Membership

Douglas Butler, Pasco-Hernando Community College
Susan Campbell, State Library of Florida
Jeannette Cox, Florida State University
Sheila Evans, Central Florida Community College, Chair
Zenaida Fernandez, Miami-Dade Community College
Amy Johnson, North Florida Community College
Joanne Laipply, Palm Beach Community College
Jim Moir, St. Petersburg Junior College, Circulation Committee Liaison
Virginia Vail, Pensacola Junior College, Patron Access Committee Liaison

Executive Committee Liaison

Cherry Alexander, Tallahassee Community College

CCLA Staff Representative

Ann Armbrister

Executive Summary

Introduction

Library Heritage and Values

Access to Information Resources

Design and Promotion of Information Services

• User Needs and Values
• Library Resources Devoted to Student Access
• Institution-Wide Perspective
• Statistics for Decision Support and Advocacy

Resource Access and Delivery

• Delivery of Information
• Library Collections
• Digital Library Materials
• Access to Retrospective Digital Information

Information and Instruction

• Information Literacy
• Outreach to Faculty

Administrative Issues

• Intellectual Property and the Law
• Privacy and Confidentiality
• Library Staff Development
• Interlibrary Loan Management System
• Collaboration

Recommendations

Appendix

• Why the Library Gets My Highest Rating

Selected Resources

When CCLA's Resource Cooperation Standing Committee presented its 1994 report, Resource Sharing Issues for Florida's Public Community Colleges, information seekers had to visit the library to take advantage of its resources and LINCC. Now, we envision delivering information whenever and wherever the library user wants it.

Library services are at risk of being swept aside by the commercialization of digitized information. To sustain proven professional values in support of the educational experience, it will be necessary to incorporate these shared values into a revitalized, reconfigured, and expanded service environment. In recognition of our interdependence, this report explores areas that might formerly have been left to local responsibility but now reflect common interests.

Numerous factors shape the design and delivery of information services in today's competitive environment. Library services must be responsive to user needs and values, well positioned within the institution, and based on in-depth analysis and planning. Meaningful access to information requires an extensive, updated, and stable array of print and electronic resources coupled with rapid delivery mechanisms. The information seeker must be enabled to locate, evaluate and use information effectively. Issues associated with intellectual property, privacy, and other matters will further impact the service environment. Library staff require regular updating of technical and customer service skills, to ensure the highest quality service delivery.

The new levels of service envisioned in this report introduce opportunities for local initiatives that require new ways of thinking about library services and automation. As the boundaries that formerly defined institutions, information, practitioners and products dissolve, community college libraries will need to act upon our interdependence by collaborating in new ways. Familiar modes of resource sharing should be carried forward into new applications that build the digital information system of the future and ensure its wide accessibility in support of public higher education in Florida.

Contents

Much has changed since 1994, when all 28 Florida community colleges were at last connected to LINCC using terminals located inside the libraries. In that same year, CCLA's Resource Cooperation Standing Committee presented its first report, Resource Sharing Issues for Florida's Public Community Colleges. That landmark report proposed initiatives for comprehensive resource sharing among all community college libraries through LINCC, defined within a framework of interlibrary cooperation within Florida and the changing information marketplace. Initially viewed by some as visionary and even somewhat radical, its analysis and recommendations remain valid, and most have become reality. The array of digital information resources available through LINCC, improved interlibrary delivery of materials through the LINCC Document Delivery Workstation and a statewide courier service established by the Distance Learning Library Initiative, and participation of all colleges in interlibrary borrowing and lending, are especially significant enhancements to community college library services. The World Wide Web has emerged to exert a revolutionary impact on the information marketplace.

The availability of these services, coupled with continuing changes in technology and user expectations, has expanded the concept of access to information. In 1994, information seekers had to visit the library to take advantage of its resources and LINCC. Now, we envision delivering information whenever and wherever the user wants it. LINCC continues to evolve as a shared information resource and is an integral part of the delivery of library services at each community college. However, the traditional role of libraries as intermediary in the delivery of information is coming into question as information seekers increasingly avail themselves of commercialized digital resources offered directly over the Internet.

The Resource Cooperation Standing Committee has monitored the progress of resource sharing among Florida's community colleges since the 1994 report, through its annual resource sharing survey and ongoing consideration of developments in technology and statewide interlibrary cooperation. The current report developed through a process of in-depth review and discussion that began in January 1999. During the course of that discussion, committee members reaffirmed the enduring relevance of a statement adopted by the CCLA Executive Committee in 1993:

"Florida's publicly supported community college libraries provide resources supporting the mission and curriculum of each institution. Recognizing that no one institution, in isolation, can provide the full range of available resources, free access to information is encouraged through cooperation among libraries in Florida and beyond. The College Center for Library Automation (CCLA) supports these efforts by facilitating resource sharing."

Throughout its ten years of existence, CCLA has fostered a spirit of professional cooperation among the libraries of Florida's community colleges. CCLA works with the Florida Center for Library Automation, State Library of Florida, regional multitype library cooperatives, and other agencies to ensure a productive environment for statewide library cooperation. To prosper in the future, we must search for new creative ways to share ideas, services, and expertise both locally and statewide. In recognition of our interdependence, this report explores areas that might formerly have been left to local responsibility but now reflect common interests. Effective use of LINCC now calls for library services that seamlessly incorporate LINCC-based functionality to advance the educational programs of Florida's community colleges. Resource sharing beyond the boundaries of library activity into programs such as those advanced by the Distance Learning Consortium defines a new level of statewide cooperation and resource sharing that will have strong impact upon libraries.

Contents

Community college libraries are founded upon widely held values of professional librarianship concerning delivery of information. Firm adherence to principles of intellectual freedom and access to authoritative information is a cornerstone of the profession. Librarians have a strong commitment to user satisfaction, evidenced by a continuing quest to develop services that will ensure satisfaction. These values include willingness to provide individualized service to the information seeker. Answering the user's information inquiry fully and appropriately is an important source of job satisfaction. Nevertheless, the size and diversity of today's user populations necessitate balancing the needs of an individual against the group when designing services. With this in mind, information professionals have begun developing services that the information seeker can access independently.

Library services draw upon information resources that are costly, sometimes unique or rare, and always needing to be protected and maintained for the benefit of current and future users. Librarians have taken on the role of conservator of the print, and now electronic, collections under their care. They have found ways of obtaining needed materials within budget constraints, and have devised strategies such as interlibrary borrowing and lending to expand beyond the inevitable limitations of even the most robust collection. The information professional's expertise at collection building, mining information contained in the collection, and efficiently matching it to the user's needs is a heritage that has gathered strength over generations.

Library services imbued with these values are at risk of being swept aside by the commercialization of digitized information. To sustain proven professional values, it will be necessary to differentiate between these values and the modes of traditional service delivery. The enduring values must be incorporated into a revitalized, reconfigured, and expanded service environment. Lacking unlimited resources, difficult choices lie ahead. Some admirable services will have to be curtailed or discontinued to ensure that core values will be preserved in a new context of networked digital information. Library professionals who value their heritage will preserve it, but not through entrenched resistance or by ignoring the challenge while awaiting another career choice or retirement. They will take positive steps to ensure that this heritage is given new life for the next generation.

Contents

Library information services are provided within the framework of a dynamic information marketplace. This marketplace is characterized not only by new opportunities, but also by new constraints that require creative solutions. Above all, there is intense competition for the information seeker's business. Demand for information is growing among community college students, faculty and administrators. A vast and often overwhelming array of "free" (actually subsidized by advertising or the information provider) and subscription-based proprietary resources potentially meets that demand. Technology can deliver information directly to the library user quickly and innovatively, with significant impact on the communications process and user expectations.

Business mergers set the stage for convergence of information and entertainment into multimedia content with widely accessible channels of delivery to the home. Boundaries between information and entertainment are becoming blurred, with entertainment values often prevailing over information content. Technological developments in the area of telecommunications and consumer electronics are bringing forth hybrid digital products with new features that are transforming business and personal communications. The ubiquitous cellular telephone (or a successor device) can receive information services as well as business or social calls. These developments are altering the information marketplace at an accelerating and even bewildering rate. The potential for powerful systems of networked digital information can be realized under commercial control with vast funding resources at the vendor's disposal. Digital rights management offers advanced technological means for content owners to regulate use of their valuable commodity and exploit its revenue potential.

Just as the traditional role of libraries is coming into question, so too are the roles of educators, publishers and information providers. All have the challenge of developing new initiatives grounded in their respective strengths and opportunities. Professional boundaries are being swept away and a new dynamic of change has taken hold, for which there is no relevant experience. Old assumptions are rendered irrelevant, and the impetus for change is strongly weighted toward external forces, not library initiative. Future library resources and services will be shaped by the interplay of these elements and new commercial forces coming into view.

Contents

To compete successfully for the information seeker, the design and delivery of library information services must embrace marketing tools more fully than in the past. Library programs could be improved by more systematic assessment of the needs and preferences of the library's target population; basing decisions about services on confirmed user needs and opportunities; setting service priorities in a way that advances quantifiable plans and goals; vigorous promotion and advocacy on behalf of services; and ongoing assessment of effectiveness. The concepts are not new to library administrators. They are invoked for accreditation reviews, budget preparation, and other efforts. What is needed now is to build skills that can integrate these tools more effectively into both long-term planning and the daily operations of the library. These skills can be learned and cost-effective ideas exchanged in an enhanced resource sharing environment.

Contents

• User Needs and Values

  Community college students require convenience, rapid response, and ease of use — traits found in American society as a whole. Students tend to be unimpressed by traditional print-based site-bound library services. They expect "hassle-free" services, and whenever possible will bypass services perceived as intimidating, regimented, or difficult to obtain. They often desire their information served up with the same ease and selection as their favorite fast food franchise. Unless highly motivated, they will forego access to higher quality materials that may require even slightly more effort to obtain. Cost is typically a factor in the choices students make as information seekers; such cost may reflect expenditures of cash or time. If the information is not available immediately, it may be considered not worth pursuing. With an abundance of information at hand, they ascribe little value to any specific set of resources.

  How can libraries design information services that are responsive to these values? A more personalized user interface to LINCC would be one possibility. Commercial web sites offer user-centered features that respond as indicated by the user's transaction history or self-defined profile, and more such developments can be anticipated. Whatever the delivery mechanism, all library services should be designed to deliver information quickly with a minimum of "rules" or constraints. Because the user will increasingly be accessing information from home, workplace, or other campus facilities, services should support user self sufficiency at any location. A hypothetical description of the way user-centered library services might appear to the user appears as an appendix to this report.

  How can libraries fund innovative user-centered information services in a marketplace increasingly oriented toward "pay-per-view"? Florida's community colleges strive to keep operational costs low so that citizens can readily afford an education. Libraries developing new services that respond to user values are faced with a funding dilemma because students often lack the means to pay for added convenience or are unwilling to do so. Libraries may be unable to subsidize new services while operating within existing budgets, yet cannot expect to recover added costs directly from the information seeker. An established professional value that favors free access to information as a public good and a foundation element of American education further justifies the case against fee-based services.

  The desire for convenience and customized services sometimes conflicts with privacy considerations. While privacy of student data in college records is protected under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), students using Web-based services can maintain control of personal information only to the extent such control is assured for consumers in the general population. Likewise, a student's freedom to access information over the Internet is protected only to the extent unfettered inquiry is accommodated in the design of information services and guaranteed by college policy and the legal system. Web users are increasingly aware of the privacy implications of their activity, and some are seeking legal remedies against perceived intrusions and unwanted commercial exploitation. Contradictory behaviors can be observed. A student may demand justification for personal information required to access certain library services, then later unhesitatingly submit equally sensitive information for electronic commercial transactions. What tradeoffs are students prepared to make between convenience and privacy? As society's values in regard to privacy are being reshaped by the convergence of new services and other values, how will student privacy needs be met?

  Contents

• Library Resources Devoted to Student Access

  Community college libraries serve students of varied backgrounds, including a substantial number of individuals who might be designated as "information have-nots." These students often need remedial assistance before they can function effectively as information seekers. The library may be the principal resort of students who cannot obtain PC and Internet technology from their personal funds and who lack experience gained through independent exploration of electronic resources. Designers of student access services must consider their needs along with those of more seasoned library and technology users.

  Attracting these students to the library calls for a creative approach to services and provides an opportunity for collaboration with campus student services. The library's willingness to assist students in locating information about college administrative matters may be rewarded by an improved relationship with both the student and campus colleagues. Available areas for relaxation and conversation along with quiet study areas help make the library a more inviting destination for all students, but especially this group.

  To ensure the capability to meet all access needs, libraries must aggressively pursue increased funding and support for library programs at the statewide and campus level. Resources must be effectively evaluated, and libraries must make selections appropriate to the curriculum, the targeted population, and the budget. Library administrators must be prepared to demonstrate that allocated funds have been spent appropriately and fully to benefit students. If additional resources are limited, it will be necessary to selectively discontinue or scale down established services in order to initiate new services that yield a more favorable return on the resource investment. The exchange of ideas and best practices in pursuit of these objectives will provide opportunities for resource sharing among the community colleges.

  Contents

• Institution-Wide Perspective

  Library services developed for future needs must be carefully aligned with the goals and needs of the entire institution. This is not easily accomplished in a time of change that impacts the American educational process and community colleges within Florida. Continual awareness of institution-wide issues and priorities must be maintained through official and unofficial communications with college decision makers. Librarians can use this information to inspire and negotiate new initiatives, ensure that the library is ready to support new programs as they are implemented, and attain more realistic expectations regarding institutional support. In order to ensure that library services receive full and timely consideration, it is essential that there be "a librarian at every table" even when the issues are not library-related. The library must be directly represented at meetings that address broad campus level issues, or it will be sidelined into an increasingly constricted range of operations.

  New insights into institutional decision-making can lead to improved working relationships with campus colleagues outside the library. The willingness of librarians to take on assignments outside the sphere of library services constitutes another type of resource sharing and can help colleagues to view them as contributors to broad areas of the college program.

  For many libraries, the college administration represents an untapped client base. There is a further opportunity for librarians to use their skills at locating, organizing, and synthesizing information to support administrative decision-making. Closer working relationships with other campus units will reveal information needs and enhance the value of information professionals to the institution. Sharing ideas and results of these efforts among library colleagues can encourage others and provide incentive for more innovations.

  Contents

• Statistics for Decision Support and Advocacy

  Statistics provide useful measures of the acceptance and effectiveness of existing library services, especially in a time of change when long-held assumptions must be challenged. Statistics can also help evaluate present and future needs. Quantitative data can support the difficult administrative decision-making required to open the way for new information services, determine whether expected benefits of a specific service are being realized, reveal strengths and areas for improvement, and help tell the story of the library's contributions more eloquently to audiences within the college and community at large.

  For example, statistical data derived from LINCC can be used to study the relationships between the library materials collection and the college program — determining how well library holdings support the curriculum, which information resources are being used and by which target groups. LINCC reports can confirm the impact of new materials purchasing and weeding of outdated items to improve the timeliness of library collections. Collection development efforts can be designed to reflect holdings strengths statewide, thereby leveraging institutional expenditures and taxpayer dollars. Decisions about the future direction of community college library collections and an appraisal of their statewide resource sharing potential can be based on concrete data and consistent practices, not assumptions. Analysis of LINCC statistics could also support research into institutional effectiveness. For example, is there a correlation between graduation rates and library use? Can other performance indicators be developed and supported by LINCC data?

  The statewide resource sharing survey conducted annually since 1993 documents the changes in library practices and resource sharing opportunities since the advent of LINCC. The 1998 LINCC-based collections assessment confirmed the condition of community college library collections and helped justify funding to update the collections. The LINCC Reports Service brings comprehensive data via a Web browser to any authorized community college library staff member. More developmental work in the areas of LINCC usage and locally collected statistics is needed, to attain a better understanding of the shifting relationships between strengthening local collections, more rapid delivery of materials from remote locations, greater availability of electronic full text information, and user demand for rapid access to information. Analysis of LINCC-generated statistics to explore possible correlations between library use and academic success would be useful. More computer tracking of data is desired, to alleviate manual collection of data that persists in certain use areas.

Contents

To meet the increasing needs of community college students for access to information, Florida's community college libraries continue to look beyond their walls for opportunities to share resources of all types, not only within the LINCC system, but also with institutions outside the system. To this end, the libraries are expediting the process by using new technologies, which bring information resources rapidly to the end user in a variety of formats.

Contents

• Delivery of Information

  Reference and instructional services provided one-on-one by community college librarians remain at the core of information delivery. In the traditional model, a student would come to the campus library to use the collection and be guided by a librarian's expertise. At its best, this approach offers an individualized "just-in-time" response that is "just right." When appropriately matched to an information seeker's personal learning style, it can be highly effective. Positive personal intervention as a complement to technology-based learning can provide a human touch that is invaluable, and every community college reference librarian can justifiably recount success stories.

  Over time, the limitations of exclusively site-based services have nevertheless become evident. Staffing may be insufficient to meet all needs at peak times, and library hours of operation may be too limited for students balancing educational, work and home responsibilities. Library materials collections disappoint when they are not current, and even the largest and most updated print collections cannot answer every possible inquiry. The advent of electronic information services that can be accessed outside the library building reduces a student's dependence on that facility and enlarges the student's awareness of resources that exist beyond their campus library's walls. The availability of distance learning courses in some instances reduces or eliminates altogether the student's need to come to the campus. When these factors are joined with the information seeker's values of convenience, speed and ease of use, the stage is set for a situation in which the library is visited only as a last resort and available services go underutilized and undervalued.

  How can libraries overcome these limitations and deliver information services of the highest quality? By rethinking the approach to delivery of information in a way that extends beyond site-based resources. For example, they can ensure that students have access to the most relevant information resources even when not locally held, respond to telephone or email inquiries as fully as when the information seeker is on library premises, and provide instructional services that are incorporated into the information search at the point of need. Through these and even more creative approaches, libraries can deliver information when and where the user needs it.

  Imparting a sense of the value of library services is more challenging when the information seeker does not visit the library in person. Because the opportunities for direct contact between the library staff and user will occur less frequently, any library employee may personify the library for the user. Each interaction must reflect favorably on the library. It is advisable to devise promotional strategies and materials that maintain the library's identity from initial contact to delivery, so that the user always knows the requested information came from the library.

  Future Delivery Systems

  The boundaries that separated the formerly closed library automation environment from the mainstream of information technology are dissolving. LINCC and libraries are increasingly able to draw on developments within the information technology marketplace, and must include these developments in planning for future services. As advances in wireless transmission and new messaging/retrieval devices are introduced to the general consumer population, library information services must be ready to capitalize on their availability. Information seekers will expect to be able to access any service over their personal digital handheld devices wherever they happen to be, just as they now converse over a cellular telephone. The design of LINCC's Web interface and information services must be compatible both with the changing technology and with the information seeker's evolving needs and interests. Library Web sites and services must be similarly accessible and available.

  Interlibrary Loan

  Delivery of books and articles to and from remote sites has improved significantly with the advent of the state-supported Distance Learning Library Initiative courier and the LINCC Document Delivery Workstation. Nevertheless, further improvement in delivery time is needed in order to meet user expectations. An in-depth study of all components of the interlibrary loan transaction from request to fulfillment could identify workflow improvements, added automation support, and new approaches that would reduce overall delivery time.

  Students may underutilize interlibrary loan services through lack of awareness of the services' existence or scope. Library staff designing instructional or orientation programs should not assume the student already has a concept of how interlibrary borrowing and lending works. Nor may the student be interested in learning about this service in the absence of a significant requirement to do so. Unless the student is informed by an instructor, there would be little prior opportunity to learn that it is feasible — even encouraged — to borrow a book from a distant collection. More vigorous promotion of interlibrary loan services would support access to resources wherever they are located. Visible access from LINCC and library Web sites would increase student awareness. Students requesting the service should be given a realistic time estimate for delivery of the material, so they are not discouraged by an inflated estimate.

  As resource sharing continues to evolve, electronically submitted requests and unmediated interlibrary loan become a more significant opportunity. If they choose to communicate electronically from home or office, library patrons will come to expect at least some of the following services:

  • Transparent access to a variety of local and remote library catalogs
  • Citation databases and electronic resources
  • Ability to transfer bibliographic citations or details about needed items into electronic requests
  • Matching requests through the library online system to determine local availability
  • Sending requests from home to the library or to a document supplier

  From that will evolve the expectation of delivery of materials directly to the home or workstation, with the option of returning items to the lending library by mail or delivered to the nearest convenient location. Some libraries now deliver books to the home by mail, with good results.

  Mediated interlibrary loan will continue in libraries as an optional service to patrons, with library staff providing or assisting with the request services outlined above. Libraries should consider offering these patrons the option of delivery to their homes or workstations, just as this service is provided to remote borrowers.

  Reciprocal Services

  The reciprocal borrowing agreement among Florida public community colleges and universities dissolved yet another boundary between institutions of higher education. The agreement demonstrates that this valuable access can be attained with minimal burden to the host institution. Regional agreements among community colleges, public libraries and others have also been successfully implemented. Based on this sound foundation, universal direct access to library service regardless of geography, political jurisdiction and status is an achievable goal.

  A universally acceptable borrower identification mechanism would greatly enhance student access to statewide library service. By this means, once a patron has established his or her identity with one institution, the identification card issued by that institution would be automatically accepted by all other participating institutions.

  Alternatively, a special-purpose card could be issued to any individual qualified under the program. However, the cost and procedural aspects of administering a statewide card system would be duplicative in an era of multipurpose identification cards already in use and would potentially entail more effort by the user to acquire and retain the card. Some cooperating groups have been successful in utilizing a Florida driver's license. Most adult potential library users already have a valid driver's license, thereby avoiding the administrative steps of issuing a card for reciprocal borrowing purposes. Such a document has strong potential for universal acceptance while avoiding the overhead associated with card issuance. As new commercial access technologies come into widespread consumer use, it may be possible to employ these mechanisms for library resource sharing as well.

  Contents

• Library Collections

Even as the electronic information marketplace abounds with free and advertiser-supported Web sites along with costly proprietary services, traditional print publishing continues strong. The Book Industry Trends Study Group (www.bisg.org) has predicted that domestic consumer expenditures on all books are expected to reach $38.1 billion by 2003, up from an estimated $22.6 billion in 1993. The emergence of journal publications in electronic format has not eliminated the need to selectively retain subscriptions to their print counterparts in light of marketplace fluidity. Uncertainty is fueled by license restrictions and unpredictable availability of specific offerings by database producers and aggregators. Audiovisual and other non text-based materials also maintain a firm presence in community college instruction and therefore in library collections. The e-book and other digital manifestations must be integrated into services as their marketplace presence is established.

In the face of so many options, the need for sound decision-making regarding community college library collections has never been greater. State funding to update library holdings provides new opportunities for systematically building up-to-date diversified collections that closely support instructional programs. There is potential benefit in negotiating favorable purchase discounts, delivery commitments, and processing services with library materials vendors through the coordinated purchasing power of 28 community colleges. Opportunities exist for innovation in the acquisition of library materials; best practices of libraries and vendors should be identified and promoted for the benefit of all in the spirit of resource sharing.

How will collection development policies and practices change in light of expanded access to remote resources? A thorough review and updating of existing collection development policies is needed, with the goal of ensuring that collection expenditures are responsive to identified needs and priorities. Balance between print and electronic resources must be attained in accordance with local needs. Exemplary collection development policies can be identified, examined, and useful provisions incorporated into individual college policies. This activity could provide the basis for another type of resource sharing.

The availability of library holdings in LINCC could support fuller integration of collections statewide. Some answers may be found in ventures such as the Cooperative Database Initiative established in 1999. Emerging technologies that allow manipulation of information in new ways, and policy changes which expand interlibrary loan to include non-print resources such as videos and compact discs can further leverage the local collection. Super-regional subject area libraries can be collaboratively established, with a mission to provide in-depth support for information needs in targeted subjects. Duplication across collections can be avoided through statewide efforts that strive for local self-sufficiency in core areas but rely on other collections for infrequently used items. A coordinated approach to retention of materials being withdrawn from local collections should also be considered, so that representative copies of titles that are still valid for limited use at other locations can be retained on behalf of the statewide system. Consolidating holdings of microforms into more centralized collections may be an economical solution to these and other materials that require specialized delivery equipment and receive limited use. Preservation of exceptional materials may be an area of shared interest with state university libraries.

A possible new role for the library as content provider — not just as distributor of electronic content aggregations developed by vendors — is a key element of new digital library initiatives now being defined and introduced nationwide. Such a role is facilitated by the Web and by new tools that support the components of knowledge management. For community colleges, a statewide venture that brings together local efforts and the collective creativity of 28 community colleges into a coordinated statewide effort could open the way for development of new and important services.

Contents

• Digital Library Materials

Rapid developments in information technology now make possible digital library collections that bring together commercial products and key information resources compiled at library initiative. Unique print-based specialized materials can be digitized for preservation and sharing with a wider audience. Such collections in community college libraries could be made available through LINCC. As students and faculty can more readily request services electronically from remote locations, they will be pleased to receive services that are seamlessly integrated.

Electronic Reserve Collections

The traditional practice of placing course materials on reserve in the library is not invariably helpful to busy students. Distance learning students and others find it inconvenient, or perhaps impossible, to come to the library to obtain the material. Insufficient print or video copies may be available for reading or viewing by numerous students within time limits determined by class deadlines and library circulation policies. Reserve collections require special labor-intensive maintenance routines, resulting in higher library staffing costs.

It is not surprising that libraries are overcoming these boundaries by moving into electronic distribution of these materials. Materials can be made available over the Web concurrently to all eligible students at any browser-capable PC. Students can access the required item at their convenience, at a frequency and duration determined by their needs. Numerous materials are already available in electronic format, and print materials can be scanned into electronic format with increasing ease. Commercial information providers are developing digital aggregations of course materials for licensed distribution.

Community college libraries wishing to implement electronic reserve collections will need to plan carefully for the service. Any technology-based resource requires skillful maintenance, and there may be unanticipated technical challenges associated with delivering service in this mode. Policies and procedures governing the electronic service must be created, not simply transferred from the current reserve room service. Copyright and license provisions must be observed; these provisions are likely to restrict access to students enrolled in the course and present maintenance and support issues of their own.

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• Access to Retrospective Digital Information

  The electronic marketplace values currency and expediency of information. Free Web sites and proprietary information services alike come into existence or vanish without fanfare. All are subject to unannounced changes in scope and content. Typical sites emphasize current over retrospective information; new data simply replaces the old, and information that predates the service startup is often ignored. The past is often deemed irrelevant by information providers and users alike. Neither vendors nor public domain information providers guarantee the retention of specific content. And when a library's license for an electronic service terminates, user access to the information provided by that service goes away immediately.

  What is the need for retrospective information in the community college library, where it has been agreed that collections should emphasize materials published in the last twenty years? How will the library maintain a stable service environment and provide retrospective information within the context of that twenty year collection focus? If answers are not forthcoming from the information marketplace, libraries will have to seek their own solutions. The creation and maintenance of an archive for digital information would be a daunting undertaking for an individual institution, but could become more feasible in a shared environment such as LINCC affords. CCLA and community college libraries should develop a shared strategy for maintaining access to retrospective information. This strategy should include a commitment to seek partnerships and support initiatives within the wider library community wherever appropriate.

Contents

Any review of the issues associated with access to information must consider the challenges facing the student as information seeker. Today's information seeker must search for information among an ever-expanding array of unfamiliar electronic and print resources of undetermined quality, and identify pertinent materials. The information seeker must evaluate these materials with a critical eye for relevance, authenticity, accuracy, completeness, and timeliness; and must organize and use the information effectively for academic course assignments or personal enrichment. Once mastered, the ability to locate, evaluate and use information can truly equip students for better quality of life and economic advancement. More than ever, today's students must prepare to be lifelong learners; information literacy is essential to that effort. These competencies are potentially beneficial to all community college students regardless of degree seeking status or career goals.

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• Information Literacy

The librarian can and should be at the forefront of the college's efforts to impart information literacy to its students. Direct delivery of this content in a classroom or in a computer-based course such as Introduction to Internet Research (LIS2004) is a natural role of the librarian as faculty. Whatever the mode of delivery, students absorb instruction most readily when they are motivated by a clearly perceived and immediate need. Such motivation may be present when the student is enrolled in a formal course, but often it does not begin to stir until a specific information need arises. Information literacy concepts taught to individual students in reference or other point of use situations are often necessary, and yield good results when well matched to the student's motivational situation. However, time constraints and the setting seldom allow a structured presentation that might have more lasting impact.

At present, Florida community colleges provide both formal and informal information literacy instruction. An additional path, by which information literacy concepts are more fully integrated into college subject-area coursework, is gathering strength. This resource-based learning environment requires close affiliation of library faculty and subject faculty, and has broad-based national support.

A vision of extending the benefits of the Information Age to all people was defined for the library community in the 1989 Final Report of the American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy. Report recommendations have since been pursued by the National Forum on Information Literacy and numerous national organizations that represent libraries, education, business and government. Information competency standards are being established for library services and accreditation of higher education programs. Independent projects based on information literacy concepts are active in Florida and throughout the United States. Closer collaboration among Florida's community college libraries in support of information competency would enhance the exchange of relevant ideas and skills, reinforcing the role and performance of libraries in delivery of educational services.

Information literacy can benefit the college in many ways. It is crucial that the information literacy skills of classroom faculty be up to date, to ensure that course content is infused with the broadest possible range of scholarship in the field. The instructor will be a more likely ally in the quest to impart information competencies to students if those same skills are integrated into the instructor's own course preparation and delivery. Library staff can also work with the college administration to enable all employees to attain the information literacy skills being offered to students.

Contents

• Outreach to Faculty

  Long-assumed linkages between library resources and instructional programs are changing in the emerging information marketplace. An abundance of information is easily obtained through casual inquiry over the Internet, and much of it is offered at no cost to the user. Keeping current in one's field of expertise using the latest Web sites, electronic mail, e-journals, print publications, electronic databases and other resources is a daunting task for busy instructors. Some instructors may become overly reliant on a limited array of familiar and favored print or electronic resources, and pass this restricted perspective along to students. Conversely, instructors intoxicated with new technology may abandon print resources with little or no thought to the scholarly implications. New or adjunct faculty have special needs, and may be especially receptive to individualized assistance. Librarians can apply their traditional skills as information specialists within this expanded arena, working with faculty in creative new ways to enrich the learning experience for community college students. As faculty become more aware of library services and tools, there will be opportunities for librarians to demonstrate how these resources improve student performance.

  The curriculum is changing in response to institutional priorities, and library services must be designed with the evolving curriculum in mind. The most successful programs are based on in-depth awareness of what is being taught, the instructional methods employed, overall aims for the course, and goals for future course development. It is also important for faculty to be aware of how library resources are continually changing and growing. This kind of mutual awareness can only be attained by direct and continuing communication with faculty and a broader perspective based on the library's relationship with the college administration. It allows for services that are customized to the specific needs of faculty and student. Partnerships with classroom faculty can greatly extend the effectiveness of each.

  Library services must be actively promoted to faculty. Opportunities should be sought to present library and informational services at formal and informal sessions, through printed materials and other means. Librarians can host faculty meetings at the library, appear on the agenda whenever possible, issue press releases about library accomplishments, distribute brochures that describe library information resources and services. Establishing a system of library staff liaisons to each subject discipline — and not just those subject disciplines that already use the library — can pay off in working relationships characterized by open and productive communication between the library and its constituency. The library liaisons can work one-on-one with faculty to select new materials for addition to the collection, and assess the impact of curriculum changes on library collections and services. An individualized approach to faculty will aid in dissolving the boundaries that sometimes inhibit the library from achieving its full potential within the educational process.

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Intellectual Property and the Law

Planning for a digital library future must take into account the emerging role of digital rights management as a foundation for electronic commerce. Digital rights management assures content owners that their intellectual property in digital form can be transmitted over the Internet securely. Traditional reliance upon the customer's voluntary compliance with license terms is replaced by digital controls that engage automatically. Initially developed to support the music industry, this capability is embedded in software programs, databases, entertainment programs and other delivery formats to protect against unlicensed access or reproduction. The concept is based on contract law and a direct relationship between content provider and an individual licensee, not the copyright law and multiple access favored by libraries. This direct contractual relationship leaves little room for the library as intermediary agent, and represents the most comprehensive technological measure yet advanced to control access to intellectual property.

Libraries value proprietary resources in print and nonprint formats for their presentation of authoritative, useful, and timely information. However, constraints associated with proprietary information have special impact on the design and delivery of information access services. Accommodations such as "fair use" which allow reasonable use of print materials under copyright law are not carried over into the arena of electronic resources licensed under contract law. A trend to expand the rights of content owners (under both copyright and contract law) and more rigorously enforce those rights continues. Many issues have not been fully tested in the courts, leaving only limited guidance for framing local policies and procedures. Community college libraries and their parent institutions must keep abreast of changing law, skillfully negotiate contractual rights that formerly could be automatically assumed, be diligent in compliance, and expect to pay fees commensurate to the access obtained.

Despite these efforts, the community college student or instructor may at times be unable to obtain certain information or to use it in the manner desired — for example, an instructor who must obtain the copyright owner's permission before distributing a journal article to students via the instructor's Web site. This is typically viewed as an unwelcome obstacle in an electronic environment characterized by "instant access" to "free" information. Failure to comply with copyright and license terms places the institution at legal risk. Although the community college may obtain counsel from an attorney regarding copyright and license compliance issues, there is a need for resident expertise on campus to provide ongoing education, consultation and support regarding these matters. Librarians can provide such expertise. The library could serve as a campus clearinghouse to obtain copyright and license permissions, thereby facilitating instructional access to desired information. Such a service would be well matched to the librarian's role as information provider, though it is difficult to provide from existing staff resources. Could this expertise be developed and offered through collaboration among institutions?

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Privacy and Confidentiality

In an environment of increased sensitivity on the part of many library users to privacy matters, the library administrator should ensure that the library complies with Florida laws concerning use of library records. Federal legal protections under FERPA and other statutes must be rigorously observed as well. Confidentiality of both patron records and patterns of use must be protected.

The limits of privacy within the electronic information environment will be defined in the marketplace and in the courts. Libraries can play an advocacy role on behalf of information seekers, to promote awareness of the need for reasonable safeguards as personalized capabilities within electronic services are introduced. CCLA and libraries also must address the privacy issue from the perspective of an information provider, as they seek to design library services that emulate consumer features from the commercial information marketplace. Development and consistent adherence to policies and procedures that reflect changing law and custom will help ensure widest possible access to information in support of educational inquiry. Could these issues be discussed and solutions addressed more productively in a resource sharing effort?

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Library Staff Development

A superior service design can be undermined if the library staff lack the skills and commitment to fully utilize and deliver that service. All library staff require appropriate training in the performance of their job responsibilities. Staff at all levels should be encouraged to participate in continuous professional development. Training in such areas as customer service skills (to serve offsite customers as well as those who are on library premises) and marketing of library services are essential.

Many staff previously considered "clerical" now have specialized software and systems skills, which are required for performance of essential library services. Shifting these staff into position titles and classifications that reflect these technical skills would improve hiring and retention of qualified personnel. Knowledge, skills and abilities deemed essential to support the library services innovations described in this report should be identified in updated position descriptions for all staff and documented in performance evaluations. Staff completing continuing education programs should be recognized for their achievement. Libraries can benefit from sharing position descriptions, evaluation methodologies, reward systems, and more. This type of resource sharing is easier and more timely in today's electronic environment.

Given the prevailing likelihood that new services must be developed without additional staff resources, retraining and realignment of staff becomes a priority. Responsive delivery of innovative user-centered library services in the future will require broad preparation in technical and interpersonal areas. All staff who come in contact with library users should have access to meaningful learning opportunities to refresh and update their skills. Paraprofessional staff frequently have highly visible roles in delivery of library services; their learning needs should be incorporated into staff development plans and budgets. Conveniently located learning opportunities are needed, so as to minimize staff time away from home and work.

Technical training frequently concludes with a formal certification process, and the CEU (continuing education unit) credit is a standard confirmation of ongoing professional development. These awards provide a certain measure of the learning opportunity's quality and enable supervisors to assess the learner's accomplishment in terms that are consistent for all employees. CCLA training and educational programs provide an important path for technical and professional growth among community college libraries, and it is desirable for participants in CCLA-sponsored learning opportunities to be able to document their attainment through certification, continuing education credits, and other formalities.

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Interlibrary Loan Management System

While LINCC offers many features that support resource sharing, there is a need for a more comprehensive interlibrary loan management system than exists in the current system based primarily on the circulation module of DRA Classic software. Such a system would integrate electronic requests generated by users or staff into a transaction management system that links the request against the array of potential electronic resources in LINCC as well as eligible printed materials held in community college collections. System parameters could be defined so as to meet requirements of individual colleges and statewide resource sharing programs. Requests would be balanced among the colleges, to avoid overburdening potential lenders. Requests not filled within the resources of LINCC could be automatically transferred to OCLC or any other computer-based service that can communicate via ISO (International Standards Organization) protocols 10160/10161 that define standards for open systems interconnection. This transfer would allow further matching of requests in another system.

Appropriate system generated messages would be displayed for patron and library staff at each stage of the request, from initiation through delivery of the requested material to the patron. It is highly desirable to support email communication between the requestor and the library throughout the process.

Materials obtained through interlibrary loan would be tracked through the point of return to the supplying institution. Current status information would be available at any time during the process, and appropriate statistics generated by the system. Automatic tracking of requests for copyright compliance would be available. Future system functional requirements should be explored for technical feasibility and defined in a way that achieves broad support among LINCC libraries. CCLA will need to work with other agencies to ensure an interlibrary loan management system that interoperates with other systems used within Florida.

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Collaboration

Community college libraries now engage in numerous resource sharing ventures under the auspices of LINCC: shared cataloging, document delivery, cooperative database licensing, and other programs. Selection and cataloging of Internet resources for access through LINCC exemplifies the kind of undertaking that can leverage a relatively modest investment of staff efforts at individual community colleges into greater benefit for all. These ventures came into existence through the efforts of librarians willing to try new things in a positive spirit of sharing. Their continued success depends on these same traits.

Inter-institutional cooperation based on "enlightened self interest" is now on a firm footing. This cooperation is achieved by sharing library materials, group purchases, space, and the most valuable resource of all — the energy and expertise of staff at community college libraries. All can benefit and learn from the innovations and best practices of talented library and information professionals. Familiar modes of resource sharing should be carried forward into new applications that build the digital information system of the future and ensure its wide accessibility in support of public higher education in Florida.

The new levels of service envisioned in this report describe opportunities for local initiatives that require new ways of thinking about library services and automation. The concepts presented here are intended to stimulate creative thinking in a changing environment, not to serve as a script. It will be impossible to achieve this transformation while working in isolation, for it is necessary to establish a norm for library services that is valid statewide. Even the most noteworthy breakthroughs at one institution cannot ensure the survival of the values and skills libraries represent. Our long-term success depends on more than resource sharing. As the boundaries that formerly defined institutions, information, and practitioners dissolve, community college libraries will need to acknowledge and act upon our interdependence by collaborating in new ways.

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The Resource Cooperation Standing Committee has included in this report numerous strategies and service options that merit consideration by CCLA and community college libraries as a creative stimulus to statewide service development. From those elements, the Committee proposes the following initiatives for special emphasis and action.

The Resource Cooperation Standing Committee recommends that the CCLA Executive Committee accept this report and endorse the proposed initiatives in support of statewide access to information through LINCC.

• Community college libraries should evaluate existing services in light of user values and the changing information marketplace, and re-engineer services wherever feasible to free resources for the initiatives set forth in this report.
• Community college libraries should work to ensure information access for all community college students, providing financial accountability for library expenditures to justify funding.
• Community college librarians should become more actively involved with institutional planning and priorities, to ensure that library services are aligned with the goals and needs of the entire institution. This alignment is most effectively attained if the library is directly represented at all meetings that address broad college level issues.
• CCLA should continue to develop uniform statistical information to confirm LINCC usage and effectiveness of library services.
• CCLA and libraries should undertake a study of the shifting relationships between collection development, rapid delivery of materials from remote locations, and user demands for rapid access to information.
• CCLA should provide ongoing education in the use of collected LINCC data for decision-making and advocacy with regard to library services.

• Library services should be deliverable to the user at a time, location, and by a method that meets user needs. CCLA and community college libraries should design services that meet the needs of offsite information seekers.
• CCLA should design LINCC services to support user self sufficiency. Such services would include the capability for remote and/or unmediated user requests of materials for delivery from library collections.
• Community college libraries should share information resources of all types, including non-print materials. No materials should be exempted from resource sharing solely because of format.
• Community college libraries should actively participate in statewide initiatives to institute a universally acceptable identification mechanism that will support unrestricted access to library services.
• The Resource Cooperation Standing Committee should conduct an in-depth study of community college interlibrary borrowing and lending, to identify areas for service improvement.
• The Resource Cooperation Standing Committee should continue to survey the status of resource sharing activity statewide.

• Community college libraries should review and update collection development policies to reflect the LINCC-based statewide environment. CCLA should work with an advisory committee to support this effort by identifying exemplary collection development policies.
• Community college libraries should develop and coordinate strategies for acquiring and/or maintaining specialized or limited-use materials.

• CCLA and community college libraries should define the role of LINCC in digital library initiatives.
• CCLA and community college libraries should prepare to play a role in digital rights management as licensee and as content provider.

• CCLA and community college libraries should develop a shared strategy for investigating and maintaining access to retrospective information, supporting initiatives within the wider library community wherever appropriate.

• Community college libraries should work to impart information literacy competencies within each institution. Libraries should establish closer affiliation of library instructional faculty and classroom faculty, actively promote library services to faculty, and maintain open lines of communication to ensure that library programs are based on in-depth awareness of instructional topics, methods, and plans for future course development.
• CCLA and community college libraries should support information literacy programs by jointly undertaking library faculty education and consultation, and selecting appropriate Web information resources for access through LINCC.
• CCLA and community college libraries should identify and promote best practices regarding information literacy programs, and share instructional materials through an enhanced CCLA clearinghouse.

• Community college libraries should provide ongoing education, consultation, and operational support regarding institutional use of intellectual property for instructional and informational purposes. Where feasible, libraries should serve as a campus clearinghouse to secure institutional access to proprietary information.
• CCLA and community college libraries should develop a program to attain the necessary expertise to support this role, preferably in collaboration with the wider library community.

• CCLA and community college libraries should continue to work within the framework of Responsible Use of LINCC to provide safeguards for privacy and confidentiality of information seekers.
• As information providers, CCLA and community college librarians should remain aware of the dynamic legal context regarding privacy and confidentiality, utilizing LINCC as a resource where appropriate. Librarians should be advocates within the educational community on behalf of privacy rights for educational inquiry.

• Community college libraries should ensure that library staff at all levels have access to continuous and current professional development, with emphasis on skills for new technology and services.
• Community college libraries can encourage staff development by creating position descriptions that reflect essential technical and interpersonal skills. This process could be aided by sharing of position descriptions and other elements among all community college libraries.
• CCLA should award certification for training and educational programs, based on criteria developed by an advisory committee. These learning opportunities for all library personnel should be offered close to the place of work to ensure full participation.

• CCLA should enhance LINCC with a more comprehensive interlibrary loan management system that includes appropriate features for tracking activity. Such a system should comply with prevailing standards and be capable of interoperability with other systems used within Florida.

• CCLA and community college libraries should search for new creative ways to share ideas, services, and expertise both locally and statewide. Collaborative ventures with other sectors of the Florida library community should be expanded and expected.
• The Resource Cooperation Standing Committee should develop a process for identifying and promoting best practices regarding information access and delivery among the community colleges of Florida.

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Sure, the staff is friendly, but more importantly, they give good service. That means they find a way to solve my problems within their rules. If they make a mistake, they fix it right away. Everybody is made to feel welcome.

It’s amazing how much the library people are able to help out with stuff that isn’t even their department. They know where to go for any kind of campus service. (Maybe that’s because I sometimes see library staff pitching in at other offices.)

I have access to practically any book or magazine I need. The collection here is built up with the help of my instructors, so critical assignment-related items are always available. When I want to study something they don’t have, my library card is good at the nearby university. I can also use my card at the public library, because my college has a cooperation agreement. But most of the time I don’t choose to travel, because my library can get stuff for me in only a few days.

A lot of people are excited about the Internet, myself included. But this library goes even further; they help us make sense of the material. I learned how to evaluate sources and how to search for information more effectively. I love how they tailor their assistance to the person's ability. Somebody was available to help my mom, who knows very little about computers.

The library provides access to special databases that would be too expensive to get on my own. Most of the library databases are also available through my home computer.

The library has fairly modern equipment and usually there are enough spots for everyone. I like how they respond quickly when something gets jammed. Printing is easy and inexpensive. The machines look good and work good. Of course I have to go to the classroom lab for my specialized computer studies, but all of the commonly used programs are available on library computers. They even have study carrels where students can hook up their own equipment.

Librarians are always looking for ways to make our studies go more smoothly. My teacher worked with the librarian to plan out an orientation that really showed us how to prepare our term project. They also offer credit courses if I want to be a real expert. Plus, there’s always at least one librarian moving around the research area asking if we need individual help. I can ask questions online and get an answer in less than 48 hours. The staff members who aren’t librarians seem to know a lot as well. Somebody is there to help newcomers use the copiers, printers, and computers.

My Political Science instructor is in the library a lot. It turns out they are helping him do research for his online graduate program!

The library is a pleasant place to work. Some spots are kept really quiet, for when you have to study. But the research area is always buzzing with conversation. They let students work together. They also have a lounge area with comfortable couches for when you want to socialize and have a snack. There is a classroom they use for teaching, and several conference rooms.

The furniture is comfortable throughout the building, the temperature is pleasant, and everything looks pretty nice. I really like the numerous art reproductions (and some original works) that are on display. My disabled friends have no difficulty getting to any of the collections or services.

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ALA Office for Information Technology Policy Page. Copyright & Database Protection. 14 Jan 2000 American Library Association.

Breivik, Patricia Senn. Student Learning in the Information Age. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1998.

Coffman, Steve. "Building Earth's Largest Library: Driving into the Future." Information Today 7.3 (1999)

Copyright and Fair Use Page. 30 Oct 1998 Stanford University Libraries.

Copyright, Fair Use & Licensing in a Digital World Page. 24 Mar 2000 National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage.

Copyright and Intellectual Property Page. 10 June 1999. American Library Association.

Copyright and Intellectual Property Page. 29 Feb 2000 Association of Research Libraries.

Copyright, Intellectual Property Rights and Licensing Issues Page. 17 Dec 1999 Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE.

Copyright Management Center Page. 9 Mar 2000 Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis.

Digital Library Federation Page. Council on Library and Information Resources.

Digital Library Information Resources Page. 24 Nov 1999 Berkeley Digital Library Sunsite.

Digital Libraries Initiative Phase 2 Page. 20 February 1998 National Science Foundation.

Digital Library Resources Page. September 20, 1999 Library of Congress.

Griffiths, Jose-Marie. "Why the Web is Not a Library." The Mirage of Continuity: Reconfiguring Academic Information Resources for the 21st Century. Ed. Brian L. Hawkins and Patricia Battin. Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and Information Resources and Association of American Universities, 1998.

Hennen, Thomas J. Jr. "Why We Should Establish a National System of Standards," American Libraries Mar. 2000: 43-45.

Hyman, Karen. "Customer Service and the 'Rule of 1965.'" American Libraries Oct. 1999: 54-58.

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education Page. 18 Jan 2000 Association of College & Research Libraries. American Library Association.

Institute on Digital Library Development Page. 20 Oct 1999 U.S. Department of Education and The Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Lessig, Lawrence. Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. New York: Basic Books, 1999.

Majka, David R. "Of Portals, Publishers, and Privatization," American Libraries Oct. 1999: 46-49.

Mann, Charles C. "Who Will Own Your Next Good Idea?" Atlantic Monthly Sept. 1998.

Preserving Digital Information: Final Report and Recommendations. Task Force on Archiving of Digital Information. May 20, 1996 Research Libraries Group.

Presidential Committee on Information Literacy. Final Report. January 1989. American Library Association.

Pritchard, Sarah M. "Library Benchmarking: Old Wine in New Bottles?" Journal of Academic Librarianship 21 (1995): 491.

A Progress Report on Information Literacy: An Update on the American Library Association Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report. March 1998. National Forum on Information Literacy.

RLG DigiNews. 3:5 15 Oct. 1999 Research Libraries Group.

Riggs, Donald E. "Academic Library Leadership: Observations and Questions," College & Research Libraries 60 (1999): 6-8.

United States Copyright Office Page. 20 Mar 2000 Library of Congress.

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