{"id":3160,"date":"2018-08-31T10:46:20","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T14:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/machias.edu\/library\/?page_id=3160"},"modified":"2023-06-20T16:01:25","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T20:01:25","slug":"merrill-library-annual-report","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/machias.edu\/library\/merrill-library-annual-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Merrill Library Annual Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Merrill Library Annual Report<\/h3>\n

2018<\/h3>\n
\"\"
Students pose in the library, which was then in Powers Hall. (Washingtonia 1952) dents pose in the library, which was then in Powers Hall. (Washingtonia 1952)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

History<\/b><\/p>\n

Merrill Library is named after Earle D. Merrill who served Washington State Normal School from 1915 to 1944. Mr. Merrill received his Bachelor\u2019s degree from Bates College in 1912. He joined WSNS as assistant principal in1915. \u00a0He took a leave of absence and served in France during World War I with the Engineers of the American Expeditionary Forces from 1918-1919. Upon his return, he continued to upgrade his education, and taught various courses including mathematics, secondary education, and French. Mr. Merrill also served as Washington State Normal School librarian. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Library was initially housed in Powers Hall. In 1936, a fire destroyed the building. Powers Hall was rebuilt in 1937, and again housed the library.<\/span>The current Merrill Library was built in 1961 at the end of what was then the new classroom building, Torrey Hall. In 1989, Merrill Library was considerably expanded and upgraded.<\/p>\n

Mission<\/b><\/p>\n

The Library is a dynamic partner that empowers and supports the teaching of distinctive baccalaureate programs that focus on an Environmental Liberal Arts core at the University of Maine at Machias. The Library will be recognized as an accessible and exceptional center of research, learning, and creativity focused on student success. The Library welcomes the citizens of the local community and beyond to share in its collections promoting and stimulating intellectual curiosity and creativity while immersed in the cultural milieu of coastal Downeast Maine.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Merrill Library Today<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mission<\/b><\/p>\n

The Library is a dynamic partner that empowers and supports the teaching of distinctive baccalaureate programs that focus on an Environmental Liberal Arts core at the University of Maine at Machias. The Library will berecognized as an accessible and exceptional center of research, learning, and creativity focused on student success. The Library welcomes the\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

citizens of the local community and beyond to share in its collections promoting and stimulating intellectual curiosity and creativity while immersed in the cultural milieu of coastal Downeast Maine. <\/span><\/p>\n

Vision Statement<\/strong><\/p>\n

Merrill Library serves as a gateway to global information, enabling direct and remote access to resources in a variety of formats. By creating a welcoming physical and virtual space, the library is a dynamic and vibrant part of the UMaine Machias academic community supporting an active community of diverse learners. Through student and faculty research assistance, comprehensive information literacy instruction, collection development and maintenance, the Library empowers members of the UMaine Machias community to become discriminating evaluators of information, intellectually curious, and creative lifelong problem solvers.<\/p>\n

Who we are<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Merrill Library supports the University of Maine at Machias\u2019 academic programs by maintaining collections in appropriate formats that enhance the teaching and public service goals of the university.\u00a0 Merrill Library reports to the Head of Campus and is managed through a library director, who is one of the professional librarians. The library employs 2 professional librarians (1.6 FTE) and 1 Library Specialist CL2 (1 FTE). To maintain operations 80 hours per week, the library hires and trains approximately 20 student library clerks during the fall and spring semesters. The library provides the following services: reference, interlibrary loan, instruction, collection development \u2013 acquisition and de-acquisition of materials, access services, and technical services, including maintaining the accuracy of the catalog, electronic resources management, and website maintenance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What we do<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Merrill Library serves the University of Maine at Machias students, faculty, staff, students at a distance, Sunrise Senior College members, the residents of Washington and Hancock counties, and the entire State of Maine.<\/p>\n

The librarians field reference questions via email, phone, and in person.\u00a0 Thirty-one instruction sessions were taught, which includes careful preparation of lesson plans and creation of online subject\/course guides to support and reinforce the skills introduced. This year 398 students in 19 courses received library instruction in regular class sessions. In one case the librarians were embedded in a Research Methods course, SSC 420, for an entire semester. The Library Specialist CL2 processed 1,771 interlibrary loans, orders and receives materials and supplies via MaineStreet, creates order records, checks in periodicals and catalogs resources in all formats.<\/p>\n

The library carefully shepherds all of its resources to support the university\u2019s educational, teaching, research, and service goals. The library\u2019s materials\/services budget is $72,583 with an operations and maintenance budget of $4,596. Thoughtful acquisition of resources maintains and ensures a collection that is appropriate for an academic undergraduate library, with many collections available online 24\/7. Merrill Library, the largest library in down east Maine, is a depository library for State of Maine government documents. The library\u2019s collections include approximately 60,000 print volumes, 4700 microforms, over 30,000 electronic media, more than 180 online databases, and access to over 50,000 electronic journals, and over 240,000 electronic books.<\/p>\n

The library is a member of the URSUS consortium which in 1988-1989, automated the seven University of Maine System Libraries, plus the Maine State Library, The Maine Law & Legislative Library, and the Bangor Public Library. The URSUS catalog<\/a> currently makes available more than 4 million bibliographic records and 4.6 million shared items, both physical and digital. Patrons have access to the collections in the MaineCat catalog (6.9 million unique titles) which is comprised of the next 100 largest libraries in the state including the collections of Bowdoin, Bates, and Colby college libraries, the community college libraries, and the Portland Public Library. Both the URSUS catalog and the MaineCat catalog provide for patron initiated requesting and delivery of materials statewide.<\/p>\n

In addition to URSUS and MaineCat, Merrill Library patrons can access 188 electronic databases covering a wide range of subject areas, many of which provide full text access to journal articles; to government data; to more than 200,000 electronic books; and over 54,000 unique electronic journals containing millions of articles. Funding for these resources is provided through a combination of the following sources: the Merrill Library acquisitions budget, the URSUS database budget, the state E-Rate allocation, the Maine State Legislature, the Maine State Library.<\/p>\n

Merrill Library\u2019s patrons also benefit from a discovery service, OneSearch<\/a>, which can search and retrieve records for all or most of the resources contained in URSUS and the research database articles including physical and digital items. \u00a0Students, faculty, and staff have access to interlibrary loan services that enable them to access those materials which are not in our collections or subscriptions. The library has recently launched a new website<\/a>, providing direct access to OneSearch our one stop discovery service. The website provides links to find books, articles, subject and course guides, \u201cHow to\u201d tutorials, policies, hours, and staff contact information.<\/p>\n

Merrill Library strives to provide a comfortable and welcoming physical environment that is conducive to both individual study and group study. \u00a0Available to enrolled students is a 24 Hour Room accessible after hours by swipe card. The room is equipped with computers, printer, and a scanner.\u00a0 The library has a total seating capacity of 90 seats. The recent purchase of new seating has focused on softer upholstered furniture. \u00a0The library will continue to plan and provide more seating\/space for students and devote less space to warehouse books. The library currently has 1 study room, but there are plans to provide another. A new front entrance \u2013 lobby doors, stairs, ramp and railings \u2013was begun in August 2017. The contract for this renovation came in at $113,000 and is managed by UMaine Machias’ Physical Facilities Department and the Facilities Management Office at the University of Maine.<\/p>\n

The library’s reference services provide one-on-one help whether in person, on the phone, or by email. Students can make appointments with reference librarians for individual help or for group project information needs. \u00a0Soon to be launched in time for the coming academic year is a new online chat service. The reference staff also provides stand-alone information literacy\/bibliographic sessions as well as partnering with faculty to teach in-depth research skills as embedded librarians\/instructors.<\/p>\n

Merrill Library at the University of Maine at Machias was selected by the Maine Humanities Council to offer \u201cLet\u2019s Talk About It,\u201d a free public reading and discussion group, with copies of books available for loan through the library as well as a scholar to facilitate the discussion. \u00a0The theme of the UMaine Machias program was \u201cEntering Nature: Contemporary Views of the Human Self in the Natural World.\u201d Books that were read and discussed included: “Lives of a Cell” by Lewis Thomas; “The Tree” by John Fowles; “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek” by Annie Dillard; and “Arctic Dreams” by Barry Lopez.<\/p>\n

Merrill Library hosted three Libra Writer\u2019s Series events, coordinated by Assistant Professor of English, Tessa Mellas, and Professor of Arts & Book Arts, Bernard Vinzani. Invited authors spent time in the creative writing classroom and the Book Arts Studio talking and working with students and then held a reading with a Q&A session in the Library. Invited authors were: Emma Sovich, Sarah Majka, and Gabby Schulz.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Merrill Library – By The Numbers<\/p>\n

Expenses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Salaries\/wages\/fringe benefits expenses<\/td>\n$176,231<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Materials\/services expenses<\/td>\n$72,583<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Operations and maintenance expenses<\/td>\n$4,596<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Collections<\/td>\nPhysical<\/td>\nDigital\/Electronic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Books<\/td>\n60441<\/td>\n214258<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Databases<\/td>\n188<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Media<\/td>\n1921<\/td>\n29884<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Serials<\/td>\n113<\/td>\n54102<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Library Circulation <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Reserve Circulation<\/td>\n1292<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total Circulation all shelving locations<\/td>\n3557<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Interlibrary Loan Services<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Total interlibrary loans and documents provided to other libraries<\/td>\n778<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total interlibrary loans and documents received<\/td>\n993<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Information Literacy Sessions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Sessions embedded in a class<\/td>\n11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Free-standing sessions<\/td>\n20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total students reached<\/td>\n389<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total number of unique classes visited<\/td>\n19<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reference<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Total reference sessions<\/td>\n123<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The questions came in a variety of formats:<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
In person<\/td>\n87<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Phone<\/td>\n26<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Email<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Length of sessions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
0-9 minutes<\/td>\n66<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10-19 minutes<\/td>\n23<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20+ minutes<\/td>\n34<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Personnel<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
FTE Librarians<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FTE Other library Personnel<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Personnel includes 2 Librarians and 1 Library Specialist CL2. This year, Merrill Library hired and trained 18 work-study students (2.7 FTE) with Federal Work Study awards from September until May, and only has funding to hire 1 work-study student with department funds from mid-May through August (1 FTE).<\/p>\n

Staff members are as follows: Marianne Thibodeau, Director of Merrill Library (MLIS & M.Ed.) Ben Noeske, Associate Director of the Library (MSLS) Jeanne Vose, Library Specialist CL2.<\/p>\n

Commitments to committees <\/strong><\/p>\n

Marianne Thibodeau<\/p>\n