Director's Cut
(October 2012) Fall 2012 has been a very, very busy semester, & we've all been going great guns. Many thanks to all of you for handling, and helping, tens of thousands of students already. Only a few tens of thousands to go! -GR
Technology Clips

  • Future IT HelpDesk Software. IT is working on a future version of the IT HelpDesk request-submitting system. The new system, Track-IT from Numara Software, will hopefully be rolled out sometime next year, and will likely replace both the IT system and M&O's MaintenanceTracker.

Library Clips

  • New Library Card Procedure - Status. Beginning Summer 2012, Circulation discontinued requiring and retaining the paper Patron Information Cards for new library card holders, for all patrons except Special Borrowers. This change allowed Circulation to survive the usual Fall onslaught of new students needing library cards, and saved lots of time in Circulation by eliminating the former backlog of hundreds of library card applications waiting to be double-checked. Circulation successfully, and smoothly, issued nearly 2000 library cards during September. A very successful change!
  • New MOBAC Information Listserv. We have a new MOBAC listserv, , which I encourage all library staff to join. This listserv has been created as a way to disseminate information to anyone and everyone within the MOBAC member libraries. Anyone who works at a MOBAC library and is interested can subscribe, whether they are librarians or library staff. To subscribe (or unsubscribe), go to What will you receive (or can you send) to this listserv?
  • Event notices
  • Training opportunities
  • Job postings
  • MOBAC meeting minutes, or agendas
  • Questions to ask the larger MOBAC community
  • Other relevant communications
  • Annual Fall Library Survey. The annual Fall Library Services Survey was distributed this week. Although we won't have the results and the compiled comments for a few weeks yet, I can share a few things with you. We distributed 430 surveys on Monday and Tuesday, and received 316 completed surveys - a 73% return rate! Lots of comments provided, as usual - here's one of my favorite so far: "I love the library: physical space, personnel, concept, resources, the whole shebang." Makes me think of Sally Fields, again. More interesting stuff coming later this semester.

Campus Clips

  • Learning Centers Remodel. Sometime late October or early November the central area of the upstairs LRC area will be remodeled. The variously-sized fabric walls will nearly all be removed, leaving the central area for study tables and, later, a central information desk. This will be a visually very dramatic change, so I encourage you to check it out once it happens. We hope the improved visibility, and expanded study areas, will help make the LRC central area an even more effective study and tutoring area for students.
  • Cabrillo Honors Program. At the September Board meeting, Carolyn Jackson gave an excellent presentation on the state of the Honors program at Cabrillo. I was particularly interested to hear that they had over 200 students currently in the program. Much of the positive feedback from the honors students echoes feedback from our basic skills cohorts: being part of a cohort of students who take the same courses and get reinforcement in the same way is very conducive to student success!
  • CPC Items from 9/19 Mtg. The new faculty contract was ratified by the highest voting turnout ever for faculty, with 91% of the nearly 300 voting faculty supporting the changes. The new law signed recently by Jerry Brown will impact retirement compensation at Cabrillo, as it prohibits the district from covering the employee contribution portions. Details being hashed out as we speak.
  • Waitlist Notification Change. Beginning with Spring 2013, the number of days a course slot is "held" for a waitlisted student is changing from 8 days to 5 days. This ONLY affects waitlisted students before the semester starts; after the start of the semester, waitlisted students need an add code from the instructor to add a course. This is in response to reports that indicate there is so much "churn" before the start of a semester (students adding themselves, dropping themselves, etc.) that many seats are going empty while waiting for waitlisted students to respond to an invitation. This should be a good improvement, for filling classes and for giving students better opportunities for getting their desired classes.