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
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