Greetings Colleagues, I trust you're well. Today I'm celebrating the Expanding Library Support for Faculty Research project! As you know, the goal of this project is to assess and strengthen library services in support of faculty research at our schools. The project will foster improved library services on individual HBCU campuses and develop collaborative approaches to expand HBCU community-wide library support for faculty research. The HBCU Faculty Development Network is our project partner. First steps involve the appointment of two committees to assist and advise with the project. The first is a Library Advisory Committee to design a library survey that will gather information regarding current services, capacity and needs of libraries regarding faculty research support. The second is a Faculty Library Advisory Committee to design a survey to gather information about faculty research interests, plans, challenges and support needs. A contract statistician will provide expertise in survey design, distribution strategies and a quantitative summary of results for the faculty survey. Library Advisory Committee Library Advisory Committee members Vicki Coleman, North Carolina A&T University, Murle Kenerson, Tennessee State University, Scott Parham, St. Augustine's University (NC) and Judith Rogers, University of the Virgin Islands, have begun work on the library survey. Next steps involve refining the survey, testing by committee members and distribution using the Alliance's internal list. Faculty Library Advisory Committee The following colleagues have been appointed to the committee. An initial face-to-face meeting is being planned to begin work on the faculty survey. Librarians Elizabeth Brumfield, Prairie View A&M (TX) Roland Welmaker, Morehouse School of Medicine (GA) Jessie Smith, Fisk University (TN) Humanities Faculty Tracey Moore, Prairie View A&M (TX) Freddie Thomas, Virginia State University Darryl H. Thompson, Savannah State University (GA) John Zheng, Mississippi Valley State University STEM Faculty Laurette Foster, Prairie View A&M (TX) Orthella Moman, Tougaloo College (MS) Statistician Dr. Sharon Freeman, Assistant Provost for Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Strategic Planning, Mississippi Valley State University, Itta Bena, MS will serve as statistician for this project. See Sharon's comments below. "I'm quite thrilled about the opportunity to work with the HBCU Library Alliance. I feel as though I've come full circle as I return to the area that gave me my very first professional experience in higher education almost 18 years ago. At that time, I developed a true appreciation for the role of libraries and their symbiotic relationship with faculty research. Today, as an institutional effectiveness professional, I have a clear understanding of why it is so important to assess library services and to identify our faculty's research needs. Without this discovery, our ability to expand library support for faculty research is limited. So, I look forward to working with both the HBCU Library Alliance and the HBCU Faculty Development Network to add to the body of knowledge that exists about library services and faculty research needs at our HBCU's." Stay tuned for more information! Respectfully, Sandra SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.