Annual Report, 2022–23

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Section I: Unit Activities that Align with Wolfpack 2030 Strategic Plan Goals

Goal 1: Empower students for a lifetime of success and impact.

• Reduced cost barriers to technology, textbooks, and streaming media collections. Expanded the Alt-Textbook Open Educational Resource awards to suppor departmental partnerships, saving students more than $11 million over nine years.
• Created eight new student employee scholarships, more than doubling their numbers, with scholarship gifts of $355,000.
• Reached 15,000+ students and parents at orientation and welcome events, introducing them to library services, spaces, resources, and events with emphasis on personalized support and on wellness activities.
• Increased the number and quality of student seats in the Hill and Hunt Libraries in preparation for enrollment growth in the College of Engineering and across the university, informed by user research.

Goal 2: Ensure preeminence in research, scholarship, innovation and collaboration.

• Expanded the Research Facilitation Service (RFS), piloting in the Colleges of Sciences and Natural Resources and serving researchers from six colleges. The RFS led campus conversations about the Office of Science and Technology Policy's “Nelson Memo” and its potential impact on public access to research.
• In collaboration with the Office of Research and Innovation, expanded consultations and workshops on Research Data Management and Sharing Plan support, research profile creation, ORCID and NSF Biosketch creation, and academic publishing, helping to increase research visibility, facilitate interdisciplinary connections, and provide foundational guidance for researchers and graduate students.
• Collaborated with the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs to help faculty identify interdisciplinary partners and expose patterns of collaboration in the research clusters through the Libraries' Citation Index.
• The Libraries' Dryad data repository membership allows any NC State researcher to make their data findable, reusable, and citable at no cost in compliance with federal funding requirements, saving at least $30,000 this year.
• With colleagues in the Data Science Academy, implemented a centralized, shared intake process for Data Science Consulting inquiries, creating a seamless process for NC State affiliates seeking help with data-intensive projects.
• Offered high-demand workshops on data science topics such as Python Programming or Elements of Visualization Design. Workshops are open to any NC State affiliate

Goal 3: Expand and advance our engagement with and service to North Carolina and beyond, defining the standard for a 21st-century land-grant university.

• Expanded library support for extension staff and faculty, including virtual workshops, training at conferences, visits to research stations, and an “Extension Deep Dive” series where librarians engaged with extension agents to better understand their work.
• Received funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for “Extending NC Cooperative Extension Digital History,” a project to digitize primary source materials on agricultural extension and its impact on the state’s citizens and 20th-century agricultural economy for worldwide access.

Goal 4: Champion a culture of equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging and well-being in all we do.

• Initiatives to improve accessibility of the Libraries’ website, collections, and spaces were recognized in a Library Journal article
• Partnered with the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity to publish the DEI/DIY blog series, featuring curated lists of resources to inform inquiry, introspection, and engagement with these topics. Supported research and awareness of diverse campus histories with partners in the Campus Community Centers.
• Supported a greater emphasis on wellness by hosting programs with Prevention Services including the popular Pause for Paws program and the virtual aquarium.
• Offered numerous programs and events to confront bias and systemic barriers to inclusion in the STEM fields by presenting the experiences and perspectives of underrepresented groups, including people of all identities and abilities.
• Increased the number of BIPOC-identifying staff, sustaining several years of momentum in recruiting staff from diverse backgrounds.

Goal 5: Improve university effectiveness through transformative technologies, cutting-edge processes and actionable data.

• Developed and launched an inclusive onboarding process to welcome new employees, boost retention, and foster greater belonging in the organization.
• Undertook a Comprehensive Study for the Hill Library to establish guiding principles for determining the best use of space to align with the Libraries’ strategic goals. The study is scheduled to be completed in July 2023.
• Expanded access to e-books and streaming videos through implementation of new Evidence-Based Acquisitions plans.
• Supported faculty, administrators, colleges, academies, and institutes in using scholarly metrics to understand individual and group patterns of publication and productivity, and to explore options for finding interdisciplinary research partners.

Goal 6: Lead in developing innovative partnerships, entrepreneurial thinking and applied problem-solving.

• Used one-time funding to support university strategic initiatives, including Engineering Expansion, offices for the Data Science Academy, enhancements to the Duke Energy Hall at Hunt, and building our collections for research excellence and student success.
• Spearheaded the launch of the NC State Gaming and Esports Lab, a pilot facility that will serve as a model for the larger NC State Esports Arena. The pilot will allow the university to strengthen connections with gaming and technology partners and position NC State for future educational innovations.
• Awarded LYRASIS Catalyst Grant to launch the SUM Institute, a UNC System partnership to develop open practices and pedagogies for impactful and inclusive mathematics education.
• Developed and led UNC System Open Pedagogy Incubator to develop an interdisciplinary community of practice on open and inclusive education.

Goal 7: Elevate the national and global reputation and visibility of NC State.

• Carried out a record-setting Day of Giving, with $1.9 million raised from 230 unique donors. The Libraries leads the university in donor growth, up by 23% from FY22.
• Planned, hosted, or marketed 114 programs and events with attendance of 10,135.

Section II: Topics Relevant to the Unit

Program updates or changes: Include scope of activities, volume of activities, special achievements, or significant and special program reviews, studies or plans

• A D. H. Hill Jr. Library Comprehensive Study was led by architectural firm Perkins & Will to "set in place a road map for physical space strategies to support the continued delivery of exemplary library services."" The study makes long-term recommendations based on three factors: the changing role of libraries; increasing enrollment; and existing conditions that limit the library's ability to deliver services and experiences.

Initiatives: Major initiatives and/or changes to programs or activities

• Two significant facilities modifications have been underway this year: renovations on the second floor, east wing, Hill Library to create space for the Data Science Academy staff, and modifications to Room 4400, Hunt Library, to create the NC State Gaming and Esports Lab.

Staff: Major new appointments, kudos, professional activities and recognition

• Tim Edelen, Associate Director of Development
• Sandra Varry, Department Head, Special Collections Research Center

Awards and Recognition

• Will Cross, Director, Open Knowledge Center & Head of Information Policy, conducted research in the European Union as a 2022-23 Fulbright Schuman scholar.
• Robin Davis, Mia Partlow, Dawn Pearce, and Silvia Sheffield, 2023 Publication Recognition Award from the Reference and User Services Association (American Library Association), Sharing and Transforming Access to Resources Section
• Jennifer Garrett, Associate Director for Organizational Design, Equity, & Talent, Equity for Women Award, NC State University Council on the Status of Women.
• Troy Hurteau, Business and Technology Applications Analyst, 2023 Chancellor's Creating Community Award
• Susan Ivey, Director, Research Facilitation Service, 2023 Library Journal "Mover & Shaker"
• Hannah Rainey, Associate Head, Research Engagement, 2022-23 Association of Research Libraries Leadership and Career Development Program

Challenges: Recommendations and concerns for the future

• Engineering Expansion: Engineering expansion creates increased demands for library services and offerings, including core engineering support, data science, making, and entrepreneurship. Funding for personnel to meet service needs is crucial for the Libraries going forward.
• Advancing Excellence in Research: Research computing and data services are essential for NC State’s research competitiveness. The Libraries supports this work on multiple fronts, including the Research Facilitation Service and bibliometric tools to help researchers manage funder requirements, increase productivity, and identify interdisciplinary opportunities. Strong, focused administrative leadership and investments to advance these services at the university level are needed to meet the growing demands for computational, interdisciplinary research in a strategic, comprehensive manner.

NC State University Libraries Volume of Activities (22/23, 21/22, 17/18, 12/13)

Services

Collection Use, Expenditures, and ARL Rankings

Library Spaces

Collection Statistics

1. User visits include all branches and the College of Education Media Center.
2. Across-the-board increase in Other Technology circulation with higher borrowing rates of gaming equipment, power cords, data cables, keyboards, mice, and calculators.
3. Includes print circulation, reserve materials (both print and electronic), and textbooks.
4. Includes NC LIVE and library-related expenditures made by colleges and units outside of OUC 25. Excludes benefits
5. ARL ranking data is on a two-year lag due to a delay in data collection because of COVID-19. Currently ARL's membership includes 116 North American academic libraries.
6. Public seating counts do not include auditoriums, faculty and graduate student study rooms and commons, teaching labs, or high-tech spaces. Card-swipe spaces include faculty and graduate student commons, and teaching labs.
7. High-tech spaces include the Hill Library Cyma Rubin Visualization Gallery, the Hunt Library Teaching & Visualization Lab, and the Hill and Hunt Library Game Labs. Spaces are used for courses, demonstrations, workshops, seminars, research (including thesis presentations), and events.
8. The Innovation Studio opened on February 8, 2021. To date, a total of 31 collections and 224 individual works have been created, with 305 collaborations with students, staff, and faculty in 11 colleges, 8 non-academic units, and 3 other universities. Display “Views” are counted as “Interactions”, indicating the number of hand swipes over the works.
9. Represents 114 events and collaborations with 13 departments and 31 campus units and centers.
10. The historic volume count has been changed to reflect the titles available in the Libraries' collection. Decrease in titles due to fewer ebooks available as of 6/30/23.
11. Electronic subscriptions = 122,241; Print subscriptions = 496.
12. E-books, e-journals, and e-databases; includes NC LIVE resources.
13. Includes the Special Collections Research Center's rare and unique materials, scholarly publications in the Institutional Repository, the Design Library Image Collection, and the Inside Wood Collection.