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Library Units Overview

Access and Engagement Unit (AEU)

Overview and Objectives: This unit encompasses both Access Services and Reference Services focusing on connecting patrons to library resources and providing comprehensive reference assistance across physical and virtual spaces. Their objectives include facilitating course reserves maintaining physical collections providing reference services ensuring library access and investigating new reference models.

Fall Update: Fall 2024 updates showed significant impact with 89 instructors utilizing Course Reserves across 103 courses resulting in estimated student savings over $474000. The unit handled 1691 reference questions and served 122527 Main Library visitors while also conducting extensive collection maintenance reviewing A-G call number ranges and identifying 500+ missing/lost items.

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Members

  • Jylisa Kenyon (lead)

  • Suzie Davis

  • Aarika Dobbins

  • Hanwen Dong

  • Haley Hunter

  • Victoria Kerr

  • Pam Martin

  • Alisa Melior

  • Kelly Omodt

  • Diane Prorak

  • Tyler Rodrigues

  • Rochelle Smith

Digital Scholarship and Open Strategies Unit (DSOS)

Overview and Objectives: This unit serves as the hub for digital scholarship and open education initiatives housing key programs like the Center for Digital Inquiry and Learning Open Access Publishing Fund and Think Open fellowship program. Their objectives center on facilitating infrastructure for open publishing both on campus and worldwide through various platforms and initiatives.

Fall Update: During Fall 2024 the unit made significant strides in their Pressbooks service improving presentation and documentation while publishing new projects. The CollectionBuilder program saw notable success with their LIS Student Program receiving over 70 applications from 25 different schools and the OAPF program demonstrated high demand closing early in period #1.

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Members

  • Evan Peter Williamson (head)

  • Kevin Dobbins

  • Maryelizabeth Koepele

  • Leesa Love

  • Marco Seiferle-Valencia

  • Andrew Weymouth

Discovery and Acquisitions Unit (DA)

Overview and Objectives: This unit is responsible for acquiring maintaining and making accessible a wide variety of library resources managing everything from print and media to e-resources and government publications while also facilitating interlibrary lending and borrowing services. Their objectives focus on four key areas: timely acquisition and processing of resources strategic management of electronic collections assessment of print resource usage and efficient fulfillment of patron requests.

Fall Update: Fall 2024 showed substantial activity in resource management with the creation of over 760 purchase order lines across various formats. The unit completed a major EBSCO ebooks clean-up project reducing the collection from 5000+ to 359 items and achieved significant cost savings by reducing expected inflation by $57220 through strategic cancellation of underperforming subscriptions.

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Members

  • Rami Attebury (Acting Unit Head)

  • Samantha Thompson-Franklin

  • Clinton Johnson

  • Rachel Kerr

  • Matthew Strupp

  • Abby Kirkham

  • Victoria Kerr

  • Dakota Willett

  • Dakota Woodward

Research and Experiential Learning Unit (REL)

Overview and Objectives: This unit provides dedicated spaces and services through four key programs: the MILL the Studio the Data Hub and VERSO focusing on supporting curricular research and personal learning experiences. Their objectives span maximizing user engagement creating effective learning experiences managing research information efficiently and revamping the License to MILL program.

Fall Update: Fall 2024 showed impressive metrics across their spaces with MILL door counts increasing to 12650 (up from 9986 in Fall 2023) Data Hub usage rising to 12 people per day and Studio bookings reaching 141. The unit maintained strong course engagement across multiple departments and saw increased usage of GIS platforms averaging 492 unique users per month.

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Members

  • Jeremy Kenyon (lead)

  • Bruce Godfrey

  • Hanwen Dong

  • Jessica Fleener

  • Norm Lee

  • Seth Thompson

Special Collections and Archives Unit (SCA)

Overview and Objectives: This unit focuses on building and maintaining unique and distinctive collections while providing research consultations instruction and managing archival processing and digitization projects. Their comprehensive objectives cover collection development processing and preservation research services exhibit creation and digital access expansion.

Fall Update: Fall 2024 updates demonstrated progress across all areas including significant work with the Latah County Historical Society completion of major collection processing projects expanded instructional offerings successful exhibit mounting and improvements in digital preservation workflows. The unit notably increased their outreach efforts.

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Members

  • Ariana Burns

  • Rebecca Hastings

  • Dulce Kersting-Lark

  • Kelley Moulton

  • Zoe Stave