Director's Cut
(2/29/12) Spring semester started off with quite a bang again, but now things are settling down to a dull roar around here. Of course, there continues to be quite a bit of activity around campus, lots of things happening in our environment to be aware of. Enjoy the latest serving! -GR
Technology Clips
- Two iPads Now Available. Both of our iPads which we purchased with a Student Senate grant last year are now located in Circulation (or will shortly be), available for students to check out. We originally had one designated exclusively for staff use, but the use was minimal, so we decided to put both in Circulation. They are still available for library staff to check out, particularly if you want to take one home over the weekend (which students can not).
- Video Equipment Available. The MOBAC Technology Committee has made available two sets of professional-grade videotaping equipment, for use by any MOBAC member library. One set is kept at Santa Cruz Public Library, one at CSUMB. If anyone is interested in becoming a star (or turning someone else into one), you can find overview information and training videos on the MOBAC website, at .
Library Clips
- Library Program Plan Presentation. Mark your calendars: Friday, March 9, around 11:30am, is when I will be presenting the library's Program Plan to CIP (Council for Instructional Planning). I would love to have as many of you there as possible, for support and visibility, as I try to pitch our future to the campus planners.
- The Little Hordes of May 11. On May 11, hundreds of 4th graders will be on campus for the S4C (SC County College Commitment) Experience, shepherded by various Cabrillo staff. There will also be several groups of around 60 kids each coming through the library for brief tours and talks. Details to be worked out (I certainly hope so).
- MOBAC Hiring Trending Up. I have noticed that the news from libraries shared at the end of MOBAC committee meetings is often a bellweather for trends we ourselves are engaged in or about to be. At the February 10 Administrative Council meeting, six libraries (Hartnell, Carmel, MPC, Watsonville, MIIS, and Cabrillo) all reported having just hired positions or actively recruiting for them (librarians, classified, and administrators). In addition, four of us (Cabrillo, Santa Cruz Public, Monterey Public, and MIIS) are all engaged in strategic and program planning. As always, we're not alone...
Campus Clips
- Student Fax Machine. Good news - it seems the MESA lab has a fax machine, available for students to use any time they are open! Don't know if they charge, but at least it's available for use. Last semester we had heard that the CTC might put one in, but I checked with Barb Durland and the Student Senate never pursued this option.
- DSPS & Possibly Learning Skills Moving. Sometime later this semester DSPS will be moving out of Building 800 and into the Stroke Center area in the new Health & Wellness facility. In addition, Learning Skills may be moving out of the learning centers area in Building 1000 either entirely or partially, and into the Stroke Center area. All three impacted programs have been shrinking for some time due to budget cuts and retirements, so this move makes a lot of sense, and should bring together three very related programs. The DSPS proctoring operation will likely stay upstairs in 1000. Stay tuned...
- Cabrillo Instruction Programs at Risk. At the Feb. 28 Faculty Senate meeting, Renee presented the list of "at risk" Cabrillo programs for the first time. This list represents the bottom portion of the program analysis matrix produced in the Fall, ranking all programs by a number of quantifiable variables, including cost, staffing, efficiency, number of courses in core, student success rates, etc. Now comes the hard part: identifying the non-quantifiable variables that should factor into whether a program remains on the "at risk" list or not. I do believe that at the end of this process we will indeed be eliminating some Cabrillo programs, but I also hope that we will have found sufficient other sources of cuts to make the final list a short one.
- Budget even more precarious for 2012/13. There is a growing likelihood of multiple tax initiatives getting on the November ballot. If this happens, most polling shows that voters would likely reject them all. The campus may be forced to initiate serious course reductions again for Fall 2012 and Spring 2013, if this seems a likely scenario. Keep hoping for a miracle, folks...
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