HLC Materials for April 2019: ITCC Lake County

"The Ivy Tech Community College Libraries are full partners in the educational and workforce development mission of the College.  The libraries teach research strategies, support the curriculum, and encourage independent and lifelong learning by providing the space, information resources, instruction, and related services for academic success.  The libraries advance information literacy, critical thinking, and collaborative learning in a welcoming environment that promotes and is enriched by, the diverse cultural and intellectual interests of students, faculty and community."

• Key elements in the above library mission statement and supporting this HLC document for the Lake County Ivy Tech libraries at Gary, East Chicago, and Crown Point are:
  • Providing appropriate spaces for various needs
  • Providing information resources
  • Providing library research instruction to advance information literacy
  • Providing a welcoming environment
  • Providing other related services for academic success
  • Providing diversity and cultural exposure within the College and external community

1d1 - Actions and decisions reflect an understanding that in its educational role the institution serves the public, not solely the institution, and this entails a public obligation. 

In answer to the above, and as referenced in the HLC Assurance Argument, "Campus libraries are open to the general public and provide internet access to communities....", the Lake County Ivy Tech libraries do so in the following ways:

• JITA access (Just in Time accounts):  These are guest accounts that allows for a community user to access the library computers on a temporary short-term basis.
• INSPIRE Internet databases:  These are free databases provided to any resident of the state of Indiana via access to an Internet computer.  Databases such as MasterFILE Premier, Health Source - Consumer Edition, Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, Read It!, and Business Source Complete support general public information interests, K-12, homeschooling, and more.
• CHILDREN'S COLLECTIONS:  In two of the libraries there are several collections of picture books, plus child care and parenting books that support the Early Childhood Education program; they are also available to the general public to check out. These special collections are especially displayed to provide a welcoming environment.
• OTHER COLLECTIONS - All three libraries allow the public to check out general collection books, a limit of three items at a time; for Ivy Tech students, the limit is five items at a time. 
• LIBRARY USAGE STATISTICS - See the below attachment that, for the sake of brevity shows people usage at just ONE location, the Gary library for the fiscal year 2017-2018. This includes computer usage by students, AS well as by the public, with the latter being tracked as JITA usage.   Similar statistics exist for Crown Point and East Chicago, and are available upon request.  This attachment shows how the Lake County libraries are used, by looking at the type of statistics gathered.  These People usage statistics as well as Materials usage statistics have been complied every year since 2015 forward.

2d -  The institution is committed to freedom of expression and the pursuit of truth in teaching and learning.

The HLC Assurance document states "Libraries are among commonly reserved spaces, and their role as both campus and community library also creates the opportunity for dissenting opinions in public spaces.  Adding to that potential dissent is the choice of library materials,  of which some .... may find challenging."  It further mentions that "Faculty and librarians collaborate in the material selection process."   The Lake County libraries support these criteria in the below ways:

• COLLABORATING WITH FACULTY IN MATERIALS SELECTION:  Library staff work with program representatives in early childhood education, business, technology, nursing, respiratory care, physical therapist assistant, and others at their respective libraries for recommendations of titles in book, DVD or journal formats.  Often purchased, along with library research into other related needs, the collections are made known via library title lists in display binders or in online 'libguides'. Collection development is guided by the Ivy Tech Libraries' "Information Resource Development Policy" (ASOM 4.09). 
• MAINTAINING CURRENCY OF MATERIALS: For some programs, nursing and health programs in particular at the appropriate library locations, the libraries are governed by weeding standards plus faculty input in removing outdated materials.  This provides students with a confidence that current and accurate print resources are on the shelves - not mixed in with outdated materials in pursuing their learning.  Guidance is from a weeding document developed and approved by the Statewide Library Directors' group called: "Currency of Print Resources for the Division of Health Sciences" (ASOM 4.11). 
• THEMED READING EVENTS:  Since 2007, the libraries of Lake County, and Michigan City and Valparaiso, have put on a book and author series in collaboration with the seven-county wide literacy group, Books to Bridge the Region.  Each library set up book discussions on the adult level book selection within the campus communities.  In addition, Ivy Tech would often host the author event, open to the public. Titles were selected each year for different age levels - to encourage family communication on themes, promote literacy, create conversations among communities, and foster critical thinking on issues.

1d3:  The institution engages with its identified external constituencies and communities of interest and responds to their needs as its mission and capacity allow.

CULTURAL EXPOSURE:  As stated above, the Ivy Tech libraries in Northwest Indiana have been a showcase place for cultural events, attracting authors, and engaging students and the community with these authors to expand their world. The below books - mostly novels and a few true accounts - were chosen to focus on key themes for discussions and allow for creative programming - a One Book, One Region series!  

• Book and Author Series:  The below list is the complete run for the 11 years.  Notable programs included a bus trip of 40-plus students and faculty to see the U505 submarine in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry (2008), a dramatic one-act play performed by a group of high school students from Lafayette on the year's secondary book, Life in a Jar (2011), a skyping event with the author halfway around the world from the Netherlands (2012), basketball players as students getting to meet one-on-one with the sports writer/book author (2016), a pet fair at the East Chicago campus having a great turnout of 143 students, staff and community, with 8 pets adopted into forever homes (2017). See attachments at the end for a sampling of flyers from book discussions and/or author visits of the annual series.

    2007 - Into the Forest, by Jean Hegland   (theme:  Our Choices, Our World)                                          2008 - Shadow Divers, by Robert Kurson (theme: Journeys and Quests)

    2009 - The Ride of Our Lives, by Mike Leonard  (theme:  Family Matters)                                              2010 - Bowling Across America, by Mike Walsh  (theme: Put Your Nose in a Book, Northwest Indiana!)

    2011 - Hart's War, by John Katzenbach (theme: Learning from the Past, Empowering Our Future)       2012 - Girl in Translation, by Jean Kwok (theme: Where in the World are You From?)

    2013 - Ashfall, by Mike Mullin (theme: Forces of Nature, What Would You Do?)                                    2014 - Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, by Matthew Dicks (theme: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Deeds)

    2015 - Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat, by Edward Kelsey Moore (theme: Secrets We Keep)       2016 - Invincible, Indiana, by Nate Dunlevy (theme:  READ INdiana!) 

    2017 - A Dog's Purpose, by W. Bruce Cameron (theme:  Animals in our Lives)                                     2018 - [no book and author series this year due to a major library move, AND college reorganization] 

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:  The Ivy Tech libraries have been actively involved for years as leaders within the literacy group Books to Bridge the Region, encouraging the value of reading to our external community.  Our library staff would work alongside four-year academic librarians, public and school librarians in researching books, planning events, and distributing Lit-Kits each fall, giving away our selected books to over 400 schools, universities and public libraries in the seven-county Northwest area.  These activities served as preludes to the Ivy Tech libraries designing their own book & author series for the community college campuses in promoting reading literacy and region-wide connections.

DIVERSITY EXPOSURE:   Four of the above books have strong themes of diversity.  Hart's War is a riveting novel about racial barriers in World War II, with a surprise finale.  Girl in Translation is about a young Chinese girl immigrating overseas, assimilating herself in the American culture while keeping her identity.  The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat is by an African American author who crafts a tale about racial prejudices and private secrets spanning four decades in a 20th century southern Indiana town.  Finally, Invincible, Indiana is about basketball, telling the classic story of an African American basketball player and a white coach overcoming obstacles in rural northern Indiana to go on to a winning season.  Connections with campus diversity groups took place and excellent discussions occurred with students during these series.

DIVERSITY AMONG STAFF: While the Lake County library staff (and tutoring staff) is balanced with some diverse ethnic backgrounds, there happens also to be a diversity in physical disabilities.  Such a mix encourages the staff''s sensitivity to student needs and their struggles, and thus we can relate to them in their dealing with challenges and achieving great things.

2e2 - Students are offered guidance in the ethical use of information resources.

As stated in the HLC assurance document, "libraries provide guidance around academic integrity, often in the form of trainings around specific citation styles...", the Lake County Ivy Tech libraries provide the following: 

SEVEN STEPS - AN IVY TILT RESEARCH STRATEGY:  This statewide online Ivy Tech tutorial is also covered in the library instruction sessions to those classes when physical visits are made.

CITATION STYLES: MLA and APA styles are covered online in the Lake County's library website as Featured Resources links.  Each library also has numerous PRINT handouts on both styles, including sample papers, for students to freely take.  Students and instructors frequently ask for these handouts. 

PLAGIARISM GUIDE: This is also linked and residing on the library's website.

3b3 - Every degree program offered by the institution engages students in collecting, analyzing, and communication information; mastering modes of inquiry or creative work....

According to Ivy Tech's Assurance document, 'students are first challenged to think about the collection and use of information, as well as how to tailor the skills and knowledge to specific settings in the IVYT courses.... including demonstrating .... effective applications of ...critical thinking."  The libraries of Lake County do so by promoting library instruction class visits primarily to first and second level of classes, as can be arranged between the instructor and librarian. 

LIBRARY INSTRUCTION: Those classes first targeted are IVYT courses, English 111 and English 112 classes.  Beginning level nursing, physical therapist assistant and early childhood education classes are usually targeted next.  Invites to other classes, such as sociology or business, are attempted if there are available times between those instructors and library staff to do so.  It is not uncommon that some instructors do teach directly from the library's website, incorporating this as a time-saving method.  Critical thinking is promoted by library staff when showing students the many tips to effectively search for quality resources among the library's vast storehouse of databases.

NUMBER OF INSTRUCTION SESSIONS:  IN 2018 there was  30 library presentations among the three Lake County libraries at  Gary, East Chicago, and Crown Point.  A higher number will be the goal for 2019 when the Gary library completes the downsizing of its large collections and subsequent  library relocation - both of which have significantly impacted library staff' availability.  A typical library instruction session though, consists of going to that classroom, providing handouts on local and regional library services, demonstrating online how to navigate the library's website by using a sample research topic and followed by a guide tour to the library for the students.  

3d4 - The institution provides to students and instructors the infrastructure & resources necessary to support effective teaching and learning (... libraries ... as appropriate to the institution's offerings.)

The HLC Assurance documents states that "the College provides library services at all campuses, replete with print and electronic resources to support curricular development, as well as support faculty and student research and exploration."

• LIBRARY BUDGET: The three Lake County library locations have a combined budget of $60,000.  Nearly 60% is earmarked for library online databases & services.  Print books, print journals, and audio-visual resources make up the bulk of the rest of the budget. See the attached file below for detail.

• DATABASE SUBSCRIPTIONS (STATEWIDE): Titles below are those that other Ivy Tech libraries around the state subscribe to, providing a consistent core group of offerings to students, whether for face-to-face classes or online, plus some databases of special interest to faculty. The Lake County library budget pays for our FTE share, percentage-wise, of the state total.

                    * ABC-CLIO (African-American Experience)                                                       * ACLS Humanities (ebooks) 

                    * Academic Search Premier                                                                                * Applied Science and Technology source

                    *  Associates Program Source Plus                                                                    * Chronicle of Higher Education 

                    *  CINAHL (medical)                                                                                           * Computers & Mass Media Communication

                    *  CQ Researcher & Encyclopedia  of American Government                           * Credo Reference - Academic Core

                    *  Ebook Central (ebooks)                                                                                  * Naxos: Music Library

                    * Nursing & Allied Health                                                                                    * Opposing Viewpoints in Context  

                    * PsycArticles                                                                                                     * Research Library 

                    * Skillsoft:  ED/Business Pro/Engineering Pro/IT PRO  (ebooks, videos)                                                                                                     

• DATABASE SUBSCRIPTIONS (LOCAL):                                       
  • ​Encyclopedia Britannica                                                                                  
  • Films on Demand: Academic (streaming videos)                                         
  • Films on Demand:  Physical Therapy streaming videos Collection

• LIBRARY SERVICES:  Below are special services or products paid for out of the library budget, also part of the 60% online costs of the budget .
  • Credo Information (Literacy modules)
  • EBSCO Discovery Service (integrated database searching service)
  • Libguides, LibAnswers (Springshare library management modules)
  • Noodletools (citation builder service)

3d5 - The institution provides to students guidance in the effective use of research and information resources.

Also indicated in the HLC Assurance document is the importance that the "College seeks to develop student skills (in the use of information) in several ways.... thus "Ivy Tech libraries embrace their role in developing information evaluation and attribution skills with students at the College."  The Lake County libraries assist that role in these ways:

• CREDO INFOLIT:  This is the statewide library's new information literacy tutorial, a commercial product tailored to Ivy Tech libraries.
• LIBGUIDES: These are online library resource guides developed and organized around academic course programs, usually designed by individual Ivy Tech librarians.  These include the library holdings - book, DVD, journal holdings as relevant at the local level -  along with online resources, to provide a well-rounded resource tool for a specific program.   Below are several libguides supporting those programs.  They can be found on the Lake County library's website as separate links,  More libguides hope to be developed in the future to benefit Lake County students and faculty.
  • Automotive Technology libguide - East Chicago
  • Culinary Arts libguide - East Chicago

3a2 - The institution articulates and differentiates learning goals for its undergraduate ... (and other higher learning programs as offered) programs

One of the key elements in the HLC Assurance documents is the awareness of the College's responsibility to provide support to students for a statewide general education (STGEC),  that describes how a general education for an Indiana public institution student should look.  The six areas of learning are:  written communication, speaking and listening, quantitative reasoning, humanistic and artistic ways of knowing, scientific ways of knowing, and social and behavioral ways of knowing.   For the Lake County libraries, not only does it mean guiding students in finding information-rich resources through our databases listed earlier, but also to connect students with the hands-on assistance of the Tutoring Centers. 

• TUTORING SERVICES: Recently the Lake County Tutoring Centers (currently at East Chicago and Gary's Arts & Sciences location) have joined with the libraries in providing cross-trained help to students.  The two teams will be working together more, as they connect students to the resources they need.  For example, as tutors help students with their English, math, communications, sociology, and science courses, they also will know to assist students with styles of writing (MLA and APA) and citation guidelines - some of the library functions - and to point to the library's websites for those resources.  

• LIBRARY TECHNICAL ASSISTANT (LTA) Associate degree program: Finally, for those library directors/librarians who also share as a local program chair for the statewide-offered Library Technical Assistant degree program - including Lake County's library director - there is a strong awareness of the STGEC and thus the general education backgrounds needed for students taking the LTA courses. Knowing of these six general education areas for a program directly related to libraries, has made us more aware of what students need to take, and the support they need. 

In closing, these last couple items related to the library world, simply help the libraries in Lake County NOT to be in a vacuum, but rather to be actively connected to other academic elements that serve students, making us more in tune with the struggles and needs of our students, and to better help them succeed.