How does the institution determine adequacy and relevancy of library/learning resources to support all its educational, research, and service needs?
See Core Requirement 2.9 Services
The San Antonio College LIbrary maintains a collection of resources that is both adequate and sufficient to support the College's programs. The services and resources offered also fulfill the Library Mission " to provide a vital, technologicaly advanced center of learning and exploration for students, staff, faculty, and the community."
Through the collaboration between library liaisons and academic departments, the Library has built a collection of traditional print/non-print resources and electronic resources to support the various disciplines' information needs. The Library's collection is searchable through the Innovative Integrated, Inc., automated library system which provides a comprehensive online Discovery that allows patrons to view the collections while on- or off-campus. Through the inter-library loan service, patrons may request materials from other libraries to be sent to this library. Local libraries have a turnaround time of two to three days while libraries outside of this area may take up to two weeks for delivery.
The complete remodeling of the Library, located on floors 2-4 of the Moody Learning Center, was finished in Oct. 2013. Highlights of this remodel include improved lighting, approximately a 40 percent increase in seating, colorful, new furniture, and the addition of 18 group sudy rooms or six (6) on each floor.
Collections
The Library houses more than 173,000 items in its collections. As of March 31, 2014 the Reference Collection held 16,320 items, the Reserve Collection housed 1,425 items, the Circulation Collection held 139,270, and the McAllister Collection (rare and out-of-print) held 16,196. In addition, students have access to approximately 45,000 ebooks.
Databases
Students have access to a multitude of databases that provide full-text periodicals assessable 24 hours a day. More than 50 subscription databases are included in the 146 databases and indexes listed in the A - to - Z list. According to Serial Solutions the number of unique, full-text titles in the databases was 59,171.
Accessibility
The Library is open 66 hours Monday through Saturday. At least one library faculty member is available at Reference to assist students at all times. Two librarians are available during the busiest hours. Students may obtain help in person, online through "Ask a Librarian," featured on the Library's home page, or by telephone.
Instruction
Library faculty offer hands-on instruction tailored to classroom assignments in two computer labs and online through the virtual classroom Collaborate. Instruction is offered at classroom faculty request. For the 2012-13 academic year librarians taught 334 classes to 7,348 students. For the 2013 semester librarians taught 205 classes to 4,510 students. More than 200 Libguides, online research guides that are suitable to class assignments, are also available.
Academic Department Accreditation
Librarians prepare reports and often present demonstrations of resources to various academic accreditation review committee members.
Collection Development
Librarians are assigned subject areas such as allied health, art, geography, history, nursing, etc. Purchases are made through Baker & Taylor based on the curriculum, faculty, staff, and student recommendations, and reviews in specialized publications such as Choice, Library Journal, and Booklist.