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<title> vol2no3</title>
<H1><img ALIGN=TOP src="GIF/fondren_logo.gif">News From Fondren</H1><H3>A 
Library Newsletter to the Rice University Community</H3><p>
<h4>volume 2, number 3                                                Winter 1993</H4><p>
<hr><hr>

<h3>In this Issue</h3><ul>
<li><a href="#books">Books and Beyond</a>
<li><a href="#mission">Mission and Goals of the Fondren Library</a>
<li><a href="#planning">Planning and Service Values</a>
<li><a href="#fltoday">The Fondren Library Today</a>
<li><a href="#environs">Environmental Analysis and Assumptions</a>
<li><a href="#future">The Fondren Library of the Future</a>
<li><a href="#philosophy">Fondren Library Service Philosophy</a>
<li><a href="#access">Access to Information</a>
<li><a href="#collection">Collection Management and Development</a>
<li><a href="#service">Library Public Services</a>
<li><a href="#support">Administrative Support Services</a>
<li><a href="#library facilities">Library Facilities</ul></a>



<hr><hr>



<a name="books"><h3>Books and Beyond</h3></a>
Beth Shapiro,
  University Librarian,
  shapiro@ricevm1.rice.edu<p>

<h5>Introduction</h5>

The rapid pace of change in research libraries and the institutions they support makes strategic planning for the
future more crucial than ever.  To establish a solid foundation for strategic planning at the Fondren Library, we
initiated a self-study with broad staff participation to address a number of pressing operational issues including the
quality of our collection building efforts, services to our users, communication, and space.  
<p>
<a href="GIF/fondrenout.BIG.gif"><img src="GIF/fondrenout.gif"></a>
<p>
We began by creating a mission and goals statement for the Fondren Library that has undergone several iterations in
the last 18 months and that is the focal point of this report.  Nearly thirty staff members served on several key
planning task forces that developed nearly 100 recommendations aimed at improving all aspects of our current
operations.  Many task force recommendations have been incorporated into this report.  Also as part of this process,
a comprehensive user survey was conducted to help us understand how faculty, administrators, and students view
the Fondren Library.  The results of this survey were of enormous assistance.  
<p>
Concurrent with this planning process, a library space planning consultant was hired to complete a space assessment
for us.  The report of McAdams Planning Consultants was completed in January 1992 and has provided us with
much-needed data on our current and future space needs.  
<p>
This report, which presents the findings of phase one of our planning process, sets the stage for implementation of a
long-range strategic planning process.  In addition to the 46 recommendations that address operational issues, this
report includes our revised mission and goals statement, an elaboration of our planning and service values, a review
of the state of the Fondren Library today, a description of the environmental conditions within which we operate,
and our vision of the Fondren Library of the future.
<p>
It is essential that we continue our planning efforts through the second phase of our process -- the development of a
long-range strategic plan for library and information services for Rice University.  As we face the future, one of our
greatest challenges will be to develop library programs that both anticipate and meet the needs of the Rice
community while keeping our costs at a sustainable level.  As we continue planning for future collections, services
and facilities for the Fondren Library, we ask that you join with us in meeting this challenge.
<p>



<hr>



<a name="mission"><h3>Mission and Goals of the Fondren Library</a> </h3>

The Fondren Library exists to support and strengthen the instructional, research, and public services programs of
Rice University.  We are dedicated to upholding the University's strong commitment to undergraduate and graduate
education through the advancement of literature, science, and art, and the pursuit of excellence in all activities.  The
collections and services of the Fondren Library are administered with the philosophy that the library is more than a
collection of books; it is also a gateway to information resources in all formats throughout the world.
<p>
The Fondren Library will be an essential campus resource that enables emerging and established scholars to acquire
information and gather in an atmosphere conducive to learning and research through the achievement of the
following goals:
<p><ul>
<li>Support the scholarly endeavors of the faculty and students of Rice University by providing access to the broadest
possible range of materials both from our own collections and from collections located elsewhere in the region,
nation, and the world.
<p>
<li>Develop, organize, and preserve library collections in a safe and secure environment.
<p>
<li>Develop information services that anticipate and respond to the changing expectations and needs of our users and
that contribute to developing an information literate public.
<p>
<li>Provide appropriate physical facilities and environmental conditions for the collections and their use with
comfortable, secure areas for users and staff.
<p>
<li>Provide appropriate administrative programs to support and encourage the accomplishment of the above goals
including fostering a skilled and dedicated staff and implementing strong development and public relations
programs.
<p></ul>



<hr>



<a name="planning"><h3>Planning and Service Values</h3></a>

Articulated institutional values anchor the operation of any effective organization.   The leadership of the Fondren
Library must reflect the values of the University and communicate these values both to our staff and to our users. 
We are committed to providing information services and collections in an ethical and professional manner that
values the following:
<p><ul>
<li>freedom of access to information which is essential within a democratic society and which is grounded in the
  principles of intellectual and academic freedom
<p><li>timely and affordable access to and delivery of information
<p><li>a multicultural workforce and clientele
<p><li>the employment of new methods in the delivery of library services and collections
<p><li>active collaboration with other academic colleagues  
<p><li>teamwork in the provision of information services
<p><li>continuous training and development of our staff 
<p><li> the library's leadership role in maintaining and preserving information.
<p></ul>



<hr>



<a name="fltoday"><h3>The Fondren Library Today</h3></a>

Prior to the 1940's, library services and subject collections were administered and housed in various locations on the
Rice University campus.  In the 1940's,  the University made a commitment to centralize all library collections and
services.  The Fondren Library was completed and occupied in 1949.  Combined and growing collections
necessitated a major stack addition in 1968.  Further growth has resulted in the development of a thinly staffed,
efficiently run research library facility housed in the largest building on campus.
<p>
Today, the Fondren Library functions as a central campus meeting place and plays a key role in the intellectual life
of the campus.  In addition, the Rice University charter specifies that the Fondren Library is to serve the citizens  of
the City of Houston.  Although city and county public libraries have emerged in Houston since the writing of the
Rice charter, the University maintains its commitment to serve the greater Houston community. 
<p>
Fondren Library's chronic space problem will be a major strategic issue facing the University in the coming years. 
Eight years ago, as a means of adding much-needed space, three of the stack floors were reconfigured with
narrower aisles.  Four years ago, an off-site storage facility was constructed in the stadium to house 250,000
volumes.  The stadium storage facility is nearly full, and the reconfigured stack floors have proven difficult for our
users to negotiate. 
<p>
Despite these measures, our shelves are now loaded to 90 percent capacity.  Even with the movement of additional
materials to storage, the weeding of unneeded duplicates from our collection, and an increasing use of electronic and
other high density storage media, we will be completely out of space in two years. 
<p>
Although a necessary $2 million renovation to the Fondren Library was accomplished between 1987 and 1989, we
face and will continue to face the chronic space and funding problems that affect our ability to meet the needs of our
faculty, students, and staff. 
<p>
In recent years, the University has committed itself to maintaining the buying power of the Fondren Library's
materials budget.  However, the University has expanded its academic and research programs without comparable
expansion of the Fondren Library's budget, thus making it difficult to build collections appropriate to the
University's evolving curriculum.  
<p>
The spiraling costs of library materials have exacerbated problems with the Fondren Library's materials budget. 
Library journal costs have escalated dramatically during the last 20 years -- 400 percent -- and there appears to be
no end in sight.  Several factors explain the large increases in library material costs:  1) normal inflationary
increases; 2) reduction in competition within the publishing industry due to mergers and corporate concentration; 3) 
growth in foreign publishing of scholarly materials, which represent a large portion of our acquisitions; and 4)  the
falling strength of the dollar on the international market. 
<p>
In spite of funding problems, the Fondren Library steadily purchases 20,000 - 30,000 volumes per year. 
Meanwhile, the total quantity of published material continues to rise.  More than three quarters of a million volumes
are published each year throughout the world and this figure increases two to three percent annually.  Rising
acquisitions costs coupled with this increase in the volume of publishing force us to spend more money for a smaller
portion of the scholarly output. 
 <p>
The rapidly changing face of publishing further complicates the Fondren Library's ability to acquire and provide
access to research materials.  Such materials may be published not only in the traditional format of print publication
on paper, but also in a widening variety of formats.  Modern research relies on pictures, films, taped interviews,
statistical datafiles, ephemeral and unpublished reports, and electronic media.  We must provide researchers with the
materials they need, regardless of format. 
<p>
In the last decade, the Fondren Library has made great strides forward in automation.  The NOTIS software was
implemented in 1986, and all of the core modules have been implemented for acquisitions, cataloging, and
circulation.  More than 90 percent of our holdings are represented in LIBRIS, our online catalog.  Additionally, the
library has provided access to a wide range of CD-ROM products.  Due to hardware and software costs, providing
electronic access to locally mounted bibliographic databases has not yet been possible. 
<p>



<hr>



<a name="environs"><h3> Environmental Analysis and Assumptions</h3></a>

Economic and political conditions and trends will influence our ability to plan and implement library services and
collections appropriately.  The environmental spheres within which we operate are international, national, regional,
and local.  They include:
<p><ul>
<li>the world outside Rice University, including other research libraries, higher education in general, the publishing
  industry, technology, and the economy;
<p><li>the University; and
<p><li>the Fondren Library. 
<p></ul>
Within key programmatic areas, both national as well as local trends have been identified and considered as we look
toward the future:
<p>
<h5>Information and Publishing Trends</h5>

Research libraries are finding it increasingly difficult to collect comprehensively in all areas due both to the
explosion of information and publishing and to the skyrocketing prices of library materials.  This trend will result in
greater emphasis on access to information than on ownership of library materials.  The rapid delivery of information
to our users will grow in importance.

<h5>Technology</h5>

While technological developments will continue to occur at a rapid pace, making it possible for research libraries to
provide faster and more comprehensive access to information, digital information will not completely replace
existing formats and techniques in the immediate future.  Consequently, the overall cost of library operations will
increase.  Innovative and creative budgeting and fundraising will be required if libraries are to be successful in
meeting the information needs of our users.

<h5>Computer Networks</h5>

The availability of personal computers and campus networks will present both an opportunity and a challenge for
libraries as faculty, research staff, and students become more information-literate and sophisticated. 
 
<h5>Economic Pressures</h5>

A variety of economic pressures including inflation, the value of the dollar abroad, and a decline in federally
sponsored research will continue to cause a steady erosion in the buying power of American academic libraries.

<h5>Curriculum Growth</h5>
 
While the number of students attending Rice University will remain relatively constant, curriculum changes that
include new teaching and research areas will place increasing stress on the Fondren Library's materials budget.  The
introduction of new teaching and research areas in the social sciences and humanities, as well as the sciences, will
continue to have a significant influence on library collections.  Moreover, faculty research will cross traditional
disciplinary lines and will become more integrative.

<h5>Budget</h5>

Significant budget enhancements to support collection growth and additional library space will be difficult to acquire
without outside fundraising.  In recent years, the University administration has demonstrated a commitment to
maintaining the buying power of the library materials budget.  This practice may not continue as funds may have to
be reallocated to support provisions for access to resources located at other institutions.  

<h5>Evolving Needs</h5>

Coupled with limited purchasing resources, the continuous growth of published information means that the Fondren
Library will need to identify precisely the needs of users and to structure, market, and deliver services that both
anticipate and respond to these needs.

<h5>Facilities</h5>

Despite rapid inflation and new technological developments, library collections at Rice University will continue
modest growth putting additional pressure on already crowded facilities.
<p>



<hr>



<a name="future"><h3>Fondren Library of the Future</h3></a>

Technological advances will not lessen the Fondren Library's centrality to Rice University.  Library staff will assist
users in identifying and accessing needed information both from our own local collections and from remote
information providers located throughout the world. 
<p>
Students and scholars, who will be faced with the challenge of keeping current with rapidly changing technologies,
will call upon librarians for assistance and instruction.  Librarians will suggest systems  and/or resources to meet
their information needs.  Because students and scholars will continue to need a physical space that is conducive to
learning and creativity, the Fondren Library will remain a significant part of the social and intellectual experience of
a Rice education.  
<p>
Simultaneously, librarians will pursue a leadership role in the delivery of information to our users.  Working with
faculty and other academic colleagues, we will provide a combination of digital media and high speed networking
that will make it possible for students and scholars to access new worlds of knowledge through electronic studios
that will function as easy to use gateways.
<p>
The staff of the Fondren Library will play a central role in the implementation of electronic studios in all disciplines
and, through utilization of this technology, the traditional paradigm of the library as a warehouse of stored
information will begin to change. 
<p>
The Fondren Library's collections and staff will be accessible from electronic studios located anywhere on campus;
and through these electronic studios, the linear ordering that characterizes the way in which information is currently
provided will be replaced by non-linear forms that allow for the integration of textual, graphical, video, and audio
elements.  
<p>
Our services will be responsive to the needs of our users and will empower our users to navigate the growing
complexities of the information environment. 
<p>
In some ways, the physical boundaries of the Fondren Library will become less defined while library services will
become even more pervasive.  It will be necessary for librarians to be more closely involved with the educational
and research endeavors of the University.  Increasingly, the Fondren Library will be a transparent and efficient,
international information gateway. 
<p>
We will recruit and hire highly trained and technologically sophisticated staff who are comfortable in a variety of
work environments.  Whether working independently or collaboratively, the hallmarks of our staff will be
flexibility, creativity and a willingness to take risks.
<p>



<hr>



<a name="philosophy"><h3>The Fondren Library Service Philosophy </h3></a>

The Fondren Library staff members are committed to provide the highest quality of service possible, to actively
develop and promote services, to educate our patrons in the best use of services and materials, and to strive at all
times to achieve excellence in staff performance, services, and collections for the benefit of the entire Rice
University community.
<p>
In pursuit of our goal of excellence, we commit our knowledge and talents to:
<p><ul>
<li>Provide effective and efficient access to the entire range of information sources available from our library
  collection and from the collections located throughout the world.
<li>Promote access to remote library collections and to other information sources that complement local resources.
<li>Develop and provide new services, materials, and technologies to meet the changing needs of library users.
<li>Maintain open lines of communication with library users by responding to their needs in a courteous               and
  timely manner.
<li>Promote information literacy through instructional programs and publications.  
<p></Ul>



<hr>



<a name="access"><h3>Access to Information </h3></a>

<h4>Many of our special formats are not listed in the online catalog LIBRIS, limiting their access by users.</h4>

Recommendation:<ul>
<li>Add bibliographic access for archives and manuscripts collections, electronic information, major microform sets,
  and the holdings of the Center for Research Libraries to the LIBRIS database.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:<ul>
<li>Purchasing and loading electronic records of our major microform sets has been an ongoing project for a number
  of years.  During this fiscal year, bibliographic records from the Center for Research Libraries will be added to
  LIBRIS, thereby increasing access to available information.
<li>Plans are being developed to provide collection level listings of our archival and manuscript holdings within
  LIBRIS.  In addition, we will analyze the feasibility of providing intellectual access within LIBRIS to other
  campus information resources such as the architecture and art slide libraries and the Curriculum Library in
  education.
</ul><p>
         

<h4>Due to the costs and complexity of installing local area networks and the licensing and costs of information
resources, we have not yet been able to provide networked access to the multitude of information resources now
available.</h4>

Recommendations:<ul>
<li>Continue extending public and staff local area networks (LANs) so that electronic information resources are
  accessible from any library workstation.
<li>Actively contribute to the development of electronic studio projects currently being planned for humanities and
  environmental sciences.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:<ul>
<li>In addition to the recent installation of an administrative LAN, the public LAN has been expanded to include all
  public LIBRIS terminals and CD-ROM workstations.  Within the next year, it will be possible for library users to
  access many CD-ROM products from any LIBRIS terminal in the Fondren Library.   As funds permit, the
  administrative LAN will be extended to all staff workstations.  The feasibility of extending CD-ROM access to the
  satellite collections elsewhere on campus will be explored.  
<li>Library staff are actively engaged in the development of several electronic studios on campus and will play
  leadership roles in the implementation of an electronic reserve readings archive and in the selection of resources to
  be included in an Humanities Electronic Studio.
<li>Fondren Library and Information Technology staff are developing a Campus-Wide Information System that will
  provide campus network access to a wide range of bibliographic and non-bibliographic information.
</ul><p>
            

<h4>More of the library's collection is being acquired in non-print formats (microforms, CD-ROM discs, digital
audiotapes, laser discs, etc.), and these materials must be made available to users.  Space, equipment, software,
installation, storage, and maintenance should be planned and budgeted as part of the acquisition process for these
formats.</h4>

Recommendations:<ul>
<li>Improve coordination and planning for implementing new technologies.
<li>Improve the quality of equipment in the library and provide adequate equipment to meet users' needs.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:<ul>
<li>A standing committee representing all parts of the Fondren Library has been appointed to advise the library
  administration on automation priorities.  In addition, the Automated Services Department is developing an
  inventory of all automation equipment.  Procedures for implementing routine maintenance for all types of
  equipment are under development as is a planned cycle for capital improvement for library equipment.  This
  includes not only replacement of worn or out-dated equipment but also an assessment of required new equipment
  purchases.
</ul><p>
         

<h4>The library has been slow to provide access to electronic journals and texts, machine-readable datafiles, and other
electronic products.</h4>  

Recommendations:<ul>
<LI>Implement a formal program to provide access to an assistance with electronic publications and machine-readable
  datafiles.
</UL><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>As well as participating in electronic studio projects, library staff are developing plans to add electronic
  information products to our collections and to provide formal training programs in the use of these new resources
  to both staff and library users.
</ul><p>
                     
<h4>A backlog of gifts awaits selection and/or processing.  Since the Friends of Fondren will be soliciting materials for
a book sale, the number of gifts to be reviewed and added to the library's collection will surely grow, exacerbating
the problem.  Given the historical limitations of our materials budget, gift materials offer significant benefits to
collection development and users.</h4>

Recommendation:
<ul><li> Establish policies and procedures for reviewing, evaluating, selecting, processing and preserving gift materials to
  reduce the existing backlog and to prevent future backlogs from occurring.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>Processing Services staff maintain a list of the gift materials that await processing and are cataloging them as time
  permits.  In addition, a portion of a staff member's time has been reallocated to processing gift materials which
  has begun to address the processing backlog.  A more formal plan for adding gift materials to our collections will
  be developed.
</ul><p>
                     

<h4>The volume of requests processed through Fondren Library's interlibrary loan office has increased steadily in the
last five years.  Technological developments have made it possible to increase the speed at which we obtain needed
resources, yet many of our users still perceive this process to be slow and cumbersome.</h4>

Recommendations:
<ul><li> Establish a regular program to inform faculty and students about all aspects of interlibrary loan services, including
  information about the holdings of Fondren Library's consortia partners. 
<li>Use new technologies to obtain materials from other institutions or suppliers more quickly. 
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>A brochure detailing interlibrary borrowing services has been prepared and distributed to all new faculty and
  graduate students as part of our orientation program.   Interlibrary loan staff will develop informational articles for
  appropriate library and university publications.  ARIEL software, which will enable us to utilize the Internet to
  transmit photocopies, will be implemented this year.  Additionally, commercial document delivery services are
  being utilized when necessary.  
</ul><p>



<hr>



<a name="collection"><h3>Collection Management and Development</h3></a>

<h4>Obtaining the resources to build and maintain a collection that complements the excellence of Rice University's
academic and research programs is one of the most important issues facing the Fondren Library.  Rapidly escalating
costs make it difficult for us to expand the breadth and depth of our collections to meet current curricular and
research needs.</h4>

Recommendations:
<ul><li>Aggressively pursue outside funding to support the acquisition of library materials.
<li>Collaborate with faculty and deans to insure that programmatic changes in the curriculum are reflected in
  materials budget allocations.
<li>Pursue cooperative collection development activities with other academic libraries.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>The Collection Development staff have been provided with descriptions of a variety of possible endowment needs.
  Also, we have begun to work with several departments to develop materials budget enhancement requests as part
  of the University's budget process. During the past several years, we have obtained several generous one-time
  grants to retrospectively strengthen several of our humanities collections.  
<p>
  In the past, due to the size of the Library's materials budget, insufficient funds were available to replace lost and
  damaged books and journals.  During fiscal year 1991, a recurring allocation for replacements was incorporated
  into the materials budget.
<p>
  Our cooperative arrangement with the Jones Library in the Texas Medical Center has been very successful.  We
  are in the process of evaluating potential membership in the Research Libraries Group and other cooperative
  arrangements with regional and local libraries. 
</ul><p>
                     

<h4>Collection development has been uneven in some areas because there has not been direct communication between
collection development librarians and the faculty.</h4>

Recommendations:
<ul><li>Improve communication between faculty and collection development librarians.  Schedule annual orientations,
  individual meetings, and focus group discussions to consider budget, selection procedures, statistics, reporting,
  staffing, and policies.  
<li>Strengthen the faculty liaison program.
<li>Clearly define the selection policies and procedures for audiovisual and electronic information resources.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>Last year, the University Librarian met with each Dean to review collection enhancement proposals for the budget
  process.  This process will continue.
<p>
  In order to strengthen all collection development programs, the position of Coordinator for Collection
  Development and Electronic Information Resources was created.  This person is responsible for initiating ongoing
  meetings with the faculty liaisons to improve communication among the collection development staff.  A
  Collection Development Council, chaired by the Coordinator and composed of all selectors, has been established. 
  A workshop for selectors was held in Fall 1992. 
</ul><p>
                     

<h4>Many subject areas in the humanities do not receive adequate collection development attention because subject
specialists are responsible for too many areas.</h4>

Recommendation:
<ul><li>Strengthen collection development in the humanities. 
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>In addition to the programs mentioned in the previous current initiatives,  we are developing proposals to increase
  the number of selectors for the humanities.  The accomplishment of this recommendation will depend on our
  ability to hire additional staff with humanities expertise. 
</ul><p>
                     

<h4>Users regularly have problems finding materials in the stacks that, according to LIBRIS, should be there. The
materials may be shelved improperly, or the LIBRIS shelf status information may be incomplete because some items
do not have barcodes that link them to the proper bibliographic record.</h4>

Recommendations:
<ul><li>Keep the books and journals in the stacks shelved in proper order.
<li>Improve collection status information in LIBRIS. 
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>This summer the staff of Fondren Library spent 360 hours of volunteer time reading the shelves to make sure that
  books are shelved in call number order.  Procedures will be implemented to insure that regular shelf-reading of the
  collection occurs.   Also, the ongoing project to link item information with bibliographic records in LIBRIS will
  be completed during fiscal year 1993.
</ul><p>
                     

<h4>Printed library materials often are damaged by inappropriate binding, shelving, or repair; special format materials
such as sound recordings and microforms are in need of cleaning.  Many valuable resources are deteriorating
quickly because the staff needs training in basic preservation techniques and procedures for consistent application of
the techniques.  In addition, a serious backlog of serials needing binding has occurred due to a lack of funding.</h4>

Recommendations:
<ul><li>Establish a preservation education program for both staff and users. 
<li>Implement procedures for cleaning sound recordings and microforms. 
<li>Process all serials which need binding.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>A librarian in Processing Services has been assigned responsibility for developing a preservation education
  program for staff and users;  the Music Librarian has been assigned responsibility for developing a plan to clean
  our sound recordings; and the binding budget was increased this year in order to finance the shipment of more
  items to a commercial binder thereby reducing the tog binding of many of our serials.
</ul><p>



<hr>



<a name="service"><h3>Library Public Services</h3></a>

<h4>There is a perception that some library services are inadequate and that users' needs are neither understood nor
anticipated.</h4> 

Recommendations:
<ul><li>Review and evaluate library services at regular intervals through the use of surveys, focus groups, and other
  methods of gathering relevant statistics. 
<li>Establish an electronic or staffed information/directional service point in a prominent first floor location.
<li>Promote a Fondren Library Service Philosophy with library users and educate the staff about its importance.  
<li>Improve the service and public image at the front entrance by providing more training for the staff and by more
  effectively integrating the staff into other library operations.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>Plans are under development to improve the training received by staff who work at the front security desk.
  Eventually, we hope to cross train security staff to better integrate them into other library operations.  Staff are
  exploring several electronic information products.  A Public Services Council, comprised of the managers of all
  public services areas in the Fondren Library, was established this year and is charged with developing mechanisms
  for evaluating and reviewing library services. 
</ul><p>
                     

<h4>Users suggest that some service points as well as the building itself be open more hours.</h4>

Recommendations:
<ul><li>Establish library hours that match hours of peak demand for service.
<li>Pursue the feasibility of implementing a 24-hour reserve and study facility with comfortable, secure user space
  and access to some electronic information resources.  
<li>Improve service in the Brown Fine Arts Library nights and weekends.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>The Public Services Council has developed a building use study for Fall 1992 and will utilize the results to
  evaluate library hours.  As we develop plans for the addition of library space at Rice University, every effort will
  be made to implement a 24-hour study facility, something strongly desired by the students.  In addition, we will
  explore the feasibility of adding staff and rescheduling staff in order to provide better service in the Brown Fine
  Arts Library nights and weekends.
</ul><p>
                     

<h4>Faculty complain about the length of time it takes to place materials on reserve and seem unclear about reserve
policies and procedures.</h4>  

Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>A Reserve Review Group was formed in March 1992.  This committee reviewed reserve policies and procedures
  and met with a number of faculty and students to collect opinions on current practice.  To improve the security of
  reserve materials, which was identified as the most critical concern for all groups of library users, a closed reserve
  collection has been implemented for the Fall 1992 semester.  Many of the procedures for processing materials
  have been modified to both speed processing and improve communication with the faculty.  Reserve area staffing
  has been increased through the hiring of student assistants.  The reserve procedure will continue to be monitored
  carefully.  In addition, plans are underway to establish an electronic archive of reserve material.
</ul><P>
                     

<h4>With the advent of the electronic library, users find it increasingly difficult to navigate through all of the resources
available at Fondren Library. This situation will intensify as technological advances are introduced and information
becomes more global in nature.</h4>

Recommendations:
<ul><li>Recommend to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee that library instruction be integrated into the
  undergraduate core curriculum.
<li>Increase library orientation opportunities for faculty and students. 
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>A proposal to integrate library instruction into the foundation courses is under development, and a regular
  schedule of orientation tours was implemented during Fall 1992.
</ul><p>



<hr>



<a name="support"><h3>Administrative Support Services</a></h3>                     

<h4>Nearly all aspects of the Library's human resources programs are decentralized among the department heads. This
has resulted in a lack of coordination and leadership in the important areas of recruitment, training, and staff
development.</h4>

Recommendation:
<ul><li>Establish a human resources function within the library to oversee all aspects of library staff recruitment and
  hiring, to provide dynamic leadership for staff training and development, and to provide work-related counseling
  for staff and supervisors.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>A proposal to establish a centralized human resources function within the Library will be developed as part of the
  annual budget.  During the past two years, the Staff Development Committee has been actively planning training
  and development opportunities for the staff.
</ul><P>
                     

<H4>Communication within the library between all levels of staff is uneven.  Many staff are unaware of the
accomplishments of their colleagues in other departments and feel that their time and efforts are unappreciated. 
New staff do not receive up-to-date information on library and university policies, general library organization,
campus facilities, and library/university publications.</h4>

Recommendations:
<ul><li>Improve communication by restructuring staff committees to involve more people in establishing library policies
  and programs.
<li>Provide staff with regular and timely information about library policies, staff changes, staff openings, staff
  development opportunities, events, etc.  
<li>Implement a staff recognition program.
<li>Develop a new employee orientation packet that includes the Fondren Library Mission Statement and Service
  Philosophy, the current goals and objectives, the staff organizational chart, library and university personnel
  policies, Staff Association Bylaws, and other useful information.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><Li>A participatory committee structure has been implemented to improve communication among all levels of staff. 
  Also, a newsletter for the staff to communicate policy and procedural information will be established.  A new
  employee library orientation program has been implemented and will be conducted several times a year for
  newcomers.  Concurrently, the University's Human Resources Department is updating personnel policies and will
  issue an employee handbook.  
</ul><p>
                     

<h4>Library development and public relations programs go hand in hand.  For the Fondren Library to provide library
programs and services that equal the University's reputation, a significant fundraising effort must be initiated.</h4>  

Recommendations:
<ul><li>Increase the scope and effectiveness of library fundraising.
<li>Use library publications, news releases, and promotional activities to present Fondren Library to the university
  community as a vital element in developing and sustaining Rice's excellent academic and research programs -- a
  key resource whose quality affects students, faculty, the curriculum and research.
<li>Strengthen the library's external public relations programs to stimulate individuals, organizations, foundations, and
  corporations to provide financial support to the Fondren Library. 
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>During 1991, a senior librarian was assigned responsibility for strengthening the Fondren Library's public
  relations and fundraising programs.  She has been working closely with Friends of Fondren and will begin to work
  more closely with  the University's Development Office.  During the coming year, in conjunction with the
  Development Office, a Library Development Plan will be created.  Events have been and will continue to be
  planned to increase the Library's visibility both on and off-campus.
</ul><p>
                     

<h4>Funds for new equipment and the implementation of new technologies must be requested through the
time-consuming process of a capital budget request or by reallocating existing funds.  The needs of faculty and
students for new technology will be constant and ever changing.  Consistent and known funding is necessary for
planning and implementation.</h4>

Recommendation: 
<ul><li>Pursue funding to establish an equipment and new technology endowment of at least $500,000 to support ongoing
  implementation of new technologies and replacement of obsolete equipment.      
</ul><p>



<hr>



<a name="library facilities"><h3>Library Facilities</h3></a>

<h4>All areas of the Fondren Library are overcrowded.  According to a report on the Fondren Library prepared by
McAdams Planning Consultants, we have current space deficits of 29,000 assignable square feet (asf) for housing
our collections and 1,200 asf for staff work space. Assuming a relatively flat rate of growth over the next twenty
years, this space deficit will grow to more than 145,000 gross square feet.  Today, stack aisle widths are too
narrow, stack shelving capacity is too dense, reshelving is difficult, public service areas are cramped, and staff work
areas are small and windowless. The Fondren Library will be out of space in two years.</h4>

Recommendation:  
<ul><li>Develop a long range library space plan that will accommodate ten years of growth and evaluate various service
  options for a new library building or addition that takes into consideration user benefits, staff needs, and
  educational impact.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives: 
<ul><li>A plan to augment library space and to provide for ten years of growth has been developed and submitted to the
  President.  This plan will require further development and enhancement once possible funding options are known.
</ul><p>
                     

<h4>The Fondren Library building is large and complex.  Finding one's way can be confusing. Directional signs and
room designations are absent and it is difficult to find service points, offices and classrooms.</h4> 

Current Initiatives:
<ul><li> Directional graphics are being installed throughout the Fondren Library and floor plans and other directional aids
  are being prepared. 
</ul><p>
                    

<h4>Public seating in most of the stack areas is nearly 25 years old.  The seats are worn and very uncomfortable.</h4>

Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>All public seating throughout the stacks and within the Reference area has been replaced.
</ul><p>
                    

<h4>Users regularly complain about the reliability and number of copiers as well as the quality and cost of copying.</h4>

Recommendations:
<ul><li>Install high quality copy machines and improve evening and weekend copier maintenance.  
<li>Add more copy machines where needed and space permits.
</ul><P>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>The cost of copies made with copicards was reduced in August 1992.  Plans are being developed to improve
  the monitoring of evening and weekend copier maintenance.  In addition, an evaluation of the location and quality
  of the copiers throughout the Fondren Library will be conducted.
</ul><p>
                    

<h4>The location and reliability of public LIBRIS terminals has concerned our users. Users complain that the different
terminals and keyboards are confusing. </h4>

Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>All public LIBRIS terminals are being replaced with work stations that have a common interface. This newer
  technology is more reliable and makes LIBRIS access simpler.
</ul><p>
                    

<h4>The Fondren Library building is perceived to be personally unsafe. Significant thefts of microforms have happened
despite the theft detection system in the front foyer.  Thefts of hardware and software from the Center for
Scholarship and Information (CSI) have occurred.</h4>

Recommendation:
<ul><li>Increase security throughout the Fondren Library by utilizing new monitoring devices and by redesigning the
  physical arrangement of the affected areas.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><Li>The physical arrangement of Government Publications was changed and an additional staff position was added in
  1991 in order to improve security of the area.  Also, plans are underway to install a card access system at the
  front entrance to the Fondren Library in order to provide better control over who enters the Library.
</ul><p>
                    

<h4>Space for housing and accessing special format materials is inadequate in all library facilities.</h4> 

Recommendations: 
<ul><li>Increase the amount of shelving for compact discs in the Brown Fine Arts Library.
<li>Provide additional space in the Business Information Center for CD-ROM and microcomputer workstations and
  for microfiche readers. 
<li>Increase the space available for audiovisual services by adding more viewer stations and shelving.
<li>Add more staff work space to the Woodson Research Center and increase the amount of space available for
  shelving manuscripts, archives, and books.
</ul><p>
Current Initiatives:
<ul><li>Due to the absence of room for growth within the Fondren Library, solving the space problems for audiovisual
  and all other special format materials may not be possible without the addition of space to the Fondren Library. 
  In the meantime, dense or compact shelving will be installed wherever possible. 
</ul><p>
<img src="GIF/bnb.gif"><p>

<hr><hr>



<h2>News From Fondren</h2><h3> Vol.2 no.3,                             
Winter 1994
Fondren Library, Rice University, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX, 77251-1892, 713-527-4022
</h3><p>
Published three times a year, in the Spring, Fall and Winter.
<p>
Editor: Kerry Keck (keckker@rice.edu)
Newsletter committee: Barbara Halbert, Barbara Kile, Kay McStay, Jane Segal
Photographer: Kerry Keck
<p>
<I>News From Fondren</i> is a copyrighted publication of the Fondren Library, Rice University.  All or part of
<i>News From Fondren</i> may be redistributed, with appropriate credit.

Statements of fact and opinion appearing in <i>News From Fondren</i> are the responsibility of the authors and do
not imply the endorsement of Rice University.


<hr><hr>