2001/2002 ANNUAL REPORT

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY

School of Library and Information Sciences

Durham, North Carolina 27707

Benjamin F. Speller, Jr., Dean

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

“Preparing Information Professionals for Interdisciplinary Collaborative Knowledge Networks”

 

            Teaching, research, and community outreach activities in higher education are increasingly interdisciplinary and collaborative. The Internet and new information and communication technologies make these learning and discovery partnerships possible.  Technology mediated learning and research environments are enabling users scattered throughout the world to share facilities, instruments, and immense collections of multimedia information and tools for analysis and synthesis.  These collaborative knowledge networks allow, researchers, teachers, and students to work together more efficiently and effectively across both distance and discipline. 

 

            In recognition that students must graduate with the ability to use information and communication technologies effectively in the workforce, the School continues its  “Across the Curriculum Approach” in instructional design and delivery.  This instructional strategy offers all students learning experiences that allow them to gain knowledge about how and where technology is effective in libraries and information environments.

 

            This report demonstrates that the School is taking advantage of its internal and external boundaries to identify and build effective instruction and academic support partnerships. This strategy allows the School to build and maintain a collaborative resource infrastructure that supports its specific teaching, research, and community outreach goals and objectives.

 

Student Solutions Center Supports

Information Technology Services (ITS)

 

           In response to inadequate technical support for decision-making activities in several critical support units at the university, a Student Solutions Center now operates within the teaching and learning framework of the graduate program in Information Sciences. The Student Solutions Center is a model of cooperative solution leveraging that allows NCCU units and SLIS to overcome existing financial and human resources barriers.

           Students enrolled in LSIS 5610 Information Systems Projects (Robert M. Burgin, Professor and Lionnel Parker, Associate Dean for Communications and Development) and LSIS5825 Information Management and Institutional Research  (Benjamin F. Speller, Professor and Dean) are assigned final projects that fulfill an academic requirement of these courses and at the same time respond to an operational need of a unit at the University.  During the spring 2002 semester, three projects were completed for the university:

 

·        An Online Academic Affairs Database Management System

      (Office of the Provost).  The database management system is designed to

      create a computer-based records management and decision support

      monitoring system for the Division of Academic Affairs.  Linked within the          NCCU Intranet, a collection of databases provide the following functions: 

 

1.                  Educational Personnel Act (EPA) data files

2.                  Contracts administration and tracking

3.                  Faculty tenure tracking

4.                  Financial management

5.                  Budget allocation

6.                  Purchasing

7.                  UNC Budget Document (BD119) EPA data files

 

·        An Assessment of Academic Facilities at NCCU (Research, Evaluation, and Planning Office).  Using UNC Office of the President’s Facilities Inventory and Utilization Study 2000 report, an assessment of current use of classrooms, office, and other academic support facilities were conducted.  The student solutions group developed a report that compared their results with the

UNC report to determine the current accuracy and validity of use. The report also included implications for classrooms, office, and other academic support facilities needs at NCCU.

 

·        Web site Design and Maintenance.  The Teams in the Student Solutions Center have designed and now maintain web sites for the following NCCU units: Biomedical/Biotechnology Institute, International Programs Office, and the School of Library and Information Sciences.

 

Collaborative E-Learning Undergraduate

Degrees Under Development

 

           The School received a grant of $74,000 from the University of North Carolina Office of the President to plan for the establishment of an online 2+2 Bachelor of Science degree program in Information Sciences.  When established, this e-learning degree program will be a collaborative offering with the North Carolina Department of Community College’s Virtual Learning Cooperative in Information Systems.

 

           Funding from the Office of the President will be used to expand and enhance the capacity of North Carolina Central University (NCCU) to provide high quality online learning opportunities in Information Sciences and Technology. This goal will be implemented through internal interdisciplinary collaborations at NCCU and externally with the Virtual Learning Cooperative Community of the North Carolina Community System.  At NCCU, considerable interdisciplinary integration in curricular offerings will expose the students to the cognitive, social, and institutional environments of Information Systems and Sciences.  The current planning grant will be used:

 

·        To develop a library of online courses at NCCU that can be used to complete the requirements for a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Sciences.

·        To train faculty and staff in the use of delivery software and in effective learning methodologies for online courses.

·        To develop comprehensive student support services for successful online learning.

 

FIRST GRADUATES OF MBA/MIS PROGRAM

 

           The School of Business and the School of Library and Information Sciences awarded their first joint Master of Business Administration and Master of Information Science (MBA/MIS) degrees during Spring Commencement on Saturday, May 11, 2002. Roderick Brown of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Asishana Bayo “A.B.” Okauru, native of Nigeria, are the first graduates of the dual master’s degree program that began in 1999. The program was designed to respond to the need for MBA graduates with in-depth knowledge of database systems and skills in information management.

 

NCCU is one of only a few programs in the nation to offer the MBA/MIS as joint degrees.  Others include the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Iowa, the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 

Interpreting Durham’s Heritage

 

Perry Pike, Adjunct Information Resources Coordinator, is directing an historic walking tour series under sponsorship of the History Preservation Society of Durham, The Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, by the Durham Central Park through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, by The North Carolina Humanities Council, and

by North Carolina Central University. The walking tours focus on four topics:

 Durham’s tobacco heritage, civil rights, the arts and culture, and architecture.

 

Interpreting North Carolina’s African American Heritage

 

Alice Eley Jones, Adjunct African American Resources Coordinator, continues to offer

lectures and workshop throughout the state: 

 

·        “Addy Walker,” Almance Historical Museum, Burlington

·        “North Carolina Teachers Training Workshop” State Department of Public Instruction, Historic Stagville Center, Durham

·        “The History of Slavery in America,” Duke University

·        “Exhibitions on African American Arts and Crafts,” C.S. Brown Regional Cultural Arts Center and Museum, Winton

·        “Book Review Presentations,” Barnes and Nobles Bookseller, Durham

 

Benjamin F. Speller, Dean of SLIS, presented two lectures in the Public History

Series offered by North Carolina’s museum and historic sites.

 

·        “African Americans in the Civil War” was presented as part of Living History Weekend at the Port-O-Plymouth Museum, Washington County Historical Society, April 19, 2002.  The lecture preceded Civil War re-enactments of the 38th US Colored Troop and Company A and Company B of the 54th Massachusetts Troops.

·        “A Plantation and a Seaport Town: The Differences of Slavery in Eastern North Carolina,” was the topic of Dean Speller’s lecture at Tryon Palace Historic Sites and Garden in New Bern, North Carolina on May 9, 2002.

 

Community Information Technology Center Partnership

 

Cheryl Reddish, Assistant Professor, is serving as faculty coordinator and Benjamin Speller, Dean, is serving as campus liaison for development of Franklin County’s Community Information Technology Center.  Franklin County’s Office of Government, the Franklin County Public Library and Franklin County Public Schools received a partnership grant to establish a cooperative Community Information Technology Center.  The grant requires a university’s and library education program’s involvement.  The county requested North Carolina Central University and the School of Library and Information Sciences as partners.  Mrs. Reddish serves as faculty coordinator for Library Science students who are working with the project while completing the requirements of the MLS degree. Dean Speller is coordinating the assessment and staff development components of the project.

 

Scholarly Communications of the Faculty

 

Ballard, Robert M.

 

“The Medical Library Association Guide to Managing Health Care Libraries, “ Ruth Holst and Sharon A. Phillips, eds. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2000. Review in

American Reference Books Annual 32 (2001): 283.

 

“Developing Library and Information Center collections. 4th edition,” G. Edward Evans with Margaret R. Zarnovsky. Englewood Cliffs, CO: Libraries Unlimited 2000. Review in American Reference Books Annual 32 (2001): 289.

 

“Digital Reference Service in the New Millennium: Planning, Management and Evaluation,” R. David Lankes, et al., eds. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2000. Review in

American Reference Books Annual 32 (2001): 309.

 

Bracy, Pauletta Brown

 

“Cues from Conversations: An Overview of Research in Children’s Response to Literature,” Acquisitions Librarian 25 (2001)

 

Burgin, Robert E.

 

The Readers Advisor’s Companion. (Co-Editor with Kenneth D. Shearer) Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2001.

 

“Readers’ Advisory and Nonfiction,” In The Readers Advisor’s Companion. (Co-Editor with Kenneth D. Shearer) Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2001, pp. 213-227.

 

“Partly Out of Sight, Not Much in Mind: Master’s Level Education for Adult Reader’s Advisory Services,” (with Kenneth D. Shearer) In The Readers” Advisor’s Companion. (Co-Editor with Kenneth D. Shearer) Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2001, pp.15-25.

 

Gopinath, Malur Aji

 

“Classification of Information and Impact of Information Technology,” SRELS Journal of Information Management 38 (December 2001).

 

Classification of Objects and Human Cognition,” SRELS Journal of Information Management 38 (June 2001): 95-98.

 

Gopinath, Malur Aji

 

“Information Sources on Library and Information Studies: Profile of a Pathfinder,” Information Studies 7 (April 2001): 71-73.

 

“Universal Classification System for Knowledge Fields,” Information Studies 7 (April 2001): 121-131.

 

National Information Systems and Networks,” SRELS Journal of Information Management 38 (March 2001): 9-14.

 

“Classification Systems for the Digital Era,” SRELS Journal of Information Management 38 (March 2001): 3-8.

 

Shearer, Kenneth D.

 

The Readers Advisor’s Companion. (Co-Editor with Robert E. Burgin) Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2001.

 

“Partly Out of Sight, Not Much in Mind: Master’s Level Education for Adult Reader’s Advisory Services,” (with Robert E. Burgin) In The Readers Advisor’s Companion. (Co-Editor with Robert E. Burgin) Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2001, pp.15-25.

 

Speller, Benjamin F.

 

“Staff Development in the Twenty-First Century Repository,” In Charting Our Future:

A Report of the North Carolina State Historical Advisory Board January 2002, [Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Department of Archives and History, 2002].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STATISTICAL HIGHLIGHTS

 

I.  Enrollment Management

[INST. GOALS 1, 3 and 6; DEAN'S GOALS 1]

 

A.  Graduate Degree Programs

 

Student Enrollment

Fall 2001

Spring 2002

 

Head Count

FTE

Head Count

FTE

25  Library Science

152

           99.75

120

78.25

11  Information Science

72

61.50

85

68.25

Other Graduate

                45

33.50

                37

18.75

Total

269

194.75

242

         165.25

 

B.  Graduate Degrees Awarded (Masters)

 

Academic Year

Dec. 2001

 May 2002

Total

11  Information Sciences

        14

27

41

25  Library Science

        34

        22

56

Total

48

        49

        97

 

C.  Student Financial Aid

 

Scholarships/Assistantships

Dollar

Amount

Number of Students

Jenkins-Moore Scholarships

             $9,000

 8

Minority Presence Grants

           $10,050

16

SLIS Graduate Assistants

           $74,690

19

SREB Fellowship

             $9,350

  2

University Tuition Awards

           $99,989

           18

Student Work Aid                   

             $3,470

  7

Total

         $206,539

           70

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

II.  TEACHING PRODUCTIVITY

[DEAN'S GOAL 1; SCHOOL GOALS 1,2, and 3]

 

            Nine full‑time equivalent teachers and the Dean taught 78 degree‑related courses for the 2000/2001 academic year and two summer sessions. Excluding the two summer sessions, student credit hours are presented for three academic years:

 

A.     Student Credit Hours: 1999-2001

 

Year

2000

2001

2002

SCH

2,463

3,059

             3,087

 

B.     2000/2001 Course Schedule Analysis

 

            Courses offered in the School are scheduled via marketing strategies, i.e., projecting the needs of the potential student population.  These strategies resulted in the following courses offered:

 

             Day

    (8 a.m. - 5 p.m.)

          Evening

    (5 p.m. - 9 p.m.)

          Saturday

      (9 a.m. - 4 p.m.)

Distance Education

(Internet/Interactive)

              12*

               22

                 18

                10

*Nine were offered as an independent study project or a practicum.

 

 

III.  RESEARCH AND SCHOLARLY ACTIVITIES

[SCHOOL GOAL 3, 4 and 5]

 

         Five of the seven full‑time teaching faculty and the Dean are conducting research projects directly related to their teaching and professional service areas.

 

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Number

Journal Articles

           8         

Books Authored

               2

                         Chapters in Books

               3

Presentations at Professional Meetings

             18

Reviews Authored

   4

Faculty Research Projects

   8

Grant Proposals

                1

Dollars Requested

   $150,000

               Number Funded to Date

     1

   Dollars Received

      $74,000

 

IV.  CONTINUING EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH

[INSTIT GOAL 7; SCHOOL GOAL 5; DEAN’S GOAL 7]

 

A.  Library Staff Development, Cheryl Reddish

 

Programs

Participants

1

75

 

 

C.     Museums, Historic Sites, Public Schools, Alice Eley Jones, Perry Pike, and

      Benjamin F. Speller 

 

Programs

Participants

10

2,196

 

 

 

Respectfully submitted

 

 

 

Benjamin F. Speller, Jr.

Dean

June 5, 2002