146 · Representative Documents: Regional Accrediting Agency Reports
Texas A&M University
SACS Reaffirmation of Accreditation. Core Requirement 2.9
Section 2: Core Requirements Requirement 2.9, Page 9
MSL maintains accounts and obtains products and services from national and international
document suppliers through AMIGOS Library Services (AMIGOS) and directly through OCLC.
This relationship supports resource sharing and procurement of resources for TAM HSC users.
MSL is also a member of the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries, the TexShare
Electronic Databases Consortia, the Texas Council of Academic Libraries and the Texas
Association of Health Science Libraries. Membership in these organizations allows MSL to
participate in group purchases to bring a greater array of information resources to TAM HSC
users.
Adequacy and Relevancy of Library Resources and Services
In addition to the input and participation of user groups in order to develop collections and
services that are relevant to TAM HSC users, MSL regularly solicits feedback from users and
benchmarks against external groups or institutions to assess the adequacy and relevancy of the
resources and services provided.
The Medical Sciences Library Council is a committee of the Texas A&M University Faculty
Senate. It serves as an advisory group to the MSL director and meets quarterly to provide direct
feedback on library policies, collection directions and service initiatives [MSL Library Council].
Encouraged by the feedback and participation of student representatives on the Medical Sciences
Library Council, the MSL director created a second advisory group, a Student Advisory Council
in 2010. Composed of student representatives from all constituent colleges and TAM HSC units,
the purpose of this Council is to provide feedback and make recommendations to the MSL
director from a student perspective concerning the library as a place of study and research,
library collections and services [MSL Student Advisory Council].
The MSL uses the LibQUAL+® survey to assess the effectiveness of its information and service
efforts. LibQUAL+® is a user centered survey that asks respondents to rate a library’s
performance in three areas: Customer Service, Information Resources/Delivery and the Library
as a Place of Study. In addition, the survey asks for demographic, library usage and satisfaction
information. Since its beginning in 2001, LibQUAL+® has been taken by 1.2 million
respondents from 1,200 libraries in 20 language versions throughout the world.
The following table presents levels of satisfaction expressed by TAM HSC students and faculty
in the 2010 MSL LibQUAL+® survey concerning information resources and access.
Table 2.9.5 Information Resources and Access
Information Resources and Access
Adequate
Print/Electronic
Journal
Collections
Library Website
Enables
Discovery of
Resources
Electronic
Resources
Accessible
from Home or
Office
Easy to Use
Access Tools
Modern
Equipment that
Supports Easy
Access to
Information
HSC Students 60% 44% 49% 61% 57%
HSC Faculty 44% 46% 109% 4% 57%
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