SECTION VI: TRENDS, 2003-2004
Planning:
The College and the University develop new strategic/master plans; Library/AIT planning occurs within the context of these documents.
Outcomes assessment emerges as a key theme; in response, Library and Academic IT staff employ a variety of mechanisms to measure success.
Students express outstanding satisfaction with the new Library, while requesting more books and more computers.
Construction (the new Library's punch list; an expanded Library Cafe) continues to influence Library and Academic IT planning and services.
The Library networks nationally and internationally, hosting visitors from a range of cities and countries.
Space:
The new Library emerges as a campus cultural center.
The new building's art collection grows, thanks in some measure to gifts.
The new building drives organizational issues–indeed, everything we do.
Collections:
Funding for collections continues to erode, a consequence of budget cuts and inflation; the future for Library collection building is grim.
Enrichment funds (the "match," Student Technology Fees, the Tanger gift) are redirected to cover basic needs.
A volatile e-publishing environment means librarians must be vigilant and skillful in selecting, acquiring, and managing e-resources.
Spending for electronic information increases while business models for e-resources decrease flexibility in shaping collections.
Faculties across the country chafe under the rising cost of electronic journal literature.
Remote access to digital collections becomes ubiquitous.
Use of the Library's e-resources continues to climb.
The University increases its investment in e-resources.
The cost of electronic science journals (85% of the budget for electronic materials) strangles the larger Library budget.
The way in which e-journals are packaged greatly reduces our flexibility when cancellations are necessary.
The Library Web site becomes the gateway to electronic collections, increasing its importance as a research tool.
Growing numbers of Web-based courses increase demand for full-text e-resources.
Spending for books and journals is no longer in correct proportion, mandating cancellations for 2004-2005.
The Library responds to these budget pressures by strengthening its ability to do direct fund-raising.
Special Collections continues to expand its holdings, acquiring prestigious new collections.
Preservation increases in importance, for both archival and print collections.
Oral history surges in importance and emphasis, causing the Library to seek new sources of funding.
Electronic Delivery of Information:
The electronic transfer of Library information (book renewals, interlibrary loan and document supply requests) becomes routine.
The digital delivery of both services and information causes Library and Academic IT staff to collaborate on projects.
First-generation Web sites (the Library, AIT) are redesigned using database-driven systems.
Document supply and interlibrary loan grow in popularity, as the electronic accessibility of indexes and library catalogs grows.
Faculty Council and students both call for more computers in the Library.
Systems & Networking:
Worms and viruses cause the Library to expend extraordinary amounts of staff time on preventative measures.
The move of ITS into the building stabilizes and speeds Web service.
The heavy dependence on technology of all Library functions mandates state-of-art hardware and systems.
Wireless technologies become part of the Library and Academic IT service program.
Technology for Teaching & Learning:
The University invests substantially in Blackboard, moving all campuses to the Enterprise version.
AIT staff contribute to the University's implementation of the Blackboard Enterprise version.
The use of the Internet for teaching and research expands, as more and more faculty develop a course sites.
New workshop series are introduced in response to faculty needs.
Faculty begin to incorporate video, audio, and streaming media with their course sites.
Course site enrichment tools developed at Brooklyn College put our faculty ahead of their peers at other institutions and generate invitations to share our expertise with others.
Providing course site accessibility for persons with disabilities presents a challenge for both faculty and staff.
The Library and Academic IT play key roles in the use of technology with teaching; they meet and surpass established performance goals.
The need to standardize across campus on software packages commonly used in teaching and learning (as well as versions of those packages) becomes increasingly pressing.
ACAC's expanded membership positions it to serve as an important communication medium between faculty and ITS/AIT.
In the Library Cafe, business surpasses that of the previous year, more than justifying our plans for a new wing.
In the interest of strengthening and standardizing student lab services, the Library centralizes lab management.
Access to Collections:
Flexible, Web-based access tools like Aleph 500 replaces older mainframe systems.
The Library's added hours are well-used.
New technologies (the plasma screens) provide more immediate access to Library information.
Interest in the versatility of handheld devices grows.
Staff build the skills required to organize collections in new formats like Artesia/TEAMS.
Both Web printing and photocopying soar.
Copyright:
Copyright guidelines for fair use, clear and easily understandable in the print universe, are murky and more complex in the digital world.
Music presents especially challenging copyright issues.
Instruction:
Librarians conduct significantly more workshops and classroom instruction on accessing, identifying, and evaluating pertinent resources.
Digital collections cause librarians to increase their emphasis on instruction, both for students and faculty.
Brooklyn College maintains an information literacy leadership role within CUNY.
The College interests itself in building information literacy/critical thinking skills into the curriculum.
Staffing & Staff Development:
Staff development grows in importance as the Library takes the lead in providing technological instruction for faculty and students.
Internship opportunities in the Library and AIT grow and increase in prestige.
Staff development opportunities take many forms, including external events, in-house training, videoconferences, and partnerships with sister institutions.
Cross-training staff so that they can work in several units grows in popularity.
The Library maximizes the use of Work-Study student staff.
