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A new dialogue: A student advisory committee in an academic library
A New Dialogue: A Student Advisory Committee in an Academic Library by Candace
R. Benefiel, Wendi Arant, and Elaine Gass
To give students a direct voice in library user policy and the library a point of contact with the student body, the Evans Libraries formed
a Student
Advisory Committee. Committee
meetings
The
provide a
forum for student representatives, administrators,
Ii brary
and student
liaisons to discuss concerns and proposed
changes in policy.
Candace Senior Humanities
R. Benefiel is
Reference
Librarian,
Sterling C. Evans Libray, Texas A&M University, 5000
College Station, Texas 77843.
tamu.edur;
Wendi Arant is Coordinator, Reference
Electronic
Services, Sterling C. Evans Library
; Reference
Librarian,
Elaine Gass is Aubrey
R. Watzek
Library, Lewis & Clark College, Portland,
Journal
of Academic
Oregon
Librarianship,
972 19.
Volume
I
n most academic libraries, the largest user-group, the students, have the least input into library decisions and policies directly affecting them. While the literature waxes eloquently on the many undeniable virtues of maintaining close liaison contacts with the university teaching faculty, almost no articles have been published on university student liaison. In one of the few mentions of student liaison activities, a librarian at California State University, Long Beach, discussed her successful experience as a liaison to students, but that was through a “Faculty-inResidence” program which involves faculty members living in residence halls with students.’ For several years, the Texas A&M University General Libraries have sent librarians to student government meetings. Student reaction to this practice has been positive: it has been seen as evidence that the library is interested in student concerns. Librarians are able to stay abreast of current student issues, while students can directly address questions and concerns to a library representative. Liaisons serve as both information couriers, carrying information from the Library to the students, and as “temperature gauges,” warning the Library when sensitive issues surface. Library administration selects library liaisons to student government from those among the library faculty who have expressed an interest in working with student groups. The liaisons serve one to two years on average, and the previous liaison work of these librarians with the student government laid a firm foundation for an expansion of the library’s communications with the student body. The current Speaker of the Student Senate, Alice Gonzalez, asserts that the presence of liaisons [in student meetings] displays an “in-depth and continuous interest in student issues and demonstrates a determined effort in maintaining a dialogue with the students.“’
25, Number
2, pages
1I I-I 13
ORIGIN AND CHARGE OF THE COMMITTEE In 1995, students initiated and approved a Library Use Fee, providing the library with approximately $4 million per year in additional funding. As a result of this, and in an effort to give students a direct voice in the formation of library user policy, while providing the library with another point of contact with the student body, the General Libraries formed a Student Advisory Committee (SAC). The leadership of the Student Senate and the Graduate Student Council lent valuable assistance in the initial formation of the committee. The impetus for implementing SAC was, in part, to show justification for the Library Use Fee which students pay with their tuition every term. In fact, the President of the University and the Dean of the Library felt that, “in light of the student use fee, the students should have the opportunity to view themselves as stockholders.” The establishment of this committee created a forum for information exchange between the student body and the General Libraries at Texas A&M University. Such a committee lets a representative group of students review new or planned services, and library administration can listen to the needs and concerns of the students. The Dean of the Library formulated a charge to the Student Advisory Committee, containing three major points. First, the committee was to maintain effective communication channels with student organizations. As a group drawn from the ranks of the student governing bodies, the members of the committee would be in a strong position to serve as conduits of information and communication both to and from other student groups. In conjunction with this first charge, the second goal was to serve as a sounding board to transmit the needs and feelings of the student body to the library. Lastly, the Student
March
1999
111
Advisory Committee was to work with Library administrators in reviewing uses of the Library Use Fee and other critical issues and policies. For the organization of the inaugural committee, the Library had considered having a focus group of randomly-drawn non-affiliated students, but the Graduate Student Council President and the Student Body President stepped forward to offer their services. The involvement of more highly-placed students, those engaged in student government, would provide a more outspoken, politically aware group who would be willing to both compromise and criticize. In addition, such a group has access to a broader range of student opinion in their constituencies. Colleen Cook, the Associate Dean, explains that “they were not meant to be library supporters, but partners in an enterprise.“3 The intent was to select students who were aware of trends and opinions on campus, and to provide a broad-based subject background from which to approach the concept of libraries and information services. While this method worked well for establishing the committee, formal guidelines for the selection and composition of the committee were needed to insure the continuation of the body and the endurance of its mission and work past the first year. In order to give the committee members input on these guidelines, volunteers formed a subcommittee, which drew up a document outlining future composition of the committee and procedures for appointment of future committee members. The committee subsequently reviewed and adopted the document, “Report on Evans Libraries Student Advisory Committee of the Student Advisory Committee Subcommittee on the Future Composition.” Committee recommendations as explained in the document were: l
l
112
The Student Advisory Committee shall consist of the Student Body President, the Academic Affairs Chair of the Student Senate, the Student Services Chair of the Student Senate, the Graduate Student Council President (or their designees), four At-Large Undergraduate members, and six AtLarge Graduate member; The Undergraduate At-large positions are to be appointed by the Student Body President and the Graduate Atlarge positions are to be appointed by the Graduate Student Council President;
The Journal
of Academic
Librarianship
The Subcommittee recommends that the At-Large positions represent a diversity of backgrounds, (e.g., that choices are made from a variety of colleges); and The At-Large positions are appointed for one year. At-Large members may be invited to serve a second year on the committee at the discretion of the Student Advisory Committee. The committee consists of 12-14 student representatives. In addition, the liaisons to the Student Senate and the Graduate Student Council represent the library at committee meetings. The coordinator of the library group which oversees the meeting arrangements and agendas for the committee is also present. Generally speaking, either the Dean of the Libraries or the Associate Dean attend the committee meetings as well, in order to demonstrate a serious concern for the thoughts and recommendations of this committee. “One of the main things this group has done is to keep the students constantly in the mind of library administration,” says Edward Woodfin, a graduate student and SAC member. “We have seen visible changes of [libr ] policy from what this group has said.”a?
“Over the course of the 19961997 academic year, librarians and student representatives formed new friendships and alliances, and the library enacted many good ideas introduced by the students.”
Meetings for the first year “primarily dealt with reports from the library, and discussions of issues and problems brought to the meetings by both the library and the student representatives. Some of the issues covered were first raised in student government meetings. The committee was originally scheduled to meet three times during the academic year, but the meetings were so successful that a fourth meeting was added for the purpose of providing closure for the year and setting the foundation for the following year’s activities. Throughout the first year, the SAC met informally for lunch and later for a formal meeting with the library administration. Luncheon meetings served to put members at ease and allowed them an opportu-
nity to get to know each other. In the second year, because the undergraduates on the committee found it difficult to make a substantial time commitment, the format was changed to a two-hour meeting over lunch, to keep the meetings more friendly and relaxed. The Library administration gave careful consideration to subjects brought up in meetings. Associate Dean Cook expressed that the administration “wanted the truth, the bad and the good . .. so that [the Library] can deal with it, and make it better.“’ Among the issues and concerns addressed by the Evans Libraries Student Advisory Committee in its first year were: Allocation fee;
of the student
library
use
Revision of the library food and drink policy; Extended hours study space-building and service hours during peak times in the term; Future relations ment;
with student govem-
Feedback on a campus-wide survey of student needs versus library services; Book availability issues-check out limits, lost and missing books, security, and fine policy; Construction on the library annex (an addition to the Sterling C. Evans Library building); and Library public relations-getting coverage in the student newspaper, the Battalion; a suggestion box on the library Web page; an information kit (also on the Web page); formation of a Rapid Response Group to respond to unplanned events affecting the library buildings and user services.
OUTCOMEOF THECOMMITTEE Over the course of the 1996- 1997 academic year, librarians and student representatives formed new friendships and alliances, and the library enacted many good ideas introduced by the students. Stephen Svonavec, a SAC member, said, “The fact that this group exists is positive, and unlike some other university committees we do have input into library policy.“6 The students quickly became outspoken advocates of the library, with student leaders on the committee even offering to share their allotted space as guest columnists in the student newspaper for library publicity columns. This support was unheard of prior to SAC’s formation.
Accomplishments during the past year include action on an Undergraduate Student Senate referendum which allows patrons to bring “pop-top” style, squeezable drink bottles into the library. Students proposed this amendment to the no food policy to enhance their comfort while studying; the library dean found the request reasonable and revised the “No Food and Drink” policy accordingly. Following a trial period with the new policy, the library accepted the revision permanently, although as with any policy, it is subject to review and revision should problems arise in the future. The library also accommodated a request to extend evening hours one hour to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday nights, to better suit students’ study needs. Alice Gonzalez, the Speaker of the Student Senate, said that “the library has made a phenomenal response to [student] concerns.“7 Members of SAC, the Faculty Senate Library Council (an advisory body drawn from members of the teaching faculty), and others thought implementing a fine policy for overdue books would encourage their return and availability. The library had been considering using fines prior to the request, and after a study was completed, library administration decided that the library would test a fine system beginning in the Fall of 1997. The strengthening relationship between the library and student government could readily be seen in the Spring of 1997 when Fred Heath, Dean and Director of the Texas A&M University General Libraries, was honored with two Graduate Student Council awards for outstanding faculty service to graduate students. Another indication that the SAC was a success is the recent formation at Texas A&M of a similar student group to provide input to the office which oversees campus parking and traffic concerns.
CONCLUSION Academic libraries have long sought to provide the best possible service for the greatest number of their clientele, and many have wholeheartedly espoused the idea of developing proactive liaison relationships with important user groups, such as teaching and research faculty, yet the important aspect of liaison with the student body has been neglected. A Library
Student Advisory Committee, while not a panacea, can provide an important first step in establishing an improved relationship with student government, and, through student government, with the student body at large. A library which works with student government to address student concerns will present itself as a campus entity which listens to, and cares about, its student users, and, in turn, has the support of students as users, advocates, and financial supporters. “The real thing that makes a group like this work is not so much in the power of the group, but that student ideas are not falling on deaf ears,” says SAC member Edward Woodfin. The establishment of a student advisory committee, by improving the image of the library with the students, can not only assist in garnering student support in crucial funding decisions, but may also lay the foundations for continued support of the library as today’s students become tomorrow’s alumni.
‘A Library Student Advisory Committee, while not a panacea, can provide an important first step in establishing an improved relationship with student government, and through student government, with the student body at large.”
Starting and maintaining a committee of this type requires a commitment on the part of the library administration to opening and maintaining a channel of communication with the student body. Part of making a student advisory committee work lies in giving the committee members the knowledge that their ideas and concerns are important. The committee not only needs to receive reports from the library, but also to be actively asked for advice on policy changes, or presented with an array of solutions and asked for input on the best choice. Library administration must consider student input thoughtfully and be willing to act on it as appropriate. While such a committee can
be a public relations asset, it can and should be more. A student advisory committee need not be an expensive or excessively time-consuming effort. Careful selection of liaison personnel from the library will make the process flow smoothly, and, while support from the library director is essential, primary work of facilitation of the committee need not rest solely on the director’s shoulders. Heath asserts that “It does take some time, but the result is more than worth it.“9 The effort to build an ongoing, communicative relationship with the students will benefit ten-fold in the long term. One of the decade’s strongest trends in higher education is the call for accountability. As student costs rise, students are voicing stronger opinions on what they want from their educational dollar. Given this growing call for accountability, it falls on the responsible academic library not only to continue to provide excellence in services and resources, often in the face of shrinking budgets and rising costs, but also to educate its users in the ways of the complex mechanism that is the modern academic library. Any approach to this daunting task must, by necessity, be multifaceted. The establishment of a student advisory committee is a low-cost, effective way to reach out to students and show them their library as a dynamic, aware, and responsive participant in their educational experience.
REFERENCES 1.Renee Nesbitt Anderson, “Working with Students: Gaining Perspective as a Faculty Librarian and Faculty Mentor,” in The Librurian in the University: Essays on Membership in the Academic Community, edited by H. Palmer Hall & Caroline Byrd (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1990), pp. I7 I - 178. 2. Alice Gonzalez, Personal interview (February 17, 1998). 3. Colleen Cook, Personal interview (March 3, 1998). 4. Edward Woodfin, Personal interview (February 24, 1998). 5. Cook, Personal interview. 6. Stephen Svonavec, Personal interview (February 24, 1998). 7. Gonzalez, Personal interview. 8. Woodtin, Personal interview. 9. Fred Heath, Personal interview (March 3, 1998).
March 1999
113
R. Benefiel, Wendi Arant, and Elaine Gass
To give students a direct voice in library user policy and the library a point of contact with the student body, the Evans Libraries formed
a Student
Advisory Committee. Committee
meetings
The
provide a
forum for student representatives, administrators,
Ii brary
and student
liaisons to discuss concerns and proposed
changes in policy.
Candace Senior Humanities
R. Benefiel is
Reference
Librarian,
Sterling C. Evans Libray, Texas A&M University, 5000
College Station, Texas 77843.
tamu.edur;
Wendi Arant is Coordinator, Reference
Electronic
Services, Sterling C. Evans Library
Librarian,
Elaine Gass is Aubrey
R. Watzek
Library, Lewis & Clark College, Portland,
Journal
of Academic
Oregon
Librarianship,
972 19.
Volume
I
n most academic libraries, the largest user-group, the students, have the least input into library decisions and policies directly affecting them. While the literature waxes eloquently on the many undeniable virtues of maintaining close liaison contacts with the university teaching faculty, almost no articles have been published on university student liaison. In one of the few mentions of student liaison activities, a librarian at California State University, Long Beach, discussed her successful experience as a liaison to students, but that was through a “Faculty-inResidence” program which involves faculty members living in residence halls with students.’ For several years, the Texas A&M University General Libraries have sent librarians to student government meetings. Student reaction to this practice has been positive: it has been seen as evidence that the library is interested in student concerns. Librarians are able to stay abreast of current student issues, while students can directly address questions and concerns to a library representative. Liaisons serve as both information couriers, carrying information from the Library to the students, and as “temperature gauges,” warning the Library when sensitive issues surface. Library administration selects library liaisons to student government from those among the library faculty who have expressed an interest in working with student groups. The liaisons serve one to two years on average, and the previous liaison work of these librarians with the student government laid a firm foundation for an expansion of the library’s communications with the student body. The current Speaker of the Student Senate, Alice Gonzalez, asserts that the presence of liaisons [in student meetings] displays an “in-depth and continuous interest in student issues and demonstrates a determined effort in maintaining a dialogue with the students.“’
25, Number
2, pages
1I I-I 13
ORIGIN AND CHARGE OF THE COMMITTEE In 1995, students initiated and approved a Library Use Fee, providing the library with approximately $4 million per year in additional funding. As a result of this, and in an effort to give students a direct voice in the formation of library user policy, while providing the library with another point of contact with the student body, the General Libraries formed a Student Advisory Committee (SAC). The leadership of the Student Senate and the Graduate Student Council lent valuable assistance in the initial formation of the committee. The impetus for implementing SAC was, in part, to show justification for the Library Use Fee which students pay with their tuition every term. In fact, the President of the University and the Dean of the Library felt that, “in light of the student use fee, the students should have the opportunity to view themselves as stockholders.” The establishment of this committee created a forum for information exchange between the student body and the General Libraries at Texas A&M University. Such a committee lets a representative group of students review new or planned services, and library administration can listen to the needs and concerns of the students. The Dean of the Library formulated a charge to the Student Advisory Committee, containing three major points. First, the committee was to maintain effective communication channels with student organizations. As a group drawn from the ranks of the student governing bodies, the members of the committee would be in a strong position to serve as conduits of information and communication both to and from other student groups. In conjunction with this first charge, the second goal was to serve as a sounding board to transmit the needs and feelings of the student body to the library. Lastly, the Student
March
1999
111
Advisory Committee was to work with Library administrators in reviewing uses of the Library Use Fee and other critical issues and policies. For the organization of the inaugural committee, the Library had considered having a focus group of randomly-drawn non-affiliated students, but the Graduate Student Council President and the Student Body President stepped forward to offer their services. The involvement of more highly-placed students, those engaged in student government, would provide a more outspoken, politically aware group who would be willing to both compromise and criticize. In addition, such a group has access to a broader range of student opinion in their constituencies. Colleen Cook, the Associate Dean, explains that “they were not meant to be library supporters, but partners in an enterprise.“3 The intent was to select students who were aware of trends and opinions on campus, and to provide a broad-based subject background from which to approach the concept of libraries and information services. While this method worked well for establishing the committee, formal guidelines for the selection and composition of the committee were needed to insure the continuation of the body and the endurance of its mission and work past the first year. In order to give the committee members input on these guidelines, volunteers formed a subcommittee, which drew up a document outlining future composition of the committee and procedures for appointment of future committee members. The committee subsequently reviewed and adopted the document, “Report on Evans Libraries Student Advisory Committee of the Student Advisory Committee Subcommittee on the Future Composition.” Committee recommendations as explained in the document were: l
l
112
The Student Advisory Committee shall consist of the Student Body President, the Academic Affairs Chair of the Student Senate, the Student Services Chair of the Student Senate, the Graduate Student Council President (or their designees), four At-Large Undergraduate members, and six AtLarge Graduate member; The Undergraduate At-large positions are to be appointed by the Student Body President and the Graduate Atlarge positions are to be appointed by the Graduate Student Council President;
The Journal
of Academic
Librarianship
The Subcommittee recommends that the At-Large positions represent a diversity of backgrounds, (e.g., that choices are made from a variety of colleges); and The At-Large positions are appointed for one year. At-Large members may be invited to serve a second year on the committee at the discretion of the Student Advisory Committee. The committee consists of 12-14 student representatives. In addition, the liaisons to the Student Senate and the Graduate Student Council represent the library at committee meetings. The coordinator of the library group which oversees the meeting arrangements and agendas for the committee is also present. Generally speaking, either the Dean of the Libraries or the Associate Dean attend the committee meetings as well, in order to demonstrate a serious concern for the thoughts and recommendations of this committee. “One of the main things this group has done is to keep the students constantly in the mind of library administration,” says Edward Woodfin, a graduate student and SAC member. “We have seen visible changes of [libr ] policy from what this group has said.”a?
“Over the course of the 19961997 academic year, librarians and student representatives formed new friendships and alliances, and the library enacted many good ideas introduced by the students.”
Meetings for the first year “primarily dealt with reports from the library, and discussions of issues and problems brought to the meetings by both the library and the student representatives. Some of the issues covered were first raised in student government meetings. The committee was originally scheduled to meet three times during the academic year, but the meetings were so successful that a fourth meeting was added for the purpose of providing closure for the year and setting the foundation for the following year’s activities. Throughout the first year, the SAC met informally for lunch and later for a formal meeting with the library administration. Luncheon meetings served to put members at ease and allowed them an opportu-
nity to get to know each other. In the second year, because the undergraduates on the committee found it difficult to make a substantial time commitment, the format was changed to a two-hour meeting over lunch, to keep the meetings more friendly and relaxed. The Library administration gave careful consideration to subjects brought up in meetings. Associate Dean Cook expressed that the administration “wanted the truth, the bad and the good . .. so that [the Library] can deal with it, and make it better.“’ Among the issues and concerns addressed by the Evans Libraries Student Advisory Committee in its first year were: Allocation fee;
of the student
library
use
Revision of the library food and drink policy; Extended hours study space-building and service hours during peak times in the term; Future relations ment;
with student govem-
Feedback on a campus-wide survey of student needs versus library services; Book availability issues-check out limits, lost and missing books, security, and fine policy; Construction on the library annex (an addition to the Sterling C. Evans Library building); and Library public relations-getting coverage in the student newspaper, the Battalion; a suggestion box on the library Web page; an information kit (also on the Web page); formation of a Rapid Response Group to respond to unplanned events affecting the library buildings and user services.
OUTCOMEOF THECOMMITTEE Over the course of the 1996- 1997 academic year, librarians and student representatives formed new friendships and alliances, and the library enacted many good ideas introduced by the students. Stephen Svonavec, a SAC member, said, “The fact that this group exists is positive, and unlike some other university committees we do have input into library policy.“6 The students quickly became outspoken advocates of the library, with student leaders on the committee even offering to share their allotted space as guest columnists in the student newspaper for library publicity columns. This support was unheard of prior to SAC’s formation.
Accomplishments during the past year include action on an Undergraduate Student Senate referendum which allows patrons to bring “pop-top” style, squeezable drink bottles into the library. Students proposed this amendment to the no food policy to enhance their comfort while studying; the library dean found the request reasonable and revised the “No Food and Drink” policy accordingly. Following a trial period with the new policy, the library accepted the revision permanently, although as with any policy, it is subject to review and revision should problems arise in the future. The library also accommodated a request to extend evening hours one hour to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday nights, to better suit students’ study needs. Alice Gonzalez, the Speaker of the Student Senate, said that “the library has made a phenomenal response to [student] concerns.“7 Members of SAC, the Faculty Senate Library Council (an advisory body drawn from members of the teaching faculty), and others thought implementing a fine policy for overdue books would encourage their return and availability. The library had been considering using fines prior to the request, and after a study was completed, library administration decided that the library would test a fine system beginning in the Fall of 1997. The strengthening relationship between the library and student government could readily be seen in the Spring of 1997 when Fred Heath, Dean and Director of the Texas A&M University General Libraries, was honored with two Graduate Student Council awards for outstanding faculty service to graduate students. Another indication that the SAC was a success is the recent formation at Texas A&M of a similar student group to provide input to the office which oversees campus parking and traffic concerns.
CONCLUSION Academic libraries have long sought to provide the best possible service for the greatest number of their clientele, and many have wholeheartedly espoused the idea of developing proactive liaison relationships with important user groups, such as teaching and research faculty, yet the important aspect of liaison with the student body has been neglected. A Library
Student Advisory Committee, while not a panacea, can provide an important first step in establishing an improved relationship with student government, and, through student government, with the student body at large. A library which works with student government to address student concerns will present itself as a campus entity which listens to, and cares about, its student users, and, in turn, has the support of students as users, advocates, and financial supporters. “The real thing that makes a group like this work is not so much in the power of the group, but that student ideas are not falling on deaf ears,” says SAC member Edward Woodfin. The establishment of a student advisory committee, by improving the image of the library with the students, can not only assist in garnering student support in crucial funding decisions, but may also lay the foundations for continued support of the library as today’s students become tomorrow’s alumni.
‘A Library Student Advisory Committee, while not a panacea, can provide an important first step in establishing an improved relationship with student government, and through student government, with the student body at large.”
Starting and maintaining a committee of this type requires a commitment on the part of the library administration to opening and maintaining a channel of communication with the student body. Part of making a student advisory committee work lies in giving the committee members the knowledge that their ideas and concerns are important. The committee not only needs to receive reports from the library, but also to be actively asked for advice on policy changes, or presented with an array of solutions and asked for input on the best choice. Library administration must consider student input thoughtfully and be willing to act on it as appropriate. While such a committee can
be a public relations asset, it can and should be more. A student advisory committee need not be an expensive or excessively time-consuming effort. Careful selection of liaison personnel from the library will make the process flow smoothly, and, while support from the library director is essential, primary work of facilitation of the committee need not rest solely on the director’s shoulders. Heath asserts that “It does take some time, but the result is more than worth it.“9 The effort to build an ongoing, communicative relationship with the students will benefit ten-fold in the long term. One of the decade’s strongest trends in higher education is the call for accountability. As student costs rise, students are voicing stronger opinions on what they want from their educational dollar. Given this growing call for accountability, it falls on the responsible academic library not only to continue to provide excellence in services and resources, often in the face of shrinking budgets and rising costs, but also to educate its users in the ways of the complex mechanism that is the modern academic library. Any approach to this daunting task must, by necessity, be multifaceted. The establishment of a student advisory committee is a low-cost, effective way to reach out to students and show them their library as a dynamic, aware, and responsive participant in their educational experience.
REFERENCES 1.Renee Nesbitt Anderson, “Working with Students: Gaining Perspective as a Faculty Librarian and Faculty Mentor,” in The Librurian in the University: Essays on Membership in the Academic Community, edited by H. Palmer Hall & Caroline Byrd (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1990), pp. I7 I - 178. 2. Alice Gonzalez, Personal interview (February 17, 1998). 3. Colleen Cook, Personal interview (March 3, 1998). 4. Edward Woodfin, Personal interview (February 24, 1998). 5. Cook, Personal interview. 6. Stephen Svonavec, Personal interview (February 24, 1998). 7. Gonzalez, Personal interview. 8. Woodtin, Personal interview. 9. Fred Heath, Personal interview (March 3, 1998).
March 1999
113