SURVEY SAYS: Expanded Library Support for Faculty Research 1 National Conference for African American Librarians St. Louis, MO Sandra Phoenix, Executive Director, HBCU Library Alliance (GA) Elizabeth Brumfield, Distance Services Librarian Prairie View A&M University (TX) August 7, 2015

HBCU Library Alliance  Membership organization for White House-designated historically black colleges and universities  Established in 2002, Incorporated in 2006  Governed by Board of Directors elected from and by the membership  Mantra Henderson, Mississippi Valley State University – Board Chair  Strengthen membership by developing library leaders, preserving collections and planning for the future 2

A bit of background  Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funded project  Partnership with HBCU Faculty Development Network  Assess and strengthen library services in support of faculty research  Foster improved library services on individual campuses  Develop collaborative approaches to expand HBCU community- wide support 3

Assessments  Faculty survey - assist libraries in understanding faculty research challenges, needs - HBCU Faculty Development Network - Faculty Library Advisory Committee - Statistician provided expertise in survey design, distribution strategies, quantitative summary - Ithaka Faculty Survey for comparison  Library survey - determine current services, capacity and needs - Library Advisory Committee 4

Faculty Demographics – Title and Tenure Faculty Respondents by Title Professor17.8% Associate Professor 31.7% Assistant Professor36.6% Visiting Professor 0.6% Visiting Associate Professor 0.0% Visiting Assistant Professor 1.51% Instructor 9.06% Lecturer 2.72% Faculty Respondents by Tenure Status Tenured42.2% On Tenure-track30.3% Not on Tenure-track24.5% No Tenure System 3.06% at institution 5

Faculty Demographics – Teaching Level and Primary Discipline 6

Library Demographics – Institutional Control, Position and Number of Staff 7 More respondents reported institutional control as public (28), rather than private (21). Data from the NCES 2012 Academic Library Survey reporting on 99 HBCU libraries indicated an almost even comparison of 50 public and 49 private institutions.

Faculty Finding – Research Challenges 8  Library funding is the greatest barrier to the expansion of library services to support faculty research.  Liaison services, individualized assistance to faculty for research, consultations are common services provided by libraries. Fewer faculty indicated their libraries provide assistance with planning, publishing and executing research.

Library Demographics: Budget by Carnegie Class 9

Faculty Findings – Categorize Research Interests and Library Research Activities 10 Research is primarily for professional or discipline-related purposes. Research process begins using their own library and a general purpose search engine on the internet.

Faculty Finding – Selecting New Projects 11

Faculty Finding – Importance of Resources 12

Library Demographics – Materials Expenditure by Type and Carnegie Class 13

Library Finding – Total Expenditure by Type 14 Databases and serials are the highest expenditure by collection.

Faculty Finding – Communicate Support Needs? Contact with individual librarians 70.7% Faculty visits to the library61.3% Library liaisons38.3% Sponsored Projects, Research and Development12.8% Viewing academic dept. websites 8.6% Faculty Senate 8.6% Through social media 2.6% 15 A large majority of faculty report they use contact with individual librarians to communicate their research needs. Other larger proportions use faculty visits or library liaisons to communicate their research needs.

Library Finding – Learn About Research? 16

Faculty Findings - Support Needs 17

Library Finding: Activities performed by Library Liaison by Carnegie Classification 18 Library liaisons are subject specialists who provide support for faculty and student research, instruction, and scholarly communication.

Faculty Finding – Use of Services 19

Library Finding – Frequency of Library Services 20

Faculty Recommendations to improve library support  Resources to expand holdings  Offer faculty to publish with librarians on topics of interest  A closer relationship between faculty and librarians  Provide faculty workshops on how to locate information and explore databases  Seminars to explain what the library can do/does for faculty  Conferences, seminars and working days that promote research and publications  Additional funding and additional staff are needed for library support of faculty research  Move grant and research support from Grants Office to Library Services 21

Model Projects Sub-Grants  Atlanta University Center (GA)  Fisk University (TN)  Jackson State University (MS)  North Carolina A&T State University  Prairie View A&M University (TX)  Savannah State University (GA)  Shaw University (NC)  Southern University Baton Rouge (LA) 22

Educational Programming  Faculty Support Strategies  Marketing and Promotion  Communication and Collaboration  Copyright and Research  Library Liaison Services 23

Questions? 24 Thank You!