Requirement Number 2.9: The institution, through ownership or formal arrangements or agreements, provides and supports student and faculty access and user privileges to adequate library collections as well as to other learning/information resources consistent with the degrees offered. These collections and resources are sufficient to support all its educational, research, and public service programs.

The institution provides access to adequate serials services both on and off-campus through the GALILEO databases. It provides no documentation, however, on the adequacy of the book collection to support graduate degrees—especially at the doctoral level. The On-Site Review Committee should review the most recent collection assessment to verify that all graduate programs receive adequate library support. Faculty and student surveys may contain a subjective assessment of collections as well.

Georgia Southern University’s Zach S. Henderson Library builds its book collections to support graduate and undergraduate curricula through a combination of a Blackwell North America approval plan and orders from faculty and librarians. Blackwell North America is one of the two leading approval plan vendors and serves academic and research libraries all over the world. For disciplines within the University’s academic programs that offer graduate-level instruction, Henderson Library’s approval plan profile (Library Code: jgso; Userid: library; Password: library) designates automatic ordering of books classified at the “Professional/Practitioner” or “University-Research Collection” levels. Subject categories within the academic disciplines are ranked in the approval plan profile according to priorities assigned by faculty in the appropriate department(s). The approval plan is reviewed and revised annually or as needed. Monographs relevant to graduate programs, but which for some reason are not available through the approval plan, are identified and ordered by librarians and faculty. Budget allocations are made to each academic department specifically for this purpose, and the Library also maintains a reserve budget for books, usually for interdisciplinary requests. Documentation of the Library’s book sales and returns for FY 2003 and FY 2004 are available courtesy of the vendor—Blackwell.

Most of the recent collection reviews have concluded book collections are adequate to support the graduate programs, with some reservations. In Spring 2003, the Library conducted the LibQual+ survey developed by Texas A&M University and the Association of Research Libraries. Overall ratings of information collections were higher than the norm for comparable university libraries, although graduate students and faculty reported concerns about the depth of some collections. Nonetheless, most program-specific reviews have been more positive. In the University’s comprehensive 2001 academic program reviews, all academic departments reported information resources for graduate programs were at least adequate with the following exceptions:

• M.A. in Sociology
• M.P.A. in Public Administration
• M.A. in Political Science
• M.A. in History
• M.S. in Mathematics

These five programs represent approximately 11% of the University’s graduate programs (n=5/47) and 4.58% of the Fall 2003 graduate student enrollment (92/2,008).

In response, the Library has worked with the appropriate departments to further refine the approval plan and has added new mathematics subscriptions. Since 2001, the University has instituted a regular academic program review rotation in which a few programs each year conduct comprehensive reviews. Some graduate programs are included in this comprehensive program review each year, including both of Georgia Southern’s doctoral programs, and all have judged the information resources at least adequate. (Hard copies of the program reviews are available in the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.) Exit surveys conducted by the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies during academic year 2004-05 demonstrate a mean response of 4.16 on a 5.0 Likert scale (with 5=Excellent and 1=Poor) to the question “Rate your overall level of satisfaction with the library resources in your field of study, both print and electronic.”

As the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) standard notes, access to necessary information resources may also be provided through formal arrangements or agreements. It is therefore important to stress that in addition to maintaining a highly regarded traditional interlibrary loan service, Henderson Library also participates in the University System of Georgia’s GIL Express. GIL Express is an automated system that provides authorized users with quick and easy access to more than four million titles. Specifically, the new system allows University System of Georgia (USG) faculty, staff, and students to request, online or in person, any of the items contained in the general collections of 35 libraries located throughout the state. GIL Express features an easy-to-use interface, immediately patron validation, and automatic tracking of materials. This system is the most recent evolution of GALILEO Interconnected Libraries (GIL), which is the second phase of the University System’s GALILEO initiative. GIL Express replaced the USG borrowing card previously required for faculty, staff, and students who wished to borrow materials from a USG library other than the one at their home institution. Using Henderson Library’s online catalog, students and faculty members may search the individual collections of the libraries at the 34 USG institutions plus the Gwinnett University Center. The requested books are delivered to Henderson Library within two days for the patrons to check out.

The Library maintains aggregate data on its interlibrary loan program. For many years, Henderson Library has been a net lender. According to the FY 2004 Henderson Library Annual Report, 8,778 items were lent and only 6,987 items were borrowed. Not too much weight should be placed on this fact, but obviously if the collections were very weak, Henderson Library would be more likely to be a net borrower. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the vast majority of interlibrary loan borrowing is requested by faculty and graduate students.