Women’s Studies Program
Program Review Library Report
Compiled by: Allison Carr, Social Sciences Librarian
The Vision of the CSUSM library demonstrates its commitment to the educational mission of the University. Stating that we are CENTRAL TO STUDENT LEARNING, the vision challenges us to be student-focused in everything we do, transformational in our approach to services and space, risk-taking in applying our expertise, and collaborative in supporting teaching and learning. With this vision clearly in mind the following report discusses our work in support of the Women’s Studies program and the B.A. in Women’s Studies. It will review current library/degree program collaborations while suggesting ways that the library and the department could work together in the future to benefit student success.
Our primary concern is focused on facilitating student learning by introducing the students to the resources in our collection and teaching them the skills necessary to utilize these resources to their fullest potential. Therefore our work finds its basis in the departmental student learning outcomes as found on this website: http://www2.csusm.edu/assessment/SLOs/WMSTSLOs.htm
Specifically we work to enhance student success in the following SLOs:
· Have developed the research skills needed to find, analyze, and apply multiplesources of informationabout womenand genderacross an array of research topics and academic disciplines;
· Be aware of the relationship of scholarly work and knowledge to problem-solving and activismin the realworld.
I. INSTRUCTION
Since 2003/04 there have been a total 8 instruction sessions for Women’s Studies classes. The classes that visited the library during that time were Women’s Studies 301, a core course. These students are instructed on the use of the resources needed to complete a research assignment and follow-up individual assistance is provided as needed. The library is concerned that without visits to the library for the core courses, graduating Women’s Studies students are not able to meet the student learning objectives listed above. We look forward to collaborating with Women’s Studies faculty to help students meet these learning objectives.
Degree Program: a vision from the library
A review of core courses could include a proposal to integrate information literacy skills (those needed to access, evaluate and use information) such that graduating students are knowledgeable with library research. Specific courses to target for library research instruction could include: core courses such as WMST 101, WMST 201, WMST 301, and WMST 490. 59% of Women’s Studies begin as freshman, which makes it imperative to include library isntruction in Women’s Studies 101. This is a unique opportunity to introduce disciplinary research to freshmen, when in other programs many students do not understand the disciplinary context of resarch until their junior or senior year. A program could easily be developed such that librarians, in collaboration with instructors, could introduce basic concepts and resource in the earlier, more basic courses and develop in complexity for the upper-division, seminar, and graduate courses. Other than these courses, students would only receive library instruction when a particular situation, or assignment, made it imperative. The library looks forward to working with the new program director to develop a comprehensive information literacy program for Women’s Studies students.
The chart and graph below shows a comparison of the Women’s Studies program with other similar programs at CSUSM.
Total classes, undergraduate and graduate classes
Women’s Studies / Psychology / Human Development / Sociology2007/08 / 0 / 18 / 16 / 11
2006/07 / 0 / 13 / 11 / 10
2005/06 / 0 / 15 / 11 / 4
2004/05 / 8 / 23 / 10 / 8
2003/04 / 1 / 11 / 6 / 7
1999/03 / 5 / 34 / 13 / 40
II. RESEARCH CONSULTATION
Research consultation for library users is based on a two tiered system. Students trained in library research methods assist library users with general questions. Librarians provide research assistance most hours the library is open. When complex questions or help with specific assignments is needed individual consultation with the subject librarian is available. Individual appointments may often be referrals from course professors. Again we will strive to assure that students are aware that this is available to them as it now seems not to get used by Women’s Studies students as much as it is by other departments. Those students who do seek assistance are not generally the ones that need it the most but rather the most motivated students and the overachievers. It concerns us that even these students have woefully poor research skills lacking the most basic understanding of the research process and fairly unaware of research resources.
Research Consultations, 2006-2008
Women’s Studies / All Social Sciences2007/08 / 5 / 296
2006/07 / 12 / 275
2005/06 / 5 / 179
2004/05 / 5 / 120
III. STUDENT USE OF THE LIBRARY COLLECTIONS
The Women’s Studies collection is developed to support the research needs of student assignments as well as in-depth studies of the literature. Emphasis is on material appropriate to an undergraduate and graduate level collection.
Purchase decisions are informed by faculty recommendations; review of course syllabi for research topics, emerging trends in the literature, the number of students enrolled in programs and classes, and previous circulation activity. The lack of prior collaboration with faculty makes it diffuclt for the library to develop a collection that supports the curriculum of the program. The library looks forward to working closely with Women’s Studies faculty to ensure the collection is adequatly meeting the needs of our students.
It is important to note, that while the call number ranges below support the Women’s Studies curriculum, the number of checkouts reflect use fo the collection by the entire student body. The high number of checkouts in the areas of family, marriage, sexuality, and women, feminism may be due more to use by psychology and sociology students than by women’s studies students.
Collection and Circulation Activity FY 2007-2008
CALL # RANGE / Subject Area / # of Records / # of CheckoutsBL 458 / Women and religion / 16 / 71
CT 3200-3830 / Biography of women (Collective) / 48 / 63
HD 6050-6223 / Woman labor / 450 / 1833
HQ 1-1100 / Family, marriage, sexuality / 4296 / 21590
HQ 1075 / Sex role / 142 / 930
HQ 1101-2030.7 / Women, feminism / 2858 / 13826
KF 478 / Women’s rights / 14 / 27
LC 1401-2572 / Education of women / 77 / 342
NX 180 / Art and feminism / 76 / 232
PS 147-152 / American literature – Women authors / 76 / 274
RC 692 / Women in medicine / 10 / 77
Z 7961-7965 / Bibliographies – Women / 65 / 13
Total / 8128 / 39278
Material types:
Format / Approx. NumberPeriodical and serial publications / 339
Reference titles / 195
Women’s Studies Electronic Journals / 232
Women’s Studies Vidoes and DVDs / 224
Serials and periodicals
The general periodicals are well covered by aggregator and publisher electronic full-text databases. They are supplemented by library subscriptions to periodicals and serials. In addition to individual print and electronic periodical subscriptions the library must also subscribe to those titles which carry an “embargo” period (lag times of months to over a year for the electronic copies) and for license agreements requiring continued subscription to the print titles in order to receive access to the electronic copy.
Final collection development decisions for serial publications are guided by faculty recommendations, curricular support, where and whether the title is indexed, by retention agreements with electronic database suppliers and other consortia or campuses. Final decisions regarding subscription purchases rest with the library pending funding availability.
Electronic sources
The electronic databases available are indexes to periodical and newspapers articles, many of which include full text or links to full text through linking programs developed by the library. Additional care has been taken to actively seek and provide access to numerous online full-text journals, indexes, and e-books. Providing access to these via the library catalog is seen as an important tool for student research. These would be included in the counts listed above under “Formats.” For a list of online databases see Appendix A: Databases with Related Content.
Funding
Collection funds are allocated to Women’s Studies for monographic, serial and media purchases. In addition to local funding, the Chancellor’s Office also funds a substantial portion of database and journal holdings. Total funding for collections can be viewed on the California State University Library Web site: source: CSU Library Statistics http://www.calstate.edu/LS/planning_docs.shtml
Fiscal Year / Funding2007-2008 / $ 2,500
2006-2007 / $ 2,700
As the campus continues to grow, the lack of increases in the library materials budget results in the failure to support the growing number of subject areas and degree programs, and the ability to support basic collection building. 98% of the monograph collection was published prior to 2000, which shows that current funding does not address our urgent, ongoing needs. While the growth in electronic resources and the San Diego Circuit program have given us wider and quicker access, appropriate service standards continue to require on-site collections for immediate use. The growing cost of electronic collections and Circuit delivery actually reduces our ability to maintain a core collection.
Reserve readings/holdings for courses
The course reserves service offers another means of accessing the collection. The statistics show that the system is popular among faculty and students and provides substantial additional services for off campus access to supplemental course material and library materials.
Course Reserves 2003-2008
Regular Reserves / E-ReservesSemester / # of Courses / # of Items / # of Checkouts / # of Courses / # of Items / Course Page Hits
07/08 / 9 / 23 / 114 / 17 / 235 / 4884
06/07 / 10 / 72 / 333 / 18 / 115 / 2993
05/06 / 5 / 15 / 70 / 14 / 87 / 1101
04/05 / 8 / 30 / 111 / 7 / 43 / 1073
03/04 / 5 / 16 / 41 / 7 / 21 / 1141
97/03 / 20 / 69 / 262 / 6 / 14 / 505
Interlibrary loan
Interlibrary loan services provide a valuable addition for material out of scope with the collection. The service average turnaround time is just less than a week. This is an excellent response time compared to other libraries and something the interlibrary loan staff of this library should be proud. Generally the statistics show a decrease in loan requests, and this is in keeping with national trends to rely more and more on electronic access and the World Wide Web for research materials. A review of titles requested via interlibrary is conducted yearly by the librarian and library staff for suggestions to add to the collection. Appendix B: Interlibrary Loan Statistics for Women’s Studies.
Appendix A: Databases with Related Content
Database / CoverageSociological Abstracts / Provides access to the latest international findings in theoretical and applied sociology, social science, and political science.
Coverage: 1963→current
Womens Studies International / Includes over 204,000 records drawn from a variety of essential women's studies databases.
Coverage: 1972→current
JSTOR / Contains (EXCEPT for the latest five years) core scholarly journals in sociology, history, economics, political science, mathematics, African-American & Asian studies, literature, humanities, music, and biological, health & general sciences.
Coverage: 1838→2004
Science Direct / Provides full text access to over 1,000 journals covering all fields of science.
Coverage: 1995→current
Project Muse / Full-text coverage for hundreds of scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and mathematics
Coverage: 1993→current
America: History & Life / Historical coverage of the world from 1450 to the present.
Coverage: 1973→current
Historical Abstracts / Historical coverage of the world from 1450 to the present.
Coverage: 1973→current
MLA International Bibliography / Includes abstracts of articles from critical literary and language journals. Indexes over 4,000 journals in the fields of literature, linguistics, folklore, and cultural studies.
Coverage: 1963→current
PsycINFO / Available via EbscoHost: A comprehensive international database of psychology, covering the academic, research, and practice literature in psychology from over 45 countries in more than 30 languages.
Coverage: 1887→current
Social Services Abstracts / Abstracts of current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development.
Coverage: 1980→current
Blackwell Journals (has moved to Wiley Interscience) / As of June 30, 2008, Wiley Interscience now includes Blackwell Journals. Please use the Wiley Interscience database connection. This message will disappear October 1, 2008.
Coverage: current
Sage Journals Online / Sage Journals Online includes over 460 journals in Business, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science, Technology and Medicine.
Coverage: current
GenderWatch / This database provides full text articles from scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, and governmental and special reports. The publications indexed focus on how gender impacts a broad spectrum of subject areas.
Coverage: 1970-current
Ethnic NewsWatch / Full-text ethnic newspapers, searchable in English or Spanish. Coverage: 1992-current
Appendix C: Interlibrary Loan Statistics for Women’s Studies
Below are the ILL statistics from 2000/01 through 2007/08
Academic Year / Requests / Filled / Unfilled / Avg. Turnaround (days)2007 / 08 / Faculty / 24 / 24 / 0 / 4.1
Students / 9 / 9 / 0
2006 / 07 / Faculty / 9 / 9 / 0 / 2.6
Students / 9 / 9 / 0
2005 / 06 / Faculty / 4 / 4 / 0 / 4.7
Students / 13 / 13 / 0
2004 / 05 / Faculty / 2 / 2 / 0 / 7
Students / 1 / 1 / 0
2003 / 04 / Faculty / 15 / 15 / 0 / 4.4
Students / 1 / 1 / 0
2002 / 03 / Faculty / 8 / 7 / 1 / 5.1
Students / 28 / 26 / 2
2001 / 02 / Faculty / 7 / 7 / 0 / 3.4
Students / 11 / 11 / 0
2000 / 01 / Faculty / 3 / 3 / 0 / 3.7
Students / 0 / 0 / 0
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