Cheng Library Embraces and Rises to the Challenge in Traditional and Not So Traditional Times A Message from Dean Edward Owusu-Ansah Dean Edward Owusu-Ansah David LaGesse (“Tapping the Power of the Local Library Anytime, Anywhere,” 2009) noted over a decade ago: “Doing research in our pajamas is a huge benefit of the Web and modern computers. But committed readers and researchers still want access to local libraries, with their vast troves of books, periodicals, and reference works. The best of both worlds? Tapping into your library over the Web, 24 hours a day.” The need for anywhere-anytime access to academic library collections has become widely acknowledged, even if obstacles to full realization remain. At Cheng Library, where emphasis on digital collections to enable such access is a priority, our accelerated actions to enable such transition continued, even before the arrival of COVID-19, which made such commitments and their defense a no-brainer. The urgency of the moment forced us all to prioritize virtual contacts and remote operations. But the fact was never lost on information disseminators and mediators such as libraries, that access to information and knowledge would remain an important part of what we did as a nation and as academic institutions. Libraries and those who support and operate them have always understood the important role access to information and knowledge plays in the advancement of science and civilizations. We began the spring 2020 term with the enthusiasm we have always brought to the service of our William Paterson community, and looked forward to executing our goals for the 2019-2020 academic year. We hoped to improve student awareness of library resources and programs through the regular use of pop-up libraries across campus. To that end, we provided weekly embedded librarian visits to Valley Road for the colleges of Education and Business. We sought to enhance the University’s presence in the local community by supporting area schools in their information literacy education of their students and supporting teachers. Those efforts led to some significant achievements from the beginning of the fall 2019 to the middle of spring 2020. We offered 40 library instruction classes for high school students in the Paterson Area School District, 3 professional development sessions for teachers, and visited 10 schools in Passaic County under a Real Men Read initiative to read to 32 classes and 2 Clifton Middle School classes under a complementary Real Women Vote initiative. Overall, more than 600 high school students, over 320 elementary and middle school students and 50 teachers were engaged by WP librarians in these outreach, instructional, and professional development activities. To support the information literacy education of William Paterson students, the library conducted almost 300 instructional session requested by WP faculty for their classes and in support of the Will.Power.101 and Will.Power.102 first year experiences. The library continued to expand its digital footprint to support anywhere-anytime access and concurrent multiple use through increased spending on its e-collections. It continued to leverage partnerships and consortia solutions for cost efficiencies by working with NJIT, Rowan University, Stockton University, and TCNJ libraries to establish joint working groups for technical solutions, sharing expertise, and improving resource sharing. Proportion of acquisitions budget dedicated to patron-driven options was increased. To support the personal and professional growth of faculty and staff to enable their valued contribution to the University mission and vision, the library reaffirmed its commitment to curating and publicizing faculty scholarly productivity by working on enhancements to WPSphere, William Paterson University’s digital repository. Cheng Library continued to administer and promote WPUNJ’s program for supporting open access publishing by faculty through funding for article processing charges. Then came March 18, 2020. The fast-moving events and evolving decisions that emerged as universities, states, and the nation adjusted to changing information and directives amid an unfolding pandemic compelled the Cheng Library to close its doors. Its services to clients, however, never missed a beat. Preparing for and consistently developing protocols to support online access to our resources and services, coupled with the continuous expansion of our digital footprint allowed for a smooth transition to an environment in which the library’s support for teaching, learning, and research would become almost exclusively virtual. With digital holdings now matching the size of the library’s traditional print book collection, streaming media services a mainstay, and the periodicals collection overwhelmingly digital, the transition to serving a client base that could not come into the library building was rather seamless. While some traditional functions could not be moved online, reference and research consultations with faculty and students continued online mainly via chat, with such transactions seeing a 98 percent boost post March 18. Collection development activities continued, with the ordering and processing of e-books and streaming media. Librarians worked relentlessly to connect faculty and students to many extra resources made available by publishers free online for a defined period, including course materials. Access to textbooks on the physical reserve desk became challenging due to copyright provisions and book quarantine requirements. This, however, reinforced the argument for adopting open educational resources to provide greater access and cost containment for students. The library created and deployed resources and tools to facilitate faculty adoption of such solutions. Cheng Library continues to believe that in these challenging times for higher education and our students, all teaching faculty should strongly consider the use of open educational resources in their courses to ease student access to course materials, overcome the challenges and limitations of course reserve collections, and help mitigate textbook costs for students. As Maura Valentino (“Donor Funded Open Educational Resources: Making the Case, 2015”) notes, “textbook costs have become a serious burden on students and have become an unfortunate barrier to education for students from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds.” Valentino concludes: “Replacing expensive textbooks with free resources can help to ensure that no student earns a poor grade, chooses not to take a class or leaves school due to high textbook costs. These are important objectives.” Cheng librarians stand willing and able to help their teaching counterparts navigate the selection process for such materials. It is a solution best achieved through collaboration with the various library liaisons to the academic departments. We are on campus again for the fall 2020 semester and delighted to be at the service of our students, faculty, and staff. We have reduced hours, but not reduced resources or services. For your safety and ours, we are following enhanced cleaning, disinfection, and social distancing protocols. You will notice signs throughout the library, on walls, doors, and tables asking you to maintain required social distancing. Other signs reiterate the need to wear face masks. Please always make sure the masks cover your nose and mouth. Wipes and sanitizers are available on the floors and to personnel in their office spaces. Paper towels have been installed in the restrooms. We are counting on every one of us to protect us all, in a spirit of collective responsibility and accountability. We continue to engage our user community even as we maintain an alternating schedule that allows us to properly socially distance in our workspaces. Seating and computer terminals throughout the library have been reduced to 43 percent of original capacity to ensure adequate distancing for library users. Our virtual services continue without pause. We encourage you to avail yourselves of our resources and services, and to work with us as we support your academic success and continue to provide the resources and services that ensure the intellectual vibrancy of our academic community. Welcome back – in person, and virtually! September 27, 2020
