College and Research Libraries A Profile of the Library Learning Resources Center in Small Community/Junior Colleges Madison Mosley, Jr. It has been suggested that nearly half of the member colleges of the American As- sociation of Community and Junior Col- leges (AACJC) consider themselves to be small or rural. However numerous, these colleges have not enjoyed the same litera- ture coverage as their larger counterparts. Fortunately, the plight of the small col- lege is becoming an area of major concern. In 1976, the AACJC recognized the uniqueness of the small college and estab- lished a Task Force on Rural Community Colleges. 1 This task force later developed into the Commission on Small/Rural Col- leges in 1977. 2 The small two-year college, in a majority of instances, is often the higher education institution within its service area. As such, this College's mission . . . extends to services that enhance the quality of life for [its] constituents. Art exhibits, plays, lectures, research and reference library ser- vices, musical and other performing group events are educational and cultural opportuni- ties not usually available to rural communities except through a community college. 3 The small comprehensive institution thus becomes a ''prototype of the do- everything college, " 4 since it attempts to meet the vocational, avocational, and col- lege transfer needs of the diverse popula- tions it serves. The library learning resources centers in these colleges are often the premier li- . braries in the area. In addition to meeting the educational objectives of the colleges' students, these library learning resources centers assume their "responsibility to help meet the resource material need of the lar~er community in which [they re- side]" by providing reference, circula- tion, and other services to members of the larger community. Most published surveys of library learn- ing resources centers have focused pri- marily on practices of medium- to large- sized institutions. 6 While such surveys are instructive, they provide little guidance to the directors of library learning resources centers in small community colleges. Be- cause of its more limited fiscal resources, the library learning resources center in the small community college is often not able to embrace the same administrative con- figurations and practices that have been adopted by library learning resources cen- ters at the larger two-year institutions. Vineyard's comments on the rural com- munity college aptly describe the situation of the library learning resources centers in the small community college: "There ex- ists no disciplined research effort . . . that would describe differentially the small ... two-year institutions .... " 7 THE SURVEY The present descriptive study was de- signed to identify selected administrative practices in small, two-year, publicly sup- ported community and junior colleges in the southeastern United States. Using the Higher Education Directory, 8 this investiga- tor compiled a list of the two-year colleges that reported enrollments of less than one thousand students. Thirty-one such insti- tutions were identified. A questionnaire containing items related to selected as- pects of the administration of library learning resources centers was developed and sent to each of the thirty-one institu- tions. Replies were received from twenty- eight institutions. Madison Mosley Jr. is director of library resources, South Florida Junior College, Avon Park, Florida 33825. 392 ... J FINDINGS One-half of the responding learning re- sources centers consisted of the functional units of the library and audiovisual ser- vices. Seven contained the library, audio- visual services, and the learning lab. Four were composed of the library, audiovisual services, and "other." Within the "other" category were public relations, GED, instructional technology, and a tele- vision studio. Two contained the library, audiovisual services, learning laboratory, and 11 other." These 11 other" included computer-assisted instruction and the print shop. Eleven of the chief learning resources of- ficers were called learning resources cen- · ter directors. There were three who identi- fied themselves as deans of learning resources while two were called associate deans, learning resources. Twelve classified themselves as "other." Within this category, the librar- ian title occurred most frequently. When asked to whom they reported, eighteen indicated they reported to a dean. Though the specific nature of the deanship varied, the majority of respon- dents reported to a dean of instruction or a dean of academic affairs. Six reported to the president of the college while two re- ported· to ''other''. These ''other'' were also positions concerned with the instruc- tional program. Staffing patterns varied considerably. The number of professional staff ranged from one to four. Nine respondents re- ported one professional, six reported two professionals, and five had three profes- sionals on staff (see table 1). Number 4 3.5 3 2.5 2.4 2.25 2 1.5 1 TABLE 1 PROFESSIONAL STAFF (N = 26) Frequency 1 1 5 1 1 1 6 1 9 • Research Notes 393 Similarly, the number of support staff also varied widely. The range spread from one to 6.4. Two of the respondents re- ported four, and seven respondents re- ported three support staff members. Five respondents had only one support staff member (see table 2). Number 6.5 4 3 2.5 2 1.67 1.5 1 TABLE2 SUPPORT STAFF (N =23) Frequency 1 2 7 1 5 1 1 5 To the question on the organization of the collection, fifteen libraries reported us- ing . Dewey decimal classification while thirteen were using Library of Congress. Three libraries reported they were in the process of conversion. Fifteen stated their catalog was divided, and thirteen main- tained a dictionary catalog. A sizable ma- jority indicated that nonprint items were classified and cataloged, twenty-five and tw~nty, respectively. An overwhelming maJonty, twenty-seven, indicated these materials were shelved separately from the book collection. When questioned concerning the use of !he~ nonprofessionals, nine respondents mdtcated that nonprofessionals "answer reference questions that require use of ref- erence tools." Seven indicated that their nonprofessionals also supervised other nonprofessionals. Two respondents indi- cated that nonprofessional staff used ref- erence tools to answer questions and as- signed classification numbers and subject headings. In addition, one respondent stated that nonprofessional staff also per- formed original cataloging. · Tw~nty-seven stated that their catalogs were m card format. Two of them indi- cated a conversion to COM, while two had book catalogs in off-campus locations. One library indicated that conversion to an on-line catalog was scheduled for sum- mer 1984. Only two respondents had an on-line catalog. 394 College & Research Libraries Twenty-three respondents indicated no participation in a computerized network accessible through a terminal in the learn- ing resources center. Only three indicated that such access was available. Twenty-six reported manual circulation systems, and two respondents indicated that some form of automated system would be installed during summer 1984. Twenty-two respondents reported no anti-theft system; only five had such a sys- tem. Twenty-five respondents provided no on-line reference services. Of the two that did provide this service, each subscribed to Dialog, and both charged a fee for this service. While seventeen of the respondents did not provide assistance to faculty in the de- sign of instruction, eleven did provide such assistance. PROFILE From the data collected in this survey, the following profile of the library learning resources center in the small community and junior college emerges. The library learning resources center consists of the library and the audio-visual components. The chief administrator is called learning resources center director and reports to the dean of academic af- fairs. The staff consists of two profession- als and 2.4 support staff members. These support staff play a substantive role in the provision of reference service. The collection is presently organized ac- cording to the Dewey classification system with conversion efforts under way. Au- diovisual materials are classified and cata- loged, but are housed separately from the book collection. The materials collection is indexed in a divided public catalog in card format. There is no commercial anti-theft system to protect the collection. Few services are automated in the cen- ter. Circulation is handled manually, and no on..,line reference services are pro- vided. The center does not participate in networks through terminals in the library. Technical design assistance is provided to faculty members for the development of instructional materials. September 1984 CONCLUSION The library learning resources center in the small community and junior college shares the same objectives as its counter- part in the larger institution. However, simple ''economy of size'' has delayed the small center's adoption of administrative practices that are described most often in the library literature. Small staff sizes affect both the variety and depth of services that a center can pro- vide. In the present study, a sizable num- ber of centers were staffed by only one professional. One person cannot possess the full array of competencies and skills needed to provide a dynamic program of services. The lack of automated activity has some serious effects on the quality of services provided. The use of automated systems to streamline circulation brings the materi- als collection under better control, and staff are thus able to provide a higher level of access than is afforded by a manual sys- tem. In addition, the absence of on-line reference services denies users access to a wealth of information not locally avail- able. The absence of COM and on-line cata- logs indicates that the centers in this study are hampered in their efforts to share their holdings beyond their immediate cam- puses. Since most small colleges are lo- cated in geographically remote areas, these centers cannot have records of their holdings in public libraries, or even in off- campus locations. Thus, the public's ac- cess to the college library's collections is not as extensive as it is in some urban ar- eas. While not addressed by this study, the issue of funding looms large in any con- sideration of measures for improved ser- vice. Small colleges will need to be funded differently from all other institutions. 9 Once these funds reach the institution, senior administrators will need to rethink the role of the library learning resources center and provide sufficient funding for an adequate staff and the necessary sup- port facilities. In the meantime, library learning re- J I J sources center directors would do well to study the centers in small colleges and to document their needs. Qualitative stan- dards (not guidelines) that establish mini- mum .levels of staff, resources, and ser- vices needed for a quality program must be identified if senior administrators are to support learning resources centers as they should be supported. Research Notes 395 Student, faculty, and community users are becoming accustomed to sophisticated services from all institutions of society. Those attending small colleges will look to the colleges and their subunits to provide efficient and effective services. The library learning resources center in the small col- lege must meet this expectation. REFERENCES 1. "AACJC Annual Report 1976," Community and Junior College Journal47:31 (Feb. 1977). 2. "AACJC Annual Report 1977," Community and Junior College Journal48:32 (Feb. 1978). 3. John M. Eaton, ''A Vital Component of the Delivery System,'' Community and Junior College Journal 52:15 (Oct. 1981). 4. Arthur M. Cohen and Associates, College Responses to Community Demands (San Francisco: Jessey- Bass, 1977), p.72. 5. "Guidelines for Two-year College Learning Resources Programs (Revised): Part One," College & Research Libraries News 43:8 Oan. 1982). 6. See for example: Sarah Katherine Thomson, Learning Resource Centers in Community Colleges: A Sur- vey of Budgets and Services (Chicago: American Library Assn., 1975); Lynn C. Dennison, "The Orga- nization of Library and Media Services in Community Colleges," College & Research Libraries 39:123-29 (Mar. 1978); and Doris Cruger Dale, "The Community College Library in the Mid- 1970's," College & Research Libraries 38:404-11 (Sept. 1977). 7. Edwin E. Vineyard, "The Rural Community College," Community College Review 6:42 (Winter 1979). 8. 1984 Higher Education Directory (Washington, D.C.: Higher Education, 1984). 9. See Ali Nazari-Robati and Jacob D. Zucker, "Resolving the Financial Crisis in America's Rural Community Colleges," Community College Review 9:48-52 (Fall1981). BUT DO ANALYZE, STUDY, PONDER, AND RESEARCH THEM! THE ZOOLOGICAL RECORD THE ESSENTIAL INDEX FOR COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF THE WORLD'S ZOOLOGICAL LITERATURE SINCE 1864. For further Information, contact BloSciences Information Service, User Services Department. 2100 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.-1399 Telex 831739.