Accomplishments University Library University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

LIBRARY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

July-December 2001

Services

• Afro-Americana and Undergraduate implemented the 2^nd Treasure Hunt for pre-freshmen students through the Office of Minority Affairs
• Law provided initial Westlaw and Lexis training for 210 first year students
• Systems installed new public machine hardware and software
• ACES and Undergraduate have new high-speed networks with many "walkup jacks" for patrons with laptop computers
• Systems improved and expanded the electronic reserves system
• Systems set up a new instructional computer lab in ACES with 36 new computers
• New Arts and Humanities Division Web Site www.library.uiuc.edu/ahd
• New Medieval Studies Web Site will be publicized in February
• Reference extended a major outreach effort to students in LAS Learning Communities; more than 700 freshmen received basic orientation to the Main and Undergraduate Libraries
• More than 300 users per month request assistance through the real-time reference service offered by Reference and Undergraduate
• Acquisitions carried out a user survey to improve services
• Cataloging conducted focus groups with each division to improve services
• First-in, first-out processing begun in Cataloging
• Task Force on Access appointed and completed work; draft report prepared
• International Strategy Task Force appointed and completed work; draft report prepared
• Services Advisory Committee appointed
• Tuition Surcharge proposal nets funds for extended hours at Grainger
• Service values document produced and approved
• Five librarians visited acquisitions and serials staff at Wisconsin-Madison to assess their workflow for using Endeavor’s Voyager for acquisitions and serials
• Collections and Acquisitions worked with the Provost’s Office on the bookplate ceremony honoring newly tenured and promoted faculty
• Rapid Cataloging reduced cataloging backlogs by more than 4,000 titles
• Serials Cataloging completed the notes fix begun in Fall 2000
• Original Cataloging eliminated Communications and Commerce Backlogs and began work on ACES backlog
• Backlog of gift materials in ML&L Library reduced
• Commerce moved its reference books to match the starting point of the collection near the reference desk; reshifted its periodical collection; reorganized its reserve collection
• Commerce developed 8 web pages for requested instruction under the new link "Class Resources"
• CPLA presented an exhibit "Community-Planning-Development" in conjunction with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning
• LIS added or upgraded records in the online catalog for 1632 dissertations in the field of library and information science
• Education and Social Science redesigned its homepage
• ESS implemented electronic reserves
• Gov Docs created a Terrorism page
• Gov Docs shelf read, cleaned and straightened the UN depository collection
• Grainger received and processed a gift collection of 7000 volumes on railroad engineering from the Association of American Railroads and the Federal Railroad Administration
• More than 230 faculty now subscribe to Grainger’s Table of Contents service, which now provides links to full-text journals, when available
• Grainger Search Aid software was introduced; it provides simultaneous searching of 4 periodical index databases, the online catalog, and Google and provides links from the periodicals index databases to full-text at the article level
• Received a $183,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to use the Open Archives Initiative protocol for Metadata Harvesting to create a prototype search and discovery service for metadata describing cultural heritage holdings of libraries and museums; the project is based at Grainger.
• Geology created several web tools for collection development
• Updated and revised "Guide to the Geology Library" and made it web accessible
• Completed first stage of volunteers’ news clipping project.
• Processed and developed finding aid for approximant 1000 LPs (11 feet) in Sousa Archives.
• Began development in progress of searchable full-text database of Sousa articles in Etude magazine.
• Reorganized facility to create a student work area with two computers and an office with 1 computer for the archivist.
• Revised service policy to enhance productivity in archival processing.
• Renewed archival service agreement, including additional funding with the American Library Association, adding one graduate assistant.
• Developed EAD Cookbook software for open source distribution in archival community.
• Revised Resources in Russian and East European Webpage and converted finding aids to EAD format.

Exhibits

• Major exhibit featured condolences from our international colleagues following the 9/11 terrorist attacks
• Developed Sousa exhibit for the Main Library’s Mueller case.

Collections

• Law completed major weeding and shifting of US and Illinois government documents collections
• Biology completed its second large weeding project in 2001
• Biology participated in a 3-month pilot journal use study (with Ricker and ESS)
• Central Circulation and Bookstacks appointed a shelving and sorting task force, charged with reviewing all procedures for returning materials to the shelf, with the aim of improving efficiency and better management of end of semester backlogs. Recommendations are being implemented as resources permit.
• Acquisitions began work on an RFP for a primary serials subscription agent
• Direct access to ScienceDirect and Wiley full text journals
• Successful book and print sale netted more than $18,000
• New Jewish Studies Library Resources web site www.libraryluiuc.edu/mdx/jewstud/jshomepage.html
• Retention policy written and approved
• Ricker identified and obtained significant items desired by the faculty for teaching and research.
• Completed oral history interviewing project (student life as seen by alums from the 1930s and 1940s).
• Completed reprocessing of Phi Lambda Delta national archives and processing of records of Association of College Honor Societies (National).
• Drafted finding aid for Belgian collection and began processing of William Brooks Papers.
• Have made efforts to improve climate control for the collection in Sousa Archives.
• Completed processing of papers of biological statistician Arthur S. Ghent, President’s Office Administrative and Personnel Actions File and Roger Ebert Videotapes.
• Awarded funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for processing of the papers of alumnus John Houbolt (aerospace engineer).

Preservation

• Hired Preservation Librarian
• Hired Conservation Librarian
• Bookstacks completed a sample survey of the conditions of the Bookstacks microfilm collection
• Binding RFP put out for bid
• Acquisition of Minter encapsulation machine
• Book Keeper on-site Deacidification system activated
• Completed UI fraternity journal preservation project.

Planning

• Law held an all-day planning retreat
• Administrative Council held an all-day retreat

Facilities

• Began facilities improvements on 3^rd and 4^th floors of Main Library to increase security
• ACES Library moved and opened in time for fall semester
• Reconfiguration: construction began and rooms 24, 44, and 50 were completed; room 12 occupants moved out for Phase II of construction
• 39 units visited for space planning
• Oak Street planning continued, with construction anticipated to begin Summer 2002
• Remodeling project in Law technical services completed
• Space in Biology remodeled for Biotechnology Librarian
• Began planning for remodeling the Chemistry Library
• Updated program statement for Fine and Applied Arts Library
• O&M/Library group held three meetings

Equipment/Infrastructure

• Systems installed about 300 new computers (public and staff)
• Systems implemented the best anti-virus software system available to us
• III system now feeds into Accounts Payable
• Acquisitions began ordering, claiming, receiving, and paying invoices on the new system
• ILCSO Voyager planning
• Core group attended Voyager functional training

Employee Support

• The Library began using the new Corporate Time calendaring for the Library
• Reference spearheaded a major orientation for new graduate assistants prior to the start of fall semester; nearly 65 GAs from throughout the library were trained in using the library and providing quality service
• Individualized unit head orientation becomes permanent
• Library/GSLIS Teaching Alliance funded by Provost; two seminars held in Fall
• Job audits initiated for possible reclasses
• Security session with Officer Tony Ortiz
• Completed security audit of Main Library building with Officer Tony Ortiz
• Security operations transferred to office of Planning and Budgeting
• Recruited, hired and trained an additional quarter-time GA for Sousa Archives
• Obtained funding commitment from the University President’s Office to establish one additional full-time professional position in the Archives and secured approvals to launch search for an Archivist for Electronic Records.

Development/Public Affairs/Outreach

• ACES Library dedication
• Dedication of the Lyle R. and Lois L. Bamber Reading Room
• Completion of FY 2001 annual report
• Completed 80% of interviews with unit librarians and college development officers
• Completed a general guide to the University Library
• Completed Library Campaign Feasibility study
• Officially acquired collection of negatives of aerial photographs of Streator, IL, photographer Bob Knoedler, 1969-1996, valued at $400,000
• Received estate gifts from Florence Harding and Alta Mae Sanderson
• Received notification of $1 million challenge grant from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
• Library Friends Endowment fund surpassed the $500,000 benchmark
• Commitment of $1.5 million from Robert and Juanita Simpson
• Mortenson Center received a gift from Robert and Chung-Kyun Wedgeworth to establish the Wedgeworth International Fellowship in Library Leadership
• Professor Hard Shultz established an endowment for the Ricker Library in memory of the late Professor Allen Weller
• Gift from Lois White in memory of Lucien White to fill in retrospective gaps in our collections of Francophone North African literature and criticism
• CLIR will provide funds to support an intern at the Mortenson Center in June/July 2002
• Mortenson Center presented two newly-developed programs: Illinois Library Host Program for International Librarians (with partner Illinois State Library) and the International Leadership institute (presented with partner CLIR)
• Mortenson Center established a partnership with the Queens Borough Public Library (NY)
• Interviewed for a segment highlighting student life and culture archives on the Ron Turner Show.

Budget

• Submitted revised 5-year budget request
• Secured funding for the Oak Street facility
• Began preparation of FY03 Annual Report for Campus budget process

Other

• AUL for Library Information Technology Policy and Planning appointed
• Academic Library Special Interest Group seminars begun in conjunction with GSLIS
• Began forging collaboration with librarians from University of Toronto
• Secured funding from Chemistry Department to process Chemistry Department files; hired graduate assistant to begin processing.
• Secured funding from Electrical and Computer Engineering to process Engineering Department files; hired graduate assistant to begin processing.
• Revised records scheduling procedure to include Chicago and Springfield Campuses.
• Undertook planning process for electronic records issues, resulting in appointment of an Electronic Records Working group by University President.