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Draft: Statement on Quantitative Standards for Two-Year Learning Resources Programs

Foreword

The following statement on quantitative standards for two-year college learning resources programs has been prepared by the Ad Hoc Subcommittee to Develop Quantitative Standards for the “Guidelines for Two-Year College Learning Resources Programs.” The statement is a draft copy presented for reaction and comment. At the ALA Dallas Conference in June 1979, the Community and Junior College Libraries Section will hold a hearing on the draft statement. In the meantime, comments may be sent to James O. Wallace, Director of Learning Resources, San Antonio College, 1001 Howard Street, San Antonio, TX 78284.; (512) 734-7311, ext. 257.

Introduction

When the “Guidelines for Two-Year College Learning Resources Programs”* was completed in 1972, it was planned that a supplementary statement of quantitative standards should be developed. This document is the intended supplement, designed to meet the recurring requests for suggested quantitative figures for help in planning and evaluating programs. No absolutes are presented here; too many variables must be considered for this to be possible. In addition, although extensive use has been made of existing statistics when these were appropriated no conclusive research provides quantitative measurements of some factors. In such cases the professional judgment and extensive experience of the members of the committee have been the basis for the recommendations.

* American Association of Community and Junior Colleges—Association for Educational Communications and Technology—American Library Association, “Guidelines for Two-Year College Learning Resources Programs,” Audiovisual Instruction, XVIII, p. 50-61 (Jan. 1973); College ù Research Libraries News, XXXIII, p.305-15 (Dec. 1972).

†For example, extensive computer analysis was made of the 1975 HEGIS statistics, which had the only comprehensive coverage of audiovisual holdings. These statistics were analyzed by FTE, by types of materials, and by other factors. The quartiles developed have been used extensively by the committee. Stanley V. Smith, Library Statistics of Colleges and Universities: Fall 1975 Institutional Data (U.S. Dept, of Health, Education and Welfare, National Center for Education Statistics, 1977).

Adherence to every single element in the Learning Resources Program (as defined in the “Guidelines”) is not considered essential in this document. For example, collection size is viewed as relating not to book holdings alone or to audiovisual holdings alone but rather to total bibliographical unit equivalents (as defined in section on collections).

The significant variable accepted for most elements is enrollment expressed as full-time equivalent (FTE) students. The tables reflect from under 1,000 FTE to the largest enrollments for a single Learning Resources Program. Should the total enrollment be more than twice the FTE, collection, staff, and space requirements will exceed the quantities in the tables. Levels of attainment of Learning Resources Programs will vary. Two levels are addressed in this document in each enrollment bracket: “minimal” (indicated in the tables by M) and “good” (indicated by G). A program consistently below the M level for its size is probably not able to provide services needed. A program consistently above the upper, or G level, will usually be found to have the capability of providing outstanding services.

It cannot be expected that these quantitative standards will remain constant. To reflect changes in two-year colleges, results of additional research, new technological and professional developments, experience in the use of this statement, and changes in the economic and educational conditions in the nation, it is recommended that a review committee be appointed three years from the date of initial adoption and at three-year intervals thereafter.

Staff

Staff components are defined in the “Guidelines.” The positions in table 1, which include the director, are full-time equivalents for staff working thirty-five to forty hours a week for twelve months a year, including vacations and holidays, in a Learning Resources Unit in which most processing occurs on campus. Staff in a central unit, such as a processing center for a multicampus district, should be in proportion to the services rendered each campus.

Staffing of branches, extension centers, commercial level production facilities, computer operations, printing services, extensive learning or developmental laboratories, bookstore operations, or on-the-air broadcasting are not included in the table. Most institutions will need to modify the staffing pattern to include such factors as longer or shorter workweeks and annual contracts.

TABLE 1 Staff

Full-Time Equivalent Enrollment	Level	Professional	Support
Under 1,000	M	2	4
	G	4	6
1,000-3,000	M	2.5	5
	G	4	10
3,000-5,000	M	3.5	9
	G	6	18
5,000-7,000	M	6	15
	G	8	24
Additional for each 1,000 FTE over 7,000	M	.5	1
	G	1	3

Budget

Budget formulas in a true sense are not possible in two-year colleges because of wide variances in practice from institution to institution. For example, film rentals may be charged to departmental budgets, and staff fringe benefits may or may not be included in the budget for Learning Resources Programs. In addition to these, various other services, such as learning or developmental laboratories, which are definitely part of such programs, will not always be so charged in the institutional budgets.

The formulas are further complicated where there are centralized services, satellite operations, and continuing education responsibilities, so that an absolute formula is not possible without examining all elements of staff, materials, services, and the delineations listed in IIIC of the “Guidelines” at each campus.

Experience indicates, however, that a fully developed Learning Resources Program will usually require from 7 to 12 percent of the educational and general budget of the institution, whether these are separately identified as learning resources or diffused in a multiple number of accounts.

Collection Size

Size of the collection available on any two-year college campus is best expressed as “bibliographical unit equivalents.” Where a multicampus district maintains some materials centrally, these holdings should be distributed for statistical purposes proportional to use by the various campuses.

Bibliographical unit equivalents (BUE) consist of written, recorded, or other materials. Each item in the following three groups is one BUE.

Written Materials

1. One cataloged bound volume.

2. One periodical volume.

3. One cataloged document.

4. One reel of microfilm.

5. One cataloged microfiche.

6. Five uncataloged microfiche.

7. Five microcards.

8. One cataloged musical work.

9. One periodical currently received.

Recorded Materials

10. One videocassette or videotape reel.

11. One reel of 16mm motion picture film.

12. One cataloged 8mm loop film.

13. One cataloged 35mm slide program.

14. One cataloged set of transparencies.

15. One cataloged slide set.

16. Fifty cataloged 2x2 slides, not in sets.

17. One cataloged sound recording (disc, reel, or cassette).

18. Five films rented or borrowed during an academic year.

Other Materials

19. One cataloged map, chart, art print, or photograph.

20. One cataloged kit.

21. One cataloged item of realia, model, or art object.

22. Any other comparable cataloged item(s).

Table 2 shows the total number of BUEs used to measure the collection. Normally, written materials should constitute at least 70 percent of the BUEs. All other proportions of the totals may be adapted to the Learning Resources Program of the institution. Flexibility in determining the informational needs of the program then makes it possible to choose to purchase either a book or an audiovisual item, a periodical subscription, or any other materials. No two-year college should be without some BUEs in each of the five categories used in table 2. Technical institutes with extremely specialized programs may reduce the total BUE requirements as much as 40 percent.

Annual Accessions

If the materials are to meet the instructional needs of the institution served, continued acquisitions accompanied by continued weeding are needed even where holdings exceed recommendations. New materials are needed for presentation of new information and new interpretations or the collection becomes dated and decreases in educational value. New courses added to the curriculum and new instructional programs require new materials to meet classroom and individual needs of students. As enrollment increases there is need for more duplication and for broader approaches to topics already represented in the collection.

Five percent of the collection size should be the minimum annual acquisition for each Learning Resources Program. This percentage does not include replacements of lost or stolen items or materials to support new courses or curricula, which should be additional.

Space Requirements

Space standards for two-year colleges have already been developed by the Learning Resources Associaton of California Community Colleges and should be utilized for permanent facilities to be in use for ten or more years. Their Facilities Guidelines, ‡ if adjusted to FTE by use of the formula provided, will serve as a satisfactory standard.

Table 3 has been adapted from the Facilities Guidelines using absolute FTE to allow easy comparison when that publicaton is not available. The premises upon which the original was based deserve more attention than is possible in these standards.

To be added to the total square feet in table 3 is any additional space needed for related instructional services for individualized instruction, such as learning laboratories, study skills center, language laboratories, etc. Also to be added are internal offices, office service areas (file rooms, vaults, duplicating rooms, internal corridors, office supply rooms, etc.), office-related conference rooms and conference room services (kitchenettes, sound equipment storage, etc.), internal classrooms and laboratories, and nonassignable space (janitor s closets, stairways, public corridors, elevators, toilets, and building utility and operational facilities).

‡Learning Resources Association of the California Community Colleges, Facilities Guidelines for Learning Resources Centers: Print, Non-print, Related Instructional Services (P.O. Box 246, Suisun City, CA 94585, 1978), $25.

Equipment for Distribution

There is need for sufficient equipment for distribution to classrooms beyond equipment necessary for individual utilization of audiovisuals in the learning centers. Recommendations are limited to major types of equipment. Opaque projectors should be available even in minimal programs; quantity will depend upon utilization. Overhead projectors should be available in all classrooms. Recommendations in table 4 are for classroom equipment distribution only and assume a replacement schedule not longer than five years.

Quantitative formulas for some equipment are inherent in use. In a laboratory situation, type and quantity of equipment will depend upon what the course or program is. Permanent sound and projection equipment will be installed in large lecture halls. All classrooms will have permanently installed projection screens and room- darkening drapes or shades and will have connections and outlets for closed-circuit television where it exists.

In determining the number of pieces of equipment, a reasonable distribution of demand is assumed, i.e., that all use will not be concentrated on a peak period of either the days or the academic year. Random access or broadcast delivery systems will also affect the needs for equipment.

Production

All Learning Resources Programs should provide some production capability according to the needs and requirements of the curricula, the availability of commercial materials, and the capability of the delivery system. Production, except where part of an instructional program or meeting a specific institutional need, is not an end in itself. Neither is it related to institutional size.

Basic production capability for all campuses consists of minimal equipment items for:

Still photography (1 35mm camera and arrangements for developing film elsewhere).

Ability to make and duplicate sound recordings.

Sign production.

Graphics layout and lettering.

Laminating and dry-mounting.

Ability to make overhead transparencies.

Simple illustrations.

Videoplaying and duplication.

One camera videotaping and videodubbing.

Intermediate production capability consists of all elements above and in addition equipment items for:

Photographic black-and-white printing and processing.

Ability to edit sound recordings.

Two-camera video production.

Advanced production when justified consists of all above and in addition equipment items for:

Simple studio videoproduction in color.

Simple studio for sound recording and editing.

Optional production (justifiable only when needed for programs for cooperative distribution or highly sophisticated institutional needs) in addition consists of:

Color television directing, production, and editing.

16mm motion picture directing, production, and editing.

Color photographic developing and processing.

User Services.

The most important aspect to measure in standards for Learning Resources Programs may well be the services to the user. No data now exist on which to base standards of use except for a few isolated elements. In lieu of such standards a checklist (which attempts to identify those elements for which user statistics might be collected) has been developed, including some of those elements already recognized as significant. Others, which have not been collected, are suggested along with these for institutional use and experimentation in the Appendix.

Appendix Checklist of User Services Statistics to Be Collected

A. Circulation to students for out-of-building personal use (number of items)

B. Circulation to faculty for personal use (number of items)

C. Interlibrary loans (i.e., through mail or delivery systems)

1. Requests to borrow (number of items).
2. Items received (number of items).
3. Photocopies received (number of items).
4. Requests to loan (number of items).
5. Loans made (number of items).
6. Photocopies sent (number of items).

D. Use of materials in-house

1. Periodicals (number of volumes or issues).
2. Other printed materials (number of items used by count of materials on tables, reserve use, etc.).
3. Microforms (number of items).
4. Audiovisuals (number of items by type).

E. Group use in-house

1. Audiovisuals seen or heard (number of students served).
2. Audiovisuals used in learning laboratories (number of students served).

F. Direct instruction

1. Directed learning sessions (number of students served).
2. Instructional sessions (number of students served).
3. Classroom instruction for other faculty (number of students served).
4. Taped individual programs used (number of students served).
5. Workshops and seminars conducted (number of students served).

G. Community service

1. Direct loans to nonstudents (number of items).
2. Direct loans to students and faculty of other institutions (number of items).
3. Tour groups of campus visitors (number of individuals served).
4. Groups attending meetings in facilities (number of individuals served).
5. Telephone reference questions (number of requests received).
6. Research projects assisted (number of projects).

H. Reference services to students, faculty, and staff

1. Directional reference questions (number of questions).
2. Brief ready reference (number of questions).
3. Extensive assistance (by number of questions and item descriptions).
4. Assistance to physically handicapped (number assisted).
5. Referrals to outside agencies (by number).
6. Reference questions not answered (by number and item descriptions).

I. Bibliographical services

1. Telephone verification of ownership (number of items).
2. On-line reference services utilized (number of queries handled).
3. Preparation of brief (i.e., less than ten items) bibliographies (number of bibliographies).
4. Preparation of longer bibliographies (number of bibliographies and descriptions).

J. Consultative services

1. Informational and current awareness services (number of contacts).
2. Individual assistance to faculty for instructional problems (number of contacts).
3. Team involvement in instructional projects (number of projects).
4. New faculty orientation (number of faculty served).

K. Distribution and delivery services

1. Short-time (less than one week) use of equipment (number of items).
2. Long-time use of equipment (number of items).
3. Off-campus use of equipment (number of items).

L. Classroom and other group use of materials

1. Short-term (less than one week) use (number of items).
2. Long-term use (number of items by type).
3. Off-campus use (number of items by type).

M. Viewing audience

1. Classroom (number of students viewing or listening to materials).
2. Special events (number of individuals viewing or listening to materials).
3. Off-campus audience (number of individuals viewing or listening).

N. Television closed-circuit use

• Programs owned locally (number of showings).
• Programs rented or borrowed (number of showings).
• Viewing audience (number of individuals).

O. Production

• Recording and duplication (number of items and number of staff hours).
• Videotape recording and duplication (number of items and number of staff hours).
• Graphics production (number of items and number of staff hours).
• Transparency production (number of items and number of staff hours).
• Slide production (number of items and number of staff hours).
• Other photography (number of items and number of staff hours).
• Dry-mounting and laminating (number of items and number of staff hours).
• Duplicating/copying services (number of items and number of staff hours).

P. Maintenance

1. Bench repair of equipment (number of items and number of staff hours).
2. On-site repair of equipment (number of items and number of staff hours).
3. Contractual maintenance (number of items repaired).

Q. Projectionist services

1. Classroom projection (number of occasions).
2. Recreational and community projection (number of occasions).
3. Other projection (number of occasions).

R. Display and public relations

1. Bulletin board displays (number prepared).
2. Exhibits provided (number prepared).
3. Informational publications (number prepared). ■■