The History & Future of NCCCLRA

1985 - History of Libraries and Librarianship Class at Columbia University Assignment

“ LRA: A History of the North Carolina Community College Learning Resources Association”

Read the existing official records of LRA

Microfilm, 1967-81 Print records, 1981-85

These sent to me by a member of LRA - wish I could remember who

and thank them today!

An organizational unit within some community college typically organized into

library, audiovisual, instructional components including testing centers,

learning labs, self-instructional courses, or some mix of these. It has an administrative

head such as a dean or director and is staffed with librarians, audiovisual

specialists, instructional designers, testing staff, technicians, clerks, administrative assistants or other staff as defined by a

college’s structure for Learning Resources.

Establish Context - Definition

December 15, 1967December 15, 1967

The Association of Community The Association of Community College Librarians BeginsCollege Librarians Begins

38 librarians from 33 of the 49 institutions

5 reps from the Department of Community Colleges meet

Officers elected for one year and directed to develop bylaws and

constitution

Mertys Bell - Rockingham CC - president

Margaret Fulk of Western Piedmont CC - secretary/treasurer

3 directors, one for each of the geographic divisions of the state

Eastern Division - Mable Howell, Lenoir CC

Central Division - Edna Lorenz of WW Holding TI (now Wake

TCC) -Western Division - Fay Byrd, Wilkes

CC

Issues at 1st Meeting

Task force to study the “feasibility of returning to a 5-part ‘book’ order form”

Need for microfilm shelf list at “Library Services”

LC or Dewey classification systems

Quality of catalog cards

Remarkable

Already an Office of Library Services providing centralized ordering and processing of all library books for the colleges and institutes and the Department of Community Colleges had only been formed in 1963 - just four years before!

July 19, 1968 Second Full Meeting of NCCLA

Approved the conversion to LC from Dewey

Discussed extending membership to AV personnel

Approved first set of Bylaws with this purpose:

To provide for the closer cooperation among librarians for the benefit of the Department of Community colleges, to further the cause of librarianship and to provide opportunity for

social contacts among librarians.

Nov. 1968 - Third Meeting of NCCLA

Operations and services changes in Office of Library Services

Quality of services provided by the Office of Library Services

Need for a professional librarian to administer the Office of Library Services

Staffing shortages in libraries

May 22, 1969 Renamed the Educational Media Association of the Department of

Community Colleges

Purpose changed in Bylaws:The objective of the Educational Media Association is to promote closer cooperation among all persons concerned with production,

distribution, and administration of educational media.Members approved a bylaws change to rename the organization. Those bylaws state that the objective of the Educational Media

Association was to promote closer cooperation among all persons concerned with production, distribution, and administration of

educational media.

October, 1969 Librarian Appointed

Vera Melton, a librarian, named as the new head of Library Services

Library Services section will help community college member libraries and does not intend to dictate, but

to advise.

May 8, 1970 - Renamed the Educational Media Association of

the North Carolina Community College System

Swapped “the Department of Community Colleges” for the “NC

Community College System”

Officers terms extended from one to two years

1969 - 1972

Organization concerned with refinement of services by various library/media programs in

the system.

Film loans, INWATS reference service and interlibrary loan began

Annual conferences were institutionalized

Newsletter began

1972, discussion about changing the name again and who should belong to this organization. Committees appointed to address these two

issues.

April, 1973, EMA Becomes North Carolina Community College Learning Resources

Association, NCCCLRA

NCCCLRA 1973 - 1985NCCCLRA 1973 - 1985

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Conferences

First NCCCLRA Conference - 1974

A learning and information forum for new developments and ideas for professional growth of members

Guest speakers - issues of national, state and college-level import

Banquets, vendors, exhibits. And always fun and food

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Conferences

1970 - president broke a tie vote about whether or not to hold a spring conference speaking of the “need for keeping the members together and stimulating the

interest that has been created.”

1979 - Illinois LRA asked NCCCLRA to host its 14th Annual Community College Learning Resources

Conference - 315 registrants from 25 state and 58 vendors

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Districts and District Meetings

Jim Foster, president from 1976-77, recognizing the value of their communications function, made sure that each district reported on its activities for the past year

Made professional development accessible and convenient to members

Staff Development

Scholarships

Mertys W. Bell Scholarship - was first NCCCLRA Scholarship

1979 - first committee appointed1980 - placed $2000 in an interest bearing account

1980 - first $150 scholarship awarded to Janet Atwood

1984 - renamed upon Mertys’ retirement from GTCC

Scottie W. Cox Memorial Scholarship

Established in 1981 at death of Scottie, president from 1975-76

For a community college LRA employee pursuing graduate or professional level

work

Staff DevelopmentCommunications

NCCCLA Newsletter first published in 1969 - their only publication

EMA published 3 newsletters

LRA - first newsletter in April, 1973 named the “Mediator”

Union List of Serials - published in 1975, an association project

Website

Computerization of Library Operations

August, 1979 - LRA Automation Committee of Media Processing Services and the libraries

Standardization of cataloging practices to conform with principles MARC II and AACR2

System wide retrospective conversion project

Automation of cataloging and processing by Media Processing

COMPUTERIZATION

1983 - Media Processing joins SOLINET

1983 - COMCAT Project begins - retrospective conversion of catalogs of

10 colleges. LRA gave $500 to this project

Erosion of the LRC Concept

In 1981, System President Larry Blake did a major reorganization the System Office.

Office of Educational Resources abolished

Saw some local college reorganizations.

Ernie Tompkins, president in 1981 said, “One of the serious issues facing us this year is how to deal with the continual removal of learning labs from the LRC

organization

The Future and other The Future and other Things I want to say Things I want to say

about LRA about LRA

LRA has been a useful organization for the staff of community colleges

libraries and learning resources programs as shown by the history of

its first 25 years.

RETHINKING LRA

What do we want LRA to be in the next

five years?

What is its purpose?

Who are our members?

Should we change the name?

Consider the purpose of the organization. Is it relevant,

clear?

"The mission of the North Carolina Community College Learning

Resources Association is to advance the goals of the membership."

•Is there a more suitable name of the organization based on a new purpose?

We have a strong heritage of changing the name of this association

Do we already have a new name? The website is instructive about a new name

What about the logo?

Continue conferences and increase staff development

Look to NC LIVE, the State Library, and organizations outside the state for

assistance in these matters

Increase the awards and scholarship program

Work with students

Deliver services they want

Get them involved in advisory groups

Make students, friends of the library

Make your students your advocates

Work with your president

Whatever it takes and however you can, do it.

For as difficult as it may seem, keeping president informed and aware and even valuing libraries continues to be our challenge

Perhaps a useful staff development program would be about how to work with and influence your local college president.

Preserve our history,

Collect all the records and put them in a safe place

And, for goodness sakes, get someone to write the history of LRA for the past 25 years!