Database Usage @ OC Library for 2009-10

Gentle readers,

I've been busy preparing data for the Association of Research Libraries annual survey.  Here are the overall figures for the Oxnard College community for 2009-10:

Number of logins/sessions (in 18 resources):   27,613

Number of searches (in 18 resources):  85,145

Number of full-text articles retrieved (in 14 resources):  67,049

When a librarian is standing there in a one-off instruction session with often indifferent and distracted students, it's hard to tell whether the "library message" is getting through.  I don't know how many of these 67,000 articles they found useful...but at least I know our online resources are getting used! 

Latest Photos of Library Construction at Oxnard College, March 22

 Since my last set of photos in February, progress on exterior walls is evident.  The round main section should be fully enclosed in a couple weeks.  Also, I attended a meeting today to iron out some details on interior furnishings (or FF&E, furniture, fixtures and equipment).  I'm looking forward to seeing the inside soon!

Gold Coast Library Network Annual Meeting, March 21

 

The Gold Coast Library Network  comprises member instiutions from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.  Academic, public and special libraries are represented.  Originally created as part of the  Library of California, GCLN replaced an earlier organization named TIE (The Interlibrary Exchange) and continues to facilitate loans between member institutions.  I was privileged to represent all three Ventura County Community College District libraries.  Besides a great talk about speechmaking from CLU professor and Toastmaster Sue Bauer, we saw scholarships awarded to Library Science students. 

QuestionPoint Webinar, April 14

I attended this Webinar on QuestionPoint, an OCLC service that allows for chat reference, shared reference and even 24/7 reference.  Glorian Sipman of  Miracosta College was one of the panelists.  She has created a group of 19  colleges, mostly in the San Diego area, that share librarian resources using QP for the good of all their students.  Statewide consortium pricing, based on FTEs, is available from the Community College League.  You may link to the recorded session here. View as Web page | Manage e-mail subscriptions | Share: OCLC Updates and Special Offers: Reference Services Give your students and faculty 24/7 live reference support with QuestionPoint

"Fresno the Giraffe" Video! (Just for fun)

Dear Readers--you may recall my visit to the Herold Mahoney Library at Santa Rosa Junior College's Petaluma campus.  One of the art works I photographed was a tall, skeletal giraffe statue in the facility's main reading room.  Here's a little time-lapse video of its assembly, courtesy of Librarian Molly Matheson.  Thanks to Molly for teaching me how to "embed" videos in a blog.  Enjoy!