Centennial Library 2021-2022 Annual Report

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN 2021-22 was a year of unexpected developments, both inside the library and beyond. From the sudden loss of two spouses to unexpected resignations and more, we found ourselves confronted with circumstances in which reality didn’t always align with our expectations. We sought to carry out our roles as best we could amid these days and months and discovered, I think, through the sharing of tasks both how much we can rely upon one another and how critical each role is to the effectiveness of the library. As in the Fall of 2020, we started the year uncertain about the potential of COVID-19 to disrupt our operations. Fortunately, after a brief spike in September 2020, COVID-19 had little impact on the library this year. Student traffic this year surged past the records set just last year, with annual attendance increasing by 35% compared to our last prepandemic year. In Spring semester, both Anna Jennings (Public Services Assistant) and Carol Bliss (Circulation Services Supervisor) resigned, leaving us extremely short-staffed in Circulation Services. Thanks to hiring a temporary staff member (Katie Gosman) and the willingness of other library staff to pitch in at the Service Desk, we were able to navigate four months with both positions unfilled. Additionally, the retirement of long-time library employee Greg Martin (Digital Commons Director) prompted a lengthy search that didn’t always proceed as we hoped or expected. Finally, for most of us, the year will be defined by the passing of Donna Brock and Don Deardorff. Don’s passing, in particular, was felt by all in the library. For one of us, he was a husband; for many of us, a Cartwheelers partner; for a few, a former professor; for others, a friendly face; for some, a colleague; for all of us, someone we miss. VISION The Centennial Library will be an essential component of learning and scholarship at Cedarville University. MISSION The Centennial Library is intentional in offering exceptional service, delivering vital resources, providing productive spaces, and implementing critical solutions which prepare Cedarville University students for academic success, scholarly impact, vocational distinction, and spiritual growth. CENTENNIAL LIBRARY CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY 2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

BUDGET Library expenditures for 2021-22 totaled $1,833,324 with personnel expenses accounting for just under 52% and resource expenses for just under 39% of total expenditures. Systems and operational costs accounted for the remainder of library expenditures. The library ended the year with a $131,000 surplus primarily due to having unfilled positions for part of the year and fewer facilities projects than in prior years. The rising cost of digital resources continues to be an important part of library budget planning. Most database licenses increase 4-5% each year in cost and, as recurring licenses, limit the ability of libraries to explore or add other digital resources. OhioLINK’s ability to secure advantageous subscription agreements has ameliorated this for many digital resources, but even OhioLINK finds itself under increasing financial pressure and the short-term limits on annual increases practiced by many publishers during the pandemic are no long in force. The library continues to seek new digital resources, but this often requires spending reductions in other areas of the budget or reallocations. The growth of the university also affects the library budget. While growth in the total number of undergraduate students primarily affects the library facility and services, growth in the number of academic programs affects the library’s resources, often requiring additional resources and the budget to sustain them over time. This is particularly true of graduate programs, which are more often characterized by specialized research resources or tools. Expenditures FTE Expenditures/ FTE 2015-16 $742,589 3,581 $207.37 2016-17 $743,133 3,387 $219.41 2017-18 $727,882 3,503 $207.79 2018-19 $753,019 3,892 $193.48 2019-20 $673,651 3,999 $168.46 2020-21 $684,118 4,218 $162.19 2021-22 $706,278 4,185 $168.76 +

SERVICES Library research support services continue to be in high demand. In 2021-22, the research librarians totaled 917 appointments for the year compared to 538 the year before. These scheduled 1-on-1 meetings with students are the best opportunities the library has to develop research and information literacy skills in students. Filling the open position of Health Sciences Librarian helped to grow the total, but all research librarians conducted more appointments than before. Librarian-led classroom instruction sessions also rose, from 90 in 2020-21 to 169 in 2021-22, the 2nd highest annual amount. Librarians and library student staff also provided as-needed research help through online chat and in-person questions. Though these services have seen some decline in usage, this may be attributable to more students getting their research needs met through 1-on-1 appointments. After the disruption last year of COVID, OhioLINK this year worked through a courier transition twice, complicating staff workflows and procedures and forcing a nearly month-long shutdown of OhioLINK borrowing in April 2022. This only served to diminish the usage of OhioLINK services, though it may have boosted the number of Interlibrary Loan requests received. We continue to promote OhioLINK print borrowing and to make its operation more efficient, but the past two years have shown that ultimately the decisions of our consortium and other member institutions will impact this service dramatically. Covid Precautions in the Library - Reduced capacity in group spaces - Online research appointments - Modified checkout and usage procedures PRODUCTIVE SPACES Use of reservable spaces matched last year’s highs, with over 10,000 bookings for over 18,000 hours. A total of 1,627 different students made use of the library’s reservation system. Counting those who used the rooms without making a reservation, it seems likely tha roughly 50% of the student body used library reservable rooms during 2021-22. Room booking rates regularly reached 90% from 11 AM to 10 PM, suggesting that the existing number of group study rooms is not enough to meet demand. Library facilities received very high use this year, with patron traffic increasing nearly 30% over last year’s record highs. Spring 2022 in particular had very high rates of traffic, rising 35% compared to Fall 2021. Unlike in recent years where increases were primarily felt during weekday afternoons, volume of student use increased across nearly every time of day, though the increase was smallest on Sundays. This likely reflects the availability of Chick-Fil-A next door to some degree, but the large increase in Spring compared to Fall suggests that research and study needs are also driving attendance. Year Total 2018-19 402 2019-20 502 2020-21 528 2021-22 917 Research Appointments With Students

VITAL RESOURCES Digital Commons Publishing 2021-22 Channels Cedarville Review Use of physical resources rose compared to the previous year, though 2020-21 featured a compressed academic calendar making this comparison of limited value. Compared to the last pre-pandemic academic year, 2021-22 saw declines in usage of the main book collection, OhioLINK, and A/V materials. On the other hand, checkout totals for reserve items (course materials and equipment) and the CMC collection rose. This mirrors long-standing patterns of library usage, as the chart below shows. Usage of library print materials has been declining for about a decade, but this decline is not evenly spread across library collections. In fact, usage of our reserve materials has been on the rise, indicating that physical holdings still play an important role for many students in the resource landscape. Musical Offerings (2 issues) Usage of digital resources remains a complex area to assess accurately, with the variety of platforms and metrics complicating accurate data gathering. Some of the digital platforms recorded dramatic changes in usage that suggest counting methodologies may not be as consistent as desired. Overall, the usage of digital resources showed a decline compared to the prior year, perhaps as high as 5-10%. While some databases saw growth in use, this was offset by drops in usage elsewhere, though not all databases have been assessed as of this date. Total Checkouts of Physical Materials Over the Last 10 Years 10 Years Ago 2011-12 88,715 5 Years Ago 2016-17 68,256 Current Year 2021-22 65,965

Library Report 2021-22: Assessment Supplement Faculty Survey The library surveyed university faculty members in Spring semester 2022, receiving 98 responses, approximately a 33% response rate. The survey examined faculty academic needs, their perception of student research skills, their satisfaction with library services and resources, and their familiarity with library services. Faculty reported being very satisfied with library resources and services, and were familiar with the research support services we offer. Faculty were very satisfied with their liaison support, with a few exceptions. Finally, faculty reported ambivalence about student research skills with few being confident in their students’ ability to locate and evaluate materials effectively. Continue our successful liaison librarian model ACTION Faculty Perceptions of Library Research Support Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree My students regularly need to locate research materials. 28% 34% 24% 11% 3% My students have satisfactory skills in finding research materials. 5% 39% 37% 18% 0% My students have satisfactory skills in evaluating research materials. 2% 36% 34% 27% 1% My students are familiar with using the library's resources and services effectively. 6% 38% 37% 17% 0% I am satisfied with the quality of the library’s research materials. 44% 40% 11% 8% 0% I am satisfied with the quantity of the library’s research materials 41% 41% 11% 8% 0% The research assistance my students receive from librarians is important to their academic success. 39% 51% 8% 3% 0%

Grad Student Survey The library surveyed graduate students in Spring semester 2022 through Qualtrics, receiving 41 responses, an approximately 10% response rate. Students across all programs indicated that the library is an important part of their information seeking strategy and that they are comfortable with their ability to find and use information. Most students received an orientation to the library and considered it beneficial. Students did indicate that they felt less comfortable with citing information and refining/narrowing search results. Discuss adding an MMin/MDiv orientation Highlight resources that facilitate citing resources correctly Implement a system to follow-up with patrons whose ILL request can’t be filled ACTION Grad Student Perceptions of Library Research Services Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree I need research materials for my assignments 54% 27% 14% 5% 0% I struggle to find research materials 3% 8% 19% 62% 8% I need more guidance in finding research materials 5% 11% 19% 59% 5% I need more guidance in evaluating research materials 0% 27% 8% 51% 14% I need more guidance in citing research materials 8% 27% 11% 46% 8% I regularly use the library’s website and databases for research 38% 46% 11% 5% 0% Continue current FYI delivery model ACTION The library’s First Year Instruction team surveyed 300 students in Composition and Speech classes who received librarian-led instructional content. The survey gathered quantitative and qualitative data on student perceptions regarding the instructional content in order to analyze student outcomes related to knowledge, confidence, application, and awareness. Student scores met or exceeded the national average and the average at Carnegie institutions. When asked to identify what was still unclear, students emphasized their confidence and clarity, with only a minority expressing confusion about the help available from librarians or about specific parts of the research process. Students also noted that as a result of the instruction, they intended to use more resources than just Google and would think critically about the resources they used. Finally, students had positive impressions of the instructional methodology as well as the clarity of communication and the content communicated. First Year Instruction Survey

Print Reserves Survey We surveyed the student body regarding usage of print reserves in SP 22, receiving 146 responses. The survey explored student perceptions about print textbook reserves at the library, grouped into those who didn’t know about textbook reserves (n=15), those who knew but hadn’t used reserves (n=39), and those who had used reserves (n=92). A key finding was that most students use reserve textbooks to complement rather than replace purchasing a personal copy of the textbook, though the financial savings are important. Students reported that, in general, the textbook reserve system is easy to use, though the reserve materials are not always on reserve by the time students are making decisions about purchasing textbooks. Those who didn’t use textbook reserves cited the benefits of having a personal copy as the primary reason, along with assuming that others already had the books checked out. Student comments from the open-ended questions highlighted the need for an easier process to find out if items are on reserve, the desire for more copies and/or more textbooks on reserve, and better promotion of this serve. Get reserves presence on bookstore site to improve visibility Add title searching and better how-to guidance to promote usability Move to annual-based reserves to better distribute workload and simplify management ACTION Student User Perceptions Regarding Print Reserves Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Easy to find a book 35% 47% 8% 10% 0% Able to find a book in time 16% 22% 30% 26% 7% Usually has my books 23% 42% 22% 11% 3% My books are not in use by others 26% 50% 20% 3% 1% Easy to use the system 54% 37% 6% 3% 0% When I don’t have my copy with me To save money So I don’t have to bring my textbook to study at the library When my textbooks haven’t arrived at the bookstore Other

Freshman/Senior Survey The library surveyed students in Spring semester 2022 receiving 124 responses (65 senior and 59 freshmen), a smaller than usual number. Overall, the library scores well in all areas and the student comments reflect positively on the library’s effectiveness, but there were several concerning themes. First, a sharp decline in FR scores compared to previous years. The underlying cause for this is not readily apparent. This is especially perplexing given the success the library has had in reaching out to FR students through New Student Orientation and First Year Instruction. Perhaps the 2019 and 2021 surveys reflected unusual positive outliers in FR scores or the 2022 survey reflects a cohort disrupted by COVID-19. Second, the landscape of library digital resources remains challenging for some students to navigate. Scores in areas connected to online resources and the library website declined and a number of comments highlighted the difficulties students have in mastering the effective use of these resources. Third, the disruptions to OhioLINK during the past two years are clearly reflected in student satisfaction with OhioLINK, their perception of its importance and ease of use, and how frequently they use the service. The sharp decline in SR scores in the last two surveys shows that these changes impacted the student experience with interlibrary resources. These attitudes will not be easy to reverse and will exacerbate the declining use of OhioLINK. Fourth, the volume of library traffic and use is felt by the students. Both FR and SR reported a decline in satisfaction with individual study space in the library and an increase in use. Patron traffic in the library was very heavy in the past year, particularly during SP 2022 and library noise was identified in a number of comments as a problem, particularly in the areas of the library designated for quiet study. The limited number of reservable study rooms may also contribute to student perceptions about the adequacy of library facilities. Finally, ending with a positive trend, scores regarding the research assistance offered by librarians improved notably among SR responses. This may reflect success in the library programs that promote the research support it offers, improvements in making these services accessible to students, the benefits of having all the liaison positions filled, or a combination of the above. In any event, this welcome data point corresponds to other surveys that have testified to the effectiveness of our research support programs. Implement more frequent monitoring of silent study spaces Add reservable individual study rooms Further explore student struggles to use library online resources effectively ACTION Freshmen Responses “How satisfied are you with…” 2018 2019 2021 2022 Print/physical materials 6.15 6.29 6.33 5.94 Online/digital resources 6.07 6.18 6.29 5.91 Borrowing through ILL and OhioLINK 6.01 5.84 6.14 5.48 In-person & online help from librarians 6.00 6.23 6.52 6.15 Service desk/circulation 6.23 6.40 6.43 6.05 CMC & CMC resources 5.94 6.01 6.00 6.10 MediaPLEX & MediaPLEX services 6.16 6.20 6.40 5.95 Individual study space 6.22 6.28 6.43 5.91 Group study space 6.26 6.26 6.21 6.08 Library computers, printers, scanners 6.21 6.31 6.37 5.81 Library website 6.08 6.08 6.37 6.20

Workplace Environment Survey All library employees completed a survey in Spring semester 2022 on the library as a workplace. The average scores remained similar to past years with more responses clustered toward the middle. This shows a general sense of satisfaction, though some areas have room for improvement. Both the lowest and highest scores showed less deviation from the average score than in the past. Comments on the Workplace Environment section highlighted the library as a positive place to work though there were mixed opinions about leadership’s openness to input and attitude toward change. Comments regarding communication evidenced an appreciation for the volume of communication but two respondents suggested a different model might be better. The few comments related to Job Responsibilities expressed mild dissatisfaction with the library’s evaluation process. For Employee Development, several respondents were positive about their opportunities to develop and grow at work, but others noted that more opportunities or better consistency in how development opportunities were managed was needed. Comments about Library Teamwork evidenced a positive attitude toward teamwork but some uncertainty about how carefully this was monitored. There was a recognition that library workload is unevenly distributed, which also intersects with how cross-departmental work is managed. Overall, the survey indicates that the library is a positive workplace characterized by effective teamwork among wellequipped employees who understand their responsibilities. There are areas where specific improvements could be made – communication methods, approaches to cross-department work, evaluations – though some areas for potential growth are inhibited by external factors (facility upgrades, evaluations). The volume and tone of the comments suggest that library employees welcome the opportunity to share their opinions and feel comfortable doing so. Provide solution for tracking library updates by category Communicate expectations regarding teamwork more broadly ACTION Survey Area 2018 2020 2022 Work Environment 4.17 4.34 4.35 Job Responsibilities 4.40 4.39 4.35 Employee Development 4.21 4.24 4.31 Library Teamwork 4.29 4.23 4.19 All Questions Average Score 4.24 4.31 4.30

Library Report 2021-22: Data Supplement Physical Materials Usage 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 Checkouts 41,308 45,617 39,605 36,118 42,929 Renewals 16,624 15,835 14,933 13,904 14,750 Internal Use 12,779 14,109 9,958 9,207 8,286 Sum 70,711 75,561 64,496 59,229 65,965 Student 28,044 31,662 28,441 26,191 32,519 Faculty/Staff 4,682 5,918 5,795 5,347 5,890 Community 1,921 1,868 1,353 1,228 1,243 Interlibrary 3,186 2,701 2,062 1,226 1,460 Other 3,475 3,468 1,954 2,126 1,817 Main 19,289 19,026 15,647 13,235 14,532 Reserve 8,452 12,091 11,593 11,376 16,167 AV 1,213 1,108 1,019 728 662 CMC 7,960 8,742 7,999 8,319 9,344 OhioLINK 3,801 4,063 2,725 1,907 1,524 Other 593 587 622 553 700 ILLs Delivered 841 811 626 408 645 ILLs Received 208 254 252 262 395 OhioLINK Delivered 4,287 3,720 2,753 1,917 2,007 OhioLINK Received 3,941 4,051 2,753 1,753 1,481 Other Delivered 149 139 148 146 286 Other Received 286 480 356 436 401 9,712 9,455 6,888 4,922 5,215 Total University Materials Total By Patron By Item Interlibrary Materials

Digital Materials Usage 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 E-journal Full-text Uses 182,748 209,434 180,875 214,520 225,639 E-journal All Uses 372,457 370,296 401,613 353,238 383,202 E-book Uses 43,205 98,675 116,153 131,061 144,786 Digital Commons Downloads 250,694 264,465 385,568 502,841 588,333 Library Collections 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 Print Titles (Main) 142,751 145,016 139,954 138,810 139,437 Print Volumes (Main) 157,777 160,313 154,687 153,562 154,092 Bound Periodicals (Main) 6,348 6,616 6,499 6,473 6,530 Print Titles (CMC) 13,758 14,133 12,983 13,370 13,728 Print Volumes (CMC) 18,294 18,810 17,304 17,742 18,116 Bound Periodicals (CMC) 177 181 0 0 0 E-books 132,747 154,475 170,003 199,612 232,662 Print Journal Subscriptions 674 621 542 513 428 E-journal Subscriptions 26,886 26,884 26,872 21,608 21,672 Digital Commons Items 32,087 38,940 45,706 53,834 59,626 Microforms 10,784 10,784 10,644 10,644 10,644 A/V 18,284 18,596 19,024 19,025 19,240 Other Books Research Support Services 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 Research Assistance 1,208 636 397 213 427 Online Chat 624 358 522 433 330 Research Appointments 312 402 502 536 917 Classroom Instruction 166 181 168 100 169 Instruction Attendance 3,241 3,748 3,458 1,810 3,314

Resource Expenditures 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 Print Books $143,477 $157,008 $100,854 $125,043 $126,962 Print Serials $167,210 $159,983 $163,318 $123,933 $128,908 Physical AV $12,978 $15,512 $2,208 $7,136 $7,023 Digital Books (One-time) $0 $4,795 $6,755 $8,685 $5,722 Digital Books (Subscription) $38,514 $36,717 $38,573 $41,192 $46,425 Databases $352,271 $363,141 $217,375 $239,564 $202,803 Digital Serials $143,812 $130,686 $148,893 Digital A/V $2,690 $2,690 $3,390 $6,870 $10,260 Other $10,742 $13,173 $7,171 $10,073 $10,728 Total $727,882 $753,019 $673,965 $684,118 $706,278 % Digital 55.7% 54.1% 59.4% 61.1% 61.3% Resources Library Gate Count - Open Hours 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 Total 155,043 164,893 127,361 175,782 233,890 Change 8.8% 6.4% -22.8% 38.0% 31.7% Weekly Average 4,697 4,998 4,824 5,860 7,122 Hourly Average 63.3 65.8 65.0 81.9 95.9 Total 11,003 10,151 8,234 12,111 15,760 Change 5.5% -7.7% -18.9% 47.1% 30.1% Weekly Average 407 376 383 433 587 Hourly Average 45.2 41.7 42.5 53.0 65.2 Total 14,616 14,365 10,530 11,461 11,565 Change 11.1% -1.7% -26.7% 8.8% 0.9% Weekly Average 562 553 500 423 430 Hourly Average 70.3 69.1 59.9 47.3 53.8 Total 180,662 189,409 146,125 199,354 261,215 Change 8.8% 4.8% -22.9% 36.4% 29.8% Weekly Average 5,666 5,962 5,707 6,715 8,139 Total Sun Sat Mon - Fri

Library Budget, Expenditures, and Income 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 Personnel $957,325 $939,966 $1,015,244 $1,043,782 $1,021,996.00 Resources $593,463 $631,490 $593,463 $593,463 $623,463.00 Operations $129,618 $129,618 $129,705 $129,705 $129,705.00 Other $67,126 $67,126 $66,897 $52,872 $65,397.00 Total $1,747,532 $1,768,200 $1,805,309 $1,819,822 $1,840,561.00 Personnel $916,730 $897,363 $860,232 $901,717 $951,401.12 Resources $691,768 $753,804 $674,374 $689,165 $710,449.95 Operations $143,229 $198,687 $140,716 $144,292 $143,632.53 Other $68,981 $30,197 $28,822 $38,083 $27,840.77 Total $1,820,708 $1,880,051 $1,704,144 $1,773,257 $1,833,324.37 Personnel $224 $65 $19,406 $2,345 $14,699.46 Resources $99,759 $109,450 $118,612 $120,189 $97,730.09 Operations $16,948 $66,517 $9,720 $11,529 $12,170.61 Other $125 $1,042 $1,107 $45 $0.00 Total $117,055 $177,074 $148,846 $134,108 $124,600.16 Personnel $40,819 $42,668 $174,417 $144,410 $85,294.34 Resources $1,453 ($12,863) $37,701 $24,487 $10,743.14 Operations $3,337 ($2,552) ($1,291) ($3,059) ($1,756.92) Other ($1,730) $37,971 $39,182 $14,834 $37,556.23 Total $43,879 $65,223 $250,010 $180,672 $131,836.79 Debits Budget Credits/ Income Surplus/ Deficit

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