II-a. Collection Development and Management
II-b. Teaching Activities
II-c. Information Services

Summary of Current and Previous Collection Development Activities:

• Electronic Resources Librarian at University of Nebraska - Kearney (2009)
• Performed collection development and subject liaison responsibilities to the School of Communication and the Arts at Regent University (Fall 2006 – 2008)
• Sole developer, electronic resource management database at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (2003-2006)
• Member, Library Electronic Resources Committee at UTC (2003-2005)
• Collection development for non-fiction materials (000s-699s) as Reference Librarian at Hancock County Public Library (2000-2001)
• Sole developer, acquisitions database at HCPL (2000)

Current Collection Development and Management Responsibilities at University of Nebraska-Kearney:

As the Electronic Resources Librarian at University of Nebraska - Kearney (UNK), my chief responsibilities are to identify, evaluate, and process new electronic resources for the library's collections.  This requires consultation with vendors, collaboration with other library faculty and an awareness of user needs based on my reference, instruction and liaison duties.  In addition, I am responsible for troubleshooting technical problems in accessing e-resources, developing policies for acquisitions and cataloging of these resources, and collecting and evaluating usage statistics.

During my first six months at UNK (2009), I cataloged 95 e-books, obtained through NetLibrary or Gale Virtual Reference Library, and created 168 e-resource records in the library's new Electronic Resource Management (ERM) system.  During this period, I also arranged for 12 trials of electronic resources, and coordinated the licensing and/or activation of 18 databases or online collections.  In addition, I identified and enabled access to 11,723 unique e-journal titles through UNK's Serial Solutions profile, most of which were freely accessible from various publishers or open archives.  To promote awareness among library personnel about new electronic resources and usage tips, I established a blog about "ER News" on Blogger.com (see Appendix II-a-7).

To facilitate the processing of new electronic resources, I created or refined cataloging policy documents for e-books, e-journals and electronic theses (see Appendices II-a-4, II-a-5, and II-a-6 respectively).  I also defined the MARC record customizations to use with Serials Solutions MARC record service, purchased by UNK in Spring 2009 (see Appendix II-a-3).

In 2009-2010, I reviewed, modified and loaded 4,073 e-book titles to the library catalog from a variety of collections including NetLibrary, Credo Reference, and Oxford University Press.  In Summer 2009, I was primarily involved with launching the public interface for the library's ERM system (see Appendix II-a-8).  During the rest of that year, I added 44 e-resource records to ERM, and digitized 21 licenses from various vendors or publishers.  I also negotiated three-year license renewals for Emerald and Wiley-Blackwell e-journal packages, and negotiated a new license for Elsevier's ScienceDirect College Edition (Health & Life Sciences Collection).  Assessment is a key component of collection development, and this year I also began compiling usage statistics for 76 e-resources to calculate their cost-per-use. Based on this information, three e-resources were discontinued as their subscriptions expired.  

During 2009-2010, I also recommended cancelling a number of print standing order titles, which were duplicated in online format, yielding over $7,600 in savings.  In the spring of 2010, I prepared a similar "overlap analysis" comparing the library's print periodical holdings to JSTOR's online collections.   This report was used to identify and withdraw print volumes duplicated in JSTOR.  In addition to managing e-resources and related projects, I served as a liaison to academic departments of comunication, psychology, political science, social work and sociology during 2009-2010.

Previous Activities in Collection Development and Management:

At Regent University, I was primarily responsible for collection development and liaison activities to the School of Communication and the Arts. This role entailed the purchase of print and electronic resources based on reviews, vendor trials, faculty requests, and feedback from other library faculty and users. Because of increasing demand for electronic resources from on-campus users, and because half of Regent’s students were enrolled through distance education, I sought out new electronic resources whenever possible. Between 2006 and 2008, I selected two new streaming video collections: Theatre in Video and several titles in journalism and theater from FMG On Demand. I also added Newsbank’s Access World News and Alexander Street Press’ Twentieth Century North American Drama to that library's database offerings, and switched a print standing order for Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television to one that allowed electronic access through Gale’s Virtual Reference Library. I also assisted my colleagues at Regent by generating Microsoft Access reports to compare their collection areas against lists from Serials Solutions, WorldCat Collection Analysis, and Bowker’s Resources for College Libraries.

From 2002-2006, I served as the Head of Library Information Technology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). In this position, I had little direct input regarding the acquisitions of print manuscripts or serial subscriptions. I did, however, contribute to the collection management efforts of other library personnel by generating reports and statistics from our library’s online catalog system. These reports were used for retrospective purchasing, program accreditation, and shifting or weeding of the print collection. I was also significantly involved with UTC’s Library Electronic Resources Committee (LERC), which was charged with evaluating and recommending new databases and electronic reference tools for purchase, such as Classical Music Database, ArtSTOR, and Historical Abstracts. As a member of LERC, I designed a set of online evaluation forms by which students and faculty could grade and comment on trial databases our committee was evaluating for purchase. During my tenure on LERC, I also provided input toward the committee’s first Collection Development Policy for Electronic Resources.

While at UTC, I also designed an Access database for the purpose of tracking information about all electronic resources. This database was later adapted to drive the library’s “Electronic Databases” website, accessible to all library users, categorized by subject discipline, and ranked by librarians for relevance within each subject category. I later modified this website to automatically display any new databases added within the previous 90 days and to supply an RSS listing of these new databases to interested subscribers. (see Appendix II-a-2)

Prior to working at UTC, I was employed at the Hancock County Public Library (HCPL) in Greenfield, Indiana as a reference librarian and network administrator. In this role, I was responsible for the selection and purchase of non-fiction books within the Dewey classification range of 000-699, including the social sciences, religion and philosophy, medicine, and the natural sciences. I consulted sources such as Library Journal, Publishers’ Weekly, and Booklist for reviews of new books, and took care to make sure that our library had at least one copy of every non-fiction item appearing on the New York Times and Publishers’ Weekly bestseller lists. While at HCPL, I also conducted a comprehensive comparison of our catalog holdings against the Public Library Catalog and made retrospective purchases where appropriate.

The online catalog system used at HCPL did not include an acquisitions module, so I developed an Access database for recording and tracking the receipt of book purchases. This database could also be used to generate reports of books purchased specifically from certain review sources, and to produce a list of books ordered but not received for follow-up. This database was later adopted and utilized by the Children’s Department of the library. (see Appendix II-a-1)

Summary of Current and Previous Teaching Activities:

• Assisted with instruction for two visiting high school groups at University of Nebraska - Kearney  (Spring 2009)
• Administered Regent University Library’s Information Research and Resources course  (Summer 2007 – 2008)
  
• Conducted library instruction and subject liaison responsibilities to the School of Communication and the Arts at Regent University  (Fall 2006 – present)
  
• Led staff training sessions as the Head of Library Information Technology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga  (2002-2006)
  
• Designed and taught specialized instruction sessions on INSPIRE databases and resources for homeschoolers at Hancock County Public Library (2001)
  
• Re-designed and expanded classes on Internet use and searching for general public at HCPL  (2000-2001)
  

Current Teaching Responsibilities at University of Nebraska-Kearney:

During 2009-2010, I taught 18 library instruction classes, reaching 340 students in my liaison subject areas of comunication, psychology, political science, social work and sociology.  I also authored web-based research guides in four of these subject areas, as well as instructional webpages on the use of RSS feeds and circumventing SSL certificate errors (see Appendices II-b-16, II-b-17 and II-b18).

Previous Teaching Activities:

In my former position at Regent University, I coordinated an outreach effort to provide library instruction at the student center, using a free pizza lunch as an extra "hook" to attract student attendance.  The first such effort in January 2008 attracted 24 participants, and a second class in September 2008 attracted 11 participants, in spite of a tropical storm passing over Virginia Beach that same day.  In September and November 2008, I taught classes on the use of RefWorks and Zotero for managing citations (see Appendices II-b-12 and II-b-15).

In 2007, I was named the lead developer and instructor for the Library’s Information Research and Resources (IRR) course. This is a self-paced online course, delivered through Regent University’s Blackboard learning management system. The course was non-credit, graded pass/fail, and was required of all incoming Regent graduate students. Because of this requirement, the course was offered every semester (three times per year) and had an average annual enrollment of 1,000 students. The completion/passing rates for the IRR course in Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 were 91.3% and 89.4% respectively. In course evaluations during those two semesters, students reporting they were "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the IRR course range ranged from 80-87%. Students reporting they were "unsatisfied" or "very unsatisfied" ranged from 1-2% (see Appendix II-b-11). The syllabus for the IRR course is available online (and in Appendix II-b-10) along with a limited preview of the course at http://irr.notlong.com.

As the liaison to the School of Communication and the Arts at Regent, I served as the primary point of contact for library instruction for students in that discipline. I attended the new student orientations for the School of Communication and the Arts, and developed a brochure to help introduce these students to the library's vast resources (see Appendix II-b-9). I also provided course-specific library instruction sessions to students taking core courses within the Theater and Cinema/Television programs. During those sessions, I demonstrated key library databases, highlighted other websites I've bookmarked in Del.icio.us (see Appendix II-b-8), and promoted print reference tools available at the library (see Appendix II-b-7).  In 2008, my library instruction classes for Cinema/TV 505 and Theatre 700 were videotaped and streamed to a distance education section (see Appendices II-b-13 and II-b-14 respectively).

As the Head of Library Information Technology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), my instruction role was somewhat different. All of my classes were designed to “train the trainers” by teaching new technologies to library faculty and staff, but I also designed several webpage tutorials to aid both library staff and users. The following class handouts and webpage tutorials are included in the appendices of this e-portfolio:

• “Using Microsoft Remote Desktop,” a class handout to library staff (see Appendix II-b-6)
  
• “OneNet Demonstration,” a class handout to library staff (see Appendix II-b-5)

As a reference librarian at the Hancock County Public Library (HCPL), I broadened the scope of the library’s instruction programs and developed tutorials on “Using the Internet” and “Searching the Internet” for the general public. Later, I developed more specialized classes on the use of INSPIRE, a virtual library resource to Indiana residents, and a class for homeschooling students and parents. The following class handouts and instructor notes are included in the appendices of this e-portfolio:

• “Library Internet Resources and Homeschooling Websites” (see Appendix II-b-4)
  
• “Introduction to INSPIRE – Indiana’s Virtual Library” (see Appendix II-b-3)
  
• “Searching the World Wide Web” (see Appendix II-b-2)
  
• “Welcome to the World Wide Web” (see Appendix II-b-1)
  

Summary of Current and Previous Information Service Activities:

• Provide reference assistance to library users at University of Nebraska - Kearney (2009)
• Published a number of articles for library and university publications about new electronic resources (Spring 2009)
• Provided reference desk and research assistance at Regent University (2006 – 2008)
  
• Chaired the Web Team of Regent University Library; coordinated the redesign of the library website (2007 – 2008)
  
• Redesigned main website, databases interface, and online catalog at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library (2002 – 2006)
  
• Created other informational guides for library staff and users at UTC (2002 – 2006)
  
• Generated bibliographic title lists and collection reports for new user services and accreditation purposes (2002 – 2006)
  
• Performed reference desk duties at the Hancock County Public Library (1999-2001)

Current Responsibilities for Information Services at UNK:

Since March 2009, I have participated in the library's reference desk rotation at University of Nebraska - Kearney, assisting walk-in users and monitoring questions received online via QuestionPoint.   

Within the library, I am also involved with a Technology Working Group and the Web Committee, with the end goal of improving access to library resources and services through online technologies.  As a member of the Web Committee, I established UNK LibraryNet on Ning.com as a testbed and private social network for collaboration by other committee members (see Appendix II-c-11).  In the spring of 2009, I customized and tested a LibX toolbar edition for UNK, similar to one created for Regent University (see below).  In early 2010, I assisted with the configuration and implementation of RSS feeds listing new library materials, by creating 36 unique queries based on fund codes and Library of Congress classifications (see Appendices II-c-12 and II-c-13).

As a member of the library's Publications Committee, I have also contributed several articles about new electronic resources for the university's E-News and the library's In Brief Online and In Brief publications (see Appendix III-a-12).

Previous Information Service Activities:

At Regent University, I participated in the reference desk rotation to provide assistance to walk-in and online library users.  As part of the Reference Team, I was responsible for introducing an instant messaging service to library staff and users in 2006, and for configuring a LibX browser toolbar with search functions specific to Regent University Library. In addition, I participated in outreach activities to promote awareness of library resources and services, such as Regent's annual Student Services Fair and by developing a library page on Facebook.com. As the liaison to the School of Communication and the Arts, I assisted individual students and faculty members with in-depth research assistance and material requests.

While at Regent, I was selected to chair the Library’s Web Team and coordinate the redesign of the library website in consultation with library personnel, student focus groups, and representatives of the University’s Marketing and IT Departments. This redesign was completed in December 2008 (see Appendix II-c-10).  As a member of the Library's Newsletter Team, I recommended and configured a WordPress blog for promoting library news and events, available at http://librarylink.regent.edu (see Appendix II-c-9).

At the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), one of my primary responsibilities as Head of Library Information Technology was the development and maintenance of the library’s website, the gateway to the library’s catalog and electronic resources. During the summer of 2002, I was charged with redesigning the entire library website (see Appendix II-c-8). The new site made use of include pages, common visual elements, and navigational breadcrumbs to improve the usability of the website.

In the summer of 2004, I extended this redesign to improve the interface of the Electronic Databases pages. Under the new interface, databases could be categorized by academic departments and ranked by relevance within each category, as opposed to a basic alphabetical listing. (see Appendix II-c-7)

Prior to leaving UTC in 2006, I completed a redesign of the library’s online catalog to offer a more visually appealing interface to users, as well as options to search within specific collections, and a login form accessible from any screen (see Appendix II-c-6).

During my tenure at UTC, I also designed a number of handouts and webpages on a variety of technology-related topics. The following examples are included in the appendices of this dossier:

• “Using RSS Feeds,” a webpage tutorial for library users (see Appendix II-c-5)
  
• “Microscanner Use Instructions,” a print instruction guide for library users
  (see Appendix II-c-4)
  
• “Linking to Full-Text Articles in Blackboard,” a webpage tutorial for UTC faculty (see Appendix II-c-3)
  

As the Head of Library Information Technology at UTC, I performed a number of other “information service” activities to support library users and personnel:

• Extracted a list of theses and dissertations from UTC’s online catalog for inclusion in OCLC WorldCat database
  
• Extracted and de-duplicated a list of serial titles from UTC’s online catalog for inclusion in Serials Solutions’ database, creating a comprehensive listing of print and electronic journal titles
  
• Generated statistical data from the online catalog for accreditation reviews and annual reports to the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)

In addition to these activities, I participated in other library outreach events at UTC such as a career fair (see Appendix II-c-2) and a showcase of new library online services (see Appendix II-c-1).

As a reference librarian at the Hancock County Public Library, I routinely worked 12-14 hours per week at the reference desk providing assistance to library users in-person, by telephone, and by e-mail. I also volunteered for outreach activities, assisting the children's and young adults' librarians, and assisted in drafting technical specifications for an RFP for a new bookmobile.