3.8.3

The institution provides a sufficient number of qualified staff—with appropriate education or experiences in library and/or other learning/information resources—to accomplish the mission of the institution. (Qualified staff)

Compliance Judgment

X     In compliance     Partially compliant     Non-compliant

Narrative

The library has a dean and staff of 21 individuals, including 9 librarians and 12 paraprofessional support staff. All of the librarians hold graduate degrees in programs accredited by the American Library Association. Six of the 12 paraprofessional support staff hold undergraduate degrees, one holds two master’s degrees, and five have completed one or more years of college. A roster of library staff members appears in Tables 1 and 2 below. Table 1 refers to the staff of librarians and includes detailed information about their professional experience. Table 2 refers to paraprofessional support staff. Position descriptions and backgrounds for each library staff member appear throughout the James A. Rogers Library Annual Report 2015-2016 [1]. Relevant pages for positions descriptions from the annual report are shown in the last column of the table.

Table 1. Professional Qualifications of Librarians

Figure 1 below shows the organization and flow of control throughout the library’s staff. The Rogers Library is under direct control of the Provost.

Table 2. Professional Qualifications of Library Support Staff

Figure 1. RL Organizational Chart

South Carolina Academic Libraries’ Comparison

The Fall 2015 FTE enrollment of students at Francis Marion University totaled 3,258. These statistics were computed computed using the National Education Center for Statistics; using the same site to compare Francis Marion University to four other state supported institutions of similar FTE and staffing shows that while Francis Marion University has 9 librarians, the comparison group average is 10.13. However, the state average is only 5.86. The University has a total staff of 7.47 employees per 1,000 FTE students, which is only slightly higher than the comparison group average (6.49) allowing for more staff availability and assistance. Staff assistance is validated by a 2015 Student Library Survey, where 97% of respondents indicated that the library staff was helpful in meeting their needs [2].

Staff Involvement

All library staff has the opportunity to participate in staff development activities. Below are highlights, but a complete listing of staff involvement can be found throughout the Annual Report of James A. Rogers Library 2015-2016 [3].

Activities include:

• Attending Annual South Carolina Library Association Conference (seven attending)
• Attending Annual Charleston Conference on Issues in Book and Serial Acquisition (one librarian and two staff attending)
• Sponsoring Technology Petting Zoo
• Presenting three teleconference presentations for six staff members
• Sponsoring on-campus demonstrations or database training sessions
• Planning/sponsoring/hosting colloquium for South Carolina Library Association’s Round Table for African-American Concerns (three panelists, seven attending)
• Underwriting five staff members’ attending multiple statewide workshops (University of South Carolina, South Carolina Library Association, etc.)
• Providing one in-house in-service session for all staff
• Staff Development Day (entire library staff) – visit new Florence County Museum and guided tour of the Pee Dee History Gallery.

Also, during the same fiscal year, Francis Marion University’s library sent:

• One representative to the Slave Dwelling Project Conference
• Three librarian representatives to Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries (PASCAL) statewide programs
• One librarian to Georgia Library Association/Council of Media Organizations/Southeastern Library Association Joint Conference
• Five staff members, including one librarian to LIBRIS annual conference
• One librarian to the South Carolina Archival Association’s conferences in Columbia and Charleston
• One librarian to the South Carolina Documents Librarians annual depository seminar
• One librarian to the Innovative Users’ Conference
• One librarian to the national conference of the American Library Association.

In 2014, a reference librarian volunteered as an instructor with the South Carolina cohort of Innovative Librarians Explore, Apply and Discover the 21^st Century Technology and Leadership Skills Institute (ILEAD USA) and the State Library of SC Library Development Department [4].

Two reference librarians were enrolled in a four-week e-course, offered through the American Library Association, April 2016. The e-course is designed to learn about instructional design (ID) methods for library settings and allow librarians to apply their knowledge and skills to design instruction for their own use [5].

Librarians and library staff serve on the following professional organizational boards:

• Library Resource Information Sharing (LIBRIS) Board & Treasurer
• PASCAL Catalog Design Committee
• Palmetto Archives, Libraries, and Museums Council on Preservation Chair (PALMCOP)
• Florence County Library Board
• Council of the American Library Association
• Executive Committee of the South Carolina Library Association
• Health Care Partners of South Carolina, Board Chair (retired staff).

Documentation

1. Annual Report of James A. Rogers Library 2015-2016, Staff Qualifications, p. 6-27
2. Annual Report of James A. Rogers Library 2015-2016, Staff Helpfulness, p. 45
3. Annual Report of James A. Rogers Library 2015-2016, Staff Involvement, p. 6-28
4. Annual Report of James A. Rogers Library 2015-2016, p. 14
5. Annual Report of James A. Rogers Library 2015-2016, p. 15, 25