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Big Sandy Community and Technical College (BSCTC) Library provides adequate collections, information resources
and services that support all facets of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System's (KCTCS) and
BSCTC's stated missions
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4].
The BSCTC Library has physical locations on the Prestonsburg, Pikeville and Mayo (Paintsville) Campuses. Students
taking classes on the Hager Hill Campus are served by the library at the Mayo Campus which is located 5.3 miles away.
The BSCTC Library through its webpage provides links to resources and services that are accessible to Hager Hill students,
to distance learning students as well as those taking classes on another BSCTC campus.
The currency of BSCTC collections is maintained by adherence to collection
development and weeding policies [5].
The three professional librarians who are responsible for all collection development and weeding have faculty status.
The Director of Library Services, the Reference Librarian and the Assistant Librarian each hold a Master's Degree
from an American Library Association (ALA) accredited institution. The librarians collaborate with faculty to provide
resources that support and enlarge the learning opportunities presented in the classroom
[6].
Faculty members are encouraged to submit requests for collection materials that support their specific curricula and are
consulted when appropriate during the weeding process
[7].
A portion of the library's budget is set aside for audiovisual requests from teaching faculty
[8].
The Director of Library Services is a member of the Provost's Team. As a result of her participation, librarians are
kept apprised of programs currently offered and changes in curricula that drive collection development decisions. For three
years, the Director of Library Services has compiled and edited the
BSCTC Catalog [9].
Her involvement has created a greater awareness and knowledge of programs and classes that impact collection development and
management.
BSCTC's library holdings are accessible through the
KCTCS online catalog [10].
The online catalog can be accessed on all campuses and remotely via the library's webpage. The libraries'
collections consist of over 55,000 volumes of print and audiovisual materials organized according to the Library of
Congress Classification System
[11].
Periodical collections include 200 subscriptions on the Prestonsburg Campus, 38 on the Pikeville Campus and 20 on the
Mayo Campus [12].
Back issues are maintained at each location. Each of the three libraries holds current subscriptions to national,
state and local newspapers [13].
The Prestonsburg Campus Library serves as a
repository for microfilm [14].
This includes all available local newspapers for the College's five county service area, state newspapers and the
New York Times. Materials can be shared among the campus locations via intra-library loan. These are delivered
to the libraries daily by the college courier. A resource sharing agreement among all the KCTCS colleges gives holders
of a valid library card interlibrary loan privileges and this includes
distance learning students [15].
The library has a leased collection of best-selling fiction which is housed on the
Prestonsburg campus [16].
Another fiction collection, the Sayre Collection consists of over 1600 volumes of recent publications that rotate among the
three campus locations [17].
All of the materials in this collection have been donated by employees and friends of the College. The primary purpose of
the leased and Sayre collections is to support the needs of students enrolled in developmental reading classes. These
collections also support the community
focus of the College's mission [4].
The library maintains Special Collections of materials on Appalachian history and
genealogical information [18].
This includes all available microfilmed census records for the College's
five county service area [14].
These collections are used by students and are valuable tools for drawing the non-student populations into the College
community. The library also maintains a collection of quality and major award-winning children's literature to
support education classes [19].
The library subscribes to 12 full-text online resources either individually or as part of the community and technical
college system [20].
These databases contain scholarly journals, state and national newspapers, magazines, career information, health
information, biographies, books and indexes. All of these can be accessed through any campus computer and off-campus
via the Internet. Passwords for off-campus use are provided
on request [21]
[22].
These resources include NetLibrary and the Kentucky Virtual Library (KYVL). NetLibrary provides students with the full-text
of over 34,500 electronic books. Of these, 369 are reference titles. The KYVL provides access to over 35 additional
databases and the holdings of participating college,
university and public libraries [23].
BSCTC is a member of the KYVL. This membership provides students with interlibrary loan privileges beyond KCTCS.
Interlibrary loan materials travel between KYVL member institutions via a courier service. Beginning with the
2006 fall semester, the library staff manages interlibrary loans through Online Computer Library Center (OCLC)
resource sharing [24].
By participating in this service, library patrons now have access to library resources throughout the United States.
The library ensures the relevance of these materials through participation by the professional librarians in user
groups. The Director of Library Services is a member of the KCTCS Library Work Group which creates and manages
the KCTCS resource sharing policy; provides input as a group to the Kentucky Virtual Library; and previews,
negotiates and provides feedback for KCTCS consortia purchases. Another librarian serves on the KYVL Resource
Sharing Work Group.
The mission of BSCTC is to provide "access to educational, cultural and social opportunities for residents of
the Big Sandy Region which includes Floyd, Johnson, Magoffin, Martin and Pike Counties... Utilizing diverse methods of
instructional delivery, the College provides learning experiences for those preparing for immediate entry into the workforce
upon graduation, for those transferring to a baccalaureate institution, and for community members seeking to enhance their
knowledge and skills [4]."
The mission of the College does not include research. However, the staff assists faculty and others in accessing information
through the KYVL and OCLC resource sharing. Other colleges and universities offer classes on the BSCTC Prestonsburg Campus.
Their students are served by BSCTC libraries through resource sharing agreements with the delivering institution. These
agreements provide local reference and instruction, borrowing privileges, computer access, interlibrary loan assistance,
and circulation services to these students
[25]
[26]
[27].
In addition to the collections, the library staff is a learning resource that facilitates the access of information through
assistance and instruction. The Prestonsburg Campus Library was founded in 1964. The library moved into its current facility
in 1989 and a third professional librarian's position was created in 1990. Currently there are three paraprofessional staff
members and one vacancy. As the student population grew, a satellite campus was established in Pikeville. The Pikeville Campus
Library moved into the N. Clayton Little Building in July 2001. A library staff member was assigned to work at the location.
Shortly thereafter, a part-time staff member was hired to provide extended library hours. It became necessary to convert this
position to full-time in the spring of 2004 due to the increasing number of library visits. One of the three professional
librarians employed by the College visits the Pikeville campus at least one-half day a week. The Mayo Campus Library became
a part of the BSCTC Library upon the merger of Mayo Technical College and Big Sandy Community and Technical College. At the
time of the merger, the library was staffed by one full-time paraprofessional. In the fall of 2005, an additional part-time
staff member was hired to facilitate extended hours. One of the three professional librarians employed by the College visits
the Mayo campus at least once a month.
Librarians and paraprofessionals are available to assist patrons using the computer labs. Bibliographic instruction and
information literacy instruction is provided by the professional librarians to classes and individuals upon request. All
English 101 students must complete a bibliographic instruction unit and test that incorporates hands on learning. Other
instructional help sheets are available to augment
the library guide [28]
[29]
[30].
Orientation materials on library resources and services are available and library tours are conducted for individuals
and groups [31].
The librarians participate in GE100 classes by offering instructional sessions on specialized topics. Library guides for
students, faculty and staff can be found on the library's webpage for
self-directed learning [28]
[32].
Passwords and help sheets for accessing databases, student email, electronic books, the online catalog, and for
creating citations are also available [20]
[33]
[34]
[35]
[36].
In addition to providing services to students, paraprofessionals at the Prestonsburg Campus purchase and process collection
materials and supplies for the three campus libraries. Paraprofessionals at all campuses index their respective local
newspapers and share these indexes among the
campuses [37].
The circulation desk at each campus library is strategically located for user and staff interaction. Students and other
library users are encouraged to "Ask A Librarian." A sign that bears this phrase hangs above the reference
desk at the Prestonsburg Library, and mirrors a similar link that appears on the
library's web pages [38].
Computers are located near the front of the libraries for quick access to the
library's online catalog. Course reserves and audiovisual tutorials that augment the mathematics curriculum are
available for check-out. Coin operated copiers are provided for student use at each location. Audiovisual playback
equipment is also available for in-library use. In Prestonsburg, an information kiosk is situated for posting information
of interest to the college community.
Each library has an open computer lab. The Prestonsburg Campus Library has 25 workstations, the Pikeville Campus
Library has 17 workstations, and the Mayo Campus Library has 21 workstations. These computers are Internet accessible and have
software applications that are required for student assignments. They may be used for homework, online classes, research and
student access to college accounts. The labs are also available to provide library instruction for individuals and groups.
These computers are networked to laser printers located near the circulation desk.
The library sponsors programming throughout the fall and spring semesters that complements the mission and goals of BSCTC and
KCTCS. The Bibliophiles reading and book discussion group meets 3 to 4 times during
each semester [39]
[40].
The members consist of faculty, staff and students. The purpose of the Bibliophiles is to stimulate an appreciation for
reading and lifelong learning and to motivate challenged readers. The library also hosts the Great American Read Aloud
in the spring as a celebration of reading and
information literacy [41].
The library also sponsors The Library Seminar Series during the spring semester. The Seminar Series is now in its tenth year.
January is Appalachian History Month, February is Black History Month and March is
Women's History Month [42]
[43]
[44].
Special programming is held during each of these months to promote an atmosphere
that embraces diversity and cultural awareness.
The librarians create an annual plan and implement policies that
facilitate the plan [45].
They create and administer evaluation instruments to students and faculty that are designed to measure the achievement
of student learning outcomes as well as user satisfaction with
resources and services [46]
[6]
[47]
[48].
The results of evaluation measures along with statistical data are used to revise the next year's annual plan.
Survey data from academic year 2005 - 2006 indicate that students' ability to find information increases by 15%
with assistance from a library staff member. Steps taken to address this need for additional assistance for students
included the following:
- hiring of additional personnel to increase availability of direct assistance for students and patrons
- adding more signage in the libraries
- providing an online direct link to a librarian from the College's webpage
- increasing the availability of professional librarians at the reference desk
- increasing the number of bibliographic instruction sessions for classes at all campuses and online.
Faculty response to survey data indicated a need for more faculty instruction regarding the library's available resources
and procedures for requesting materials that support the curricula. Workshops were offered for faculty at the beginning of the
fall 2006 semester, and a newly revised Faculty/Staff Library Guide was provided to all
faculty members via email [32]
[49].
The library is an important resource for students and others in the community who wish to read, study, improve computer skills
or ask a question. Librarians and paraprofessionals are available during hours of operation to provide assistance with
reference questions and Internet and online course access. They can be reached by visiting the library, calling the library
using a local or toll-free number, or online. Each library is open all year round with varying hours between terms, during
holidays and in the summer months. The Prestonsburg Campus Library is open 66 hours per week, the Pikeville Campus Library is
open 52.5 hours per week and the Mayo Campus Library is open 45.5 hours per week during the fall and
spring semesters [50].
The library website is a resource for users at all locations that is
available at all times [38].
It serves as a gateway to all of the library's collections and resources. Users also have access to instructional materials
and assistance from a librarian.
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