Academic Library Technology Administrator InterviewLeanne Jernigan

LIS 630 Spring 2012

About Gramley Library:

•Serves over 1,000 students and faculty at Salem College (a small liberal arts women’s college located in Winston Salem)

•Small staff of 8 professional librarians

The Library Offers:• 25 Computer Workstations (both PCs and Macs)• 2 Collaboratories• 1 Laser Printer• 1 Document Scanner• 10 in-house and 5 circulating laptops• Wireless access • Audio-visual equipment for checkout

IT department on campus is responsible for maintaining hardware and troubleshooting hardware/software/network issues for the library.

About the Librarian:

•Graduated from the UNCG MLIS program in 2007

•Technically the “Public Services Librarian,” but was referred to me as the librarian with the most responsibility for troubleshooting library technology

Major Roles and Responsibilities•40-50% of time spent using and

troubleshooting library technology•Manages, updates and maintains the

library website•Manages databases and instructs users

on the use of library technology•Creates Libguides for the library website•Processes interlibrary loan requests•Provides chat reference to users

Software used:•ILS: SirsiDynix

•Worldcat for interlibrary loans•Ex Libris Primo (new catalog search

interface)•LibraryHelp for chat reference•“Plone” for website maintenance•Zotero (instruction for users)•ContentDM (and Flickr) for digitization

projects

New at the library:

•16 upgraded laptops for use in library instruction sessions

•Implemented Ex Libris Primo to make search interface more user friendly

•Archives are being digitized using ContentDM

•The library website is getting a new look

Managing the Library Website

•This takes up most of her time•Until recently, the college had strict control

over updates to the library website—it was treated as a department website

•She now has been granted more freedom and is in the process of designing a more usable interface

•She uses the college’s software—Plone (an open source content management system) to make updates

Problems with the current site:

• Too much scrolling!

• Image and college logo take up too much space

• Search should be the first thing you see

• Navigation menu should be expanded

Digital Projects• The website will soon

feature the library’s first digital collection

• Historic images of the “May Pole Dance” at the college’s May Day Celebration will soon be digitized in ContentDm

• The collection will also be featured on Flickr for increased visibility

What about Social Media?

•The library does not use social media because the library doesn’t host many events. The college is so small that there isn’t much interest.

•“If we do have an event, we go through the college’s Facebook and Twitter—they generate publicity for us.”

Assessing User Needs

•Faculty determine the direction of collection development and acquisition of new e-resources and databases

•Feedback is collected during her library instruction sessions

Staying Up-To-Date

•Blogs! She follows a blogger at a neighboring college as well as Brian Matthews (The Ubiquitous Librarian)

•Listservs•Conferences and workshops•NC Lite (NC Library Instruction

Technology) recently held a meeting at Wake Forest at which area librarians shared their experiences implementing new technologies

Conclusions:

•Academic librarians need to be well-versed in a wide range of specialized software

•Administering technology at a small academic library is a collaborative effort

•Adaptability, openness to change, and enthusiasm for the field are all essential to success in this position