by Enedina Perez
Staff Writer
Developed six years ago by Coordinator of Library Services Adalyn Watts, the University of La Verne’s off-campus library service continues its growth and success.
The service assists off-campus students by helping them gather their research by calling a toll-free number. After students call and explain their search topic over the phone, the librarians then send them a list of all the journals and other sources on that topic. The students call back after deciding which articles they want and the library copies the articles and mails them via first-class mail, according to Head Librarian Marlin L. Heckman.
Based on the guidelines, only one research topic may be requested by a student per day. Five articles may be requested by phone and 10 articles by fax or mail. This helps speed up the process.
The purpose of this service is to educate students in the use of academic libraries. According to Watts, the service is not only supposed to be “a convenience for the students, but also a learning experience.” She said she focuses on “treating everybody as if they just walked in the door.”
When the service was initiated in September 1989, it was hard for people to believe it would work. Watts recalls asking herself, “What if nobody ever calls?” She remembers that in the first month, they only received two calls, and in November, they received a total of 1,500 calls.
“I’m glad it has worked out,” she said.
Since then, the service has prospered. According to the library’s database, there have been a total of 11,122 records requested since the service’s inception.
The service even reaches out to students at ULV campuses as far away as Alaska and Athens, Greece. Watts makes sure that her services reach those who are not as fortunate to have libraries near by. She feels the need to “service the community.”
Watts feels that helping people over the phone and mail is more economical than building full libraries for each of the school’s off-campus learning centers. Although she thinks that “it is still more beneficial for people to do their own research,” she believes that “off-campus students can also acquire a faster understanding of their subject area” with the new system.
Dr. Heckman said that the library has received mixed reviews about the service. He recalls that during the time they were moving into the new building, they received many calls from people complaining that their articles were taking too long to reach them.
“Our success has also been our downfall,” he said. The people were already used to receiving fast service.
Dr. Heckman emphasizes the importance of not “mixing the system.”
“A person cannot request journals over the phone and then ask to come to the library and pick them up,” he said. “It does not work that way.”
For the future, Watts hopes to make it possible for students to do the research themselves through the Internet and simply request the necessary articles. But for now, the service is still actively assisting off-campus students through its toll-free number, (800) 866-4858.
