Susan A. Mee Shirley L. Bower Rochester Institute of Technology Off-Campus Library Services Conference April 29, 2010

 Who we are:  Private University with enrollment of nearly 17,000  International campuses: Croatia, Dubai and Kosovo  8 Colleges including NTID  Founded in 1829, degree granting since 1955  Leader in career-oriented education  Cooperative education program – oldest and largest in the world  National recognized for technology, photo, art  Unique mix of left brain/right brain  Expanding campus: Center for Student Innovation, Global Village, Campus Center

 Reputation as Technology Leader  Early adopter of technology both on campus and in region  Drupal web site  Open access journal publication  University Press  2006 ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award  Merger with Teaching and Learning Services – new model for academic libraries  The Wallace Center

 History  First offered in 1979 – 10 courses with a total enrollment of 280 students  2008/2009 – grown to 637 courses with nearly 10,000 students  Early 1990’s library focus – making physical collections available – expansion of ILL,  No real differentiation in services to distance learners

 Mid to late1990s  First electronic resources  Introduction of web-based services: ILL  Instruction starts to go online  Introduction of electronic reserves  Dedicated Distance Learning Librarian  Early 2000s  Authentication issues solved with Ezproxy  Explosion of electronic resources  Electronic delivery of ILL with ILLIAD  Print collections evolve to electronic  Beginning of a true “virtual library”

 Current State  200+ databases, e-journals, e-books  85% of collections budget – electronic resources now a format of choice  Promotion of e-books as textbooks  Emphasis on resource integration  New methods of delivery for instruction  Virtual Presence – 2 nd life

 Current State, cont.  Drupal Website with Metalib X-Server  Blogs, RSS Feeds  Virtual Reference Desk  Improved access – Meet Your Librarian  Supporting technologies: SFX OpenURL  Metalib Federated Searching  Improved communication – Skype, instant messaging

 The Virtual Library:

 Emphasis on access  Natural evolution of libraries benefits distance learners  No longer small, unique category of users  Line between distance learners and campus learners blurred  All users now demand access outside the campus boundaries  Committed library staffing and budget  Remote access – core of today’s library services

 Great progress, but ….  Languages barriers  Vocabulary of technology  Inconsistent Internet connections  Multiple hardware and software configurations  Use of outdated equipment  Cultural and societal differences can lead to different expectations  Time zones

 The Wallace Center  Merger offers new opportunities for collaboration  Continued growth of online content  New models for collection development – PDA  Integration of acquisitions into the ILL workflow  Development of Wallace Center web site  Further development of MetaLib X-Server – Xerxes  bX Scholarly Recommender Service  New models of instructional delivery  Certainty of change

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