Library Liaison Services in US Community Colleges

Library liaison services have been shown to be a valuable component of higher education in the US. Despite this established value, however, liaison services specific to community colleges are rarely discussed in the scholarly literature, while such services from universities and research institutions are well researched. Though it is understandable that liaison services at universities and community colleges would have similarities such as collaboration and outreach with students and faculty, it is only logical that they would also have differences due to the differences in user groups they serve. However, performing any reasonable comparison is difficult due to the absence of scholarly discourse regarding liaison services at community colleges. This article fills this gap by presenting survey data on the state of liaison services in community college libraries in the US. The data shows that a range of liaison work is being performed by community college librarians; A number of opportunities for further inquiry are also identified.

Student Work in VCC Libraries: From Mannequins in the Library to a Car on the Third Floor

A range of student creations decorates Vancouver Community College Libraries. These showcase products from trade and design programs. The downtown campus library features mannequins with clothing designed and created by students in addition to display cases of student-made jewelry. We also exhibit styled wigs from students’ trades skills competitions and framed illustrations from the digital graphic design and drafting programs. The Broadway library has a small study room that the college’s Automotive Collision and Refinishing (ACR) department created from a Smart Car. ACR students also paint our book trucks to practice different designs, techniques, and finishes. Displaying student projects makes the library space more visually interesting. Moreover, the ACR contributions are functional items for the library’s operation. Displaying student projects also facilitates library outreach with shop- and studio-based programs. Furthermore, the work aligns with VCC’s provision of experiential learning. This project report outlines a successful partnership for library outreach with instructional departments. It includes lessons learned about internal and external communication in project management and what we attribute our successes to for our related event planning.

Management: A Community of Collaboration

Most of us are familiar with the scenario of institutional belt-tightening and the effect that it sometimes has on staffing. Reductions and reallocations of human resources can make it difficult to accomplish our work and can affect morale—but not always. In this column, Andie Craley describes the net positives of that experience at her institution. While still facing the reality of doing more with less, Craley identifies how its inherent challenges can present definite opportunities and foster a community of collaboration.—EditorHaving started as a library technician at Harford Community College Library (HCC Library) just seventeen years ago, I already find myself the third in seniority. Library staff size seems to diminish as additional job functions are assimilated into existing positions, reallocated as new library services are introduced, redeployed to other departments, or completely eliminated as staff retire or resign. The concept of wearing many hats is common, as is the expectation to take on “other duties as assigned.” From networking with colleagues at other Maryland community college libraries, I know this situation is not unique. The current staffing reality both mirrors the evolution of the library’s facilities and demands doing more with less, but it also provides individual and collective opportunities for growth, supporting a community of collaboration.

Hosting a Super Smash Bros. Tournament at the Hudson County Community College Library

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe how the Hudson County Community College Library hosted a Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Tournament as part of its Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 programming, and discuss what it learned from hosting the event. Design/methodology/approach This paper details how a community college library planned, hosted and learned from its experience running a Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U Tournament. It will also describe how the library continued to use this experience to plan additional video game-based programming. Findings The Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U Tournament was generally well received by student attendees. However, student feedback revealed a preference for less-competitive “friendly” events instead of tournaments. Students also requested the option of having several games available instead of one. Originality/value Thus far, there has been little research on academic or community college libraries organizing video game-based programming and activities event. There have also been few studies about whether gaming events work better in libraries as tournaments or “free play” activities.