Alcorn-Grigsby is the director of the library at the University of South Florida, St Petersburg campus and she describes her experience with the successful development of a new library to serve students, faculty, and community members at the branch campus of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in Niigata, Japan. Background, steps and challenges are all addressed and flexibility, strong communication and respect for differences is continually emphasized. -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009

Anderson, S.M. (1999). Planning for the future: Combining a community and college library: Library of St. Petersburg Junior College branch campus combines with local public library. Library Administration & Management 13(2), 81-6.

Susan Anderson provides historical background for the decision to build a joint use library to serve the Seminole campus of St. Petersburg [Junior] College as well as Seminole city residents. She explained that when the Seminole campus opened, the plan was to provide electronic library services only, but it became apparent that printed materials and personal reference services were necessary. A committee was formed to discuss the possibility of having the existing Seminole Community Library provide these resources and services to those affiliated with the college. While this worked well, the city library soon exceeded capacity and alternative solutions needed to be investigated. A Joint Use Subcommittee was formed, site visits were made, a consultant issued a report, concept drawings were created, public forums were held, and the city council and the college’s Board of Trustees voted on building a joint use facility to serve the needs of both the public and the academic community. At the time the article was written, plans for drafting operational guidelines were underway. Susan also identified a number of issues to contemplate when considering whether or not to pursue having a joint use library: institutional mission compatibility, interagency agreements, operational agreements, classification system decisions, bibliographic instruction, equipment responsibilities, and parking. She concluded by stating that while a joint use library may not be the right option for every community, there are a number of reasons why it should be considered. Includes seven references. --Annotation by: Allison King, Brevard Community College/University of Central Florida Joint-Use Library, Cocoa.

The authors present a review of literature on extended campus libraries, and the results of a staff survey sent to members of the ACRL Extended Campus Library Services Section and participants in discussion groups on extended campus library services that have occurred at ALA meetings. They also describe the background and unique staffing situation at DePaul University Suburban Campus Libraries. They found common traits of off-campus librarians, such as: high energy, creative, flexible, and with strong organizational skills. They also found a variety of staffing patterns used at the universities with the most common being full time professional librarian and full or part time staff. -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009

Authors discuss the procedures and results of a needs assessment that was conducted at three of the branch campuses of Washington State University. They sent out questionnaires to faculty and students to determine their responses in areas of usage frequency, level of satisfaction, and hours most desired. They received a surprisingly low return of responses and decided that further investigation would be needed. However, they did learn of some areas that could use improvement such as hours of operation and satisfaction with services received from campus libraries.  -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama
City Campus, July 2009

Karen Buxton and Harvey Gover discuss the advantages and challenges of a partnership between a national laboratory and a university branch campus library. They describe the successful partnership between the Hanford Technical Library at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington and the Max E. Benitz Memorial Library at Washington State University Tri-Cities branch campus. The two libraries operate out of the Consolidated Information Center on the Washington State University Tri-Cities branch campus. Although they have separate staff, collections, and catalog systems, the two libraries share a reference desk and many procedures and thus are able to provide an enhanced experience for their respective clientele. -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009

This article provides a review of the book “Going the distance: Library instruction for remote learners” edited by Susan Clayton.  -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009

Currie, W.W. (1989). Evaluating the collection of a two-year branch campus by using textbook citations. Community & Junior College Libraries. 6 (2), 75-9.

A case-study in evaluating the collection of a regional campus makes a point of emphasizing the relationship it has with its main campus. William W. Currie of Bowling Green University–Firelands had undertaken an evaluation of his collection, and notably, one of the first questions was whether it should include the main campus of Bowling Green, given their arrangement for delivery of items. While the main campus was eventually ruled out, it is still a telling feature of how they view themselves within the Bowling Green system. Also, when selecting a target percentage of books they wished to own from selected bibliographies, they also selected a target percentage for Bowling Green's main campus; this way they could have a clearer idea of what was truly offered by way of comparing the two campuses. As with so many other studies on regional campus libraries, the Firelands library staff had to create their own program for evaluating the quality of their collection; there are simply no current standards for two-year campuses. Granted, not every regional campus is strictly a two-year campus, and perhaps this is part of the difficulty in creating standards, not to mention the selectivity of course offerings at regional campuses. --Annotation by: Tina Schneider, The Ohio State University at Lima

This article provides a detailed list of guidelines for library staff to follow when dealing with distance learning. The authors approach their recommendations in terms of the categories of philosophy, management, finances, facilities, personnel, resources, and services. They describe who’s responsible in each of these areas as well as what need to be done in each area in order to ensure success. They also present a listing of the necessary documentation a library should have to demonstrate that they are following the guidelines.  -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009

Duesing, A. (1998). Outreach information services partnership: An academic health science center and a rural satellite campus. In P. Steven Thomas and Maryhelen Jones (Comps.), The Eighth Off-Campus Library Services Conference Proceedings (pp.139–145). Mount Pleasant: Central Michigan University.

An example of regional campus library networking is Duesing’s outreach program at the University of Virginia at Clinch Valley. Her primary responsibility is to provide information services to health care professionals in that region using four methods, including “working with information services already available in the communities, including hospital, public and academic libraries.” While the relationship between the regional and main campus of the University of Virginia is not the main focus of this article, several items nevertheless do come to the fore. The main campus health sciences library was responsible for the funding and training of her position (pp.139, 140) so perhaps some conclusions could be drawn regarding the cooperative nature of their relationship, but it is not discussed directly. Also, the regional campus seems to have access to the same electronic resources as the main campus, a significant sign of cooperation and unity within the university. (p. 140) The outreach program itself is not necessarily an issue unique to regional campuses; it simply happens to be at one. --Annotation by Tina Schneider, The Ohio State University at Lima

Elms, A. D. and K. S. Ingish. (1994). DePaul University libraries–suburban campuses staffing the past and staffing the present. Illinois Libraries 76(1), 10–12.

Alison Elms' and Karen Ingish's work on staffing regional campus libraries emphasizes the complications of keeping regional campus librarians integrated in the main library culture. In her case, at DePaul University in Chicago, regional campus librarians at two of the regional campuses are assigned two nights per week at a regional campus, and two days per week at the main campus library, with Friday as a day to work on other assignments or to attend meetings. (p. 11) Part-time librarians staff a third regional campus. (p.11) While the shared reference duty on the main campus must certainly help in communication among library staff, those librarians who are full-time on the main campus also have no picture of what the regional campus libraries are about. (p. 12) --Annotation by Tina Schneider, The Ohio State University at Lima

Fritts, J. (1998). Administrative structures for extended campus library services: a survey of institutional operations. In P. Steven Thomas and Maryhelen Jones (Comps.), The Eighth Off-Campus Library Services Conference Proceedings (pp.147–154). Mount Pleasant: Central Michigan University.

Jack Fritts from the Southeastern Wisconsin Information Technology Exchange (SWITCH) writes about the current state of library services for distant students and extended campuses. Mr. Fritts believes that academic institutions are adopting corporate practices and are now considering the needs of students along with academic program expectations. He states that the role of the librarian is evolving together with technology development but that many of the institutions that moved into distance education during the 80s and 90s did not consider the information needs of their students. He notes that librarians at remote sites often are not included in library activities and stresses that a strong system of communication is required to ensure that the needs of the remote campus and its students are met while the librarian's relationship with the library's structure is maintained. The preliminary phase of Mr. Fritts study used an eleven question survey designed to initiate devel! opment of a framework of organizational structures. He provides an overview of the results, the survey questions themselves, the names of the participants, and five references. --Annotation by: Allison King, Brevard Community College/University of Central Florida Joint-Use Library, Cocoa.

Lois Gilmer, of the University of West Florida, describes an effective collaborate effort between Okaloosa –Walton Community College and The University of West Florida. The two institutions share the Ft. Walton Beach Campus.  This program started in the fall of 1981 as a response to “a need for closer coordination between the lower division courses offered by the community college and the upper division courses offered by the university in the Okaloosa county and Fort Walton Beach areas.” In 1983, the two institutions formed a joint center in a vacated elementary school. They formed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish policies and procedures that would facilitate coordination. Together the two libraries can provide a variety of resources that accommodate a wide spectrum of courses ranging from basic courses to courses at the doctoral level. -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009

Jennerich, E.J. (1974). An analysis of student and faculty responses towards libraries at regional campuses in Pennsylvania with implications for future planning. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh)

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine whether or not the resources and services provided by regional library campuses in Pennsylvania derived any benefits from being associated with a parent institution. At the time this study was conducted only two year campuses were reviewed. They were defined as “any established campus of a college or university physically separated from the parent campus.” They did not include community colleges or junior colleges and did not involve evaluation of collections, staff or physical facilities. The methodology employed for this thesis was a questionnaire distributed to six regional campuses in the state of Pennsylvania of which three were more than fifty miles from the parent institution and three were less than fifty miles from the parent campus. One of the regional campuses was a 4-year institution while the others were 2 year. The main campus library of each institution was also surveyed for comparison in the areas of use, services and resources available. Results from over 600 students, 35 faculty and 8 librarians were tabulated. Most of the questions and results are still remarkably relevant (Are you satisfied with the services provided by your library?) while others have been addressed with the advent of electronic resources (Do you feel that your library has sufficient materials to meet all of your academic needs?). The basic conclusion of this study was that most students used other libraries because they felt their campus library resources were inadequate. --Annotation by Pat Duck, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg

This article presents a case for regularly assessing student library skills. The authors describe a study that took place at the regional campuses of Kent State University. The researchers examined variables affecting student’s scores on a test of library skills such as knowledge, comfort level, past experience with library instruction, and the frequency of assignments requiring library research. Findings suggest the more often students were given assignments that required library research, the higher those students scored on the skills test. -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009

Landry-Hyde describes how the Bell Library at the Corpus Cristi campus of Texas A & M University reached beyond its walls and enriched its surrounding community by providing distance education library support by compensating libraries that support their students living in their locations. The library also joined in consortia agreements with local college/university libraries, local public libraries, and local hospitals. They also brought an art institute under the university’s organizational umbrella and an art archives under the library’s roof. Additionally they began exchanging staffs and ideas with a ‘‘sister library’’ in Mexico.  The library has been has been successful in their outreach.  -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009

Mouyal, a manager of the Shady Grove Library/Media Center at the University of Maryland, discusses a “hold shelf study” to gauge incoming books by subject, thus enabling them to measure user demand by subject. -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009

Pandya, a librarian at the Shady Grove Library at the Universities at Shady Grove, a campus of the University of Maryland, describes how the Shady Grove Library successfully used virtual instruction. Through collaboration with faculty and staff, the library implemented library instruction and delivered important library information through Blackboard Course Management System. -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009

Payne, W. (2004). Extended campus libraries: Special libraries for communities. Information Outlook, 8(8), 26-27.

Mr. Payne, a reference librarian at San Diego State University-Imperial Valley campus, uses his institution to describe how extended campus libraries are similar to special libraries. He explains that, although an extended campus library may address the mission and goals of the educational institution and its main library, it also acknowledges the importance of serving patrons in a particular geographic region. Mr. Payne goes on to claim that extended campus libraries share many of the same challenges as special libraries (e.g., small staff sizes and tenuous budgets) and provides illustrations using the Imperial Valley Campus. He states that there are many extended campuses throughout the United States, describes their various purposes, and identifies some of the different services provided. While there are no references listed, Mr. Payne includes quotations from several librarians from different extended campuses. --Annotation by Allison King, Brevard Community College/University of Central Florida Joint-Use Library Cocoa

Linda Pitts, Patricia Hart, and Laurie Sutherland, of the University of Washington, describe the process of decentralizing serials receipts at two of its branch campuses. They examine the rationalebehind the decision to decentralize, the planning involved, and how the plan was implemented. They also detail the outcomes, the problems that were encountered, and the impact of the changes on branch campus and central library staff. The authors include a list of steps for executing a successful decentralization project and some general observations about changing to the practice of receiving serials directly at branch libraries. -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009

Schneider, Tina. (2001). The Regional Campus Library and Service to the Public. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 27 (2), 122-27

In this article, Tina Schneider, at The Ohio State University at Lima, discusses the need for more recognition of the work of regional campus libraries, and of the service they offer to the general public and to their community.

Not much had been previously studied about the role and the mission unique to the campus libraries, therefore Schneider decided to run a survey in 2000, which she disseminated to 25 regional campuses. The questionnaire was sent to the Directors of the 25 regional campuses, and included questions about the administrations, the mission and the libraries. The libraries were asked specifically about their mission statements (and were asked to submit one, if they had it), and about the services they provide to their constituency and to the community at large.

The findings were interesting. Most of the campus administrators had mission statements (20/25), but only ten of their libraries reported having had their own. Some of these libraries reported very detailed and “made-to-fit” mission statements, including support for the curriculum, providing instructional services and “just-in time” collection development practices. Furthermore, they also emphasized the need for services to non-affiliated users, i.e. community based patrons. The results of the survey showed close communication and outreach to the local schools, courtesy card programs, free reference services, and some also offered community programs/exhibits on their campus. However, not much contact was evident with the public libraries of the area. When comparing the mission statements of the main campus libraries with those on the off-campus libraries, it was found that there was a “prominent emphasis on providing a cultural and economic center for the community”.

The regional and off-campus libraries are often located in remote population areas, and thus they are often the center for culture and learning in those communities. Although the services and the resources are provided by such libraries in practice, they are not often reflected in their mission statements, and the recognition of the library’s work is often overlooked by the administration and the home institution. The regional campus libraries have a special responsibility and opportunity to document their commitment to the local community, i.e. establish or continue the outreach programs, which are well publicized and appreciated by the general public and the higher education administration. --Annotated by: Katalin Fay Mouyal, Manager, Shady Grove Library, UM libraries
July 5, 2006

The authors present a review and rationale of the branch campus library web page. The branch library on the Shadow Lane campus had to ensure they could provide equitable service to all the faculty and staff including distance learners. Thus they created a library web page. The page was modeled after several other libraries and reflected the school’s brand. It contained valuable information for students to use and links to prime resources and even a chat area that students could use to get help from the librarians. The reviews of the site were positive. The authors emphasize the need for continuous assessment and revision of procedures and the importance of keeping up with current technology. -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009

The author describes a collaboration between the Meridian branch campus of Mississippi State University and their neighbors Meridian Community College. The two campuses work together to bring students quality service. The two were able to negotiate a mutually advantageous agreement in which for an annual fee MCC will house the MSU print collection and their students can use the MCC facilities. This collection is not meant to be a substitute for the MSU main campus but it is designed to supplement specific teaching and research needs of the local community. The author stresses the importance of having strong communication when so many players are involved. In order to have a successful partnership it is important to keep communication lines open and build strong positive working relationships. -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009

Thomas, S. R. (2007) Managing Interlibrary Loan Staff in Distributed Work Environments. Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Information Supply v. 17 no. 4 p. 123-33.

Thomas discusses a review of the literature of library and business management and describes some issues faced and best practicesused when dealing with staff who are working in separate locations. The author concedes that modern technology allows for the success of distributed working environments. However, she points out that history has shown that face to face contact is still best. She encourages people in a management position to be as involved with the staff as possible. Some other factors that were found to be vital to the success or failure of distributed work environments were: hiring practices, training, communication, team building, trust, motivation and performance. -- Annotation by: Cassie Hull, FSU Panama City Campus, July 2009