Isn't it great that they care?

It has been a thrill over the past couple weeks for us to witness how our Flagler students have helped the Library by providing excellent feedback to us in three different surveys that we hit them with during that time. Many of these same students had just finished taking the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and/or the Student Satisfaction Survey. We waited patiently until these important College administered surveys were completed, and then we released our own library satisfaction survey (routinely administered every other year) and a short instruction assessment survey. Not only have we been pleasantly surprised by the numbers who completed our surveys, but also by the care taken in providing us with excellent written comments -- some positive, some negative but always in an honest and very constructive manner. And what's amazing is that they answered these surveys in the last weeks of the semester, when final papers were due and when they were starting to prepare for final exams.

We then further complicated their lives by hitting them with a third survey even before the other two were closed out. Early results of our satisfaction survey indicated that there could be a potentially serious noise problem within Library that we want to address before the next semester begins, if it is truly a problem. We decided to ask the students’ help first to clarify the impact of noise in the Library on each one of them, and second to offer suggestions to us on how we might improve the situation. The electronically administered survey (SurveyMonkey) consisted of only one question plus space for comments and suggestions, and we were amazed at how rapidly the responses came back to us on this particular survey. About half of the respondents provided substantial comments typically running from four to eight lines long. It is obvious in most of the comments that the students wrote them with care and concern for the success of the Library, and many students even indicated that they were pleased we asked for their help.

I only regret that I am not able to take immediate action on all the excellent suggestions offered in all three of the surveys we administered, but we will be paying close attention to all of them and many changes will be acted upon this summer before classes begin again in the fall. I will report these changes to students in this blog and in other Flagler communication channels. Equally important, the students will see many changes when they return in the fall.

Isn’t it great that they care?

National Library Week - Busy Times in Proctor Library

It is very fitting that National Library Week is taking place at this time. This week is the mid-point of three weeks that make up probably the busiest and most critical period of the year in the Proctor Library. This is a time when our "circle of knowledge" normally hits its peak, as the academic year is coming to an end, final research papers and presentations are being competed for submission, and students begin their serious study for final exams which take place next week. The Library will continue to be a major contributor to help ensure that students have full opportunity to achieve their own goals for the period.

The Library will begin extended hours on Wednesday, April 16 and these extended hours will continue through the completion of exams. The exact hours follow:

Wednesday, April 16----7:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Thursday, April 17------7:30a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Friday, April 18---------7:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 19------10:00a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 20-------11:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Monday, April21--------7:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Tuesday, April22-------7:30 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Wednesday, April23----7:30 a.m. -2:00 a.m


National Library Week and Proctor Library


National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April.

Everyday, libraries in big cities and small towns, in businesses, in schools, and in universities and colleges like Flagler College help transform our different communities, by bringing members of the community into the "circle of knowledge."

In fulfilling its vision, the Proctor Library is dedicated to collaborating with the students, faculty and staff of Flagler College to achieve the goal of effective learning and to be an essential and critical resource for active student learning as well as “lifelong learning” for the entire College community. A major element in the Library's mission is to help students and other users become information literate individuals who will be lifelong learners who can grow in their career and be productive citizens.

As the academic year is coming to an end, we in the Proctor Library are striving to continue on the right track toward achieving our mission and vision elements noted above and hope we are helping members of the Flagler College community enter the "community of knowledge." To assess our success and progress, we are currently in the process of conducting a library user survey which we do every two years. This survey is sent out to a representative sample of students and faculty, and after analyzing the results and identifying areas for improvements, we will work in the coming months toward making any adjustments necessary. We have already started receiving completed surveys from students, and they have been providing us with some excellent observations and recommendations--including some action areas that will clearly require our attention before next year. It is clear that the Flagler College community is working effectively to help the entire community grow and improve.

In the meantime, all members of the Proctor Library staff will be dedicating ourselves over the next two weeks to keeping the Library's resources and services available to help the students in their completion of papers and projects and their study for final exams.

While most students have already completed their actual research by this time and are mostly involved in the final writing of their papers and completion of their other projects, the Library's reference librarians will still receive some end of the semester reference questions. Some may even resemble those coming from the student in the following video/audio clip. But we hope they don't :-)

National Library Week: Reference Desk video clip