CCL-EAR Committee Chair Report

By Tamara Weintraub, CCL-EAR Chair

With Fall 2021 coming to a close, many of us are busy finalizing plans for expanded re-openings of our campus library buildings "in the time of COVID."¹ For the first time since the global pandemic shut our doors in March 2019 we’ll be restoring full or partial self-serve access to physical collections of materials for California’s 2.1 million+ community college students.² But it won’t be pre-pandemic business as usual, because remote learning isn’t going away. The value of complete or parallel offerings of online library resources has become abundantly clear over the past 20 months (if it wasn’t before) and now we begin the process of figuring out optimal ways to meet our colleges’ needs equitably in both environments.

And, of course, the Council of Chief Librarian Electronic Access & Resources Committee, or CCL-EAR, is poised to help. As I wrote in earlier reports, having an advocacy group (CCL-EAR), processes (product reviews, ordering system), and resources (Consortium products) already in place to serve our community in both face-to-face and remote learning modalities ensures this aspect of “return to campus” planning is taken care of. No doubt there are other challenges to work through, but I am confident our students will have seamless access to credible and reliable information e-resources.

We’ve been busy over the course of the Fall 2021 term. CCL-EAR offered two new product reviews (DSM-5 online and New Play Exchange), with more on the way this Spring. We presented a short program at the Consortium’s November 10 Wednesday Webinar, where we discussed the Committee’s role within the CCL structure, and our product review process. And, the NetLibrary/EBSCO eBooks CCLC shared collections deselection list was finalized, and the CCLC Library Consortium is undertaking the complex task of removing titles from both the LSP and members’ EBSCO eBooks portal (we’ll keep you posted when those steps are completed). CCL-EAR is also continuing efforts to proactively address Consortium members’ values and concerns with vendors and e-content, including privacy and equity, and are undertaking an examination of the products review framework to ensure these areas are covered.

CCL-EAR is composed of volunteers from CCL member libraries. We share the same interests and concerns as you and will address these together. Feel free to reach out to me or your Regional Representative, or attend CCL-EAR meetings (all CCL members welcome). Learn more about who we are, what is involved, and meeting dates and times.

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