Collection development in medium to large academic libraries typically involves multiple subject librarians or “liaisons.” The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Libraries have lost significant numbers of personnel in the last four years due to attrition and retirements, including most of the professional liaison librarians whose positions will not be replaced in the foreseeable future. In addition to this challenge, collection budgets have been severely reduced due to the State of Alaska's ongoing budget crisis, necessitating large cancellation projects. This article examines UAF Libraries’ collection strategies used to sustain a research-intensive collection without liaisons and with a drastically reduced budget.

Triennial campus-wide UAF libraries use survey, summary of results for undergraduate students.

Triennial campus-wide UAF libraries use survey, summary of results for faculty and researchers.

Prompted by new leadership in both the library and the university, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Rasmuson and BioSciences Libraries recently established a strategic planning process that included the creation of a general assessment program for the libraries. The library administrative team felt that it was time to assess our program and come up with a new action plan. The purpose of these efforts is to ensure that spending and staffing priorities match current user needs, to respond to university-required performance measures, and to help with strategic planning. The assessment program includes gathering library user and use data, systematic collection analysis, and implementation of an ongoing campus-wide community survey. This paper describes how a task force of four UAF librarians recently adapted and implemented surveys of faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students, modeled on a process conceived by the University of Washington Assessment Program. The UAF libraries’ surveys yielded response rates of 25% (243/943), 19% (143/750), and 8% (431/5086) among the three groups, respectively. Included are an overview of the assessment program, the survey planning and implementation process, and a summary of results and action plan. Recommendations for conducting small-scale surveys are provided.

The Rasmuson Library Circulation blog began as a digital replacement for our Circulation Department white board, which we used to communicate information to student and staff employees, and which was frequently ignored. We were frustrated with our attempts to get everyone to pay attention to the written announcements, procedure changes, and new policy notices, which were regularly posted on the white board. Verbal feedback from both students and staff indicated that there were too many signs, too much visual information, so that everyone felt overloaded and paid little attention to new items. If students or staff were absent for a week or two, they would miss any new announcements, which would be erased by the time they returned to work. There was no record of what had been posted; once erased it was forgotten, so we would find ourselves repeatedly posting the same information, to try to ensure that everyone had read it, and inadvertently causing many to disregard the board entirely. The blog tool provided a solution to all of these concerns, allowing us to reduce the paper waste and visual clutter that a white board produced, archive messages, providing categories for easier reference, and giving users an easy filter to access only the most current information.

This paper describes a Learning 2.0 library staff training project completed in September, 2007 at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Rasmuson Library. The project planning process, curriculum creation, implementation, incentives, and outcomes are included, along with a summary of survey results from program participants. Recommendations for implementing this free and useful staff training tool by other academic libraries are included, as well as a link to the Library’s Learning 2.0 blog.