerable, with a refreshed collection looking (and being) much more accessible &
relevant for students, plus an increase in the available seating and study space on the first
floor.

Course-Related Instruction Sessions. With the arrival this semester of Michelle
Morton, our new Instruction Librarian, and with ongoing assistance from Eve Hinkley,
the number of course-related instruction and research sessions is again on the rise! We
had 70 librarian-assisted sessions during Fall semester, with Michelle conducting 43, Eve
handling another 16, and other librarians taking care of an additional 11. We have not had
over 60 sessions since Fall 2010, so this represents a welcome return to very robust
numbers, especially with Michelle's active recruitment and work with instructors in
specific programs. I look forward to future semesters, to see where this vital instruction
service goes!

Staff Picks Book Displays. The new Staff Picks display of book recommendations and
cover pictures is garnering a lot of attention from students and other visitors. Many/most
of the books reviewed and highlighted are subsequently checked out, often with
additional holds placed on them. Kudos to Katie Clark and Laura Dickie for conjuring up
this wonderfully eye-catching addition to to library, and many thanks to all the staff and
student workers who have contributed (or will be contributing) recommendations!

New Chairs Coming. The library was approved for a one-time $13,000 funding for
replacing all the remaining blue cloth chairs in use by students. The new chairs (the same
grey plastic chairs used at most computer stations) will likely be arriving in January - it
will be nice to see Facilities carting off all those old, dirty & scungy blue chairs.

MOBAC Bits. A few tidbits from October's MOBAC Admin Council meeting:
o The next MOBAC strategic planning session is tentatively scheduled for Feburary
28. Attendees will be all of the MOBAC library directors, plus 1-2 attendees from
each of the MOBAC committees. At the planning session we intend to focus on
where we want MOBAC to go in the future, and how we will be funding it.
o Santa Cruz PL expects to resume inter-library loan service next Spring (yay!),
both borrowing and lending.
o Santa Cruz PL is also sponsoring a local history road show, inviting the public to
bring their local history photos to scan (the library gets a copy, and the patron gets
a copy) - very exciting concept!
o MPC was almost at the offer stage for replacing their Technical Services librarian,
but the recruitment was cancelled by the MPC president. The campus is in bad
financial shape (the recession cuts finally caught up with them), and they expect
to see reductions in hours, course offerings, and staff layoffs. Sad news.
o Watsonville PL is hiring 5 new/replacement staff members, has restored their
Saturday hours, and will be sponsoring a number of Day of the Dead displays and
events.
o Both Monterey County Free Library and San Benito are trying out Amazon for
their inter-library loan, with items shipped directly to their patrons. This model is
being tried out in various rural library systems throughout the country - should be
interesting to hear how well it works.
o Monterey PL about to undergo pretty dramatic staffing changes, with the city
intending to hire a new library director (the current director, Kim Bui-Burton, will
be keeping the non-library areas she was assigned by the city about a year ago),
the assistant library director (Doug Holtzman) retiring in November, and two
other youth services librarians retiring soon. If that's not enough, they will be
migrating to VDI stations for their patrons probably early next year, which,
unfortunately, will be the first experience with VDI by the city's IT folks...
Campus Clips

Campus Budget Outlook. We're starting to see a few glimmers of hope from the state,
regarding the 2014/15 and later budget years. Nothing concrete yet, but general
expectations are that the Governor's preliminary budget, coming out in January, should
not contain any further reductions, and in fact is more likely to contain a few increases
for community colleges. Locally, Cabrillo continues to have a structural deficit of about
$1 million, projected to rise to about $2 million if we get no increases from the state to
compensate for ongoing increases in operational and staff costs.

Faculty Positions Approved. The faculty prioritization process was completed recently,
and 4 positions were approved for hiring for next Fall by the Board: Math, Culinary Arts,
and Nursing, plus a replacement Political Science position for an early departure of a
newly hired faculty member earlier this year. If circumstances change, and additional
positions are approved for hire, the next positions on the list are: Communications, Fire
Technology, and Counseling, in that order.

Bookstore Committee meeting. The Bookstore Committee met in October after a long
hiatus resulting from the conversion to B&N College. A few items of interest:
o The committee will be expanding its scope to cover Duplications as well as the
Bookstore;
o Watsonville presence continuing, during the first week of each semester; in Fall
2013 they had about 50 sales during the week, and plan to increase promotion of
the service in the future, to build awareness, and hopefully use.
o New faculty textbook requisition system: most faculty are successfully using it,
with the usual assortment of challenges;
o Sales year-to-date are about $300,000 below expected, partially due to the
transition and also probably due to increased book rental availability.
o Over 50% of Cabrillo's required textbooks are now available as rentals, up
considerably from past years'
o Over 20% of textbook sales are now initiated online;
o Textbook sales distribution so far for Fall 2013: 72% print texts, 9% used, 19%
rentals, 1% online.

Building 100 Work. The HVAC system in the 100 building will be worked on over the
Christmas break, as well as some additional high-impact projects. For the duration of the
work, staff in the building will be relocated to available spaces in the 200 building. Please
bear with the relocated departments, as they will be trying to keep up with normal
workflows while set up in temporary quarters.

Security Cameras. As part of the ongoing campus efforts to increase security and
experiment with low-maintenance methods, security cameras have been installed around
the perimeters of the 800 building, to be monitored by the Sheriff's department. Cameras
are also planned for the 300 building.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------