The Athens State University Library, in support of the University’s mission of preparing students for professional careers, graduate school, lifelong learning, and enrichment, provides adequate facilities and learning/information resources for the University’s constituents. Through the Library’s mission and goals, the Library strives to support the University’s objective of providing and maintaining appropriate learning resources which are supportive of student learning, quality teaching, scholarly research, diversity, and technological proficiency.

Athens State University opened a new library facility in 1996. The ADA accessible structure, consisting of 32,000 square feet, is ideally located near the center of campus and has a capacity of 150,000 physical volumes. In addition to the approximately 119,000 print volumes in the holdings, access is provided to 62,000 full-text e-books and to 18,800 periodical titles through approximately 38 subscription databases and 220 print periodical subscriptions. Full-text electronic journals and e-books by discipline are also available. There are 279 study seats for students; an archives room for special collections oriented largely to the history of the institution; separate areas for circulation and reference; 16 computers with Internet access, Microsoft Office, and other programs for academic support for student needs; 2 computers with Internet access for use by the general public; a classroom for computer and library instruction; ample space for staff; and an adjacent, well-lighted parking lot with 80 spaces.

Development and maintenance of adequate holdings are critical objectives of the library staff, and many procedures are utilized in pursuit of this objective at Athens State. Volumes are purchased based on faculty requests, evaluation of syllabi, and utilization of Choice reviews circulated among full-time faculty. The Library staff is very proactive regarding this collection development function. A librarian is assigned to the University’s Curriculum Committee and is able to identify new courses and programs in their formative stages and, thereby, plan for related holdings in the Library. A librarian serves as liaison to each of the University’s three colleges and maintains contact with faculty to insure faculty input in collection building and to help meet the teaching and research needs of the faculty. The faculty also has representation on the institution’s Faculty Senate Learning Resources Committee. The Library recently acquired an outstanding collection of children’s and young adults’ literature in numerous sub-fields to support the large K-12 education program at the University.

Evaluation and weeding of the Library’s collections is an ongoing endeavor. A subscription to the Resources for College Libraries (RCL) service provides for comparison of local holdings against those recommended by RCL. The University’s teaching faculty assists in the evaluation and weeding of the collections through participation in the Choice reviews, maintenance of faculty reserves, and other requests for book selection. The selection and purchase of faculty related learning resources extends to the University Centers, where books purchased by the Library for curricular support are housed.

The Library implements a formal cyclic assessment plan to assess the quality of facilities and resources. The three year assessment rotation includes a library-developed survey of patrons (students and faculty) in the first year, follow up discussions with focus groups in year 2, and participation in the national LIBQUAL+ survey in the third year. The focus group interviews are intended to gather more in-depth information to follow up on the in-house library survey results. A special emphasis is placed on achieving representation from campus, university centers, and distance learning populations. The most recent LIBQUAL+ assessment indicated that the Library “performed well” when compared with university libraries at comparable institutions, placing the Library among the top 10% in all categories.

The Faculty Senate Learning Resources Committee, composed of faculty members from each of the University’s Colleges and members of the Library’s professional staff, provides input for the Library’s assessment plan and other library issues. Assessment results are shared with the committee to determine solutions to student and faculty needs as well as to determine needed survey revisions and follow up focus group questions. The Learning Resources Committee serves as an instrumental connection between faculty and the Library.


Other Learning Resources

In addition to the library facilities and its resources, three specialized laboratories are operated to support the teaching, research and service mission of the University. These laboratories are 1) the Writing Center, 2) the Accounting Lab, and 3) the Mathematics Lab. Faculty sponsors in English, accounting, and mathematics provide direction for each of the laboratories, which are accessible during scheduled times convenient to the majority of the University’s students. Students may seek assistance through scheduled appointments outside the regular lab operating hours, and assistance is available through email. These laboratories supplement instruction in selected skills in undergraduate course work. Students also have access to computers in three non-staffed computer labs, and seven computers in the Student Center. In addition, the University Centers maintain unstaffed computer labs with software specifi ic to the needs of their students.