Alison Gurganus, CCL President
Online Services Librarian/Professor, San Diego Mesa College
Faculty Specialist for Emerging Technology, San Diego Community College District
As we move into the new year, I am thrilled to share some exciting updates and developments at CCL that reflect our ongoing commitment to supporting California Community College libraries and those that work within.
A New Website is Coming
This spring, we will launch a redesigned website along with the Library Services Platform (LSP) and the Community College League of California (CCLC) that promises to enhance how we communicate, connect, and collaborate. The new platform will provide easier access to resources, streamlined navigation, and new opportunities to engage with your colleagues across the state. We look forward to unveiling it soon and hearing your feedback!
Updating Our Bylaws
As part of our efforts to stay adaptable and responsive to the evolving needs of our community, we are actively working on updating our bylaws. This process ensures that our governance reflects the priorities of our members and aligns with the dynamic landscape of academic libraries.
Annual Meeting: Save the Date!
We are delighted to announce that our annual meeting will take place on March 13 and 14th. This gathering is always a highlight of the year, offering a chance to connect, share insights, and explore the pressing topics in our field. In addition, we are excited to offer a special Management 101 session before the annual meeting. This session, offered only every other year, provides foundational management skills tailored for library professionals. Space is limited for this session, so stay tuned for registration details. We can’t wait to see you there!
AI Workgroup Launching This Spring
Artificial Intelligence continues to reshape research and information landscapes, and CCL is ready to take a leadership role in these discussions. We are excited to convene our first AI workgroup at the beginning of the spring term. This group will focus on exploring the implications of AI for our libraries and developing strategies to help our community harness its potential responsibly and effectively. We have finished our initial recruitment for the workgroup and the members will be contacted in January.
These initiatives are just a few of the ways we’re working to create a stronger, more vibrant California Community College library community. Your engagement and feedback are invaluable to us, and we encourage you to stay connected and share your thoughts. Together, we can continue to lead and innovate in serving our students, faculty, and communities.
Here’s to a productive and inspiring year ahead!
Megan Kinney, CCL-EAR Chair
Electronic Collections Librarian, City College of San Francisco
As usual, this part of the year can be so intense!
Last semester, EAR members worked to complete two new Quick Look reviews for NexisUni and Gale Science in Context. In the new year, you can expect reviews on “hot topic” databases, Niche Academy, and more!
As shared via the CCLibrarians-All email group in October, a list of titles for deselection from the shared NetLibrary collections was circulated for your review. As there were no appeals, the titles were forwarded to EBSCO for suppression on the ebooks platform. When this is complete, EBSCO will work with our Network Zone administrator to have these items removed from the Alma Network Zone (thus removing them from your Primo). As requested, I will also share a list of the EBSCO accession numbers to the field for folks who may need to extricate said titles. If you identify any NetLibrary titles that need to be considered for deselection from these shared ebook collections, please use our form.
At our October meeting in Sacramento, we met virtually with representatives from SAGE to raise concerns about the new CQ Researcher interface, such as relevance ranking, diminished functionality, accessibility issues, etc. We spent time demoing these issues and talking about the features of the new interface that hinder our students’ research process. We also noted student confusion that is caused when platform links to products not included in an institution’s current subscription appear. While libraries can adjust settings to remove mention of the unavailable content, this should be opt-in rather than opt-out. We also noted that, since our meeting with them in March 2021, we still have concerns about the framing of questions and content on the platform. We are happy to hear they are working on improving relevancy and recency on the platform and look forward to more updates on the issues we raised.
We are paying attention to the Title II updates shared in the Wednesday Webinar on December 4. A part of the work that EAR does, in addition to including accessibility in our product reviews, is communicating to vendors what we are hearing from the field. While Title II has implications for all publicly funded institutions, we believe community college library folks have keen insights into the accessibility gaps in the platforms we subscribe to on behalf of our college communities. We will be offering regional discussion spaces at our Wednesday Webinar on February 26 to share information and gather needs to communicate to vendors.
As always, feel free to contact me with any concerns or ideas that you would like to share with the committee, or contact your regional rep directly.
I hope you had a restful winter break!
Amy Beadle, Senior Director of Library and Technology Resources
Calendar Year Renewals and New Resource Orders
Please take a moment and review your January renewals in Consortia Manager by scrolling down on your dashboard and selecting “Accepted Subscription 2025”. We had a higher number than normal of renewals that were auto-rejected by the CM system as they were not renewed or rejected prior to the deadline. It’s so helpful if you will manually “reject” a subscription if you do not intend to renew it. That allows us to see that it was intentional vs. a possible oversight. Please contact me at abeadle@ccleague.org with any questions or concerns, or if you notice missing resources.
Rebranding Efforts
Our division’s transition from “Library Consortium” to “Library and Technology Resources” is underway. While the new name reflects our evolving scope, old habits die hard! Join us in embracing the updated branding as we continue to enhance our library operations.
LibGuide Refresh in the New Year
Exciting changes are coming to the LSP LibGuide! In February, you’ll notice a revamped look and feel, thanks to our collaboration with Springshare Consulting Services. These updates will make better use of CMS features, modernizing the LSP presence.
Once that is complete, Library and Technology Resources will move any relevant information from the CCL website to our own LibGuide. And lastly, the CCL website will be transitioned to a LibGuide of their own. All three entities will soon share a unified URL—more details to follow in 2025!
Farewell to our LSP Program Manager Trevor Passage
As most of you are aware, Trevor Passage, our LSP Program Manager, will be leaving his role on January 10th. His sharp insights, collaborative spirit, and sense of humor have made him not only a remarkable team member but also a joy to work with. Please take a moment to wish him well at tpassage@ccleague.org prior to his departure.
Special Announcement and Welcome
We are excited to announce that Cathy Tully will be joining us as the incoming LSP Program Manager. Cathy brings a wealth of experience and a deep connection to the LSP program. Her outstanding leadership as the Alma/PrimoVE implementation lead for College of the Sequoias, combined with her long-standing contributions to the Circulation Work Group—where she currently serves as the lead—highlight her exceptional expertise and dedication to our community. Cathy’s official start date is January 6th. Stay tuned for a formal announcement with her contact information once she officially begins.