The data and information provided in this report are testimony to the accomplishments, contributions and commitments of Library Services’ staff members in serving the students and faculty at South Texas College.
2023 Annual Report
- Mission Statements
Division
The South Texas College (STC) Division of Information Services, Planning, Performance and Strategic Initiatives (ISPP&SI) enhances student success: delivering high quality technology infrastructure and services, providing exceptional learning support services, producing timely information, and planning support. The Division pursues its mission through strategic collaboration, the effective deployment of resources, and the efficient operation and service of all informational, technical and planning duties.
Library Services
Library Services contributes to the academic success of students enrolled in STC by providing learning-centered environments, exceptional services, and high-quality information resources.
- Introduction
The STC Library Services Department has deep roots in and commitment to the STC community. The focus of serving students was invigorating and rewarding in FY23 with improvement in services and collections. We take pride in our role helping students succeed and in our commitment to serving our community while focusing on the missions of the College and Library Services.
The purpose of the Library Annual Report FY23 is to reflect upon the previous school year and to inform readers of the programs and services offered to support both students and faculty with the goal of helping students succeed academically.
This report of programs and services offered to support student success is for the entire college community including students, faculty, staff, and the public. Information and data related to services and resources is included and compared to previous annual report data.
- Fiscal Responsibility
The Board of Trustees provides financial support through an approved annual budget, which is devoted to purchasing print and audio-visual materials and subscriptions to electronic resources as well as membership fees to several resource and service consortia. Library Services has a responsibility to provide students and faculty excellent resources while being good stewards of taxpayers’ money.
Measures used to evaluate the budget include student enrollment and the number of class sections. There are three (3) types of class sections offered at STC: fully Online, hybrid (online and face-to-face) and traditional (fully face-to-face). No longer can we expect students to be able to visit a physical library, as many students do not live in close proximity to a campus; therefore, we must provide access to resources remotely. As the type of class sections change, the resources available to students and faculty must change to meet their needs.
Class Sections and Enrollment
From FY21 to FY23, the number of class sections offered at STC decreased by 1.7%. There was an increase in the number of traditional class sections by 4,211%; however, the number of fully online class sections decreased by 60.1% and hybrid class sections increased by 32%.
YEAR NUMBER OF CLASS SECTIONS
ALL TYPES% CHANGE FY21 9,920 -13.7% FY22 10,051 1.3% FY23 9,755 -2.9% YEAR TRADITIONAL
SECTIONS%
CHANGEHYBRID
SECTIONS%
CHANGEFULLY ONLINE
SECTIONS%
CHANGEFY21 130 -98.4% 883 84% 8,907 197% FY22 5,342 4,009% 690 -21.9% 4,019 -54.9% FY23 5,605 4.9% 600 -13% 3,550 -11.7% FY21 – FY23 4,211% -32% -60.1% Purchasing Consortium Memberships – Electronic Resources
One avenue Library Services used to provide quality resources to all students was an investment in electronic resources accessed via a computer, tablet, or smart phone no matter the student’s location. It is an ongoing challenge to provide needed electronic resources due to annual price increases.
An available resource Library Services used to contain the cost of electronic resources, while addressing the needs of students and faculty and spending taxpayers’ money in a responsible manner, was purchasing memberships in consortia when financially advantageous. A purchasing consortium is a collaborative arrangement in which two or more organizations join to combine individual requirements for resources to gain more robust resource packages. Membership in consortia allows entities to scale economy and purchasing power, which is not attainable individually.
TexShare is a purchasing consortium of public, academic, and medical libraries under the auspices of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. It is designed to improve library services to state citizens, in part by providing discounted access to selected electronic information resources. The annual membership fee includes the opportunity to purchase an electronic-resource package consisting of over 65 core databases.
The college expended a total of $72,369 over a three-year period to purchase access to electronic resources. To purchase the same resources individually from the publisher would have cost $1,643,095. Being a member of TexShare saved the college $1,570,726 a savings of 95.6%.
TEXSHARE
FY21-FY23
MEMBERSHIPCOST RETAIL
VALUESAVINGS % SAVINGS $24,123 $1,643,095 $1,570,726 95.6% Resource Sharing Memberships – InterLibrary Loan (ILL)
Library Services invested in annual memberships in other consortia providing a variety of services including the ability to borrow print materials not available in STC collections. Borrowing, rather than purchasing, the requested materials often result in a significant savings, wisely using taxpayer’s funds.
To obtain print books not available in STC collections, membership in TexShare, Amigos Library Services, and OCLC consortia provides access to virtually every print resource owned by public and academic libraries in Texas and throughout the nation. The expectation of members is to maintain good resource sharing (borrowing and lending) relationships with other institutions.
- Resources
The six (6) campus libraries provided:
Facilities
- 138,050 square feet
- seating for 1,367 students
- 37 study rooms
CAMPUS SQUARE FOOTAGE STUDY ROOMS SEATING CAPACITY (EXCLUDING COMPUTER LABS) MID-VALLEY 31,564 11 402 NURSING & ALLIED HEALTH 13,530 7 157 PECAN 67,266 7 396 RCPSE 721 0 42 STARR COUNTY 18,831 6 218 TECHNOLOGY 5,417 6 110 STC TOTAL 138,050 37 1,367 Visits
Each campus has a physical library providing resources and services. The number of hours a site was open ranged from 40 to 68 hours per week based on the needs of the students and faculty.
There was an overall increase in visits 186.4% from FY21 and FY23.
YEAR VISITS INCREASE/DECREASE AVERAGE VISITS
PER STUDENTINCREASE/DECREASE FY21 103,771 -77.6% 3.6 -78% FY22 213,676 106% 7.6 114.3% FY23 297,237 39.1% 11.1 46% FY21-FY23 186.4% 212.9% Technology
- over 900 computers
- printing stations, including mobile printing
- online study room scheduling program
- laptops available to borrow
- after-hours access
Ratio Students to Computers
Ratio Students to Computers FY21 FY22 FY23 37:1 32:1 30:1 Collection
- over 109,000 items (books/DVDs)
- over 1,130,000 items (electronic books (eBooks) and electronic journals (eJournals))
CAMPUS PRINT BOOKS DVDS TOTAL ITEMS MID-VALLEY 32,977 498 34,475 NURSING & ALLIED HEALTH 4,068 232 4,300 PECAN 48,046 180 48,226 RCPSE 103 0 103 STARR COUNTY 20,259 317 20,576 TECHNOLOGY 2,979 295 3,274 TOTAL 108,432 1,552 109,965 Print Books, DVDs, and eBooks Usage
Between FY22 and FY23 there was a decrease of 19.8% in the number of print and DVD items circulated, an increase in eBook usage of 11.8%, and a decrease of 4.7% in the number of serial articles accessed.
Several factors affected the use of the library collection. A increase in Traditional class sections of 4,211%, a decrease of 60.1% of Fully Online class sections and Hybrid class sections of 32.1%, and the availability of online resources, such as eJournals, streaming videos and eBooks, changed the manner students accessed information, resulting in a shift from the use of print to online resources.
FY21 to FY23
- print books and DVDs usage decreased 43.6%
- eBooks usage increased 67.8%
Serials Usage (newspapers, journals, magazines)
An investment in 142 databases provided all students and faculty, including online and dual credit, access to electronic resources. In FY23, students accessed 331,792 full-text articles found in serials (newspapers, journals, magazines).
- 142 databases searched
- 331,792 full-text serial articles accessed, a decrease of 4.7%
- Investment of Knowledge
Library Services believes that providing rich learning opportunities to students, faculty and the community is essential to meeting the library and college missions. Experiences offered to students and faculty included cultural events and information literacy classes. Cultural events including presentations by authors, artists, musicians and the exhibition of artwork were available throughout the year.
Library Art Gallery Attendance / Artist Presentations
14 exhibits 23 virtual art lectures or events
increase of 35.3%2,221 attendees at events
increase of 51.5%She Roars! A Series of Lectures, Workshops & Exhibitions that Celebrate Women’s Contributions to the Humanities STC Alumni Series: Mariana Prado Sequence in Print: Printmaking Talks, Workshops & Exhibition Speakers / Presentations / Events
17 events
decrease of 52.8%3,986 attendees
increase of 95.6%Emotional Intelligence with Anat Samid DiSC Personality Training with Eyes on the Prize Leadership Coaching Family Reading Night Information Literacy Instruction
Staff provided individual assistance in FY23 to students and faculty in addition to formal instruction planned with faculty, which allowed the customization of content based on the needs of the class.
- 192 classes, an increase of 21.5%
- 4,054 attendees, an increase of 42.7%
- 65% of classes are represented by five departments:
- English – 60 classes (31%)
- College Success for Healthcare – 25 classes (13%)
- Organizational Leadership – 16 classes (8%)
- History – 14 classes (7%)
- Dual Credit – 11 classes (6%)
- Opportunities
Each year brings challenges and opportunities. A focus on improvement and growth requires ongoing evaluation. The key opportunities for Library Services (FY23 – FY25) are:
- Supporting faculty in the location, creation and use of Open Education Resources (OER).
- Continue renovating the Pecan Library facility to address needs of students including space, study rooms and technology.
- Adjusting purchases to balance resources to address changes in online enrollment and dual credit students.
- Improving collaboration with faculty to align services and resources.
- Improving information literacy instruction to align with the increase of online classes.
- Assisting in the College’s response to the proliferation of generative AI.
- Conclusion
Library Services focuses on continuous improvement of all facets of library services and programs. Library Services acts with intention and provides first-rate services and excellent resources to support the success of students and faculty while being good stewards of college resources.
Previous Annual Reports
To view older Annual Reports not listed below, please submit a request through our Ask a Librarian form.
2022 Annual Report
- Mission Statements
Division
The South Texas College (STC) Division of Information Services, Planning, Performance and Strategic Initiatives (ISPP&SI) enhances student success: delivering high quality technology infrastructure and services, providing exceptional learning support services, producing timely information, and planning support. The Division pursues its mission through strategic collaboration, the effective deployment of resources, and the efficient operation and service of all informational, technical and planning duties.
Library Services
Library Services contributes to the academic success of students enrolled in STC by providing learning-centered environments, exceptional services, and high-quality information resources.
- Introduction
The STC Library Services Department has deep roots in and commitment to the STC community. The focus of serving students was invigorating and rewarding in FY22 with improvement in services and collections. We take pride in our role helping students succeed and in our commitment to serving our community, while focusing on the missions of the College and Library Services.
The purpose of the Library Annual Report FY22 is to reflect upon the previous school year and to inform readers of the programs and services offered to support both students and faculty with the goal of helping students succeed academically.
This report of programs and services offered to support student success is for the entire college community, including students, faculty, staff, and the public. Information and data related to services and resources is included and compared to previous annual report data.
- Fiscal Responsibility
The Board of Trustees provides financial support through an approved annual budget, which is devoted to purchasing print and audio-visual materials, and subscriptions to electronic resources, as well as membership fees to several resource and service consortia. Library Services has a responsibility to provide students and faculty excellent resources while being good stewards of taxpayers’ money.
Measures used to evaluate the budget include student enrollment and the number of class sections. There are three (3) types of class sections offered at STC: Fully Online, Hybrid (online and face-to-face) and Traditional (fully face-to-face). No longer can we expect students to be able to visit a physical library, as many students do not live in close proximity to a campus; therefore, we must provide access to resources remotely. As the type of class sections change, the resources available to students and faculty must change to meet their needs.
Class Sections and Enrollment
From FY20 to FY22, the number of class sections offered at STC decreased by 12.6%. There was a decrease in the number of Traditional class sections by 33.4%; however, the number of Fully Online class sections increased by 34% and Hybrid class sections increased by 43.8%. Class offerings were impacted due to the pandemic.
YEAR NUMBER OF CLASS SECTIONS
ALL TYPES% CHANGE FY20 11,498 -0.8% FY21 9,920 -13.7% FY22 10,051 1.3% YEAR TRADITIONAL
SECTIONS%
CHANGEHYBRID
SECTIONS%
CHANGEFULLY ONLINE
SECTIONS%
CHANGEFY20 8,018 9.7% 480 14.6% 3,000 31% FY21 130 -98.4% 883 84% 8,907 197% FY22 5,342 4,009% 690 -21.9% 4,019 -54.9% FY20 – FY22 -33.4% 43.8 34% Purchasing Consortium Memberships – Electronic Resources
One avenue Library Services used to provide quality resources to all students was an investment in electronic resources accessed via a computer, tablet, or smart phone no matter the student’s location. It is an ongoing challenge to provide needed electronic resources due to annual price increases.
An available resource Library Services used to contain the cost of electronic resources, while addressing the needs of students and faculty and spending taxpayers’ money in a responsible manner, was purchasing memberships in consortia when financially advantageous. A purchasing consortium is a collaborative arrangement in which two or more organizations join to combine individual requirements for resources to gain more robust resource packages. Membership in consortia allow entities to scale economy and purchasing power, which is not attainable individually.
TexShare is a purchasing consortium of public, academic, and medical libraries under the auspices of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. It is designed to improve library services to state citizens, in part by providing discounted access to selected electronic information resources. The annual membership fee includes the opportunity to purchase an electronic-resource package consisting of over 65 core databases.
The college expended a total of $72,369 over a three-year period to purchase access to electronic resources. To purchase the same resources individually from the publisher would have cost $1,095,764. Being a member of TexShare saved the college $987,395 a savings of 93.2%.
TEXSHARE
FY20-FY22
MEMBERSHIPCOST RETAIL
VALUESAVINGS % SAVINGS $72,369 $1,059,764 $987,395 93.2% Resource Sharing Memberships – InterLibrary Loan (ILL)
Library Services invested in annual memberships in other consortia providing a variety of services including the ability to borrow print materials not available in STC collections. Borrowing, rather than purchasing, the requested materials often results in significant savings, wisely using taxpayer’s funds.
To obtain print books not available in STC collections, membership in TexShare, Amigos Library Services, and OCLC consortia provides access to virtually every print resource owned by public and academic libraries in Texas and throughout the nation. The expectation of members is to maintain good resource-sharing (borrowing and lending) relationships with other institutions.
The average cost of a lending transaction varies. Based on past studies and allowing for inflation and increased costs, the average cost is $28.2. Based on the average cost, lending 981 resources to other libraries from FY20 to FY22 cost slightly more than $27,000. The average cost to purchase a resource from FY20 to FY22 was $84.2. Borrowing 548 items from FY20 to FY22, rather than purchasing them, resulted in a savings of $46,123.3.
Analyzing the costs associated with lending and borrowing requested books, resulted in a net savings of almost $2,879.5 (6.2%).
AMIGOS
LIBRARY
SERVICES/
OCLC
FY20-FY22
MEMBERSHIPMEMBERSHIP
COSTLENDING
COSTSBORROWING
SAVINGSTOTAL
SAVINGSPERCENTAGE SAVINGS $15,566.5 $27,677.3 $46,123.3 $2,879.5 6.2% - Resources
The six (6) campus libraries provided:
Facilities
- 138,050 square feet
- seating for 1,367 students
- 45 study rooms
CAMPUS SQUARE FOOTAGE STUDY ROOMS SEATING CAPACITY (EXCLUDING COMPUTER LABS) MID-VALLEY 31,564 21 402 NURSING & ALLIED HEALTH 13,530 7 157 PECAN 67,266 7 396 RCPSE 721 0 42 STARR COUNTY 18,831 8 218 TECHNOLOGY 5,417 2 110 STC TOTAL 138,050 45 1,367 Visits
Each campus has a physical library providing resources and services. The number of hours a site was open ranged from 40 to 68 hours per week based on the needs of the students and faculty.
There was an overall decrease in visits of 53.8% from FY20 and FY22 likely due in part to the pandemic. The average number of visits decreased per student by 53%.
YEAR VISITS INCREASE/DECREASE AVERAGE VISITS
PER STUDENTINCREASE/DECREASE FY20 462,583 -38.9% 16.2 -29.2% FY21 103,771 -77.6% 3.6 -78% FY22 213,676 106% 7.6 114.3% FY20-FY22 -53.8% -53% Technology
- over 900 computers
- printing stations, including mobile printing
- online study room scheduling program
- laptops available to borrow
- after-hours access
Ratio Students to Computers
Ratio Students to Computers FY20 FY21 FY22 37:1 32:1 31:1 Collection
- over 110,000 items (books/DVDs)
- over 749,000 items (electronic books (eBooks) and electronic journals (eJournals))
CAMPUS PRINT BOOKS DVDS TOTAL ITEMS MID-VALLEY 32,875 497 33,372 NURSING & ALLIED HEALTH 3,990 232 4,222 PECAN 44,079 181 44,260 RCPSE 67 0 67 STARR COUNTY 25,259 351 25,610 TECHNOLOGY 2,977 295 3,272 TOTAL 109,247 1,556 110,814 Print Books, DVDs, and eBooks Usage
Between FY21 and FY22 there was a decrease of 29.7% in the number of print and DVD items circulated, an increase in eBook usage of 50.1%, and a decrease of 23.1% in the number of serial articles accessed.
Several factors affected the use of the library collection. A increase in Traditional class sections of 33.4%, an increase of 34% of Fully Online class sections and Hybrid class sections of 3.8%, and the availability of online resources, such as eJournals, streaming videos and eBooks, changed the manner students accessed information, resulting in a shift from the use of print to online resources.
FY20 to FY22
- print books and DVDs usage decreased 43.7%
- eBooks usage increased 71%
- over 233,000 media titles accessed
Serials Usage (newspapers, journals, magazines)
An investment in 122 databases provided all students and faculty, including online and dual credit, access to electronic resources. In FY22, students accessed over 348,196 full-text articles found in serials (newspapers, journals, magazines).
- 122 databases searched
- 348,196 full-text serial articles accessed, a decrease of 23.1%
- Investment of Knowledge
Library Services believes that providing rich learning opportunities to students, faculty, and the community is essential to meeting the library and college missions. Experiences such as information literacy classes and cultural events, including presentations by authors, artists, musicians and the exhibition of artwork, were offered to students and faculty throughout the year.
Library Art Gallery Attendance / Artist Presentations
14 exhibits
increase of 133.3%17 virtual art lectures or events
increase of 54.5%1,466 attendees at events
decrease of 53.1%Student Murals at TX Historical
MarkerVirtual Fine Art Workshop Series 14th Annual Ceramic Showdown Speakers / Presentations / Events
36 events
increase of 50%2,038 attendees
decrease of 0.9%Grit with Donna Clark Love Love, Drugs, and Politics in Romeo
and JulietNational Library Week Information Literacy Instruction
Staff provided individual assistance in FY22 to students and faculty in addition to formal instruction planned with faculty, which allowed the customization of content based on the needs of the class.
- 158 classes, an increase of 46.3%
- 2,842 attendees, an increase of 51.6%
- 86% of classes are represented by five departments:
- Nursing and Allied Health – 55 classes (35%)
- Organizational Leadership – 39 classes (25%)
- English – 17 classes (11%)
- History and Philosophy – 13 classes (8%)
- Art – 11 classes (7%)
- Opportunities
Each year brings challenges and opportunities. A focus on improvement and growth requires ongoing evaluation. The key opportunities for Library Services (FY22 – FY24) are:
- Supporting faculty in the location, creation, and use of Open Education Resources (OER).
- Renovating the Pecan Library facility to address needs of students, including space, study rooms, and technology.
- Adjusting purchases to balance resources to address changes in online enrollment and dual credit students.
- Improving collaboration with faculty to align services and resources.
- Improving information literacy instruction to align with the increase of online classes.
- Conclusion
Library Services focuses on continuous improvement of all facets of library services and programs. Library Services acts with intention and provides first-rate services and excellent resources to support the success of students and faculty while being good stewards of taxpayer’s dollars.
2021 Annual Report
- Mission Statements
Division
The South Texas College (STC) Division of Information Services, Planning, Performance and Strategic Initiatives (ISPP&SI) enhances student success: delivering high quality technology infrastructure and services, providing exceptional learning support services, producing timely information, and planning support. The Division pursues its mission through strategic collaboration, the effective deployment of resources, and the efficient operation and service of all informational, technical and planning duties.
Library Services
Library Services contributes to the academic success of students enrolled in STC by providing learning-centered environments, exceptional services, and high-quality information resources.
- Introduction
The STC Library Services Department has deep roots in and commitment to the STC community. The focus of serving students was invigorating and rewarding in FY21 with improvement in services and collections. We take pride in our role helping students succeed, and in our commitment to serving our community while focusing on the missions of the College and Library Services.
The purpose of the Annual Library Report FY21 is to reflect upon the previous school year and to inform readers of the programs and services offered to support both students and faculty with the goal of helping students succeed academically. Due to the pandemic, the Library had an unusual year. Services and visitations were greatly impacted.
This report of programs and services offered to support student success is for the entire college community including students, faculty, staff, and the public. Information and data related to services and resources is included and compared to previous annual report data.
- Fiscal Responsibility
The Board of Trustees provides financial support through an approved annual budget, which is devoted to purchasing print and audio-visual materials, and subscriptions to electronic resources, as well as membership fees to several resource and service consortia. Library Services has a responsibility to provide students and faculty excellent resources while being good stewards of taxpayers’ money.
Measures used to evaluate the budget include student enrollment and the number of class sections. There are three (3) types of class sections offered at STC: Fully Online, Hybrid (online and face-to-face) and Traditional (fully face-to-face). No longer can we expect students to be able to visit a physical library, as many students do not live in close proximity to a campus; therefore, we must provide access to resources remotely. As the type of class sections change, the resources available to students and faculty must change to meet their needs.
Class Sections and Enrollment
From FY19 to FY21, the number of class sections offered at STC decreased by 14.4%. There was a decrease in the number of Traditional class sections by 98.5%; however, the number of Fully Online class sections increased by 289% and Hybrid class sections increased by 110.7%. Class offerings were impacted due to the pandemic.
YEAR NUMBER OF CLASS SECTIONS
ALL TYPES% CHANGE FY19 11,591 2.2% FY20 11,498 -0.8% FY21 9,920 -13.7% YEAR TRADITIONAL
SECTIONS%
CHANGEHYBRID
SECTIONS%
CHANGEFULLY ONLINE
SECTIONS%
CHANGEFY19 8,882 0.2% 419 23.2% 2,290 7.5% FY20 8,018 -9.7% 480 14.6% 3,000 31% FY21 130 -98.4% 883 84% 8,907 197% FY19-FY21 -98.5% 110.7% 289% Purchasing Consortium Memberships – Electronic Resources
One avenue Library Services used to provide quality resources to all students was an investment in electronic resources accessed via a computer, tablet, or smartphone no matter the student’s location. It is an ongoing challenge to provide needed electronic resources due to annual price increases.
An available resource Library Services used to contain the cost of electronic resources, while addressing the needs of students and faculty and spending taxpayers’ money in a responsible manner, was purchasing memberships in consortia when financially advantageous. A purchasing consortium is a collaborative arrangement in which two or more organizations join to combine individual requirements for resources to gain more robust resource packages. Membership in consortia allow entities to scale economy and purchasing power, which is not attainable individually.
TexShare is a purchasing consortium of public, academic, and medical libraries under the auspices of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. It is designed to improve library services to state citizens, in part by providing discounted access to selected electronic information resources. The annual membership fee includes the opportunity to purchase an electronic-resource package consisting of over 65 core databases.
The college expended a total of $72,369 over a three-year period to purchase access to electronic resources. To purchase the same resources individually from the publisher would have cost $1,044,293. Being a member of TexShare saved the college $971,924 – a savings of 93.1%.
TEXSHARE
FY19-FY21
MEMBERSHIPCOST RETAIL
VALUESAVINGS % SAVINGS $72,369.00 $1,044,293 $971,924 93.1% Resource Sharing Memberships – InterLibrary Loan (ILL)
Library Services invested in annual memberships in other consortia providing a variety of services including the ability to borrow print materials not available in STC collections. Borrowing, rather than purchasing, the requested materials often results in a significant savings wisely using taxpayer’s funds.
To obtain print books not available in STC collections, membership in TexShare, Amigos Library Services, and OCLC consortia provides access to virtually every print resource owned by public and academic libraries in Texas and throughout the nation. The expectation of members is to maintain good resource sharing (borrowing and lending) relationships with other institutions.
The average cost of a lending transaction varies. Based on past studies and allowing for inflation and increased costs, the average cost is $25.5. Based on the average cost, lending 1,086 resources to other libraries from FY19 to FY21 cost slightly more than $28,000. The average cost to purchase a resource from FY19 to FY21 was $78.7. Borrowing 794 items from FY19 to FY21, rather than purchasing them, resulted in a savings of almost $62,456.
Analyzing the costs associated with lending and borrowing requested books, results in a significant net savings of almost $16,799.40 (26.9%).
AMIGOS
LIBRARY
SERVICES/
OCLC
FY19-FY21
MEMBERSHIPMEMBERSHIP
COSTLENDING
COSTSBORROWING
SAVINGSTOTAL
SAVINGSPERCENTAGE SAVINGS $16,848.7 $28,808 $62,456 $16,799.4 26.9% - Resources
The six (6) campus libraries provided:
Facilities
- 135,050 square feet
- seating for 1,367 students
- 45 study rooms
CAMPUS SQUARE FOOTAGE STUDY ROOMS SEATING CAPACITY (EXCLUDING COMPUTER LABS) MID-VALLEY 31,564 21 402 NURSING & ALLIED HEALTH 13,530 7 157 PECAN 67,266 7 396 RCPSE 721 0 42 Starr County 18,831 8 218 TECHNOLOGY 5,417 2 110 STC TOTAL 138,050 45 1,367 Visits
Each campus has a physical library providing resources and services. The number of hours a site was open ranged from 40 to 68 hours per week based on the needs of the students and faculty which were affected by the pandemic.
There was an overall decrease in visits of 77.3% from FY19 and FY21 likely due in part to the pandemic. The average number of visits decreased per student by 85%.
YEAR VISITS INCREASE/DECREASE AVERAGE VISITS
PER STUDENTINCREASE/DECREASE FY19 757,421 4.1% 22.9 2.1% FY20 462,583 -38.9% 16.23 -29.2% FY21 103,771 -77.6% 3.6 -78% FY19-FY21 -77.3% -84.5% Technology
- over 900 computers
- printing stations including mobile printing
- online study room scheduling program
- laptops available to borrow
- after-hours access
Ratio Students to Computers
Ratio Students to Computers FY19 FY20 FY21 37:1 32:1 32:1 Collection
- over 134,000 items (books/DVDs)
- over 521,000 items (electronic books (eBooks) and electronic journals (eJournals))
- TexShare 242,750
CAMPUS PRINT BOOKS DVDS TOTAL ITEMS MID-VALLEY 32,338 498 32,836 NURSING & ALLIED HEALTH 3,882 228 4,110 PECAN 67,574 1,396 68,970 RCPSE 56 0 56 Starr County 24,853 351 25,204 TECHNOLOGY 3,004 301 3,305 TOTAL 131,707 2,774 134,481 Print Books, DVDs, and eBooks Usage
Between FY20 and FY21 there was a decrease of 19.9% in the number of print and DVD items circulated, a increase in eBook usage of 13.9%, and an increase of 20% in the number of serial articles accessed.
Several factors affected the use of the library collection. A decrease in Traditional class sections of 98.5%, a substantial increase of 289% of Fully Online class sections and Hybrid class sections of 110.7%, and the availability of online resources, such as eJournals, streaming videos and eBooks, changed the manner students accessed information resulting in a shift from the use of print to online resources.
FY19 to FY21
- print books and DVDs usage decreased 54.2%
- eBooks usage decreased 10%
- over 221,000 media titles accessed
Serials Usage (newspapers, journals, magazines)
An investment in 121 databases provided all students and faculty, including online and dual credit, access to electronic resources. In FY21, students accessed over 452,835 full-text articles found in serials (newspapers, journals, magazines).
- 121 databases searched
- over 452,835 full-text serial articles accessed increased 20
- Investment of Knowledge
Library Services believes that providing rich learning opportunities to students, faculty, and the community is essential to meeting the library and college missions. Experiences offered to students and faculty included cultural events and information literacy classes. Cultural events including presentations by authors, artists, musicians and the exhibition of artwork were available throughout the year.
Library Art Gallery Attendance / Artist Presentations
6 exhibits
decrease of 53.8%11 virtual art lectures or events
decrease of 47.6%3,128 attendees at events
increase of 130.2%Four-part Series: Transforming our;
World Series: The Changing ClimateFour-part Series: Parallels – Art +;
Math, AEDT, History and ScienceSouth Texas Adolescent Health;
Summit – Using Art as Self-careSpeakers / Presentations / Events
24 events
decrease of 20%2,056 attendees
decrease of 8.7%Fall Festival Feel Happier! (even in tough times) Popcorn for Finals The pandemic caused a decrease in the number of exhibits and attendees to Library Art Gallery and Library programs and prompted Library Services to focus efforts on developing online exhibits, speakers, and events. Nonetheless, the number of attendess increased subsantially for Library Art Gallery events.Information Literacy Instruction
Staff provided individual assistance to students and faculty in addition to formal instruction planned with faculty which allowed the customization of content based on the needs of the class. Increased online sessions is a factor in the decrease of the number of classes and attendees. Due to the pandemic, there was a decrease of faculty requests for library instruction.
- 108 classes decreased 58%
- 1,875 attendees decreased 59.3%
- 87% of classes are represented by five departments:
- Nursing and Allied Health – 42 classes (39%)
- Organizational Leadership – 17 classes (16%)
- English – 15 classes (14%)
- History – 12 classes (11%)
- Criminal Justice and Social Sciences – 8 classes (7%)
- Opportunities
Each year brings challenges and opportunities. A focus on improvement and growth requires ongoing evaluation. The key opportunities for Library Services (FY22 – FY24) are:
- Supporting faculty in the location, creation, and use of Open Education Resources (OER).
- Renovating the Pecan Library facility to address needs of students including space, study rooms, and technology.
- Adjusting purchases to balance resources to address increased online enrollment and dual credit students.
- Improving collaboration with faculty to align services and resources.
- Improving information literacy instruction to align with the increase.
- Conclusion
Library Services focuses on continuous improvement of all facets of library services and programs. Library Services acts with intention and provides first-rate services and excellent resources to support the success of students and faculty while being good stewards of taxpayer’s dollars.
2020 Annual Report
- Mission Statements
Division
The South Texas College (STC) Division of Information Services, Planning, Performance and Strategic Initiatives (ISPP&SI) enhances student success: delivering high quality technology infrastructure and services, providing exceptional learning support services, producing timely information, and planning support. The Division pursues its mission through strategic collaboration, the effective deployment of resources, and the efficient operation and service of all informational, technical and planning duties.
Library Services
Library Services contributes to the academic success of students enrolled in STC by providing learning-centered environments, exceptional services, and high-quality information resources.
- Introduction
The STC Library Services Department has deep roots in and commitment to the STC community. The focus of serving students was invigorating and rewarding in FY20 with improvement in services and collections. We take pride in our role helping students succeed, and in our commitment to serving our community while focusing on the missions of the College and Library Services.
The purpose of the Annual Library Report FY20 is to reflect upon the previous school year and to inform readers of the programs and services offered to support both students and faculty with the goal of helping students succeed academically. Due to the pandemic, the Library had an unusual year. Services and visitations were greatly impacted.
This report of programs and services offered to support student success is for the entire college community including students, faculty, staff, and the public. Information and data related to services and resources is included and compared to previous annual report data.
- Fiscal Responsibility
The Board of Trustees provides financial support through an approved annual budget, which is devoted to purchasing print and audio-visual materials, and subscriptions to electronic resources, as well as membership fees to several resource and service consortia. Library Services has a responsibility to provide students and faculty excellent resources while being good stewards of taxpayers’ money.
Measures used to evaluate the budget include student enrollment and the number of class sections. There are three (3) types of class sections offered at STC: Fully Online, Hybrid (online and face-to-face) and Traditional (fully face-to-face). No longer can we expect students to be able to visit a physical library, as many students do not live in close proximity to a campus; therefore, we must provide access to resources remotely. As the type of class sections change, the resources available to students and faculty must change to meet their needs.
Class Sections and Enrollment
From FY18 to FY20, the number of class sections offered at STC increased by 1.4%. There was a decrease in the number of Traditional class sections by 9.6%; however, the number of Fully Online class sections increased by 40.9% and Hybrid class sections increased by 41.2%.
YEAR NUMBER OF CLASS SECTIONS
ALL TYPES% CHANGE FY18 11,338 1.4% FY19 11,591 2.2% FY20 11,498 -0.8% YEAR TRADITIONAL
SECTIONS%
CHANGEHYBRID
SECTIONS%
CHANGEFULLY ONLINE
SECTIONS%
CHANGEFY18 8,868 -2.2% 340 -20% 2,130 26.3% FY19 8,882 0.2% 419 23.2% 2,290 7.5% FY20 8,018 -9.7% 480 14.6% 3,000 31% FY18-FY20 -9.6% 41.2% 40.9% Purchasing Consortium Memberships – Electronic Resources
One avenue Library Services used to provide quality resources to all students was an investment in electronic resources accessed via a computer, tablet, or smartphone no matter the student’s location. It is an ongoing challenge to provide needed electronic resources due to annual price increases.
An available resource Library Services used to contain the cost of electronic resources, while addressing the needs of students and faculty and spending taxpayers’ money in a responsible manner, was purchasing memberships in consortia when financially advantageous. A purchasing consortium or Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) is a collaborative arrangement in which two or more organizations join to combine individual requirements for resources to gain more robust resource packages. Membership in consortia allow entities to scale economy and purchasing power, which is not attainable individually.
TexShare is a GPO of public, academic, and medical libraries. It is designed to improve library services to state citizens, in part by providing discounted access to selected electronic information resources. The annual membership fee includes the opportunity to purchase an electronic-resource package consisting of over 65 core databases.
The college expended a total of $70,176 over a three-year period to purchase access to electronic resources. To purchase the same resources individually from the publisher would have cost $1,060,783. Being a member of TexShare saved the college $990,607 – a savings of 93.4%.
TEXSHARE
FY18-FY20
MEMBERSHIPCOST RETAIL
VALUESAVINGS % SAVINGS $70,176 $1,060,783 $990,607 93.4% Purchasing Consortium Memberships – InterLibrary Loan (ILL)
Library Services invested in annual memberships in other consortia providing a variety of services including the ability to borrow print materials not available in STC collections. Borrowing, rather than purchasing, the requested materials often results in a significant savings wisely using taxpayer’s funds.
To obtain print books not available in STC collections, membership in TexShare, Amigos Library Services, and OCLC consortia provides access to virtually every print resource owned by public and academic libraries in Texas and throughout the nation. The expectation of members is to maintain good resource sharing (borrowing and lending) relationships with other institutions.
The average cost of a lending transaction varies. Based on past studies and allowing for inflation and increased costs, the average cost is $25.1. Based on the average cost, lending 1,345 resources to other libraries from FY18 to FY20 cost slightly more than $33,000. The average cost to purchase a resource from FY18 to FY20 was $73.5. Borrowing 1,151 items from FY18 to FY20, rather than purchasing them, resulted in a savings of almost $84,613.
Analyzing the costs associated with lending and borrowing requested books, results in a significant net savings of almost $33,281.7 (39.3%).
AMIGOS
LIBRARY
SERVICES/
OCLC
FY18-FY20
MEMBERSHIPMEMBERSHIP
COSTLENDING
COSTSBORROWING
SAVINGSTOTAL
SAVINGSPERCENTAGE SAVINGS $17,572.8 $33,758.4 $84,613 $33,281.7 39.3% - Resources
The five (5) campus libraries provided:
Facilities
- 136,608 square feet
- seating for 1,283 students
- 45 study rooms
CAMPUS SQUARE FOOTAGE STUDY ROOMS SEATING CAPACITY (EXCLUDING COMPUTER LABS) MID-VALLEY 31,564 21 402 NURSING & ALLIED HEALTH 13,530 7 157 PECAN 67,266 7 396 Starr County 18,831 8 218 TECHNOLOGY 5,417 2 110 STC TOTAL 136,608 45 1,283 Visits
Each campus has a physical library providing resources and services. The number of hours a site was open ranged from 47 to 84 hours per week based on the needs of the students and faculty.
There was an overall decrease in visits in part due to the pandemic of 36.4% from FY18 and FY20. The average number of visits decreased per student by 27.6%.
YEAR VISITS INCREASE/DECREASE AVERAGE VISITS
PER STUDENTINCREASE/DECREASE FY18 727,413 1.6% 22.43 0.2% FY19 757,421 4.1% 22.91 2.1% FY20 462,583 -38.9% 16.2 -29.2% FY18-FY20 -36.4% -27.6% Technology
- over 900 computers
- printing stations including mobile printing
- online study room scheduling program
- laptops available to borrow
- after-hours access
Ratio Students to Computers
Ratio Students to Computers FY18 FY19 FY20 36:1 37:1 32:1 Collection
- over 133,000 items (books/DVDs)
- over 525,000 items (electronic books (eBooks) and electronic journals (eJournals))
- TexShare 242,750
CAMPUS PRINT BOOKS DVDS TOTAL ITEMS MID-VALLEY 31,660 496 32,156 NURSING & ALLIED HEALTH 3,814 188 4,002 PECAN 68,179 1,395 69,574 Starr County 24,379 350 24,729 TECHNOLOGY 2,878 301 3,179 TOTAL 130,910 2,730 133,640 Print Books, DVDs, and eBooks Usage
Between FY19 and FY20 there was a decrease of 42.8% in the number of print and DVD items circulated, a decrease in eBook usage of 21%, and an increase of 30.1% in the number of serial articles accessed.
Several factors affected the use of the library collection. A decrease in Traditional class sections of 9.6%, a substantial increase of 40.9% of Fully Online class sections and Hybrid class sections of 41.2%, and the availability of online resources, such as eJournals, streaming videos and eBooks, changed the manner students accessed information resulting in a shift from the use of print to online resources.
FY18 to FY20
- print books and DVDs usage decreased 50%
- eBooks usage decreased 38%
- over 212,000 media titles accessed
Serials Usage (newspapers, journals, magazines)
An investment in 120 databases provided all students and faculty, including online and dual credit, access to electronic resources. In FY20, students accessed over 377,231 full-text articles found in serials (newspapers, journals, magazines).
- 120 databases searched
- over 377,231 full-text serial articles accessed increased 30.1%
- Investment of Knowledge
Library Services believes that providing rich learning opportunities to students, faculty, and the community is essential to meeting the library and college missions. Experiences offered to students and faculty included cultural events and information literacy classes. Cultural events including presentations by authors, artists, musicians and the exhibition of artwork were available throughout the year.
Art Gallery Attendance / Artist Presentations
13 exhibits
decrease of 18.8%21 artist lectures or events
decrease of 16%1,359 attendees at events
increase of 5.5%Bruno Legacy of an Artist &
EducatorJuneteenth Observance Connections: New Gallery at NAH Due to the pandemic, the number of exhibits and attendees were impacted. Speakers / Presentations / Events
30 events
decrease of 26.8%2,251 attendees
increase of 5.7%Family Reading Night at
Mid-ValleyMcAllen Poet Laureate
Edward VidaurreDocumentary “Altar” Gloria
AnzalduaDue to the pandemic, a pivot to online sessions took place. Information Literacy Instruction
Staff provided individual assistance to students and faculty in addition to formal instruction planned with faculty which allowed the customization of content based on the needs of the class. Increased online sessions is a factor in the decrease of the number of classes and attendees.
- 257 classes decreased 15.2%
- 4,602 attendees decreased 7.9%
- 72% of classes are represented by five departments:
- English – 71 classes (28%)
- Nursing and Allied Health – 50 classes (19%)
- History and Philosophy – 31 classes (12%)
- Criminal Justice and Social Sciences – 17 classes (7%)
- Education – 16 classes (6%)
- Opportunities
Each year brings challenges and opportunities. A focus on improvement and growth requires ongoing evaluation. The key opportunities for Library Services (FY21 – FY23) are:
- Leading faculty in the location, creation, and use of Open Education Resources (OER).
- Renovating the Pecan Library facility to address needs of students including space, study rooms, and technology.
- Adjusting purchases to balance resources to address increased online enrollment and dual credit students.
- Improving collaboration with faculty to align services and resources.
- Improving information literacy instruction to align with the increase.
- Conclusion
Library Services focuses on continuous improvement of all facets of library services and programs. Library Services acts with intention and provides first-rate services and excellent resources to support the success of students and faculty while being good stewards of taxpayer’s dollars.