Judgment of Compliance: The College certifies COMPLIANCE.

Narrative:

For the purposes of this report "facilities" is defined as the physical entity of the Wayne Community College Library. "Services" are resources provided or activities performed by the library staff. "Other learning/information resources" refer to the Academic Skills Center housed next door to the library and Distance Education resources provided through the Educational Support Technologies Department.

Library Facilities

Located on the third floor of the WLC Building, the Library is open Monday and Thursday 7:45am to 8:00pm, Tuesday and Wednesday 7:45am – 5:00 pm, and Friday 7:45am to 4:00pm. Through appointment requests from faculty and staff, the library opens for additional hours on Saturdays and evenings. Bibliographic instruction is provided at times convenient for instructors, both during and outside normal operational hours. Hours of operation can be found on the WCC Library website, in the annual WCC General Catalog, in the annual Student Handbook, and on bookmarks distributed to library patrons.

The 13,878 square-foot library includes individual and group study areas, a multipurpose room, and Internet workstations. The physical arrangement of the collections, stacks, and shelving provides passage for physically challenged users. The library furniture is adequate in number to support accessibility to library resources and services, including seating for 211 patrons. Design of the library furniture also supports accessibility to the collection and services offered by the library. Areas for study and research include study tables for groups and individuals, carrels, and sofas.

Audiovisual viewing services are provided by Academic Skills Center, which is on the same floor as the library. The multipurpose room is used for group study and for classes scheduled in the library. During 2003-2004, the room was used 19 times by College Student Success classes (ACA 111), the college's orientation course, 17 times for presentations to other classes by library staff members, and 37 times by curriculum and basic skills instructors working with a class in the library.

Fourteen computer workstations provide access to the Internet and North Carolina Libraries for Virtual Education (NC LIVE). NC LIVE, funded by the NC General Assembly, provides indices and full-text periodical articles and electronic books. These resources may be accessed at the on-campus library, in faculty offices, and online via the library website. Three workstations, additional to the fourteen research workstations, are dedicated to the library online catalog. The library also houses microfiche and microfilm readers, photocopiers, and a fax machine.

Additional learning/information resources available include an Academic Skills Center (ASC) and Distance Education services. The Academic Skills Center's services are detailed in the last section of this standard. Distance Education services are addressed in the Comprehensive Standard 3.4.14.

Library Collections, Technology, and Services

The Wayne Community College Library provides patrons an extensive collection of resources, either owned by the college or available through formal agreements. According to statistics located in the North Carolina Higher Education Data (NCHED) 2003, the WCC Library owns a collection of more than 45,000 books and 3,300 audiovisual items. Current serial subscriptions include 18 newspapers and 299 magazines and journals. These numbers reflect the holdings as of July 1, 2003. The book collection offers a variety of materials to meet the needs of library patrons: general (circulating), reference (non-circulating), ready-reference, genealogy, oversized, juvenile, reserves, maps, and globes. The audiovisual collection includes videotapes, DVDs, and microforms. Serials and newspapers supporting the curriculum as well as personal development are available, with a listing of the periodicals located at the library and on the library's website. The library has 55,244 microforms covering areas such as aviation mechanics, nursing, periodicals, and genealogy.

In a comparison of Wayne Community College with five sister institutions, Alamance, Johnston, Sandhills, Surry, and Vance-Granville, WCC ranks fourth in terms of number of books and third in number of periodicals owned by the colleges (NCHED 2003). All materials purchased by the library are chosen based on the Collection Development Policy, which concentrates on supporting the curriculum and other student informational needs. Faculty, staff, students, and local patrons are encouraged to recommend materials through email and through both an on-campus and an online Suggestion Box (Link requires internet connection.). Library personnel select and acquire print and non-print materials to serve the educational and library research needs of students, faculty, and staff. In addition to selecting basic reference and general interest materials, the library staff members are also responsible for maintaining balance in faculty selections to assure a broad-based, well-rounded collection.

The WCC library strives to meet the needs of the students, faculty and staff in all WCC curriculums. For example, with the advent of a Hazardous Materials curriculum in 2005-2006, the library has already begun to further develop the collection in this area. As detailed in Core Requirement 2.9 and in the NCHED 2003, the WCC Library's collection compares favorably with five sister institutions. Of the faculty and staff who have responded as indicated in the Spring 2005 Library Survey Results, 81% agreed or strongly agreed that the library collection is useful and up-to-date. Eighty-seven percent agreed or strongly agreed that the Library contains adequate reference and support materials for research. These results indicate that the WCC Library has been successful in its mission to continuously strive in the development of the knowledge-based resource collection.

The WCC Library provides full services to all WCC students. No distinction is made between students enrolled in traditional classes and those in distance education. On-campus and off-campus students have equal access to library services, including distance education opportunities and the library at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Library services at the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base include in-library use only.

The WCC Library supports distance education by providing access to NC LIVE and the Community College Libraries in North Carolina (CCLINC) catalog, a collection of research and reference links on the library Web Links (Link requires internet connection.), interlibrary loan for those residing within Wayne County, telephone and e-mail reference, and the reserve collection of videocassettes for telecourses.

Students may apply online for a library card and/or a remote access password for NC LIVE. If a patron is a registered WCC library user, he or she may place a "hold" on books located at WCC or a library located on the CCLINC network. Books from the other colleges will be sent to Wayne Community College for patrons to use. Borrowers will be notified when books arrive. Both the WCC library catalog and WorldCat on NC LIVE can be used to identify books to borrow. The Interlibrary Loan (Link requires internet connection.) webpage details the availability of this service.

On-line patrons can request online reference assistance by using the Ask a Librarian (Link requires internet connection.) service where, through e-mail, a librarian will answer the students' questions. Both students and faculty can evaluate the library services for distance education, make suggestions for improving services and suggest titles to be added to the library collection through the online Suggestion Box (Link requires internet connection.). A compilation of all online library services can be found on the Library Support for Distance Education (Link requires internet connection.) webpage.

The library provides fourteen computer workstations for student use in accessing online resources. Three additional workstations are dedicated to the library online catalog. Microfiche and microfilm readers, photocopiers, and a fax machine add to the technologies available for WCC students and staff. The librarian responsible for information literacy sessions uses an LCD projector and a laptop computer for presentations, which may occur in classrooms as well as the library. Online electronic databases, links to the Internet, Campus Cruiser, and online instructional materials available for in-library patrons are also available through the library web page for distance education students and other off-site library patrons.

In addition to providing online research and database instruction, WCC librarians are trained to assist students in using Campus Cruiser, a community-based portal platform for managing, tracking, and sharing information electronically, and Blackboard, the college's platform for online courses.

Evaluation of Library Services

The library is evaluated through the processes of Services Review, Annual Planning, and Annual Budget Planning. Data from various surveys indicate student satisfaction with the library. For example, the 2001-2002 Graduate Survey Overall Analysis shows that 95% (272) of the 287 respondents were very satisfied or satisfied (Question 14, 2001-2002 Graduate Survey Overall Analysis). According to the 2002-2003 Graduate Survey Overall Analysis, 93% (331) of the 355 respondents were very satisfied or satisfied (Question 5, 2002-2003 Graduate Survey Overall Analysis).

On the Fall 2002 Evening Survey, 93% of the students found that the personnel in the library were helpful, friendly, and professional. Most (90%) indicated that the hours of operation met their needs and that adequate assistance was given to their requests. Seventy-seven percent of students in the same survey indicated that off-campus access to library resources was adequate, with about 20% (25 out of 140) stating that they had used NC LIVE and off-campus access to the library catalog. Students are made aware of all library services in the mandatory college orientation class, ACA 111 College Student Success.

An online library survey is in development for the Spring 2005 semester that will enable all WCC students, faculty, and staff to express their opinions regarding the library collections and services. This survey will become a permanent component of the WCC Library website although the questions asked will change annually as needed to address library issues. Areas that will be covered by the survey include patron reception and service by the library staff, research value of the library collections, and computer services. Use of this survey will enable the WCC Library to provide services based on the opinions of the patrons themselves and in a manner best suited for the WCC community.

The suggestion box for the library is located on a table adjacent to the public access computers. The box is opened weekly, and all suggestions are recorded and reviewed by appropriate library staff members. Action is taken when deemed appropriate and has led to additional quiet study areas, the purchase of suggested titles appropriate to the collection, and the withdrawal of a faulty publication from general circulation.

The online Suggestion Box (Link requires internet connection.) and the Library Support for Distance Education (Link requires internet connection.) page offer patrons the opportunity to comment on all library services, as well as to offer any suggestions regarding the collection.

The library also receives electronic comments from the WCC Suggestion Box (Link requires internet connection.), found on the WCC home page (Link requires internet connection.). The webmaster checks the box several times a day and routes suggestions and/or questions pertaining to library issues to the librarians.

As demonstrated by the NCHED 2003, the WCC Library services rank at the top when benchmarked with five cohort colleges. Comparatively speaking, Wayne processed 26,115 general circulation transactions in 2003 as compared to Sandhills, 23,171; Johnston , 11,585; Vance-Granville, 9,760; Alamance, 8,500; and Surry, 7,780. In a typical week, reference transactions at Wayne were 425; Alamance, 250; Johnston, 200; Sandhills, 200; Vance-Granville, 129: and Surry, 0. These statistics indicate that the WCC Library provides what is needed to meet the academic and service requirements of students, faculty, and staff.

The Academic Skills Center

The Academic Skills Center (ASC) is an instructional support service, which supports the mission of the college by providing academic assistance to improve basic learning skills for college students, prospective college students, and the general public. The ASC is a 2,020 square foot facility that consists of a tutorial area, a quiet study and testing area. A computer room with nine computers, each with Internet access, is used for computer-assisted tutorials. The ASC has a seating capacity of seventy-four students. Professional educators are available to assist students in reading, math, English, the sciences, and study skills.

The ASC supports the curriculum by providing access to instruction outside of the classroom. The ASC strives to serve as an extension of the classroom by maintaining an open line of communication with instructors and by making access to the services easy for both instructors and students. To provide students the type of help they need, the staff works closely with instructors. ASC staff members involve instructors in the selection of supplementary materials in an effort to ensure that the instructors are knowledgeable about the materials available and that the materials coordinate with the curriculum. Instructors refer students to the ASC by completing a written, on-line referral form that outlines the type of assistance the instructor would like to see provided. Even without a formal referral, all students are assisted. Students are encouraged to use resources available in the ASC including technology assistance and personal help from the trained staff. The staff members provide one-on-one instruction and small-group instruction to students in need of academic assistance.

The ASC is equipped with a wealth of resources to accommodate varied student learning styles. Supplementary aids used in ASC include computer tutorials, audio and video tutorials, multimedia laser tutorials, math and science visual models, and worksheets in both hard copy and electronic versions. Students may access the ASC web page to obtain worksheets in grammar, math, or chemistry. Students may even view videotapes of current lectures in Chemistry I and II as an opportunity to review and to better organize notes.

During Fall Semester 2004, the ASC staff assisted 1938 students who spent 9772 hours in the Center. During Spring Semester 2004, the ASC staff served 1666 students who spent 8833 hours utilizing ASC services. Twelve percent of the students who came in Fall 2004 were developmental math, reading, and English students. Ten percent of the students who came for academic assistance Spring Semester 2004 were developmental math, reading, and English students. These students used video/audio tutorials or received one-on-one instruction, small group instruction, or computer-aided instruction.

A Student Evaluation of the Academic Skills Center survey conducted in Fall Semester 2004 revealed that 100% of students surveyed felt the assistance they received helped them to better understand class content; 100% felt their reading, English, or math had improved with the help received 85% stated they used the services two or more times a week; and 96% were very satisfied or satisfied with the academic support provided. Table 1 below provides a synopsis of the survey.

How often do you use the Academic Skills Center?
Choice	#	%
Daily	13	30%
2 or more times a week	24	55%
Once a week	4	9%
Once a month	0	0%
Rarely	3	7%

The Academic Skills Center helped me to better understand my class content.
Choice	#	%
Strongly Agree	34	76%
Agree	11	24%
Disagree	0	0%
Strongly Disagree	0	0%
# Agree/Strongly Agree 45 100%

The Academic Skills Center helped me to be an independent learner.
Choice	#	%
Strongly Agree	25	61%
Agree	13	32%
Disagree	2	5%
Strongly Disagree	1	2%
# Agree/Strongly Agree 41 93%

The Academic Skills Center helped me to improve my basic skills.
Choice	#	%
Strongly Agree	31	74%
Agree	11	26%
Disagree	0	0%
Strongly Disagree	0	0%
# Agree/Strongly Agree 42 100%

The Academic Skills Center helped me to improve my critical thinking skills.
Choice	#	%
Strongly Agree	26	65%
Agree	14	35%
Disagree	0	0%
Strongly Disagree	0	0%
# Agree/Strongly Agree 40 100%

The Academic Skills Center helped me to improve my skills in Math, Reading , and English.
Choice	#	%
Strongly Agree	29	69%
Agree	13	31%
Disagree	0	0%
Strongly Disagree	0	0%
# Agree/Strongly Agree 42 100%

How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the academic support provided?
Choice	#	%
Very Satisfied	27	68%
Satisfied	11	28%
Dissatisfied	1	3%
Very Dissatisfied	1	3%
# Very Satisfied/Satisfied 40 96%

Peer tutors work through the ASC. Peer tutors are students who have been successful in the courses they tutor and have been recommended by an instructor. The professional staff arranges the placement of students requesting peer tutors, but the tutorial sessions take place outside of the ASC in designated study rooms. Each semester the ASC has approximately 25 peer tutors available to help students. Peer tutoring is assessed using a Peer Tutor Survey. In Fall 2004, 100% of the surveyed students were either very satisfied or satisfied with the service provided by peer tutors. All of the surveyed students stated that they would recommend the service to other students.

Testing is an important part of classroom activities, and many of WCC's students experience test anxiety to a degree that affects performance, especially students taking developmental (remedial) courses. ASC offers a quiet testing area along with the opportunity to test without time restraints. The ASC administers make-up tests and all retests for the developmental math, reading, and English courses. The staff monitored 3234 tests Fall Semester 2004 and 3440 tests Spring Semester 2004.

Prospective students have the opportunity to use the many resources available in the ASC also. The convenient study hours and the flexibility in the schedule appeal to prospective college students. Prospective college students who plan to enroll in the limited admissions programs enroll in the ASC as preparation for meeting the admission requirements. ASC staff and Wayne Community College counselors encourage prospective students to attend the ASC to rebuild their basic skills prior to enrolling in a curriculum. Fall Semester 2004, seventy-four students enrolled in the ASC's college preparatory program and fifty-six enrolled Spring Semester 2004.

The general public uses the ASC for personal enrichment. This service provides life-long learning opportunities for individuals who desire to enhance their basic skills for various reasons such as employment readiness, helping children with homework, and preparing for standardized tests. Located on the third floor of the WLC Building, the ASC is open Monday –Thursday from 7:45am to 8:00pm, Friday 7:45am to 4:00pm, and selected Saturdays each semester. A mini-version of the ASC operates 15 hours a week in the Education Building located at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Center.