Olin Library
Strategic Planning & Impact
Our Mission & Vision
Mission
The faculty and staff of Olin Library empower the 91ÌƲ®»¢ College community through innovative resources, strategic partnerships, and inclusive, accessible learning environments to enhance academic success, global citizenship, and responsible leadership.
Vision
Olin Library aspires to be an exemplary liberal arts college library, collaborating with our diverse academic community in teaching, learning, and knowledge creation.
Read the full 2025 - 2027 Strategic Plan.
2023-24 Annual Report
June 2023 – May 2024
The library focused primarily on increasing marketing for resources and services to increase student engagement through in-person academic sessions and community outreach events.
Instruction & Outreach
Our librarians taught a wide range of courses and orientations, met with students and faculty members for research consultations, and were available for online reference questions via chat and email.
This academic year, our librarians prioritized teaching, which in turn have affected the amount of research consultations due to their limited availability. With the increase in teaching, our librarians have requested more self-service features on the website, including a proactive widget on all library sites with a call-to-action for questions/general assistance.
In total, our librarians have
- taught 199 classes, a 7.5% increase from 2022-23
- interacted with a total of 3,303 students, a 6.4% increase from 2022-23
- and held a total of 114 consultations and 817 reference transactions, a 21.3% decrease and 263.1% increase, respectively from 2022-2023
Out of all surveyed, students rated their librarians excellently*:
*Measured on a 1-5 scale rating
The Tutoring & Writing Center facilitated 28 workshops and saw an increase of workshop participants. In addition, in collaboration with the Science department, the TWC implemented a STEM Hub Drop-in with much success, having 218 sign-ins.
In total, the TWC
- held 2,605 sessions, including study group sign-ins, a 0.15% decrease from 2022-23
- interacted with a total of 3,364 students, a 7.6% increase from 2022-23
Out of all surveyed, students were on average 92% extremely or mostly satisfied with their tutoring experience, and 91% indicated they learned something during their session that will help them with future learning.
With the Archives fully staffed this year, the Archives held 26 classes.
Starting in the spring semester, the Olin Library provided free poster printing for students, faculty, and staff specific to class presentations, an on-campus academic symposium, an academic conference, or another academic use.
In total, 188 posters were printed, saving students, faculty, and staff an estimation of $9,442.82 (tax included)*.
*Calculated using custom poster printing prices at a nearby FedEx print and ship facility.
In the Collection
For the first time in 3-4 years, the Collections department within the library was fully staffed throughout most of this academic year, filling roles essential to collection development and growth.
With an eResources librarian in place, the library was able to evaluate current electronic resources, strategically remove out-of-date and unused resources, and add a total of 121,001 electronic resources, including databases with access to heavily favored publications such as The Atlantic.
In total, 121,966 materials were added to the collection:
- 965 total physical materials, a 57.6% increase from 2022-23
- 915 print books
- 2 DVDs
- 11 games
- 30 book arts acquisitions
- 121,001 electronic resources, a 1742% increase from 2022-23
- 760 eBook titles (DDA only)
- 56,325 open access resources
- 8,891 journals, newspapers, and magazines (excludes Flipster titles and OA)
- Through Flipster, an additional 78 titles e-magazines were added
- 12 databases
During this past year, 13,334 materials, including equipment, renewals, and reserves, were circulated throughout the year, a 15.4% increase from the previous year. In addition, 1,587 items were borrowed through Interlibrary Loan, a 19.5% decrease from 2022-23. However, this year ILL Lending was activated, for the first time since 2022 with a total of 655 materials filled.
Virtual Resources Usage
The A-Z Database page underwent a cosmetic update, and links to these resources were promoted multiple times within e-newsletters and My91ÌƲ®»¢ throughout the year.
The library's resources were accessed through:
- 218,740 Primo (Catalog) sessions, a 14.8% increase
- 221,753 Primo searches, a 48.6% increase
- 29,910 Research and Subject Guides page views, a 25% decrease
- 16,174 page views on the new A-Z database interface, with a total of 17,321 database clicks
This year, Browzine and Flipster were purchased and activated, streamlining the navigation to get resources directly through Primo.
Within the Archives electronic resources, a total of 599 new works were posted to the 91ÌƲ®»¢ Scholarship Online (RSO) collection, now totaling up to 6,851 unique works, an 9.7% increase in the number of total items. There is recorded amount of 85,060 page views for RSO digital collections, a 15.5% increase in the amount of online engagement with our digital collection content compared to the previous year.
Inside the Building
This academic year, the library prioritized campus-wide engagement to further cement the library’s presence within the community and build deeper connections with all students, faculty, and staff through departmental collaboration and support.
In total, the library participated in 35 engagement activities within the 91ÌƲ®»¢ community:
- 24 engagement activities hosted by/in the library: 19 events and 5 workshops
- 11 events by invitation from an external department
- With at least an estimation of 7,222 total number of attendees*