TSTC Harlingen, through ownership and formal agreements, provides and supports adequate student and faculty access and user privileges to adequate library collections, as well as to other learning/information resources consistent with the degrees offered. These collections and resources are sufficient to support all its educational, research and public service programs.

The TSTC Harlingen administrator primarily responsible for Core Requirement 2.9 is the Vice President for Student Learning, Pat Hobbs [Ref 1]. Instructional administrative staff reporting to the Vice President for Student Learning also associated with responsibilities for this Principle include the Associate Vice President for Student Learning, Cathy Maples and the Library Director, David Diehl.

The Library mission statement [Ref 2] relates directly to the central issue of this core requirement, which is the responsibility to provide access to collections of the size and type required to support TSTC Harlingen's educational, research, and public service programs. COP 3.23, Library Acquisitions [Ref 3] states the TSTC Library will obtain materials to support student learning in technical programs and supporting academic courses.

COP 3.23, Library Acquisitions, also states that faculty, staff, and students engaged in research are encouraged to recommend items for library purchase; however, as a Level 1 institution, Texas State Technical College Harlingen does not participate in sponsored-research activities.

With a 2002 FTE enrollment of 2435 students, Texas State Technical College Harlingen uses the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) standards for a community or technical college with an FTE enrollment of 1,000 to 2,999 to determine the adequacy of the library collection [Ref 4].

The library collection was determined to be seriously inadequate by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) visiting team in 1995 with only 6,855 volumes in its collection. The first follow-up report to SACS was determined inadequate, resulting in a Second Follow-up Report: Seven Year Library Allocation Plan [Ref 5], which was accepted in 1997 [Ref 6] to correct this inadequacy. In the Seven-Year Library Allocation Plan to SACS, the College promised an annual allocation in each of the upcoming six fiscal years in the amount of $220,000 dedicated to acquiring 4500 volumes annually toward the goal of 41,457 volumes by the end of FY 2004-5. The Five-Year Report [Ref 7] submitted to SACS in 2000 reported that the College was on schedule in its Seven-Year Library Allocation Plan. At the conclusion of FY 2002-3, the College remains on schedule to bring its collection in excess of the ACRL standard of a minimum 40,000 volumes by the end of FY 2004-5. According to the plan, at the end of FY 2002-3, the collection was exactly at the level specified by the plan - 34,640 volumes, as reported in its FY 2002-3 Annual Library Report [Ref 8].

In order to provide a library collection consistent with the Associate of Applied Science degree that TSTC Harlingen offers, COP 3.23, Library Acquisitions [Ref 3], calls for the Library Director to solicit faculty and staff recommendations annually during the summer semester for consideration in the new fiscal year. However, the main responsibility lies with the professional library staff because of its knowledge of the overall collection and its utilization. The Library Director visits department chairs annually to review relevancy of program-related learning resources and to request additions to the collection.

On the Library web site, faculty, staff, and students may request additions to the collections by clicking on the link "Request an Item" found on the Library web site, and completing the online request form [Ref 9]. Requests submitted in person are always encouraged.

The relevance of the collection is further ensured by the Library Director's annual cull of materials in the collection that do not meet standards, as specified in COP 3.23, Library Acquisitions [Ref 3].

Texas State Technical College Harlingen allocates $220,000 annually toward the acquisition of 4500 volumes to the library collection [Ref 10]. The College will continue to dedicate $220,000 annually to bring the collection into compliance at 41,457 volumes by FY 2004-5.

The Association of College and Reserach Libraries (ACRL) commentary states, "A formula using a dollar figure per full-time student equivalent provides a more stable basis for planning collections and services than using a percentage." Using the ACRL recommended budget formula, the 2002-3 library budget would have been a minimum of $178,958. In actuality, the TSTC Harlingen library budget in 2002-3 was $568,748. This figure is 57% above the minumum standard and 35% below the excellent standard. [Ref 11].

In order to sustain compliance with ACRL standards after FY 2004-5 when the Seven-Year Plan is fulfilled, the College will continue to apply the ACRL formula using a dollar figure per full-time student equivalent to determine library budget levels and will continue to monitor its collection against ACRL collection standards.

By the TSTC Harlingen Library Advisory Committee. According to COP 3.25, Library Evaluation [Ref 12], the TSTC Harlingen Library Advisory Committee [Ref 13] is charged with conducting an annual evaluation of, among other things, the library collection, using the annual library report prepared by the Library Director. At its September 19, 2003, meeting, the Library Advisory Committee reviewed the 2002-3 Library Annual Report [Ref 8] and determined that the library collection is sufficient to support all its educational, research, and public service programs [Ref 14].

By the Program Assessment and Improvement Team (PAIT). The department chair's participation in the maintenance of an adequate library collection for the department is assessed in Section III of the PAIT review, specifically Item 13 in the technical programs' assessment booklet [Ref 15] and item Q in the general education assessment booklet [Ref 16]. The assessment booklets are housed in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Research.

External reviews of the TSTC Harlingen Library collection are conducted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and accrediting/certifying agencies reviewing selected technical programs.

2001 THECB Site Visit. Results from the January 2001 Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board site visit [Ref 17] show that the library "meets standard" on the measure "Library Resources." The standard is "Compliance with SACS criteria as evidenced by the following individual items all marked satisfactory:

• Access to a broad range of learning resources
• Orientation program for students to use learning resources
• Opportunity for students to learn how to access information in different formats
• Maintain adequate hours
• Learning resources cataloged and organized
• Convenient and effective access to all learning resources
• Adequate physical features
• Evidence of incorporating technology advances into learning resource operations
• Adequate staffing by qualified professionals
• Regular and systematic evaluation of learning resources, holdings and policies."

The complete report from the 2001 THECB site visit team is found in the Office of the Vice President for Student Learning.

Accrediting/Certifying Agencies. Several professional accrediting agencies include a review of library resources as part of their accreditation process and have in the process affirmed that the resources are sufficient for the accredited program. These agencies include the American Dental Association, which accredits the Dental Assisting Program [Ref 18] and the Dental Hygiene Program [Ref 19]; the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, which accredits the Health Information Management Program [Ref 20], the Surgical Technology Program [Ref 21], and the Medical Assisting Program [Ref 22]; and the National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence, which certifies the Automotive Technology Program [Ref 23].

COP 3.24, Library Cooperative Agreements [Ref 24] encourages cooperative arrangements with other libraries to broaden the range of materials and services available to the students, faculty, and staff of the College. The TSTC Harlingen library collection is greatly enhanced through membership in two cooperative arrangements: the TexShare Consortium of Academic Libraries, and Valley MedShare.

Library information resources are supplemented by extensive electronic resources provided through membership in the TexShare Consortium of Academic Libraries [Ref 25], a statewide consortium of academic libraries, public libraries, and libraries of clinical medicine administered by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. TexShare enables member libraries to share library resources in print and electronic formats, including books, journals, technical reports and databases. Through its membership in TexShare, TSTC Harlingen is able to offer students access to 70 databases through the library's web page link "Online Databases" [Ref 26]. Also, students may apply for a TexShare library card which allows them to utilize all library services at other TexShare member libraries, including other Rio Grande Valley college and university libraries. The TSTC Harlingen Library also participates in TexShare's Interlibrary Loan program, which enables the TSTC Harlingen Library to obtain from other member libraries books not found in its collection [Ref 27]. The book collection is further supplemented by netLibrary, an online service through TexShare that offers full text access to titles from reputable publishers [Ref 28]. Access to netLibrary is gained through the TSTC Harlingen Library website. Membership in TexShare up until FY 2002-3 was free. Using library operating funds, TSTC Harlingen paid a membership fee of $6,500 beginning FY 2003-4.

Membership in the Valley MedShare consortium [Ref 29] provides access to additional resources in Allied Health through the provision of free Interlibrary Loan materials from the Regional Academic Health Center Library [Ref 30].

COP 3.24, Library Cooperative Agreements [Ref 24], stipulates that the Library Advisory Committee will evaluate these agreements annually to determine whether they further the purpose of the college and the library. This was accomplished most recently by the Library Advisory Committee at its September 19, 2003, meeting when the cooperative arrangements were determined to be in support of the College's educational, research, and public service programs [Ref 14].

Many of TSTC Harlingen's technical programs maintain small, specialized collections of technology-specific resources in their technology laboratories and classrooms. A collection of audio/visual learning resources (films, slides, videos) is also available at the Instructional Media Center for check-out by faculty and staff. A printed catalog is available at the Media Center, and an online version is under construction.