The 2006 Albion College Libraries anuual report suugests numerous changes to improve the quality and effectiveness of its facilities.

Students, library staff and president Donna Randall alike agree that the Stockwell-Mudd libraries are in need of an update.

"The library looks a little tired," Randall said. "The library is the heart and soul of any liberal arts campus. Deferred maintenance [of the library] can’t be an option; Albion needs to be competitive."

In 2006, Kalamazoo College expanded and renovated its library facilities, an endeavor that cost the school $17.8 million according to the school’s website.

In the Michigan Academic Library Council’s 2006 Annual Reports, Albion’s library budget is listed as $1, 368, 400.

In the latest report, John Kondelik, director of libraries, and other members of the library staff conducted a comprehensive review of the facility, consisting of a self-study, a LibQual+™ survey including several other college libraries, and an external review by a team of Great Lakes College Association library directors. The report also included goals for the improvement of the library as well as proposed fundraising ideas.

According to the report, the library staff has started to actively seek external funding resources. Groups like Friends of the Library—a volunteer organization that promotes library use, helps to raise money, and sponsors programs for the library—and individual donors are also an important source of library funding, the report states.

Main areas of concern listed in the report include the adequacy of facilities, resources, and services.

"The library buildings, although attractive in many ways, were found to be over-crowded, dark, lacking in environmental control, and needing more group study spaces and comfortable seating arrangements," Kondelik wrote in the report. "The collections have outgrown the shelving available … the book collection frequently lacked up-to-date titles in many areas."

Kondelik said he feels that Stockwell-Mudd has fallen behind the times when compared with other libraries.

"One issue is that our collections are outgrown," Kondelik said. "Our ability to provide information has been compromised. Secondly, our purchasing power has decreased. Our budget has been static for seven years, but most [scholarly] journals are seven to eight percent more expensive every year.

"Lastly, libraries are changing. What once was traditionally a place to study has been evolving into a fully-developed service center."

The results of the study didn’t surprise the staff, as the results re-enforced their previous observations, according to Kondelik.

"We need to begin planning a renovation of the library buildings to incorporate new ideas for information access and support for instruction and research, and provide improved storage for our paper collections and new spaces for student study," Kondelik wrote. "[W]e [also] need to improve the quality of our resources including books, journals, databases, and other media."

Expanding the library’s academic skills center is another focus Kondelik said he would like to see take place, as well as including computer services, a help desk, more FURSCA materials, and other amenities.

Student feedback has indicated that many share a desire for library improvement.

"[The library] is a study environment," said Elizabeth Gusfa, Grand Blanc junior. "It’s important to develop something that caters to all Albion students."

Gusfa said that she wasn’t able to see the library during her initial tour of Albion, and if she had, it would have made a major impact on her college decision-making process.

"It seems that at every other college, [the library has] a better appearance, more resources, and better hours," Gusfa said. "I would like to see new computers, new furniture-- including bookshelves, desks and chairs-- new carpeting, and more resources."

The Albion library complex was last changed in 1980 with the addition of the Mudd Learning Center to the Stockwell Memorial Library.

Improvements to the library were recently proposed by Alice Moore, 1973 graduate and Access Services Librarian, at a focus group meeting where college-employed alumni presented ideas for what they would like to see included in Randall’s strategic plan.

"Everybody was just sort of talking about the sports facilities, especially the Dow," Moore said. "I mentioned the library because how else are you going to keep students on campus? The library is very important in retention."

Moore said she has been hoping for library improvements for some time.

"There have been things that have needed to be done for a while," Moore said.

Randall agrees that many aspects of the library could use updating.

"The library is about blending technologies, exploring new concepts," Randall said. "There are a lot of possibilities [for change]. The library should be a gathering place for students. It needs to be a learning commons, not just to check out books, but a resource facility."

Kondelik is also eager to see the library evolve.

"[The library is] an information commons," Kondelik said. "[Many other] libraries are adjusting to include common space where other people can come together for [purposes other than studying]."

The library staff hopes to create a space for a cybercafé, according to Randall.

"I am in favor of that use of space and would like to find donors who would support such a renovation," Randall said. "That would be a great place for students to gather and use the information resources of the library."