Mt. San Antonio College
The Mt. SAC Library recently enjoyed new investments to expand our capacity to teach and serve students. Our team welcomed new librarians Eva Rios-Alvarado this fall and Jared Burton in fall 2015 Jared, Eva, and Hong Guo (hired 2013-14) represent three new librarians hired in the past four years (all growth positions). Susanne Maguire is a part-time Library Technician who augments support for weekend and early morning hours. Additionally, Dr. Romelia Salinas, Associate Dean of Library and Learning Resources (also a growth position), brings expertise and vision from Cal State L.A.’s JFK Memorial Library and her leadership roles as an adjunct professor of library science at UCLA and as Counsilor-at-Large of the American Library Association.
Through our Campus SE Master Plan (2015-2016) B.10 (information competency) and B.11 access to textbooks, our librarians have been reaching out to the campus community and under-served student groups. (Tree-saving advice: before clicking “print,” please note library specific content is on pages 73-75 out of 222 pages!) Some activities so far:
- Banned Books Week
- Student Equity Strategy, Fall 2016 (draft shared in Faculty Meeting) - final draft version in progress
- Established focus groups, with four SSSPs, to gather information on the student experience with libraries and specific barriers to info. comp. at Mt. SAC Library
- Outreach to specific programs and services to start embedded librarian hours
- Today we launched Pop-up Library Outreach
- Outreach Toolkit - in progress of being built
- Outreach Calendar - in progress of being built
- Student Equity LibGuides for faculty & students - in progress of being built
Our library is far too small for a college of our size: current capacity serves about 2% of our students. While the glacial pace of getting a new library is a reality, we count our facilities improvements as blessings: new carpet, new coat of paint, and additional seating by removing two ranges and demolishing two counters. More small projects are planned to transform the library: e.g., a variety of student-friendly furniture and configuration in the new quiet reading room will better serve diverse learning needs; reference instruction is being reimagined through our librarians’ vision of what it should be, instead of the outdated counters that do not reflect our librarians’ inviting, warm, and engaging approach to teaching and helping students.
Our collection received urgently needed funds in the past three years through Prop. 20 lottery, instructional equipment, and Student Equity Initiative sources. These funds help restore the 24.7% cut to the lottery budget sustained for five consecutive years and strength the collection. We are thankful for the College’s investment in the library, and we will continue to seek resources to support the College’s participation in the Strong Workforce Initiative and other new curriculum, certificates, and programs.