Read the Curry College NEASC 2012 Self-Study Report.

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previous reaccreditation, the Media Services and Lab Management have merged with the
Support Services, resulting in a more effective organization of Help Desk technicians and adult
and student workers from other technology support areas.
Mirroring a trend toward technologically‐delivered resources, the Library has shown a
commitment to highlighting and expanding access to electronic resources, with a modest but
continuing growth (3%) in traditional resources (primarily books, DVDs and multimedia
materials in the Education Resource Center). This growth, to 98.800 volumes in 2011, is in
addition to the acquisition of electronic materials, including EBrary e‐books, which now account
for the equivalent of more than half (56,000 titles) of the Library’s physical book/media
resources. Subscriptions to databases have increased as well, growing by over a third from 2006
to 2011, accompanied by an annual review of the fit between data bases and evolving curricula
and instruction. More than 36,000 international, multilingual and cross‐disciplinary electronic
journals are available as well, manifesting the same pattern as seen for other materials: print
periodical subscriptions have declined, while electronic ones have increased.
As noted, LibGuides have been an asset to Library searching. Although there is no baseline data
against which to compare its use, individual LibGuides for specific courses or assignments were
accessed as many as 1,500 times during the spring 2011 term, with all accesses totaling nearly
15,800 hits. clvii Students and faculty have informally remarked that this tool has been effective
in supporting student learning.
The combined budget lines for all types of Library resources increased by approximately 15%
between FY2006 and FY2011, with shifts consistent with the patterns reported above.
Allocations for electronic resources (primarily databases and electronic books) doubled, while
those for traditional resources (books, videos and ERC materials) decreased by 58%, but only in
FY2010. This was motivated by a College‐wide reduction in operations and capital for FY2010.
An important question is the extent to which the growth of the Library’s collection, in all
formats, reflects and supports the College’s academic programs as well as the intellectual
development of the individual student. There is at present no measure in place to assess the
latter, although Library collection development has always been geared toward both purposes.
With regard to academic programs, Library faculty members are involved in plans for new
program development and the assessment and revision of existing programs. For example, the
January 2004 proposal establishing the MBA program included a 20‐page discussion of Library
resources required for the program, prepared by the Library director. In preparation for the
College’s Clinical Nurse Leader (MSN) program, an external study assessing Library resources
resulted in additional funding for databases. Additionally, the 2009 and 2011 external reviews
of the College’s Master’s in Criminal Justice program were supported by multiple library
documents detailing resource and budgetary support for the program, student access to and
use of technology, and instructional support; and support for the Nursing Department’s 2009
reaccreditation was assisted by Library data.
Generally speaking, the Library’s “materials” budget, a capital line, is divided among library
Curry College 2012 Self-Study
Standard Seven