Reference Point

While our annual budget for scholarly materials exceeds $4 million, which is a hefty investment by CMU, vendor and publisher cost increases exceed our year-to-year allocation growth. As a result, we're constantly reviewing our purchases and updating our acquisitions practices, as well as periodically, such as this spring, engaging with faculty in the disciplines to downsize our journal subscriptions. We do business in a complex scholarly materials marketplace, and we strive with determination to get excellent academic value from our purchases, which use donor dollars as well as institutional funds. We also continue to develop our impressive Documents on Demand services to provide speedy and reliable delivery of information resources we don't own. I hope as you read this issue of Reference Point, you'll recognize the dynamic spirit of the CMU Libraries and the commitment to our important service mission. Enjoy reading it and know we welcome your questions and comments. Tom Moore Dean of Libraries CMU is an AA/EO institution, providing equal opportunity to all persons, including minorities, females, veterans, and individuals with disabilities (see cmich.edu/ocrie). 2 Produced by CMU University Communications and printed by CMU Printing Services. UComm 9222-6,826 (4/15) Reference Point is published biannually by University Libraries. Address questions and suggestions to: Office of the Dean Park Library 407D Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 Editorial Board Thomas J. Moore Dean of Libraries Kathy Irwin Associate Dean of Libraries Megan Moreno, '06 Director of Development and Community Outreach Brad Stambaugh Manager, Library Business Services Reference Point Coordinator Production CMU University Communications Writers Amy Soper, Dan Digmann, Darryll Stinson, '13, Josh Palmer, Elise Pelletier, Katie Frankhart, Kalynne Defever Editors Darryll Stinson, '13, Lori Conroy Designer Trevor Grabill, '10 Photographer Steve Jessmore, '81 Printing CMU Printing Services Libraries' Website lib.cmich.edu Academic Year Library Hours Mon - Thurs: 7:50 a.m. - Midnight Fri: 7:50 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sat: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sun: Noon - Midnight Extended Hours Study (Through April 25) Sun: 10 a.m. - 2 a.m. Mon - Thurs: 7 a.m. - 2 a.m. Fri: 7 a.m. - Midnight Sat: 9 a.m. - Midnight C o m m i t t e d t o p r o v i d i n g e x c e l l e n t s e r v i c e > D e a n's C o l u m n L i b r a r i e s c o n t r i b u t e t o u n i v e r s i t y 's h i g h r a n k i n g s To m M o o re I frequently tell people that everywhere I look good things are happening, especially in the CMU Libraries. I'm pleased and proud that our library faculty and staff routinely endeavor to offer more and better academic information services to CMU students and faculty — and do so with a user-friendly touch. Continuous improvement is a priority for us. One of the ways we work toward success in meeting the needs of our clientele is by asking them how we're doing, using a variety of methods, including regular and occasional surveys about key services. In addition to our in-house surveys, recently we've been using a broader survey instrument, LibQUAL+, that's prepared and administered through the Association of Research Libraries. It enables us to track user satisfaction across essential services and to compare results about the CMU Libraries to results at other participating university libraries. Our most recent LibQUAL+ survey was this past fall, and 1,566 library users, mostly undergraduate and graduate students, completed it. I'm happy to tell you that the responses were highly positive. In addition to data from standardized questions, we received 688 written comments, many with praise and many with valuable suggestions now being studied by our assessment team and service departments. We'll keep working doggedly on ways to respond effectively to our clients' needs as the technologies evolve and the university's curricula and priorities develop and change. It's probably not a surprise to some at CMU, however, that our primary challenge is the responsibility of maintaining ready and consistent access to the large and diverse selection of knowledge resources, databases, books, and especially journals. All of these fuel the university's core academic enterprises of teaching, learning, and research.

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