Expanding Student and Public Access to Library

HoldingsLin Xie, Activity Director

Audrey LongTitle III Workshop 9/17/12

Objectives

• To provide expanded online and print access to a collection of aquaculture and fisheries research journals, scientific databases, books, and video media.

AFREL Features

• With title III funding, currently approximately 1200 (1000) fisheries books.

• Access to 10 databases & 50 (45) journals• Grad students and faculty access from

offices, with in-house use of reference books, course reserved materials, and ILL.

• Patrons are …undergrads, interns, graduate students & faculty, students throughout the school & the public interested in Aquaculture industry.

• Services…4 computers, copier , scanner, and study areas and library assistance.

• Motto responding to faculty and students needs/requests effectively and quickly.

AFREL Statistics

•In 2012, AFREL has provided the services at the following rates, completing 112% of the annual goal of 750 patron visits and research inquiries.

Patron Visits: 840 Research Inquiries: 235

Oct. thru Dec. - 249 Oct. thru Dec. -65Jan. thru Mar. - 266 Jan. thru Mar. – 90Apr. thru Jun. - 215 April thru June - 145 Jul. thru Aug. - 110 Jul. thru Aug. -91

AFREL Statistics•Among 840 visits,10% Faculty (AQFI)19% Graduate (AQFI)64% Undergraduate (AQFI)7% Undergraduate from other

departments & Public

I have greatly enjoyed using the aquaculture/fisheries library.  It is a quiet

place to study with ample resource material, and the staff are all very

helpful and knowledgeable.   I am a new freshman, and the online classes

were a new concept for me.  Thanks to the help of the librarian, Ms. Audrey,

and the computer tech staff, I was able to learn how to set up my student e-

Mail and log on to my classes.  Having a great place to work and study, plus

access to computers and reference materials, has made me a regular patron

of the AQFI resource library.

When you normally go to a library the only thing you usually hear from staff is be quiet, but here Ms.Long is one of the most helpful (library staffers) I have ever had.  In AFREL, I  have learned how to effectively use a copy machine and how a (library staffer) should truly interact with library users. I truly appreciate AFREL and everything that Ms. Long does to make sure it gives a vital helping hand to the student's success.

The AqFi Library is very helpful to students that need a quiet place to study. It is filled with many different educational sources of information.  Our helpful library (staff person), Audrey Long, will be very glad to assist you in any way possible.

I am grateful to have access to the AFREL's services. At one point in my life I was one of the most unorganized human beings that ever took a breathe. Recently, I have made a conscious effort to become more serious about all of my objectives. So, I definitely capitalized on the opportunity to use the AFREL's services. I also appreciate the courteous assistance from Ms. Long.  She is extremely competent. I don't think I would have ever learned how to use a copy machine if it wasn't for her. 

Science can not be done without knowing what others have tried before. Without access to the literature via AFREL, I would be unable to determine what questions are worth pursuing or design my experiments. The availability of a specialized library for fisheries, and a (library assistant) conversant with our field greatly facilitates the work I do in the fisheries department. Leaving trade publications out to be browsed between classes has allowed me to follow parts of the seafood industry which I otherwise probably would ignore. The computers in AFREL and the study area have also benefited me as a student. Consequently, AFREL is important both in the breadth and the depth of information available readily to fisheries students like myself.

I use the AQFI Library resources almost everyday. I am able to go in and find the books I need for class very easily. It is really nice not to have to spend the extra money on buying expensive textbooks. Audrey is always friendly and helpful. I think the library is running very efficiently and don't see any troubling areas in need of improvement. Keep up the great work.

I just enrolled in Summer Semester II 2012. Although the time span is rather short but through the interactions I had thorough these past three months, I realized that I can always go to Audrey whenever I have difficulty in finding some materials for both my studies and research work. I found her to be attentive, helpful and fast in carrying out her responsibilities which benefits me in keeping my work running....thank you to the team for making the library a place where I can seek for support and assistance.

My name is Taurean Morrow a senior at the University (UAPB) majoring in Agriculture Business from Forrest City, Arkansas.  My experience at the University has been very successful, and I have met many great people. One of those great people I have met is Ms. Audrey Long the Librarian in the AQFI Library.  I haven't made great use of the facilities in the Library, but it is there when I need to use it. But, Ms. Long is what keeps me coming back to the AQFI Library.  She is a wealth of knowledge who is always there to listen. She not only listens, but she gives me great advice and information to increase my resources and knowledge. She is always a wealth of encouragement that makes you think outside the box.  The ideas and goals that I share with her, sheadds on to them and shows me ways to achieve them and make them better.  When I'm present in the library every student that enters she encourages and helps them enthusiastically.  Finding the AQFI Library on my campus has added to my success and knowledge in college, and I'm sure I have gained substance that will follow me in the future.

I have had nothing but positive experiences with the AFREL and its staff. Prior to creation of the AFREL a few years ago, I submitted all of my ILL requests to the White Hall Public Library. I had accepted that the University's library did not have many of the journals that I needed. But they also had strange rules for ILL articles. Namely, they required that the entire request be written out long-hand (i.e., no electronic means of making a request), they would only allow a limited number of requests at one time, and could not acquire articles promptly. With AFREL, this sort of inefficiency has become a thing of the past, and I no longer go off-campus to request ILL articles. Without AFREL, it would be difficult to argue that UAPB can properly support graduate programs.

AFREL is very important to me in many ways.  With the initiation of the doctoral program in AQFI, the ability to do research is of the utmost importance.  The AFREL staff is very friendly, cordial and competent. The quick turn around time for requests on journal articles has enabled me to write research proposals and articles in a more timely manner.  With Ms. Long, communication is a key component to why this library works so well.  She keeps me informed as to where my requests are, when my books will be available and when new services are available.  She communicates with everyone in our department to find out what their library needs are and how she can be of more assistance to us.

With regards to teaching, my students almost solely use electronic versions of journals and because we have a good start on an electronic library, they are able to complete assignments with more complete citations. 

Ms. Long, the AFREL library staff, is very approachable and liked by many of our students.  She has served as a valuable resource not only as a (library staffer) but also as a mentor for our students.  Her ability to relate to students and her willingness to listen to what they have to say has enabled AQFI to retain students that may otherwise have quit their quest for a higher education degree.

As for areas of improvement in the AFREL library, I would like to see our collection of electronic journal subscriptions increase and I would like to have access to those journals from off-campus.

QUESTIONS?