University Libraries
University of Georgia
Annual Report
March 31, 2010
Highlighted Achievements
Scholarly Journals and Electronic Publishing
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With support from the Provost and President, we were able to avoid further journal
cancellations for 2010.
The number of journal articles delivered electronically grew to 2.4M, an increase of 10%
over the previous year, indicating that our journal subscriptions are heavily used to
support instruction and research.
Electronic books have been slower to gain traction than electronic journals, but demand
and use of them is starting to grow and the pricing models from publishers are becoming
more focused. This past year saw a marked increase in the number of electronic books
offered by the Libraries.
The University Press signed agreements with Amazon/Kindle, MyiLibrary, and other
ventures to make its books available electronically.
The Georgia Review is moving toward making its backfile available through JSTOR, a
widely used and highly regarded collection of core academic journals.
Special Collections Libraries Building – The Regents and the Governor requested, and the
Legislature approved, construction funding for this building for FY2010. Because the
design was completed in FY2009, we were able to break ground for this building very
quickly, in January 2010, and construction should be completed by fall 2011. The total
cost of the 115,000 square foot project will be around $45M, with one-third coming from
private funds and the remainder from the state. A website describing building, including
a web camera view of construction, is available at www.libs.uga.edu./sclb/ .
Miller Learning Center – After seven years, use of the Miller Learning Center continues to grow.
This past year, we measured 2.5M entries into the library portion of the building. This is
an increase of 14% over the previous year and does not include traffic on the first floor
where the largest classrooms are located. The number of events hosted in the MLC
increased by 11% to 440. Operated as a partnership with EITS, the Center for Teaching
and Learning, and the University Libraries, the MLC clearly has become the focal point
for undergraduate education at UGA. During the past year, classroom equipment was
upgraded and tutoring services in the building were expanded.
Organizational Changes – The most notable organizational change is that the University of
Georgia Press and The Georgia Review now report to the University Librarian and
Associate Provost. This new relationship is expected to foster greater collaboration
among the three units. The other organizational change of note is the appointment of Dr.
P. Toby Graham as Deputy University Librarian.
Special Projects and Recognition:
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In preparation for the move to the new building, the Cataloging Department has been
working with the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library to ensure that its catalog,
inventory and finding aids are up-to-date.
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A $300,000 grant was used to preserve and make available online 1,355 local television
programs from the Peabody Awards Collection.
The newspaper digitization project of the Digital Library of Georgia won the
Chancellor’s Gold Award for Customer Service.
The Richard B. Russell Library greatly expanded its oral history project.
Three poems published in The Georgia Review were selected for inclusion in The Best
American Poetry 2010 anthology.
The University of Georgia Press received a significant grant from the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation, to be shared with two other University Presses.
18 books published by the University of Georgia Press were selected as finalists or
winners for various regional and national books awards.
Sixteen poems, two short stories, and one essay published in The Georgia Review were
nominated by the Pushcart Prize Board of Contributing Editors for inclusion in that
esteemed anthology’s 2010 volume.
Progress in Program Priorities
Goal 1: The Evolving Collection: Blending Access, Ownership, and Preservation
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The overriding objective here is to provide the best possible collection of print, electronic
and other resources to meet the needs of our faculty and students.
Progress in this goal has been hampered by tight budgets and the rapidly increasing prices
of journals. We lost significant ground in FY09, but expect FY10 to be stable.
As stated above, use of electronic journals continues to grow, surpassing 2.4M
downloaded articles this past year, an increase of 10% over the previous year.
Electronic books are also beginning to take hold, but not approaching the scale of
electronic journals.
Use of the print collection as measured by circulation remains steady.
Goal 2: The Teaching Library: Building Partnerships
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Collaborative efforts with faculty and students continue to mature.
The Undergraduate Research Awards, sponsored by the Libraries and CURO, attract a
larger number of students each year.
Instructional sessions in the use of library resources continue to grow in number and in
scope with over 16,000 students attending.
Goal 3: The Strengthened Heart of the University: Library Buildings
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The greatest progress in this area has been with the Special Collections Libraries
building. Construction is now underway and will be completed by the fall of 2011.
Space vacated in the Main Library will be converted to storage of the general collection
and to provide more study space.
Funds have been requested to remodel the core floors of the Main and Science Libraries.
Goal 4: The Empowered Staff: Investing in the Staff and Faculty of the Libraries
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Training, travel, and compensation continue to suffer because of the budget cuts. To
compensate, we rely more upon webinars and other internet events.
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Our staff recognition program continues to provide well deserved highlights of staff
accomplishments.
Many staff take advantage of the tuition assistance program to complete higher degrees.
Retirements are offering opportunities for growth for junior faculty to assume greater
responsibility.
Our median salary continues to rank near the bottom of the 113 members of the
Association of Research Libraries, falling to 108th.
Strategic Plan and Five Year Program Plan Changes
There have been no changes to the Strategic Plan or to the Five-Year Program Plan.
The current Strategic Plan can be found on the Libraries Web Site at:
http://www.libs.uga.edu/staff/strategic.html
The Five-Year Program Plan is available at:
http://dataserv.libs.uga.edu/assessment/fiveyearplan.html
Assessing Effectiveness
Assessment Process
Findings from Assessment
Process
Action Taken in Response
Measured use of electronic
journals. This is an
ongoing process.
Use of electronic journals is
high, 2.4M articles retrieved,
and growing.
Subscriptions to journals
protected using one-time
funds from Provost.
Track use of electronic
books.
Use of electronic books is
growing, but not as rapidly as
electronic journals.
Acquire additional
electronic book packages
when feasible.
LibQUAL, a coordinated
national survey of library
services.
Participation in LibQUAL
has proven valuable in
showing where we need to
add or modify services. View
previous results at:
www.libs.uga.edu/assessment
Growing student preference
for asking questions online
vs. in-person.
Plan to participate again in
2010.
Student demand for group
study rooms is high.
Converted an area to group
study in the Science
Library.
Use statistics for reference
questions.
Monitor use of study areas
in MLC.
Extended chat reference to
seven days a week and
added a texting service.
wgp 3//31/2010