The University, through ownership of Frazar Memorial Library, provides and supports student and faculty access and user privileges to adequate library collections as well as to other learning/information resources consistent with the degrees offered. Other campus learning/information resources are also provided to students, faculty, and the community by the University.

Frazar Memorial Library

The primary academic support service on campus is Frazar Memorial Library. Open an average of eighty hours per week, including evenings and weekends, the Library provides University and community constituents access to both traditional and electronic resources. The library is staffed by fifteen faculty librarians and ten paraprofessionals. Graduate assistants and student workers are employed in many public-services areas. The Frazar Memorial Library, its facilities, resources, staffing, and collections are examined in detail in Comprehensive Standard 3.8.1: Library and Other Learning Resources.

Library resources and other learning and information services at McNeese adequately meet the needs of students and faculty. The library is committed to provide resources to support all programs and services provided to students and faculty. The Library 2005 Master Plan/Progress Report identifies the library's mission as follows: "Frazar Memorial Library supports the values of McNeese State University and the University of Louisiana System. The Library’s mission is to provide access to information for both the McNeese community and the Southwest Louisiana community. The Library accomplishes this mission through service, resources, and the administration of collaborative projects."

The table below reflects circulation statistics and attendance at bibliographic instruction workshops held by the library for faculty and students. The drop in circulation and in number of participants and instruction sessions held during 2005-06 academic year reflect the impact of Hurricane Rita on the Library. Severely damaged by wind and water, the Library was unable to reopen until February 6, 2006, four months after Hurricane Rita came ashore on the Louisiana-Texas border. During the closure, library staff set up in the Curriculum Materials Center in the Burton College of Education, assisting students with internet and database research. Arrangements were made with the local branches of the public library to assist students and faculty.

Library Circulation 2004/05-2005/06

Bibliographic Instruction Classes 2004/05-2005/06

Source: Frazar Memorial Library

Library Holdings

To ensure that relevant and appropriate materials are available for faculty and students in all areas of study, the library consults with corresponding departmental liaisons who assist the Collection Management Department by providing information about program needs. Collections are periodically reviewed and updated as needed. Guided by the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services, the Collection Management Department articulates that department's duties: "The Collection Management Department supports the Frazar Memorial Library's Mission to provide access to information for both the McNeese community and the Southwest Louisiana Community. The Collection Management Department contributes to this mission by purchasing new materials, removing outdated materials, and managing subscriptions and licenses for access to other (not owned) materials in the non-serials collections of the Library in accordance with its Collection Management Policies and Procedures."

The Collection Management Department maintains collection levels to support both undergraduate and graduate course work. Collection levels range from research levels to none, each level informed by curricula and faculty collaboration. The collection levels supported by Frazar Memorial Library are described in the list below.

Levels of collection vary with individual disciplines. For example, Biology and Environmental Science departments request that the botany collections be supported at the research level. Social Sciences requests that the criminology and penology collections be supported at the research level, but that the substance abuse collections be supported at the basic level. Individual department liaisons in collaboration with their faculty submit requests to increase holdings as appropriate for curricular needs.

Collections include the following materials:

Works Included in Collections

Holdings of books, serials, documents, archives, audio-visual, and electronic resources reflect the library's commitment to support the diverse academic and research needs of the university.

The library ensures that University programs and users are supported through annual review for the master plan/progress report process, faculty surveys, student surveys, and a public suggestion box. Library holdings and services are also evaluated by individual accrediting associations such as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, National League for Nursing, American Chemical Society, National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, National Association of Schools of Music, and National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Reports from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems (IPEDS) draw comparisons between academic libraries in order to ensure that library resources and services are equitably delivered across the nation. The table attached as a supporting document illustrates how the Frazar Memorial Library compares favorably to other institutions of similar size in both Louisiana and other states.

Online Systems

A powerful electronic research tool, LOUIS (formerly Louisiana Online University Information System) provides access to materials and documents from across the country to library patrons. The Louisiana Library Network describes resources available through LOUIS on its home page:

LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network combines the resources of Louisiana's public and private academic libraries, along with a centralized support staff located on the LSU campus, to produce a dynamic library consortium. The central support staff, commonly referred to as "LOUIS," provides many services to consortium members such as library automation, a union catalog, a digital library, electronic resources, authentication, training, consulting, and hosting related listserves and websites. Established in 1992 by the Board of Regents, LOUIS has 43 members and receives approximately $3.5 million annually in contracts and membership fees to support consortium members.

All LOUIS libraries utilize the SIRSI iLink management system which features a standardized catalog design, greater flexibility in searching for materials, and improved efficiency in circulating materials. Services such as Interlibrary Loan have been enhanced through an electronic delivery system (Illiad) and a statewide Union Catalog. In addition to LOUIS' centralized services and collaborative purchasing, a corresponding relationship with LALINC exists which permits reciprocal borrowing among member libraries.

Many electronic-based resources and services are available from the library's web page. The site is maintained by library personnel. Both on-campus and off-campus access is available for the users.

Curriculum Materials Center

Students enrolled in teacher preparation programs have full access to Frazar Memorial Library and its resources. Located in Farrar Hall, which houses faculty and staff in the College of Education, the Center is a specialized resource library for students majoring in education and/or teacher preparation. The Curriculum Materials Center specifically supports the teacher preparation curricula. As such, it establishes its own policies for operation and for the types of materials necessary to support the instructional programs for teacher preparation. It supports all aspects of teacher education programs and other related programs as well.

Its collection, comprised of a variety of materials appropriate for students and faculty engaged in study and research related to teacher preparation, is sampled in the list below:

• A collection of all levels of juvenile fiction and non-fiction books from pre-kindergarten through high school.

• Sample textbooks in all disciplines which provide pre-service teachers with materials appropriate to the courses they will teach.

• A library science collection designed to support students preparing to become certified school librarians is also available to students and faculty.

• A special collection known as the "School to Work" collection was acquired with grant funds a few years ago. This collection ranges in topics from educational psychology to a dictionary of occupational titles.

• A small collection of instructional and literary videocassettes.

The most recent materials added to the collection are study guides for PRAXIS and GRE exams. The PRAXIS guides are designed to assist pre-service teachers in preparing for the various exams required for admission to the teacher education program and for certification in various fields. GRE study guides have also been added to aid students who seek admission to graduate studies.

The Curriculum Materials Center also houses a small cache of equipment that students may use in preparing presentations for course work.

The Curriculum Materials Center is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Frazar Memorial Library circulation policies guide student and faculty use of the Curriculum Materials Center. The Director of the Curriculum Materials Center is supported by Frazar Memorial Library staff, and Frazar Memorial Library acquires and processes the materials housed in Curriculum Materials Center.

The Department of Performing Arts library collections are housed in two separate campus facilities. Music monographs and theatre arts books, major reference and research volumes, and periodicals are housed in Frazar Memorial Library. Musical scores, collected works, LP recordings, CDs, videos/DVDs, computer software, and a limited number of reference works are maintained in the Performing Arts Library on the second floor of the Shearman Fine Arts Center. Two SmartMusic Studios with accompaniment software have been established in the Shearman Fine Arts Center. In 2004, when the Theatre Program merged with the Department of Music, a collection of videos, scripts, and theatre monographs were added to the music holdings. At this time, the library changed its name from Music Learning Center to Performing Arts Library, reflecting its expanded scope.

A separate performance library for the marching band and instrumental ensembles is maintained by the Band Unit. These materials are catalogued and stored in the Band Building Library. The Choral Library and the Orchestral Library are maintained in the Performing Arts Library. Individual instrument performance collections are also maintained as studio libraries by performance faculty. The Piano Pedagogy Program has a large collection of cataloged scores in the Piano Laboratory available for pedagogical purposes. A small collection of elementary education books are available as resources for projects assigned in non-major and major music education courses.

Daily operations of the departmental library facility are assigned to the Performing Arts Librarian/Administrative Assistant whose primary job is to ensure that the facility is maintained in an orderly and efficient manner to serve McNeese faculty and students effectively. The Performing Arts Library is funded primarily by a student assessment fee which supports all university library acquisitions and is administrated by Frazar Memorial Library.

The facility is open an average of 50 hours per week each semester, Monday through Friday. Generally, the Library is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and two nights per week. Hours of operation are posted on the door of the Library at the beginning of each semester, in Library publications, and on the website.

Circulation privileges are primarily reserved for faculty with students using materials in-house. Students may check out scores for a limited period. Faculty may check out scores and recordings for the length of the semester or until someone else needs the material. Reference materials and collections are non-circulating, except for class use by a faculty member. Faculty may place library materials or personal items on reserve for student use. Collections are accessed through the online OPAC iBistro, card catalog or databases available in the Performing Arts Library. Students receive reference and individualized assistance. The Performing Arts Library is in compliance with current copyright laws.

Electronic Learning

Another means by which educational, research, and public service programs are supported and enhanced is through the University’s electronic learning (e-Learning) program. The University offers a number of web-based, web-enhanced, and compressed video opportunities for students and faculty. These courses provide flexible scheduling options for traditional or non-traditional students. In an effort to provide students with the highest quality of learning, McNeese State University has partnered with the Southern Regional Education Board’s Electronic Campus in order to ensure the quality of online instruction and make the University's courses available to students in other states.

In order to ensure that incorporation of electronic resources facilitates learning, the University provides extensive training to faculty who wish to teach web-based, web-enhanced courses. Faculty who wish to incorporate Blackboard into their courses as a tool to augment learning are also provided with extensive training. Several training sessions are scheduled each semester and assistance is available at all times to faculty who enhance their courses with technology. Training is conducted by the Coordinator of Distance Learning. Library Reference librarians are available to assist both students and faculty in the use of the library's online databases and electronic resources. Either the Coordinator of Distance Learning or the Reference Librarian is available for instruction, document delivery, reference and research assistance, technical assistance, and distance learning course information. The Center for Teaching and Learning Technology (CTLT) provides beginner and advanced level courses in Microsoft Office, FrontPage, Outlook, Blackboard and other applications for faculty who wish to incorporate technology into their courses.

Another resource that supports academic success is the individual discipline-specific computer labs that exist in many departments across campus.

Faculty across the campus have established labs to serve as resources for teaching and learning. Often funded by grants and/or student assessment fees, these labs are developed by the faculty members whose disciplines they serve. Faculty who incorporate technologies into their disciplines are well qualified, not only in their respective disciplines but in incorporating technology into those disciplines as well.

Some of the following applications augment classroom instruction and enhance student learning:

• The College of Nursing implements a program called “Sim Man.” Student nurses are able to perform assessments and medicate simulated human beings. Paid for by student assessments, the “Sim Man” lab includes two virtual human beings who must be assessed based on symptoms which are generated by a computer. “Sim Man” has his blood pressure, breathing rate, and other body functions tested as a faculty member supervises and provides instant feedback.

• The College of Education has a state-of-the art teacher-training lab which enables teacher candidates to use electronic resources to prepare course materials and video equipment to tape and view sample lessons.

• The Department of English and Foreign Languages uses its Language Laboratory to augment instruction in Spanish and French. Students enrolled in foreign language courses are required to log lab hours throughout the semester. The lab provides opportunity for guided language practice, online audio-visuals to supplement culture studies, web access for foreign language research, and other teaching materials that supplement both beginning and advanced foreign language instruction.

• The English Department supervises a twenty-seat writing lab equipped with writing software to engage students in writing and researching. Computer-assisted writing experiences are supervised by individual faculty members who reserve the lab for projects lasting from one or two class periods to several weeks.

• The Geography Department shares equipment with the English Department in order to provide instruction in using GIS software. Geography students learn to generate maps using technology.

• The Biology Department established a lab in which students can collect and store DNA samples. Similar labs established and managed by senior faculty members facilitate instruction in the Visual Arts Department in graphic design courses, in the Department of Mass Communication, where, under the supervision of faculty members, students are encouraged and inspired to develop knowledge and hone their skills.

Supporting Evidence

Library-Departmental Partnerships

Curriculum Materials Center Electronic Information

McNeese State University Library

Performing Arts Learning Resources Finances

LALINC

Library Surveys

Collection Levels Used by Frazar Memorial Library Collections Department

Curriculum Materials Center Electronic Information

Library Comparison