In striving to support the University’s mission and objectives, Athens State University provides a sufficient number of qualified staff in its library. As of fall term 2008, Athens State University’s Library operates with a staff consisting of five, full-time professional librarians, 4.5 support staff, and 4 full time equivalent (FTE) student work study staff assistants. In addition to this total staff of 13.5, a request to the Department of Postsecondary Education has been made for approval to hire another professional librarian. The current level of staff support equates to approximately one professional librarian per 600 enrollees at the University.

All professional staff must meet minimum education credentials consisting of a Master’s degree in Library Science from a graduate program accredited by the American Library Association. Two of the current five library staff members also possess the Ph.D. in Library Science and two hold additional Master’s degrees in English. In addition to these formal education credentials, the current five professional librarians collectively possess 132 years of experience in library services and reflect a wide range of experiences in various aspects of academic library services.

The Library staff is utilized in a manner that encourages interaction with University constituencies beyond the typical user services inside the main Library facility. One professional librarian is assigned to each of the three colleges (Arts and Sciences, Education, and Business) and regularly attends faculty meetings for the purposes of responding to faculty concerns and informing faculty of developments in library services. Library staff provides additional support to on-line students through implementation of the concept of the “embedded librarian.” In more than 60 courses offered at Athens State, the course instructor facilitates student contact with a librarian through the course’s website and Blackboard software.

Evaluation of the Library staff is conducted by the Library Director using the University staff evaluation form. The annual assessments include each staff member detailing his/her yearly professional and organizational goals as well as describing his/her accomplishments. Individual conferences are conducted to discuss the evaluations. The Library Director is evaluated annually by the Vice President for Academic Affairs.

The staff at the University Library maintains membership in national associations pertaining to academic library services and has been very active in state-level library networks. Members of the professional staff are regular participants in meetings of library associations and have held offices in the Alabama Library Association, the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries, the Alabama Two-Year College Library Association, and the Alabama Association of College and Research Libraries. The Library is a member of the Network of Alabama Academic Libraries and Lyrasis, formerly the Southeastern Library Network, a division of OCLC. Members of the Library staff have made recent presentations to the Alabama Library Association and to the Alabama College Association. In 2002, one of the University’s professional librarians was the recipient of the K. G. Saur Award given for research excellence in the field of library sciences by the Association of College and Research Libraries, the academic arm of the American Library Association.

Other Learning Resources

The University operates three specialized laboratories to supplement instruction related to specialized skills in undergraduate course work. These laboratories are: 1) the Writing Center, 2) the Accounting Lab, and 3) the Math Lab. These laboratories are staffed by students majoring in English, accounting and mathematics, respectively. The students are selected by the faculty sponsors of each lab and are identified as excellent in their respective majors. Student instruction is enhanced in laboratories through the use of specialized software, DVD supplemental instruction, textbooks, and reference materials as well as one-on-one tutoring assistance.

The student staff is closely directed by the faculty sponsors. Faculty sponsors are available to assist the student staff in the laboratories and frequently visit the labs to oversee lab operations. Faculty advisors are also responsible for student staff orientations, notices of lab availability sent to the University’s students and faculty, and for generating assessment reports. Current faculty sponsors for the Writing Center and Math Lab have earned doctorates in their concentration areas, while the Accounting Lab sponsor has a Masters in accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).