MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN In 2023-24 the library continued to deliver high-quality, effective point of need service to Cedarville University faculty, staff, and students, while preparing to undertake two major technology platform transitions. Library facility traffic continued to grow, with visits to the library surpassing 400,000 during the twelve-month span. Critical services such as research appointments, course reserves, and interlibrary use all grew in volume, exceeding 2022-23 totals. This continues to point to the value of physical services and materials for the university’s academic programs, in addition to online resources and research support. The library’s digital holdings grew as well, with the total number of available e-books (318,900) more than doubling the number of physical books (156,500). Reflecting information landscape trends, digital resources (e-books, databases, online journals) consumed nearly two-thirds of the library’s resource budget. The 2023-24 year was a period of low staff turnover for the library. Jen McConkey joined the library from Dayton Metro Library, assuming the role of Staff Cataloger at Centennial Library. And at the end of the 2023-24 school year, long-time Information Services Librarian Jeff Gates retired after serving at Cedarville for seventeen years. During this busy year, library staff began preparing to migrate the main library system (Sierra) to a new platform and vendor as part of an OhioLINK-wide migration. Library staff worked to identify the system configuration settings needed and engaged in record/database cleanup to facilitate a smoother migration. This complex, multi-year adoption will require a significant overhaul of many library workflows and processes but should improve the ability of patrons to access and utilize even more of the resources available through the library, particularly the digital resources. The library also began to seek new alternatives for Digital Commons, its archive and repository platform. While this platform had served the needs of the university well, industry consolidation, legacy features, and data security drove the library to begin to seek a new partner for its archival, repository, and publishing needs. 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 2023-24 ANNUAL REPORT
VITAL RESOURCES Use of physical library resources rose again in 2023-24. This growth is being driven by use of reserve materials, including both course reserves (textbooks) and non-course reserves (charging devices, equipment). Use of the main book collection declined by 2.7%, which may reflect the fact that course textbooks are now pulled out of the main collection for course reserves. Use of Interlibrary Loan and OhioLINK rose just over 10% this year. Filling interlibrary requests for other institutions grew the most, but OhioLINK loaning and borrowing both showed modest gains. Other parts of the physical collection saw minor fluctuations in usage. 2023-24 Print Usage Checkouts 57,972 Renewals 17,520 Internal Use 8,964 Main Collection 16,411 Reserves 28,062 Audio/Visual 552 CMC 9,110 OhioLINK 3,019 Other 818 The substantial change to the library’s print reserve service in 2022-23 continued to pay dividends this year. Course materials on reserve were used 12,750 times in 2023-24, up 15% from the prior year and over double the usage of 2021-22, even with fewer items on reserve. This service requires a significant investment in staff time and effort but has significantly increased the usage of selected library materials and provide students with an option for reducing educational costs. 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. In 2023-24, use of e-journals and e-books showed a slight decline in usage. The total usage of digital resources exceeded half-a-million uses which is roughly $0.85/use, which is a very good cost/use value. For reference, major journal publishers often charge $30 or more to access a single journal article.
Library Resource Expenditures BUDGET Library expenditures for 2023-24 totaled $1,905,826 with personnel expenses accounting for 51.5% of expenditures and resource expenses for 39.1% of total expenditures. Systems and operational costs accounted for the remainder of library expenditures. The library ended the year with a $170,483 unspent allocated funds, though some of these funds were transferred for facility projects. In addition, the Director of Public Services position was open for the entire year, increasing the end of year surplus. Digital resources as a share of total resource expenditures continued to climb, reaching nearly 66% this year. Digital subscriptions, rather than one-time fees, make up the bulk of resource costs and the regular subscription fee increases have greatly limited the library’s ability to add new resources. OhioLINK remains a vital partner for the library, ensuring that resource costs are affordable and efficient for many of the critical resources the library provides to students and faculty. Cov id SERVICES Use of interlibrary services rose again in 2023-24, continuing to recover from the disruption of the pandemic and a delivery courier change. Interlibrary services include OhioLINK (a statewide academic library consortium), ILL (loaning and borrowing directly between libraries), and other formal and informal resource delivery systems. Library services continued to see high rates of usage during the 2023-24 school year. Research librarians delivered 1,192 research appointments during the year, an increase of 12% over last year’s record high. These scheduled 1-on-1 meetings with students are critical opportunities to develop information literacy skills in students and help students resolve their research needs. Librarian-led classroom instruction sessions also grew in number, reaching nearly 3900 students in 198 classes. 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 have become used more heavily. Resource 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Physical Books $100,854 $125,043 $126,962 $128,733 $118,364 Physical Journals $163,317 $123,933 $128,908 $127,029 $123,194 Physical A/V $2,208 $7,136 $7,023 $2,722 $2,537 Digital Books $45,396 $49,878 $52,147 $53,308 $51,157 Databases $217,375 $239,564 $263,405 $276,987 $202,803 Digital Journals $143,812 $130,686 $130,945 $139,881 $148,893 Digital A/V $3,390 $6,870 $10,260 $8,458 $13,520
PRODUCTIVE SPACES Digital Commons Publishing 2023-24 Library traffic continued to increase in 2023-24, growing about 9.5% compared to 2022-23. While the growth rate has lessened compared with prior years, the 401,650 visits in 2023-24 represent over double the traffic that the library received prior to the pandemic. Since the library has not added new spaces or services, it is possible that growth is slowing because the library spaces are reaching their effective capacity. Growth has been concentrated on weekdays and Saturdays. It is expected that library traffic may plateau or diminish with the opening of a major new academic building on campus in Fall 2024. The use of reservable spaces continues to remain strong. This year, the library added a reservable video conferencing room, in addition to the existing eighteen study rooms (nine group rooms and nine individual rooms). Total hours booked for the study rooms was 27,800 for the year (compared to 28,000 the year before). Nearly 2,100 different students reserved a library study room during with year. The group study rooms proved more popular, with over 70% of all available hours reserved. Solo study rooms had 37% of available hours reserved. In addition to reservable rooms, the library also provides 32 lockers which can be reserved by students for semester-long projects requiring use of library resources or spaces. Day & Time 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Total Bookings 6,076 10,256 10,377 15,288 17,239 Total Hours Booked 10,369 17,672 18,271 27,999 27,818 Unique Users 1,344 1,687 1,627 1,964 2,092 Note COVID Added Solo Study Rooms Added Video Conferencing Room Group Study Room Trends
Library Report 2023-24: Assessment Supplement Freshman/Senior Survey The survey was administered in April 2024 through Qualtrics and a total of 233 student responses (139 seniors and 94 freshmen) were received. Students answered both Likert scale quantitative questions and open-ended short answer questions. Quantitative responses in 2024 showed a noticeable rebound from the 2022 survey’s surprisingly lower scores. While some scores remained average or below average, statements addressing the importance of the library scored well, and, in some cases, set new benchmarks for high scores. Overall, average quantitative scores remained high or very high in most areas and lower scores were most often correlated with areas/service of the library not used as widely by students. Several themes stood out. First, the library is well regarded by most students. Our numeric scores remain high and the rebound from the previous survey’s low scores indicate that it was a blip rather than a developing pattern. Over 97% of students rated themselves as satisfied with the library overall and only 4.5% of responses indicated dissatisfaction with any specific area of the library. Second, the library is vitally important to students, especially to seniors. Among seniors 88% rated the library as “very important” or “important.” Freshmen and senior responses show substantial increase over the past 15 years of the survey, indicating that even as information, technology, and assignments evolve, students increasingly see the library as a valuable part of their academic experience. The library’s efforts to provide services at point-of-need for students, the expansion of print course reserves, and the addition of more solo and group study spaces all contribute to this recognition of the library’s value by directly meeting the academic needs of students. A third takeaway is that the library is not fully meeting the solo study needs of students. “Individual study spaces” was the lowest performing area for seniors and below average for freshmen. Considering the comments provided, this is likely due to the increasing traffic in the library which has resulted in a more crowded and noisier library. It is possible that this may change with the opening of the new business building in Fall 2024, but should it not, attention must be given to ensuring that some spaces in the library are preserved for quiet study. Finally, the dramatic increase in the number of comments about physical books, textbook reserves, and OhioLINK/ILL all point to the continuing value of print collections in an academic environment. Despite the ubiquity and utility of digital information resources, physical materials still play a critical role for students in an academic environment. Well-rounded libraries cannot afford to phase out their physical collections or suspend print purchasing entirely in favor of digital resources; such a choice would be a disservice to their community. Improve solo study experience Maximize critical point-of-need services Publicize the value of print resources in meeting student needs ACTIONS How important is the library to you? Percentage of students who answered that the library is important or very important to them. Year Seniors Freshmen 2011 65.7% 68.2% 2014 73.3% 68.5% 2015 76.0% 70.6% 2017 76.3% 74.5% 2019 77.4% 81.3% 2022 83.1% 80.0% 2024 87.8% 87.2%
Workplace Environment Survey This year’s survey indicates that the library is a positive workplace characterized by effective teamwork. The 2024 survey saw noticeable increases in average question scores, though it is worth noting that not everyone responded, unlike the previous two survey cycles. The average score for nearly every question rose and scores rose by noticeable amounts on almost half of the questions. Only 6% of all responses were “neutral” or lower; this percentage is normally around 12-13%. Quantitative data and qualitative responses both highlighted library teamwork as an area of growing strength and success. Hosting the 2023 ACL Conference, changing reserves workflows, and book/periodical shifting for remodeling projects have provided opportunities for library employees to work together in new ways and, along with other activities like New Student Block Party and library book sales, continued to develop our effectiveness as a coherent team. With the migration to Alma/Primo commencing in earnest in 2024-25, we will need to draw upon our collaboration skills even more. Comments on work performance spanned both positive and negative aspects. Several people noted the benefit of receiving positive feedback from supervisors periodically and the benefit of that. Several noted that the library’s (or university’s) evaluation process was more of a formality and rarely, if ever, provided tangible incentives or rewards to employees. While library workloads didn’t receive as much attention in the comments as it did in the two prior surveys, this remains an area of concern. Some employees are carrying out sets of responsibilities that may be unsustainable in the long term. The migration to Alma/Primo is going to tax nearly everyone, and unfortunately the burden will fall heavily on some of the most overburdened employees. It is worth the effort to see what strategies might help mitigate this challenge. Pursue appropriate recognition of employee work accomplishments Seek ways to mitigate workload demands during Alma/Primo transition Continue the new evaluation processes to establish familiarity and consistency ACTIONS Average Score on Library Teamwork Prompts (1=lowest, 5=highest) Prompt 2018 2020 2022 2024 I receive appropriate acknowledgement for doing my job well. 4.08 4.17 4.25 4.23 Work relationships with other library employees are respectful and cooperative. 4.54 4.56 4.50 4.54 Library employees in my primary work area cooperate effectively as a team. 4.54 4.67 4.56 4.85 The library as a whole cooperates effectively as a team. 4.00 4.06 4.03 4.46 Other library employees have workload and job responsibilities appropriate to their positions. 3.44 3.31 3.92 I receive the support I need from other library employees to do my job effectively. 4.50 4.50 4.77
Seating Usage Study Develop a long-term plan for upgrading/updating underutilized seating areas Find other tools for assessing usage of library spaces ACTIONS Average Number of Library Patrons per Time Period SP 2014 SP 2015 FA 2015 FA 2016 SP 2018 FA 2019 FA 2023 Weekday 8am to 1pm 32.4 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Weekday 1pm to 6pm 77.3 55.8 122.6 118.3 102.3 127.5 191.4 Weekday 6pm to 10pm 128.4 92.9 157.3 134.4 151.4 148.8 158.9 Saturday 12pm to 5pm n/a 127.0 88.0 n/a n/a 177.8 n/a 114.5 n/a 142.7 154.3 116.2 Sunday 4pm to 10pm Closing 11pm Sun-Thurs: 7pm Fri-Sat 83.0 59.7 82.3 n/a 142.8 82.8 111.6 Group Study Rooms Carrels Group Tables Solo Tables Reading Chairs Computers CFA Space GroupWork Casual Reading 39.7% 47.7% 54.7% 74.9% 41.8% 67.9% 27.7% 50.5% 44.0% Upper Level Group Study Rooms Carrels Group Tables Solo Tables Reading Chairs MediaPLEX CMC Lower Level 46.1% 31.6% 48.8% 49.2% 22.5% 23.1% 29.8% Occupancy Rates in the Library Seating Areas (Library Occupancy = 200+) During two multi-week periods of fall semester, library employees logged data on student usage of library seating areas using a template that had been developed in 2014. Student staff recorded by hand the number of students occupying seats in sixteen discrete areas of the library. The data was compiled and tabulated based on the percentage of total seats occupied to assess student preferences for various areas of the library. The data was further grouped into 3 tiers based upon total patrons in the library (0-99 patrons, 100-199 patrons, or 200+ patrons). In the upper level most used areas of the library were individual study tables, computer stations, and group study tables, with 60-75% of seats occupied in some areas. On the lower level, group and solo tables were the preferred areas (with 4050% of seats filled). Unsurprisingly, as the library becomes busier all seating areas of the library become more occupied; even the library carrel seating areas can reach 50% of capacity or more. These figures are generally consistent with data from past years though the data collection in 2024 was more robust and extensive. One challenge is using this data effectively is that not all spaces carry out the same function or are structured in the same way. For example, group tables are designed and marketed for collaborative study which encourages close proximity and higher rates of occupancy. Library carrels are designed for solo study which tends to require/encourage less physical proximity and more distancing, leaving a higher number of seats unfilled. A noticeable change from past years was the overall numbers of students using the library was much greater, particularly on weekday afternoons. While this data is borne out by our daily gate count data, the manual surveys showed an increase of nearly 250% during weekday afternoons (averaging 85 patrons in 2014-16 surveys and 191 patrons in 2023 surveys. The library added additional seating in 2023-24 in the upper level, but the volume of traffic is rising faster than we can add seating. We remain very interested in measuring usage of the library facility and responding to student needs. The lower level provides the seating areas with the most excess capacity, making it the primary target for future seating area renovations.
Library Report 2023-24: Data Supplement Physical Materials Usage 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Checkouts 39,605 36,118 42,929 54,168 57,972 Renewals 14,933 13,904 14,750 16,941 17,520 Internal Use 9,958 9,207 8,286 9,629 8,984 Sum 64,496 59,229 65,965 80,738 84,476 Student 28,441 26,191 32,519 42,089 46,250 Faculty/Staff 5,795 5,347 5,890 6,823 6,393 Community 1,353 1,228 1,243 1,577 1,621 Interlibrary 2,062 1,226 1,460 1,735 2,093 Other 1,954 2,126 1,817 1,944 1,615 Main 15,647 13,235 14,532 16,858 16,411 Reserve 11,593 11,376 16,167 24,534 28,062 AV 1,019 728 662 528 552 CMC 7,999 8,319 9,344 8,541 9,110 OhioLINK 2,725 1,907 1,524 2,934 3,019 Other 622 553 700 773 818 ILLs Delivered 626 408 645 687 1,134 ILLs Received 252 262 395 309 318 OhioLINK Delivered 2,753 1,917 2,007 2,313 2,505 OhioLINK Received 2,753 1,753 1,481 2,813 2,896 Other Delivered 150 148 294 180 123 Other Received 356 436 401 468 514 Total 6,890 4,929 5,223 6,770 7,490 University Materials Total By Patron By Item Interlibrary Materials
Digital Materials Usage 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 E-journal Full-text Uses 191,393 228,615 239,844 243,959 231,937 E-journal All Uses 430,557 416,302 432,223 465,624 379,624 E-book Uses 117,850 114,648 145,123 189,543 172,575 Digital Commons Downloads 385,568 502,841 588,333 591,444 1,023,734 Library Collections 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Print Titles (Main) 139,954 138,810 139,437 138,255 138,720 Print Volumes (Main) 154,687 153,562 154,092 156,095 156,505 Bound Periodicals (Main) 6,499 6,473 6,530 5,829 5,950 Print Titles (CMC) 12,983 13,370 13,728 14,207 14,179 Print Volumes (CMC) 17,304 17,742 18,116 18,636 18,222 E-books 170,003 199,612 232,662 295,146 318,892 Print Journal Subscriptions 542 513 428 376 346 E-journal Subscriptions 26,872 21,608 21,672 21,797 22,346 Digital Commons Items 45,706 53,834 59,626 63,090 64,450 Microforms 10,644 10,644 10,644 10,642 10,641 A/V 19,024 19,025 19,240 18,064 12,214 Other Books Research Support Services 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Research Assistance 397 238 427 176 209 Online Chat 522 433 330 214 222 Research Appointments 502 538 917 1,059 1,196 Classroom Instruction 168 100 169 182 191 Instruction Attendance 3,458 1,810 3,314 3,760 3,766
Resource Expenditures 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Print Books $100,854 $125,043 $126,962 $128,733 $118,364 Print Serials $163,318 $123,933 $128,908 $127,029 $123,194 Physical AV $2,208 $7,136 $7,023 $2,722 $2,537 Digital Books (One-time) $6,764 $8,685 $5,722 $6,825 $6,461 Digital Books (Subscription) $38,632 $41,192 $46,425 $46,483 $44,696 Databases $202,803 $217,375 $239,564 $263,405 $276,987 Digital Serials $143,812 $130,686 $13,945 $139,881 $148,893 Digital A/V $3,390 $6,870 $10,260 $8,458 $13,520 Other $6,790 $10,073 $10,728 $12,051 $10,011 Total $673,651 $684,118 $706,278 $726,651 $735,651 % Digital 59.4% 61.1% 61.3% 62.8% 65.5% Resources Library Gate Count - Open Hours 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Total 127,361 177,656 233,890 331,124 365,268 Change -22.8% 39.5% 31.7% 41.6% 10.3% Weekly Average 4,824 5,922 7,122 10,051 10,743 Hourly Average 65.0 81.9 95.9 135.4 149.4 Total 8,234 12,111 15,760 21,626 22,224 Change -18.9% 47.1% 30.1% 37.4% 2.6% Weekly Average 383 433 587 803 823 Hourly Average 42.5 53.0 65.2 89.2 92.7 Total 10,530 11,461 11,565 14,010 14,158 Change -26.7% 8.8% 0.9% 21.1% 1.1% Weekly Average 500 423 430 559 565 Hourly Average 59.9 47.3 53.8 67.2 68.6 Total 146,125 201,228 261,215 366,790 401,650 Change -22.9% 37.7% 29.8% 40.4% 9.5% Weekly Average 5,707 6,777 8,139 11,413 12,131 Total Sun Sat Mon - Fri
Library Budget, Expenditures, and Income 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Personnel $1,015,244 $1,043,782 $1,021,996 $1,035,628 $1,081,397 Resources $593,463 $593,463 $623,463 $633,463 $633,463 Operations $129,705 $129,705 $129,705 $136,574 $139,705 Other $65,472 $52,872 $65,397 $58,797 $67,797 Total $1,803,884 $1,819,822 $1,840,561 $1,864,462 $1,922,362 Personnel $893,812 $901,717 $951,401 $1,004,543 $980,980 Resources $674,374 $689,165 $710,450 $731,638 $745,063 Operations $141,060 $144,292 $143,633 $153,901 $166,250 Other $28,822 $38,083 $27,841 $49,776 $13,532 Total $1,738,069 $1,773,257 $1,833,324 $1,939,857 $1,905,826 Personnel $20,388 $2,345 $14,699 $8,837 $11,851 Resources $118,612 $120,189 $97,730 $103,631 $121,949 Operations $9,720 $11,529 $12,171 $14,392 $19,447 Other $1,087 $45 $0 $130 $700 Total $149,808 $134,108 $124,600 $126,990 $153,947 Personnel $141,820 $144,410 $85,294 $39,922 $112,269 Resources $37,701 $24,487 $10,743 $5,456 $10,349 Operations ($1,635) ($3,059) ($1,757) ($2,935) ($7,099) Other $37,737 $14,834 $37,556 $9,151 $54,965 Total $215,624 $180,672 $131,837 $51,594 $170,483 Debits Budget Credits/ Income Surplus/ Deficit
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