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COMPREHENSIVE STANDARD 3.8.3
The institution provides a sufficient number of qualified staff -- with appropriate education or experiences in library and/or other learning/information resources -- to accomplish the mission of the institution.
Compliance
Comment
The Library has 15 faculty librarians and 10 staff members for a total staff of 25. With an enrollment in fall 2005 of 8,992 students, the ratio of students to library personnel is 359 to 1. It appears that McNeese has fewer library personnel than is typical, and, therefore, the University may wish to look at its comparable universities to determine if the quantity of library personnel is within the norm. The qualifications of library faculty are appropriate, and their membership in the general faculty supports the library’s effectiveness in library instruction and developing appropriate collections. Personnel evaluations for both library faculty and staff are appropriate. No specific information was given on professional development opportunities for library personnel, and it was unclear if one of the library faculty attended the state-wide “I-Quest” training. Services provided by the library are appropriate, and the library is to be applauded for linking McNeese resources to Google Scholar.
Response
McNeese acknowledges that it does have fewer library personnel at Frazar Memorial Library than comparable universities. Although this constraint has been longstanding, fortunately user satisfaction surveys indicate the services are perceived as good.
A new, full time position, Administrative Assistant 3, was approved by Executive Staff on July 27, 2006 as an addition to Library personnel. The McNeese State University Executive Staff recently (December 4, 2006) approved a raise of all unclassified personnel including librarian positions which will assist in attracting new librarians. Positions vacant due to retirement, promotion, or transfer will be filled. However, funding is not currently available to create any new positions.
Professional development opportunities are available, supported, and funded by the Division of Academic Affairs and the Library Director for personnel employed at Frazar Memorial Library. The library ensures that librarians have access to professional development opportunities by designating travel funds and arranging for time off to attend conferences, workshops, meetings, etc. Travel funds are available to enable librarians to participate in these opportunities through the library travel account as well as through other sources such as the University Foundation and Friends of the Library accounts.
While the academic library community in the state of Louisiana does not participate in I-Quest, McNeese librarians do participate in various training sessions pertinent to the statewide library systems including SIRSI and Unicorn, and attend many statewide conferences related to general and academic librarianship. The Annual Performance Review (APR) instrument includes a section requesting information on Scholarly/Professional Activity.
The table below reflects professional activities reported on the 2005 APR.1
| Librarian |
APR item B2
List involvement in professional library organizations |
APR item B3
List participation in continuing library education designed to improve professional competence |
| No. 1 |
7 |
5 |
| No. 2 |
6 |
9 |
| No. 3 |
3 |
5 |
| No. 4 |
7 |
5 |
| No. 5 |
9 |
1 |
| No. 6 |
8 |
10 |
| No. 7 |
4 |
6 |
| No. 8 |
8 |
3 |
| No. 9 |
10 |
6 |
| No.10 |
9 |
5 |
| No. 11 |
10 |
4 |
| No. 12 |
7 |
10 |
1 It should be noted that many professional meetings and activities were cancelled during the period under review due to the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As a result, the number of activities is somewhat lower than in a typical year.
Examples of library personnel attendance at professional meetings and activities include the following:
National Conferences
- American Library Association Annual Meeting
- American Library Association Midwinter Meeting
- North American Serials Interest Group Annual Meeting
- OCLC Superconference
State Conferences
- Louisiana Library Association Annual Meeting
- Louisiana Users’ Conference
- Louisiana Support Staff Association of Libraries Annual Meeting
- Association of College and Research Libraries- Louisiana Annual Meeting
Professional Service
- ALA New Members’ Round Table committee chair
- ACRL-LA President
Continuing Education
- “Assessing Student Learning Outcomes” sponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries
- “How to Get Started in Information Literacy” sponsored by the Association of College and Research Libraries
Professional development is not restricted to librarians. Several support staff members belong to library associations, are involved with committee work, and regularly attend professional meetings.
ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE
 President Executive Staff Notes – July 25, 2006
President Executive Staff Notes – December 4, 2006
SIRSI website
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