2022 Highlight Report of the Dean B. Ellis Library, Arkansas State University
Library services at Arkansas State University are provided through a single central library – the Dean B. Ellis Library, located in the center of campus. Students (onsite or online) in all programs are referred to the Dean B. Ellis Library for access to all library collections, equipment, and services. The library is a full-service library and provides the following services:
- Library Holdings: The Dean B. Ellis Library has over 250,000 print books, 150,000 government documents, 14,000 microfilm, 3,600 CDs, and 1,800 DVDs held physically in the library.
- E-Resources: Additionally, over 650,000 eBooks, 230,000 streaming academic videos, and 900,000 streaming albums are readily available in all disciplines. The Library also has over 340 databases and 120 research guides in a wide variety of disciplines. Students and faculty have full access to the library’s online resources from both on and off-campus via the library proxy server.
- Journals: Journals and other periodicals can be accessed through the Library’s journals list. Between 95% to 99% of all 1995 to present journal content is available online. Most journals can also be accessed through the databases.
- Archives & Special Collections: Archives & Special Collections houses over 500,000 items, many with local and regional significance that cannot be found in any other library. Featured collections include: Ezekiel Candler "Took" Gathings Papers; Mike Beebe Papers; Marion Berry Papers; Francis Adams Cherry Papers; Judd Hill Plantation Records; H.M. Cooley Papers; St. Francis Levee District Tax Collection Records; Edgar Isaacs Collection; Cass S. Hough Aeronautical Collection; and Lois Lenski Collection.
- Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery: Resources from other libraries can be requested through Interlibrary Loan at no cost with over 99% of all journal articles requested being delivered digitally. In addition, the Interlibrary Loan Department is rank in the top 10% nationally for speed of delivery. Digital copies of in-house book chapters and journal articles may also be scanned and delivered digitally at no cost.
- ARKLink: All students are entitled to comparable borrowing privileges at over 40 academic libraries in the State of Arkansas if they obtain an ARKLink borrower’s card (at no cost) from the Dean B. Ellis Library. Participating libraries include all of the major academic libraries in Arkansas, including the University of Arkansas, the University of Central Arkansas, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
- Borrowing Policies: All currently enrolled students and currently employed faculty and staff have library privileges with a A-State photo or mobile ID. There is a 30 day loan period for undergraduates for most books and a 45 day load period for graduate students, with 2 online renewals available per item. Undergraduate students may borrow a maximum of 20 items and graduate students a maximum of 40 items at any given time. Overdue charges for ILL and reserve items are 25 cents per day per item with no maximum. There are no overdue charges for the main circulating collections. Faculty have an end of semester due date with no limit on number of items borrowed at any given time and 2 online renewals available per item.
- Facilities: Library services at Arkansas State University are provided through a single central library – the Dean B. Ellis Library. The library is administered/staffed by 25 full time employees and is opened 102 hours each week during the regular semester. Online resources, research guides, and chat assistance are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Technology: Approximately 70 fully networked workstations are available to students and faculty inside the Dean B. Ellis Library. All student workstations inside the library are networked to two print release stations. Students may also print from other computers on campus, their laptop, and their mobile device to the release stations. Students are awarded a free print allocation each semester based on their classification and can add additional funds to their account if needed. Both print release stations also serve as photocopiers. Additionally, two self-service scanners are available for student use at no charge. Scans may be printed, emailed, or saved to a USB flash drive. A microforms reader/printer and digital microform scanner is also available free of charge.
- Library Allocations: Library collection development funds are distributed by direct allocation to academic departments based on an established formula that includes such weighted factors as: lower level, upper level and graduate credit hour production; numbers of courses offered at these levels; total degrees awarded per department; the number of FTE faculty in the department; and the national average costs of books and periodical titles for the disciplines. These elements, with appropriate weights applied, provide the basis for objectivity and equity in the awarding of funds among departments.
- Selection of Library Resources: The library relies heavily on departmental faculty to make selections of new materials to be added to the library collections. Additionally, under a unique A-State library program, any student enrolled at Arkansas State University may select and recommend a maximum of three (3) books (per semester) for purchase by the library to supplement library holdings for their research and study. Library liaisons are available to help select library resources.
- Library Instruction: Instruction librarians are available to provide bibliographic instruction, prepare course-specific resources, personal resource assistance, and to teach Introduction to Academic Research, a one credit hour course in basic library and information literacy skills. Students in the Library’s Introduction to Academic Research and Intro to Academic Research Biology classes are given an information literacy skills pre-test at the beginning and end of the course. During the last cohort of students, post-test averages were 20.39% higher than pre-test averages.
