WSU Library System
Message from Dean Sandra G. Yee
In the last year, several published reports have raised an important
question in today’s information age: are libraries dispensable? The front
page of The Chronicle of Higher Education featured the “Deserted Library
” and a Council on Library and Information Resources study found that
students are using the physical library less, and the internet search engine
“Google” more. Academic libraries must recognize their changing
roles in the digital age. By “CHANGING” we can transform ourselves
for the college and university of today and tomorrow.
The CHANGED library organization is:
CLIENT – CENTERED: We have gone from being
collection centered, to focusing all of our efforts on the success of our faculty
and students.
HUMANE: We treat each other and our clients with respect and
dignity at all times.
ACCOUNTABLE: We use data to make decisions; we close service
gaps and we continue to assess clients’ needs.
NECESSARY: We strive to be the FIRST place our clients go for
information.
GROWING: We are a learning organization, growing and learning
is our way of life.
EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS: We practice continuous improvement
and as we become better, we continue to go the extra mile.
DEPENDABLE: We follow through on commitments and provide reliable
service and a consistent message to our clients.
At the Wayne State Library System we are striving to be that “CHANGED”
organization. As the digital age evolves, we’re evolving with it. Over
the past year we’ve completed a number of projects focused on advancing
the shift to electronic information while still attending to our print collections.
This year we rolled out our new library catalog, elibrary.wayne.edu, to make
searching for information faster and more convenient. Through an improved, user-friendly
interface, the new catalog offers new powerful searching tools that provide
access to enhanced content and more effective interactions with the library.
We’ve made accessing information from off campus locations more convenient
through our EZ Proxy service and enhanced the application of our linking software
that allows users to link to full-text articles in more electronic journals.
Thanks to grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, we’ve
been able to work with the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts,
Detroit Historical Museum, The Henry Ford Museum and Meadowbrook Hall to expand
and enhance our digital costume collection database through “Two Hundred
Years of Digital Dress” as well as partner with Michigan State University,
Detroit Historical Museums and the Walter P. Reuther Library to recruit minorities
for digital librarianship through the “Educating the 21st Century Librarian”
grant.
We collaborated with the Math Department to provide a 100-seat computer lab
in the basement of the Science and Engineering Library that hosts a computer-based
version of the Math 993 course. In the last 14 months, we have provided over
$700,000 in classroom upgrades throughout the campus, including over 70 “smart”
classrooms that include a computer with an Internet connection, projector, VCR
and DVD player for faculty use in teaching. Later this year, we will celebrate
the opening of the Technology Resource Center. Located in the east wing of the
Purdy/Kresge Library, the center will serve faculty, graduate students, tech
specialists and others who use technology to facilitate instruction. It will
offer state-of-the-art technology, including computers for training, eight “faculty
innovation stations,” software and peripherals for creating digital instructional
materials, audio-video editing suites and other tools to facilitate the use
of technology in teaching. We continue to acquire new resources for faculty
and student research, add enhanced computing technology and instruct more students
in the use of those resources.
I would like to thank all of you who support the efforts of the Library System
every year. Working together, we will continue to provide the essential information
resources and services for “World-Class Education in the Real World.”
Sandra G. Yee
Dean