ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 192 / C&RL News the recent merger of the C om puter Center w ith the Libraries at Colum bia University in a presentation entitled, “The Im pact of Reorganization on Job Responsibilities and Library Structures.” Although the new reporting structure occurred in February 1986, the possibility had been discussed a t th e Uni­ versity as early as 1984. The new departm ent is called the Scholarly Inform ation C enter, and its organization chart shows th e Com puter C enter re­ porting to the library director. Under this reorgani­ zation, Com puter User Services has been merged w ith Library Public Services. Fagan discussed the effect on the library structure, the funding base, and the library staff of this fundam ental change. The full im pact of the reorganization is still being realized. After the form al presentations, the rest of the tim e was devoted to questions of the speakers about various points and to discussion of some of the is­ sues th at had been raised.—Paula W alker, Ode- gaard U ndergraduate L ib ra ry , U niversity o f Washington. ■ ■ T he m ission o f a u n iversity u n d er g ra d u a te library: D raft m o d el sta tem en t P rep ared by the ACRL U nd ergrad uate Librarians D iscu ssion Group W ilma Reid Cipolla, Chair A proposed revision to the 1979 M odel Statem ent. T he purpose of the undergraduate library is to take prim ary responsibility for m eeting the library needs of undergraduate students in a large univer­ sity environm ent. The designation of a separate li­ brary expressly for undergraduates is based on the premise th at undergraduates deserve a full and fair share of the libraries’ resources—materials, ser­ vices, and staff time. The policies of the separate undergraduate library may frequently give prefer­ ential treatm ent to undergraduates to ensure this allocation of resources. The nature of the environ­ m ent, the specific needs of undergraduates, and the kinds of staff and services required to effec­ tively meet those needs are m ore fully described in the following paragraphs. Environment The library systems of large universities gener­ ally consist of several m ajor departm ental libraries plus numerous special libraries and reading rooms spread over a large campus area. The m aterials col­ lection of the library system is measured in millions of volumes. Each library w ithin the system concen­ trates on the needs of the members of a specific de­ p artm ent or field of study, and the quality of the library is defined in terms of the strengths of the re­ search collection. Specialized services are often provided for those doing research, such as com put­ erized searching of commercial resource databases. The staff members of those libraries are selected for their ability to provide graduate-level reference April 1987 / 193 services, to organize complex collections, and to se­ lect the often esoteric materials needed in a re­ search library. In-depth subject knowledge and m anagerial skills are also frequently required. Users W ithin this research-oriented setting, there are large num bers of undergraduate students w ith varying levels of experience and ability in using li­ braries. As a group most first-year students share the following characteristics: 1. They do not yet have the sophisticated re­ search skills needed to exploit the research library’s potential. 2. They are intim idated by the complexity and size of a large library system. 3. They are often reluctant to ask for assistance in the use of a library. 4. They are unaw are of the m any services and re­ sources which are available in university libraries. The needs of academic library users are on a spectrum, with study space, instruction in basic re­ search tools, and reserve books at one end, and pri­ m ary source materials and special bibliographic services at the other end. The concentration of needs of the undergraduate is at the former end of the spectrum and the undergraduate library fo­ cuses on serving these needs. The undergraduate li­ brary may also serve the informational needs of other users, including members of the civic com­ m unity. Information services An undergraduate library with a collection of the size and nature required to meet undergradu­ ate needs is not always easy to use. The identifica­ tion of materials w anted is often confusing and may be incomprehensible until the user is actually shown how the system works. Teaching students how to use a library is therefore a basic service pro­ vided by the staff of the undergraduate library. The teaching programs of undergraduate libraries are varied. They include teaching by personal con­ tact and through the preparation of printed and other m aterials. They include form al group in­ struction and informal, unstructured contacts with students. The program s generally include three types of activities: reference and referral, orienta­ tion, and formal instruction. Reference encounters w ith undergraduates of­ ten result not only in answering specific questions, but also in personalized instruction in the methods of identifying and retrieving library m aterials. Supplemental to this personal contact is the provi­ sion of bibliographies, booklists, and other aids de­ signed to introduce undergraduates to the m ateri­ als available in the library and to guide them in finding the materials. The reference service pro­ vided by undergraduate librarians is also a referral service to the wide variety of resources in the li­ brary system. Referrals m ay also assist an under­ graduate in becoming aw are of com m unity li­ braries and inform ation centers, as well as of personal supportive services, including academic, financial, health, and counseling services. Orientation activities acquaint undergraduates w ith the facilities and services of the library. They include activities such as the distribution of maps and informational m aterials th at describe the li­ brary system and the resources and services of the individual libraries w ithin it, staff-conducted tours for groups, and self-guided tours. Orientation may also include public relations activities th at help stu­ dents become aware of the services and resources of the library. Bibliographic instruction programs should im­ prove the ability of students to make effective use of the library collections, services, and staff. Instruc­ tion may be offered as part of coursework in an aca­ demic subject or interdisciplinary program , in a separate course on library skills, in workshops and term -paper clinics, and through point–of–use aids in the library. Reference service, bibliographic instruction, and orientation activities are appropriate for all levels and types of library users. The undergradu­ ate library focuses on two problems th at are partic­ ularly common to undergraduates—finding the materials they need, and knowing when to ask for help and having the confidence to do so. Under­ graduate libraries provide a laboratory in which to teach students how to use a library. The experience of using an undergraduate library is preparation for using all libraries; preparation not merely for graduate work and research, but also for learning to use information sources th at will be needed by undergraduates for the rest of their lives as citizens, as consumers, in their professions, and for their rec­ reational interests. Collection The subject scope of the undergraduate library will prim arily support the teaching curriculum. A given undergraduate library would operate at one of the following collecting levels: 1) at the level of freshman and sophomore classes; 2) at all levels of undergraduate classwork; 3) at all levels except in disciplines supported by specialized subject li­ braries or professional schools w ith undergraduate programs, in which cases bibliographic support by the undergraduate library will be at the freshman and sophomore level. Since m any undergraduate courses require large numbers of students to read the same library materials, direct curriculum sup­ port will be provided through reserve collections and through purchase of multiple copies of items w ith high demand. The undergraduate library will provide not only the best materials of historical or research value (which might be duplicated in other libraries on campus) but also overviews of a subject, jargon- free explanations of a field, and introductory m ate­ 194 / C&RL News rials. Research reports and other items restricted to a very narrow subject area are less frequently of in­ terest to undergraduates and will be purchased very selectively. The undergraduate library’s col­ lection of periodical reference m aterial will con­ centrate on the m ore standard and interdiscipli­ n ary p erio d ical indexes, since these a re m ost heavily used by undergraduates; the periodical col­ lections should emphasize the titles covered by these indexes. Collections of course-related m ateri­ als for undergraduate use have increased in the for­ mats available and in content reliability and are appropriate additional resources for undergradu­ ate study. Increasingly the undergraduate library will need to supply non-print materials (with bib­ liographic access) and well-m aintained equipm ent in order to address growing availability and de­ mand. Undergraduates select from a wide variety of courses and are therefore looking for library m ate­ rials on a wide variety of subjects in order to meet course requirements. The subject range of the un­ dergraduate library will be of sufficient compre­ hensiveness and depth so th at, in general, the un­ dergraduate will have a single starting point from which to find the basic inform ation needed for p a­ pers, speeches, projects, etc. More advanced needs of undergraduates will be met by specific referral to graduate collections. The information needs of undergraduates ex­ tend beyond the requirem ents of the curriculum . Undergraduate students are vitally interested in current events and in the current state of the world. The development of cultural, career, and recrea­ tional interests is also an im portant p a rt of the life of an individual, and the undergraduate years are a tim e for exploring the wide range of activities and opportunities available. The library experience of undergraduates should encourage them to seek m a­ terials in these areas. The collections of the under­ graduate library will therefore be developed to meet these needs, since this is as im portant to un­ dergraduate education and to the mission of the university as is the support of form al classroom in­ struction. Staff The staff of the undergraduate library m ust have certain abilities in addition to their inform ation­ seeking skills. The ability to interact on a one-to- one basis w ith a diverse clientele is essential. Staff should also be able to design and implement in­ structional programs th at meet varied user needs. In addition, they should be able to interact w ith faculty in prom oting effective use of library re­ sources in relation to classroom activities. The abil­ ity to cooperate w ith staff of other libraries and re­ source centers is also needed. The staff of an undergraduate library must have an understanding of the pressures of campus life and a concern for undergraduate needs and prob­ lems. The library staff should treat undergraduates w ith respect, make them feel comfortable in the li­ brary, and encourage them to ask for help. Only this personal interaction w ith students will h um an­ ize their library contacts, open paths of com m uni­ cation for their growth in using libraries, and in­ crease their respect for libraries. Study facilities The environm ent of the undergraduate library should encourage the use of the library and its re­ sources. The hours of operation must accommo­ date a range of student requirem ents based on class tim es, w o rk c o m m itm en ts, an d v a rie d social habits. Many undergraduates live in environments which are not conducive to study; others simply prefer to study at a library. The undergraduate li­ brary should provide sufficient study spaces, based on the size of the student population, in a variety of seating to accom m odate student needs and habits, e.g., quiet study of own materials, study w ith ac­ cess to library resources, lim ited group study, and informal interaction. Development As undergraduate education changes, so must undergraduate library service. The undergraduate library must be innovative and experimental, alert to changing undergraduate needs, and must often adopt non-traditional library methodology. C u r­ rent areas of development m ight include the fol­ lowing: •C ontinuing exploration of effective use of li­ brary m aterials in support of classroom teaching. •E xpanding program s of bibliographic instruc­ tion. •Service to special groups, e .g ., the visually im ­ paired, the disadvantaged, or international stu­ dents. •In teg ratio n of new and/or advanced technolo­ gies such as com puter systems, microcomputers, video or optical discs as appropriate. •C o o p e ra tiv e program s w ith oth er cam pus units, such as tutoring and counseling services. Developments in some of these areas m ay be at the library system level rath e r th an exclusively w ithin the undergraduate library. However, it is the responsibility of the undergraduate library staff to shape these developments to meet the needs of undergraduates and their academic programs. E ditor’s note: A public hearing on this docum ent will be held at A L A A nnual Conference in San Francisco, Saturday, June 27, 8:00-9:00 a.m . The revision is intended to replace “The Mission o f an U ndergraduate L ib ra ry (M odel S t a te m e n t ) ,” C&RL News, Novem ber 1979, pp. 317-19. ■ ■