INFORMATION FOR
Just a year ago, on August 27, 2024, we witnessed a vibrant sequence of events and celebratory activities welcoming our new students to WPUNJ, complete with new students walking through a tunnel of faculty and staff and culminating in a presidential address. Again, on August 26, 2025, the festive tradition continued with a similarly exciting event, high in spirit, perhaps even grander in scale than the previous year's as the university community welcomed about one thousand freshmen. The celebration was heartwarming, complete with a barbeque and concluding with an uplifting presidential address that provided a glimpse into the energy and actions we hope will power our future success as an institution. We saw a university on the move, embracing mission and purpose, determined to engage and empower, including many who have often been left behind, to ensure an equitable and prosperous future for its graduates, state, and nation.
This is the context within which the Cheng Library operates and serves. It seeks to empower information discovery and knowledge creation, even in challenged fiscal environments. Pursuit of those goals was on full display in the last fiscal year and continues going forward. Among the Library's many accomplishments were two important external recognitions. Cheng Library's WP Real Men Read Program was recognized by the Library of Congress as a 2024 Literacy Award Winner and the program's lead librarian and colleagues from the College of Education were selected and honored at the State Employee Recognition Day award ceremony for their collaboration on the program.
In their insightful work reported in a 2017 Association of College and Research Libraries publication Academic Library Impact on Student Learning and Success: Findings from Assessment in Action Team Project, Karen Brown and Kara J. Malenfant assert what they see on the basis of observed evidence and data as five compelling ways in which academic libraries contribute to student learning and success: 1. Students benefit from library instruction in their initial coursework. 2. Library use increases student success. 3. Collaborative academic programs and services involving the library enhance student learning. 4. Information literacy instruction strengthens general education outcomes. 5. Library research consultations boost student learning.
Cheng Library continues to provide programs and activities that support student learning and success. The number of library instruction sessions in fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025) was 237, exceeding 2024 by 14.5%, with 83.4% of all freshmen and 71.9% of undergraduates receiving instruction. The sessions were well-received as 91% of attendees responding to a post-instruction survey claimed they learned something new that would help them succeed in their classes, 90% looked forward to applying what they learned, 88% felt more confident about completing their course assignments, and 90% felt more aware of the resources and services provided by the Library. The Library also conducted 4,228 research consultations and in person reference and chat interactions with students. Librarians collaborated with classroom faculty on class projects to enhance the student learning experience.
Continuing with the theme of student success, faculty librarians at Cheng Library extended their activities to include participation in the University's LEADS digital badges program, which allows students to earn badges for participating in designated extra-curricular experiences. The Library participated in the LEADS program through its LEARN (Library Engagement and Research Needs) badge offerings. The number of students participating in the Library's LEARN Digital Badge program increased by 165% last fiscal year, with a 500% increase in the number of upper tier offerings.
Library faculty also developed and taught 28 synchronous webinars on key information literacy skills. Content of the webinars aligned with the Library’s WP LEARN badge to offer micro-credential credit to attendees. Some topics covered were artificial intelligence, publication manuals/style guides, plagiarism, creating annotated bibliographies, evaluating information sources, finding articles in library databases, mastering in-text citations, organizing and writing literature reviews. The Library's 483 published LibGuides received nearly 50,000 views in fiscal year 2025. There was heavy use of library-created tutorials, with the most popular video, Parts of a Research Article, viewed almost 800 times.
Working with classroom faculty toward student success, Cheng Library led efforts to lower textbook costs for students by engaging academic departments and deans in conversations and activities to increase the adoption of no/low-cost course materials in courses offered throughout the University, with an improvement of 16% in adoption of such materials in fiscal year 2025 over 2024. Library faculty members provided information and training on creating/customizing open access textbooks and other educational texts. They aided in the discovery and adoption of existing high-quality free textbooks and other course materials. They also produced and published guides to help classroom faculty in their free textbook adoption process, and promoted online platforms to ease identification and selection of materials.
Mary Ellen Spencer and Sarah Barbara Watstein (2017) note: "Today's academic research librarians understand and appreciate that spaces not only inspire creativity, reflection, exploration, and innovation but also impact learning" (Academic Library Spaces: Advancing Student Success and Helping Students Thrive). Acutely aware of the impact spaces can have on students’ academic success, Cheng Library has always prioritized the provision and maintenance of clean, comfortable, and functional spaces to support individual study, group activities, and socialization. With the support of personnel in Physical Plant Operations, the Library and its faculty and staff have been diligent about maintaining the right ambiance and comfort level to make students always feel respected and welcome in the Library.
WPUNJ students have demonstrated their appreciation with their regular visits and physical as well as virtual use of the Library. The past year was no exception. Study rooms saw heavy use. Use of all spaces was robust. The Student Relaxation Lounge, a wellness space on the second floor of the Library established by the University’s Counseling, Health, and Wellness Center for students seeking a quiet place to relax and destress, remains very popular. Library gate count, a measure of foot traffic in the building was 147,322 for fiscal year 2025, an 8.8% increase over 2024.
On the resource side, print books and media numbers remained flat, while electronic books increased from 1,221,319 to 1,260,776, an increase of 39,457 volumes. There was a decrease in print periodicals and electronic titles were more than triple those of print. This represents an appropriate response to persistent user preference for online resources, especially when it comes to articles.
The Cheng Library welcomes our new and returning students, and our faculty and staff to a new academic year and reassures every one of the Library's continued commitment to supporting student learning and success. Please come visit us and tell us how we can serve you better.
Welcome!
