MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN In 2022-23 the library continued to set new benchmarks in service and facility use, while transitioning major key staff roles, preparing to host a conference, and undertaking a major remodeling project. Library facility traffic is now double what it was prior to the pandemic, with visits to the library averaging over 11,400 per week. Research appointments (1-on-1 meetings with a librarian), course reserves, and even book checkouts all grew in volume as well, confirming the library’s continued relevance to the academic mission of the university. 2022-23 also saw a significant transition for the library as Kathy Carnegis replaced Greg Martin as the Director of Digital Commons. Additionally, Katelyn Hannah (Circulation Manager) and Nancy O’Neel (Public Services Assistant) joined our staff, ensuring that we could continue to deliver high-quality service to our patrons. In December 2022, Grace Kohler joined the Digital Commons area as a part-time employee. Finally, at the end of the year, Kari Siders transitioned out of the Director of Public Services role, having overseen significant growth in research appointments, First-Year Instruction, research guides, social media, and many other public service areas. During this busy year, library personnel, in conjunction with the Association of Christian Librarians, planned and hosted the association’s annual conference in June 2023. Nearly 200 librarians attended the conference in person or online to develop professionally, relationally, and personally with other Christian librarians. Nearly every library employee assisted with some aspect of the conference – such as moderating & leading sessions, hospitality, transportation, social activities, and more. The summer also included the first phase of a major library remodeling project that involved updating the library’s carpet and paint, as well as overhauling the facility’s HVAC system. Library staff rearranged both the Reference and Bound Periodical collections, improving visibility and creating more seating for patrons. 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 2022-23 ANNUAL REPORT
VITAL RESOURCES Use of physical library resources rose for the second year in a row in 2022-23. The biggest growth was in reserves, including both course materials and non-course items. Use of the Main book collection rose by 15%, which is especially notable since many course textbooks are now located in print reserves and since OhioLINK functioned normally in 2022-23, both of which can serve as alternatives to using the Main collection. Other parts of the physical collection saw minor fluctuations in usage. This year saw a significant growth in the use of course reserves. This may be due in part to changes made to streamline the processes necessary to manage this service. An additional benefit was the improved availability of course materials for students. Overall, use of course items nearly doubled in one year, validating our efforts to improve our back-end processes for this service. Use of non-course reserves (such as equipment and test prep materials) increased as well. Usage of digital resources remains a complex area to assess accurately, for a variety of factors. Some usage metrics showed a slight decline while others showed a modest jump in usage. In any event, over 200,000 digital journal articles were used by library patrons, while e-books were accessed nearly 190,000 times by faculty, staff, and students. 2022-23 Print Usage Checkouts 54,168 Renewals 16,941 Internal Use 9,629 Main Collection 16,858 Reserves 24,534 Audio/Visual 528 CMC 8,541 OhioLINK 2,934 Other 773
Library Resource Expenditures BUDGET Library expenditures for 2022-23 totaled $1,939,857 with personnel accounting for 51.8% of total expenditures and resources for 37.7%. Systems and operational costs accounted for the remainder of expenditures. The library ended the year with a $51,594 surplus, primarily due to temporarily vacant positions. Digital resources constitute the majority (62.8%) of materials cost, with physical resources consuming the remainder. Digital subscriptions, rather than one-time fees, make up the bulk of resource costs and regular subscription fee increases continue to curtail the library’s ability to add new resources. OhioLINK remains a vital partner for the library, ensuring that costs are affordable and efficient for many of the critical resources the library provides to students and faculty. Covid Precautions in the Library - Reduced capacity in group spaces - Online research appointments - Modified checkout and usage procedures SERVICES Use of interlibrary services also rose in 2022-23, rebounding from a two-year period that saw OhioLINK borrowing suspended twice – once for the pandemic and again during a transition between couriers. Interlibrary services include OhioLINK (a statewide academic library consortium), ILL (loaning and borrowing directly between libraries), and other formal and informal resource delivery systems. Faculty and students continue to make heavy use of library research support services. Research librarians delivered 1,059 research appointments in 2022-23, an increase of nearly 15% over the prior year. These scheduled 1-on-1 meetings with students are the best opportunities the library has to help students develop research and information literacy skills. Librarian-led classroom instruction sessions also grew in number, reaching 182 classes in 2022-23, the highest annual total on record. 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 as other research services are used more heavily. Resource 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 Physical Books $157,008 $100,854 $125,043 $126,962 $128,733 Physical Journals $159,983 $163,317 $123,933 $128,908 $127,029 Physical A/V $15,512 $2,208 $7,136 $7,023 $2,722 Digital Books $41,512 $45,396 $49,878 $52,147 $53,308 Databases $202,803 $217,375 $239,564 $263,405 $363,141 Digital Journals $148,893 $143,812 $130,686 $130,945 Digital A/V $2,690 $3,390 $6,870 $10,260 $8,458
PRODUCTIVE SPACES Digital Commons Publishing 2022-23 Library traffic exploded this year, with patron traffic compared to last year increasing over 50% in the fall and 32% in the spring. This continues the strong growth trend since COVID. Growth has been generally consistent across all days of the week and times of the day, though Spring semester growth was most concentrated on weekdays. This growth far outpaces the increase of the size of the student body and doesn’t reflect the addition of any significant new services, spaces, or resources. Use of reservable spaces continues to be strong. This year, the library opened up nine rooms as reservable solo study spaces, in addition to the nine existing group study rooms. This increased the total hours booked to 28,000 for the year (compared to 18,000 the year before). Over 1,900 different students reserved a library study room during with year. Room booking rates for the group rooms remained high (averaging nearly 80%). While reservation rates for the solo study rooms were only 32% in the fall, this increased to 47% in the spring, suggesting that usage rates will grow as the availability of these rooms becomes more widely known. Group Study Room Available Hours Booked Solo Study Rooms Group Study Rooms Day and Time FA 2022 SP 2023 FA 2022 SP 2023 Weekday 8AM—1PM 18.8% 26.9% 52.6% 61.4% Weekday 1PM—6PM 42.8% 64.9% 86.6% 85.4% Weekday 6PM—11PM 32.7% 48.7% 80.8% 79.5% Saturday 26.5% 29.4% 72.0% 66.2% Sunday 30.8% 34.5% 81.2% 75.0%
Library Report 2022-23: Assessment Supplement Student Staff Survey We surveyed student employees using Qualtrics, receiving 32 responses out of 39 student employees. Overall, students expressed high satisfaction with working in the library. Student scores rose in almost every area, and the student comments were primarily appreciative of the library as a work environment. “Neutral” or “disagree” responses declined in both absolute number and as a percentage of total responses. In response to the final overall question related to satisfaction with working in the library, 30 of 32 students responded that they were “very satisfied.” The average responses for the “Workplace Environment” section rose noticeably, particularly in those questions dealing with teamwork both within departments and across the library as a whole. It was gratifying to see this increase, since improving teamwork and awareness across library departments had been an area of focus for library managers. Library scores related to job preparation and responsibilities continue to be strong, suggesting that student staff onboarding is highly effective. With the recent update of the Managers’ Manual and Student Hiring Checklist, this area should continue to remain a point of strength. The upcoming academic year will likely include an overhaul of the Student Staff Manual, providing additional opportunity to streamline and update employment information for students. There was some decline in scores in “Department Operations.” The past fourteen months have seen significant personnel and oversight transition in Circulation, which may have had some effect on the student work experience. While the student survey scores have indicated the efforts at improving teamwork have borne fruit, student perceptions of recognition still remain an opportunity for growth. The fast-growing volume of library traffic and increase in service usage may have some effect on the student employee experience and should be monitored, though there is no direct evidence in this survey of impact from that issue. Additionally, it is noteworthy that the longesttenured student employees express the highest level of satisfaction with the library, reversing a trend noted in the previous survey. Continue new team-building activities and actions Identify opportunities for students to interact/serve with other staff Resolve confusion over closing policies ACTIONS Topic Department Length of Service YEAR Survey Total Workplace Environment Job Responsibilities Department Operations Circ Dept CMC Dept CS Dept MP Dept 1-2 Semesters 3-4 Semesters 5+ Semesters 2019 4.55 4.48 4.60 4.61 4.58 4.58 4.24 4.62 4.7 4.55 4.30 2021 4.56 4.51 4.57 4.63 4.46 4.79 4.42 4.64 4.57 4.58 4.43 2023 4.64 4.67 4.64 4.60 4.54 4.67 4.56 4.81 4.63 4.52 4.77
New Student Orientation Survey We surveyed incoming students after our New Student Orientation (NSO) Block Party event using a Google Form, filtering them based on whether they attended (70 responses) or did not attend (15 responses) the event. For attendees, the choice to attend the event was driven primarily by the perceived fun of the event followed by the desire to learn about the library. Most attendees were aware of the event because of the email notices sent out, with the entry on the Getting Started Weekend schedule also alerting a majority of new students. All but one of the respondents indicated that they were glad they attended the event. For those who didn’t attend the NSO Block Party, other academic obligations or simple forgetfulness were the most common factors. These results are in most cases very close to the prior year’s data points. One notable change was that the percentage of attendees noting that they attended to learn more about the library dropped from 80% in 2022 to 64% in 2023. Attendees also had the opportunity in the survey to share what they liked about the event and what to improve. Students cited enjoying the games and candy as well as the fun and engaging nature of the event as major strengths. Many also noted the value of learning about the resources, services, and spaces the library offers, along with being impressed with the friendliness of library staff. In terms of improvements, attendees suggested better wayfinding during the event to help with navigation, sharing more information about the library, and adding more games. Improve event wayfinding Review information provided about the library for potential improvements ACTIONS ACTIONS Study Room Survey Why did you attend? 2022 2023 I wanted to learn more about the library 80% 64% It was required 7% n/a My friends were going 32% 36% STING leader encouraged me 2% n/a It looked like a fun event 82% 89% Other 11% 7% How did you hear about it? 2022 2023 Email 82% 79% Saw it on the schedule 75% 63% A friend told me about it 9% 14% My STING leader or RA told me 2% 4% Other 2% 1% Room used for … Group Rooms Solo Rooms Reading 22% 38% Studying 53% 62% Group Session 43% n/a Tutoring 20% n/a Presentation Prep/Remote 25% n/a Researching n/a 36% Patrons used their own computers primarily in both types of rooms, though the desktop computers in the solo rooms also were used by over half of the respondents. Patrons used the rooms primarily for studying but the group rooms were also useful for tutoring sessions, remote meetings, and preparing for presentations. Students reported some custodial and furniture issues with the rooms, and a few respondents noted problems with conflicting reservations, which we have not be able to duplicate under any other circumstance. Promote awareness of solo study rooms Upgrade study room chairs in both group and solo rooms Provide dedicated presentation prep/remote conferencing room The library surveyed both group and solo study room users during 2022-23 to gather input about patron behaviors and offer the chance for feedback. We received over 170 responses from our pool of over 1900 unique users who had reserved a study room during the year. Most responses came from patrons using group study rooms, reflecting the usage patterns of the year. For the group study rooms, 83% of respondents reported that reserving a room was a great experience and 78% reported that using a room was a great experience. For solo study rooms, the figures were 87% and 79% respectively.
Library Report 2022-23: Data Supplement Physical Materials Usage 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 Checkouts 45,617 39,605 36,118 42,929 54,168 Renewals 15,835 14,933 13,904 14,750 16,941 Internal Use 14,109 9,958 9,207 8,286 9,629 Sum 75,561 64,496 59,229 65,965 80,738 Student 31,662 28,441 26,191 32,519 42,089 Faculty/Staff 5,918 5,795 5,347 5,890 6,823 Community 1,868 1,353 1,228 1,243 1,577 Interlibrary 2,701 2,062 1,226 1,460 1,735 Other 3,468 1,954 2,126 1,817 1,944 Main 19,026 15,647 13,235 14,532 16,858 Reserve 12,091 11,593 11,376 16,167 24,534 AV 1,108 1,019 728 662 528 CMC 8,742 7,999 8,319 9,344 8,541 OhioLINK 4,063 2,725 1,907 1,524 2,934 Other 587 622 553 700 773 ILLs Delivered 811 626 408 645 645 ILLs Received 254 252 262 395 395 OhioLINK Delivered 3,720 2,753 1,917 2,007 2,007 OhioLINK Received 4,051 2,753 1,753 1,481 1,481 Other Delivered 148 150 148 294 180 Other Received 480 356 436 401 468 Total 9,464 6,890 4,929 5,223 6,770 University Materials Total By Patron By Item Interlibrary Materials
Digital Materials Usage 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 E-journal Full-text Uses 209,434 180,875 214,520 225,639 232,545 E-journal All Uses 370,296 401,613 353,238 383,202 383,202 E-book Uses 98,675 116,153 131,061 144,786 189,543 Digital Commons Downloads 264,465 385,568 502,841 588,333 591,444 Library Collections 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 Print Titles (Main) 145,016 139,954 138,810 139,437 138,255 Print Volumes (Main) 160,313 154,687 153,562 154,092 156,095 Bound Periodicals (Main) 6,616 6,499 6,473 6,530 5,829 Print Titles (CMC) 14,133 12,983 13,370 13,728 14,207 Print Volumes (CMC) 18,810 17,304 17,742 18,116 18,636 Bound Periodicals (CMC) 181 0 0 0 0 E-books 154,475 170,003 199,612 232,662 295,146 Print Journal Subscriptions 621 542 513 428 392 E-journal Subscriptions 26,884 26,872 21,608 21,672 21,797 Digital Commons Items 38,940 45,706 53,834 59,626 63,090 Microforms 10,784 10,644 10,644 10,644 10,642 A/V 18,596 19,024 19,025 19,240 18,064 Other Books Research Support Services 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 Research Assistance 636 397 213 427 176 Online Chat 358 522 433 330 214 Research Appointments 402 502 536 917 1,059 Classroom Instruction 181 168 100 169 182 Instruction Attendance 3,748 3,458 1,810 3,314 3,760
Resource Expenditures 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 Print Books $157,008 $100,854 $125,043 $126,962 $128,733 Print Serials $159,983 $163,318 $123,933 $128,908 $127,029 Physical AV $15,512 $2,208 $7,136 $7,023 $2,722 Digital Books (One-time) $4,795 $6,755 $8,685 $5,722 $6,825 Digital Books (Subscription) $36,717 $38,573 $41,192 $46,425 $46,483 Databases $363,141 $202,803 $217,375 $239,564 $263,405 Digital Serials $148,893 $143,812 $130,686 $13,945 Digital A/V $2,690 $3,390 $6,870 $10,260 $8,458 Other $13,173 $7,171 $10,073 $10,728 $12,051 Total $753,019 $673,965 $684,118 $706,278 $726,651 % Digital 54.1% 59.4% 61.1% 61.3% 62.8% Resources Library Gate Count - Open Hours 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 Total 164,893 127,361 175,782 233,890 331,124 Change 6.4% -22.8% 38.0% 31.7% 41.6% Weekly Average 4,998 4,824 5,860 7,122 10,051 Hourly Average 65.8 65.0 81.9 95.9 135.4 Total 10,151 8,234 12,111 15,760 21,626 Change -7.7% -18.9% 47.1% 30.1% 37.4% Weekly Average 376 383 433 587 803 Hourly Average 41.7 42.5 53.0 65.2 89.2 Total 14,365 10,530 11,461 11,565 14,010 Change -1.7% -26.7% 8.8% 0.9% 21.1% Weekly Average 553 500 423 430 559 Hourly Average 69.1 59.9 47.3 53.8 67.2 Total 189,409 146,125 199,354 261,215 366,790 Change 4.8% -22.9% 36.4% 29.8% 40.4% Weekly Average 5,962 5,707 6,715 8,139 11,413 Total Sun Sat Mon - Fri
Library Budget, Expenditures, and Income 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 Personnel $939,966 $1,015,244 $1,043,782 $1,021,996 $1,035,628 Resources $631,490 $593,463 $593,463 $623,463 $633,463 Operations $129,618 $129,705 $129,705 $129,705 $136,574 Other $67,126 $66,897 $52,872 $65,397 $58,797 Total $1,768,200 $1,805,309 $1,819,822 $1,840,561 $1,864,462 Personnel $897,363 $860,232 $901,717 $951,401 $1,004,543 Resources $753,804 $674,374 $689,165 $710,450 $731,638 Operations $198,687 $140,716 $144,292 $143,633 $153,901 Other $30,197 $28,822 $38,083 $27,841 $49,776 Total $1,880,051 $1,704,144 $1,773,257 $1,833,324 $1,939,857 Personnel $65 $19,406 $2,345 $14,699 $8,837 Resources $109,450 $118,612 $120,189 $97,730 $103,631 Operations $66,517 $9,720 $11,529 $12,171 $14,392 Other $1,042 $1,107 $45 $0 $130 Total $177,074 $148,846 $134,108 $124,600 $126,990 Personnel $42,668 $174,417 $144,410 $85,294 $39,922 Resources ($12,863) $37,701 $24,487 $10,743 $5,456 Operations ($2,552) ($1,291) ($3,059) ($1,757) ($2,935) Other $37,971 $39,182 $14,834 $37,556 $9,151 Total $65,223 $250,010 $180,672 $131,837 $51,594 Debits Budget Credits/ Income Surplus/ Deficit
www.cedarville.eduRkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM4ODY=