RUL News, Quarter 1, 2013
- Authors: Rhodes Library Services
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:16125 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020860
- Description: [From Introduction] Message from Ujala: A new year is always welcomed as a time for new beginnings, new ideas, new considerations for continuity and sustainability - so too with the Rhodes University Library! In 2012 staff embraced wholeheartedly the exercise to identify the strategic focus areas for 2013-2015 and defining the organizational culture. I’m pleased to share the organizational plan and culture that will guide the RUL for the next three years. Introducing new students to the RUL is an exciting process as it gives us the opportunity to become familiar with and understand the evolving learning needs of the young student. We also need to assure new and returning students of certain constants within the Library. To this end, we have introduced the Personal Librarian programme for 1st year students, who through this initiative will be able to work consistently with a librarian to learn about and use the library resources optimally. Regular training sessions, offered by the faculty library teams, on how to access information, the use of databases and other eresources, Libguides, etc. are critical for a dynamic undergraduate learning experience. The RUL is committed to its ongoing support for research and making the RU research output visible. Digitisation of research outputs and the creation & management of institutional repositories at academic institutions have become the key ways of ensuring this visibility. The retrospective digitization of theses and dissertations, going back to the 1930s, is moving along consistently. Proper harvesting and metadata protocols will ensure the optimal visibility and access of these items. We also need to seriously consider the physical environment for a digitization unit within the library. This team has been enhanced by the placement of an intern who is being taught and exposed to a new skills set. The SEALS Consortium is a very successful example of collegiality and institutional collaboration. Whilst its primary goal is to ensure a stable shared library management system in the region, discussions have also commenced on how we may use this platform to enhance staff skills and development. The importance of benchmarking, standardization of skills sets and workplace development is critical for ensuring a cohort of strong professionals for succession planning in the region. To date, two workshops on Systems Librarianship and Skills Development were held. The aim was to understand how each institution is addressing these issues, what is the role of SEALs, and what should be addressed going forward. Task teams have been identified to continue the conversation on Systems Librarianship and the 21st Century academic librarian. I strongly believe that the success of an organization resides in the ability of its staff to give expression to their ideas, concerns and professional goals in alignment with the organisation’s goals and strategies. I’m confident that the RUL staff will succeed in this and collectively strengthen this dynamic organization in 2013
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RUL News, Quarter 3, 2013
- Authors: Rhodes Library Services
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:16124 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020859
- Description: [From Introduction] Message from Ujala: This has indeed been an extremely engaged period for all staff at the Rhodes University Library (RUL). In addition to ensuring the delivery of professional services to the Rhodes community, strategy development, quality of service, continuing professional development, human resources management and national professional engagement defines this period. The LibQual online library quality survey conducted during 13-31 August 2012 was a success, which surpassed our expectations. The comparison between the 2005 and 2012 results show a significant improvement in the perceptions of the RU community towards the quality of service, information resources and the library as place. This affirmed that the new Library building and Faculty Library liaison model are serving to locate the library positively in the academic endeavor. However while we savour these results, concerns have been raised about the lack of awareness and proper use of the wide array of electronic resources available. Therefore we will be focusing on a concerted marketing and training campaign to ensure that the subscription -based electronic resources are optimally used by the RU community, especially the academics. I wish to acknowledge the sterling and creative work of the team that led this project. This collection development & management workshop held on 17 September 2012 was attended by all professional library staff. The workshop was aimed at establishing an understanding of basic aspects of collection development & management, the supporting policy and guidelines, as well as the Information resources (IR) grant. The discussions took cognizance of the context in which the RUL functions as well as the various industry trends such as patron driven acquisition (PDA) and demand driven acquisition (DDA). As this is a key responsibility of librarians, it is critical to regularly revisit collection development patterns and trends to ensure the continued development of core balanced collections. The successful migration of the SEALS consortium libraries to the III SIERRA next generation library management system during September-October 2012 may be attributed to professional collaboration and collegiality. I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the RU ITD especially Jonathan McKeown who together with Ms Allwright worked across time zones with the III team (US-based). The level of support and professionalism displayed is to be commended. By the end of November 2012 task teams were able to present their identified strategies to all staff. The e-Strategy, Staff Development, User Services and Marketing strategies, as well as the RUL Culture Statement will be collated into a single document that will be aligned to the RU Institutional Development Plan (IDP). The level of interaction, inclusion and participation augers well for taking these strategies forward in 2013 as staff were able to experience the dynamism of participative engagement. I wish to congratulate staff members for their various achievements during the course of 2012! I also wish to thank you for your willingness and openness to engage with the various ideas and processes proposed during this year. It has indeed been an exciting, challenging and fulfilling year which was made possible by your support and involvement. Happy holidays and best wishes for 2013!
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RUL News, Quarter 2, 2013
- Authors: Rhodes Library Services
- Language: English
- Type: Text
- Identifier: vital:16126 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1020861
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