7 Branch Library Reports

7.1 HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES BRANCH LIBRARY

There were many significant developments in 1995, the most momentous being the opening of the Information Services Building and its new service areas, the Asian Studies Research Library, the Music and Multimedia Section and the postgraduate room. Other significant developments were the restructuring of Document Delivery Services, the expansion of MULTELS to cover other branch libraries, the setting up of the Electronic Information Service Desk, integration of Internet training into the user education programmes, and the provision for academics to submit reserve reading lists electronically.

7.1.1 Music & Multimedia and Asian Studies

The new service areas of Music and Multimedia and the Asian Studies Research Library proved extremely popular with clients and enabled the library to provide more focussed services to these areas. Both serve major areas of research that are given a high priority at Monash. To support multimedia developments, the branch committed its 1995 Research Infrastructure Funds to the purchase of a range of equipment and facilities to enable clients to utilise multimedia materials purchased to support courses and initiatives offered by the faculties.

A multimedia working party was set up and did excellent work in dealing with issues such as loans policy and procedures. It also undertook the processing and upgrading of the collections through a weeding programme. New equipment, ranging from Hifi equipment and headphones and microfilm reader printers to televideos and multimedia PCs was purchased.

7.1.2 Accommodation

With the occupancy of the Information Services Building, vacated space was created in the old building, enabling refurbishment of a postgraduate room, four additional discussion rooms, the addition of the Kipen Judaica Collection, better and more accessible facilities for users with disabilities, more spacious and pleasant areas for newspapers and government publications and an increase in the number of seating places from 1408 in 1994 to 1590 in 1995. It is anticipated that this figure will go over 1600 in the new year when the shelving re-arrangements are completed on the third, fourth and fifth floors.

Major re-arrangements of the Australian Bureau of Statistics publications, the current newspapers and serials section, and government publications, as well as the move of photocopiers to current serials, the re-spacing of the Main Collection and the integration of the Burchill Collection were undertaken by the attendants in a professional manner that minimised disruption to services. Compliments by the library's clients indicated that these moves were well received.

7.1.3 Staffing

A particular concern was the number of attendants who had to take leave because of workplace injury. The volume of porterage associated with the move to the ISB, the amount of dust in the building and the difficulties with the air conditioning have all contributed. Late in the year, Library Management funded a major dust cleaning exercise, including steam cleaning of the carpeting in the shelving areas. This proved to be an excellent investment as it noticeably improved working conditions for staff and provided a much healthier and pleasant environment for clients. It is obvious that regular cleaning must form a part of future plans of the library.

Staff development and training continued to receive strong support within the Branch. There were notable developments. The Caroline Chisholm Award went to Glenn Martin, the Head Attendant and two staff participated in the Women in Leadership programme. The Music Librarian, Georgina Binns, was awarded the Walter Gerboth Research Award by the Music Library Association (USA).

7.1.4 Level of Services

Demand for services remained high and increased substantially in some areas. The introduction of patron self renewal, the installation of the cashless register and the barcoding of keys to lockers and group study rooms, so that they could be issued through PALS, enabled the loans section to offer improved service to clients. The branch recorded more than 10% increase in loans and more than 3% in overall loan related statistics over the 1994 figures. A new door counter provided more accurate statistics than before, and these indicated that at least 230,000 more people visited the Library in 1995 than in 1994.

Another startling growth area was in photocopy demand which was up some 250,000 over 1994. This figure would have been much greater if there had not been problems with the maintenance service.

7.1.5 Business Plan

H&SS developed a strong business plan for 1995 and worked very hard to achieve all the objectives set. A special achievement was the way staff held together and remained focussed on service delivery amidst all the noise, dust and discomfort resulting from the building construction. Branch staff took part in a number of surveys during the year relating to user satisfaction/success, inhouse usage, re-shelving material and serials check-in. It was particularly pleasing to note the Branch's positive results in the user satisfaction/success survey despite its size and the disruptions mentioned above.

Improved security was one of the objectives of the Business Plan. A new security system was installed during the year at the main exit door and another one in the Reserve area. With both operational it is expected that there will be a significant drop in the number of students trying to remove "undischarged" materials from the library.

Serials staff and staff from the Technical Services serials operation commenced work on a Serials Cycle Time Reduction Project that will finish in 1996. Branch staff participated in the Library wide strategic planning exercise. One outcome was agreement to integrate the H&SS serials operation with the Technical Services serials operation in 1996.

7.1.6 Electronic Services

H&SS took responsibility for developing, training, rostering and overseeing the new MUTELS service. In 1996 it is likely that a voice mail service may be incorporated into MULTELS.

The availability of the CD ROM Network, Sesame2 and Internet resources from the offices of academics staff and postgraduate laboratories, together with the opening of the new Information Technology Training Room in the ISB has meant a widening of scope of the user education programme. The lack of available teaching rooms in first semester meant that a number of requests for classes could not be accommodated. This situation should improve substantially in 1996 with the opening of a new User Education Room.

Subject Librarians created a Home Page for the H&SS Library, developing the Electronic Information Desk, assisting in creating the Virtual Library tour of the ISB, expanding the user education programme to cover Nexis and other new developments, attending departmental meetings to plan the implementation of new services such as the CAUL trials, and preparing instruction about Internet resources in specific subject areas. Despite staff shortages they also managed to keep up their other responsibilities and met objectives in collection development, monitoring, preparation of library impact statements (45 in total), running user education classes, and producing guides (19 in total) and information sheets (10 in total). A number of these guides are currently being mounted on WWW.

7.1.7 Acquisitions

Some important additions to the collection included:

• CD-ROMs : ABC Pol Sci, Child Abuse and Neglect, International ERIC, Women's Studies Index, Palmers Index to The Times, Index to UN Publications, US Congressional Record.
• Electronic Databases : Expanded Academic Index (trial), ABS Australian Statistics Online, IDRC Databases.
• Printed materials : Encyclopedia of Psychology (four vols), Grand Larousse Universal (17 vols), International Encyclopedia of Education, second ed (12 vols), Pipers Enzyklopadie des Music Theaters (five vols), Encyclopedia of Social Work, Dictionary of Art, Encyclopedia Italiana (five vols), Encylopedia of the Musical Theatre (two vols).

7.2 BIOMEDICAL LIBRARY

The pervasive effects of rapidly changing telecommunication and computing technologies continued to have a major influence on decisions made in the Biomedical Library in 1995. The Library was continuously assessing the current trends and developments in electronic information and making appropriate adjustments in the allocation of resources and provision of services to clients.

7.2.1 Virtual Library Services

The Biomedical Library initiated several developments in 1995 to progress toward the services users expect of a virtual library. In July the Biomedical Library developed a home page to ensure easy access for users to relevant sources on the Internet, including electronic journals, library guides and home pages of Monash departments and teaching hospitals. The Biomedical Library's Electronic Reference Service and New Materials List are also available from the home page. A colour printer has been purchased in anticipation of the need for printing colour photographs and illustrations from the Internet.

In 1995 the print journal collection of the Biomedical Library was evaluated by the departments and subject librarians to ensure relevancy of subject and format, and work was started to target those journals which might provide better access and enhanced features in electronic form.

Numerous print and CD-ROM combinations have been purchased by the Biomedical Library recently, including such titles as GLIM for Ecologists, Physicians' Guide to the Internet, and Audiology, The Fundamentals. The Biomedical Library purchased two multimedia PCs in 1995 to help provide access to these additional resources.

In 1995 the Biomedical Library began to investigate services of commercial firms that could supply not only easy remote access to bibliographic databases such as Medline, but also access to full-text journals from Medline citation links. In the meantime, the licensed number of simultaneous users for the CD-Network Medline has been increased from 11 to 18 to help meet current demand.

CAUL has been particularly valuable to clients of the Biomedical Library, who are the heaviest users of this database at Monash. The trials in 1995 included ALDIS SilverPlatter ERL which offered many databases of interest to Biomedical Library clients, such as Agricola, CABCD, EMBASE, Medline, PsycLIT, and Sport Discus.

The Biomedical Library allocated Research Infrastructure Funds (RIF) to purchase equipment and connections for a training room, which became operational in the first half of 1995. Space restrictions continue to be a major problem in the Biomedical Library, and as a result the room is far from adequate, but a vast improvement on the classes that were previously held in the foyer on public machines.

The Biomedical Library, in conjunction with the Network Librarian, conducted nine 'Introduction to the Internet' courses for 89 academics and departmental staff during 1995. Response to these sessions was very positive and more sessions are being planned for 1996.

7.2.2 Level of Services

In 1995, the Biomedical Library staff answered 13,311 queries at services points and 1,812 outside the rostered desks, not including the numerous questions that the attendants in the Biomedical Library answered concerning the location of materials. The Alfred Sub-branch staff answered 4,872 queries at service points and 1,494 from other locations, including telephone queries. These figures represent a slight decrease on the 1994 figures, probably reflecting the general increase in computer literacy in students using the CD-ROMs, the increased reliability of the CD-ROM network, better signposting and more advanced instruction very early in most courses. Not included in the service point figures are collection of theses from the Thesis Room, the issuing of hospital loans to undergraduates students and the distribution of document delivery information to requestors. Also, MULTELS referred 428 queries to the Biomedical Library.

The number of loans for the Biomedical Library totalled 124,459 comprising 118,443 charges and 6,016 renewals. The Alfred Sub-branch loaned 22,179 items, including 477 renewals. Although these figures do not represent an increase in loans, there is a general perception that undergraduates, who are not allowed to borrow journals, have increased their in-house use of the journal collection to complete their assignments.

297,076 patrons were counted as they left the library this year compared to 306,968 in 1994. Greater use of remote computers to access to CD-ROM databases may have had an impact on the total in 1995. Although a security system to count patrons is not currently available at the Alfred Sub-branch, it was obvious to Library staff that Postgraduate student attendance at the Alfred Sub-branch was less this year, probably because a Master of Public Health is now offered across three universities.

Photocopying increased from 1,630,972 copies in 1994 to 1,804,692 in 1995 although there was a reverse trend in banking, $114,565 in 1994 to $111,739 in 1995, due to the drop from 10c to 7c per page in photocopying charges.

In 1995 Biomedical staff were involved in 184 user education sessions to 2,172 participants, using 308.4 hours of staff time. The Alfred Sub-branch conducted 53 sessions for 295 participants in 21.8 hours. The decision was taken at the beginning of the year to concentrate staff effort on advanced skills, rather than the orientation tours. The classes in 1995 were directly linked to the teaching curriculum, with students receiving hands-on instruction in SESAME2 and relevant CD-ROM databases to locate material on a specific topic. The perception of the Subject Librarians is that the students are using the library more efficiently as a result.

7.2.3 Collection Management

In 1995 the Rare Books Librarian, Richard Overall, was successful in acquiring various medical materials of historical importance, including those from the Australian Medical Association .

By the end of October 1995, the monograph budget had been fully expended. The addition of 2,695 monograph volumes in 1995 brings the total to 64,460 monographs in the Biomedical Library, and the addition of 336 monographs at Alfred Sub-branch increased the monograph total to 9,138. The collection grew overall by 4,929 volumes at the Biomedical Library and 745 at the Alfred Sub-branch, bringing the total number of volumes to 151,134 and 20,672 at the Alfred Sub-branch.

The number of current serial subscriptions is 1,208 held in the Biomedical Library, 319 at the Alfred Sub-branch, and 107 at the Monash Medical Centre (MMC). The few remaining subscriptions duplicated in print and on CD-ROM are being closely scrutinised with a view to cancelling the print, as soon as possible.

The Branch Librarian continued to be involved in the Distributed National Collection (DNC) project for medical materials, which is still in the initial stages of development. A pilot project on oncology materials was conducted by six medical libraries in late 1995 and the results of this pilot will be used to further the development of the national project.

7.2.4 Staffing

Barbara Jacoby returned to the Biomedical Library in January from a secondment as Associate Librarian at LaTrobe University, Bendigo Campus in 1994. It was announced in August that Vivienne Bernath was one of 32 library staff from Australian university libraries invited to attend the Aurora Leadership Institute at Thredbo in November.

An opportunity to strengthen international links became available when the Monash University International Programs & Developments Office organised a staff exchange program for the Health Sciences Librarian of Naresuan University in Phitsanuloke, Thailand. During May the Health Sciences Librarian was a visitor to the Monash Library, and a reciprocal exchange was organised for Barbara Jacoby in November.

The major factor influencing staffing in the Biomedical Library in 1995 was the decision to develop a centralised document delivery unit for the Monash University Library system. In anticipation of this change, the Hospital Loans position was not filled when it became vacant in late 1994, and one attendant's position was abolished in 1995.

7.2.5 Quality Management

A major initiative in 1995 was revising position descriptions and developing the Performance Enhancement program for Biomedical Library staff.

In preparation for the development of the 1996 Biomedical Library Business Plan, letters were sent to the Heads of Departments requesting an opportunity for the Branch Librarian and relevant Subject Librarians to discuss service needs with them and their staff. As a result, visits were made to numerous departments in late 1995.

In October a morning tea was held for patrons of the Biomedical Library to provide a forum for feedback on library services and collections. The feedback to Library staff was generally positive, and patrons were able to offer many good suggestions ranging from the need for additional copies of specific texts to requests for notices to silence mobile phones in quiet areas. The initiative was definitely a success and will be repeated in 1996.

7.2.6 Buildings and Maintenance

In July renovations to the outer staff area were mostly completed, resulting in ergonomically designed workstations more conducive to improved work practices.

Attempts to alleviate the severe space shortage in the Biomedical Library continued in 1995. A plan for an extension was costed by the Facilities Services Division, but no funding is available in 1996 for the project.

7.3 HARGRAVE LIBRARY

The year was challenging with a relatively high staff turnover. The position of Deputy Hargrave Librarian was filled in December. The Acting Deputy Hargrave Librarian, Sara Miranda was outstanding in coping with more than the normal share of subject duties in addition to being the acting deputy.

Objectives identified in the 1995 Business Plan were achieved with a few exceptions where a lack of staff resources did not permit the fulfilment of some specific objectives.

Throughout the year all activities of the library were driven by the Quality Assurance Program which in turn formed the basis for the 1995 Hargrave Library Business Plan. The emphasis in the Hargrave Library is on how to maintain an effective process of continuous improvement in the delivery of resources and services.

The General Satisfaction survey showed that 62% of Hargrave's clients were very satisfied or satisfied, 27.7% were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, while 10.9% were dissatisfied. Many complained about the fact that bags were not allowed into the library, and 9.6% reported "difficulty using the Hargrave Library". Hargrave Library Quality Circles met to address problems raised which led to the following action plan:

• Stocktake of monographs to identify missing books (stocktake commenced December 1995).
• Revise floor plan and in particular, the positioning of stacks to eliminate broken shelf sequences which are hard to follow. (Draft plan ready)
• Ongoing program of shelf reading.
• Establish a regular weeding program.
• With the help of the Chairman of the User Committee, resubmit Hargrave's request for an extension to the building to relieve the very serious space shortage that results in the double-shelving of books in fast growing areas as there is no room for more shelves, shortage of seating for students, general overcrowding, noise and dissatisfaction when students cannot find a study desk at certain times of the academic year. Students also complained that there was not adequate study room facilities for group study, which is a preferred mode of learning, particularly in the engineering courses.

It was nice to receive positive qualitative comments such as "staff couldn't do enough to help."

7.3.1 Services

Demand for information services remained constantly high. The number of user education classes and the number of participants increased, whilst the contact hours decreased. Improved cost-effectiveness was made possible by the use of IT, CAI and improved handouts and worksheets.

Selected highlights in the user education area included:

• Research skills sessions were given for postgraduate engineers as part of an external Uni-Link course.
• Tutorials were offered to academic staff on the Internet and the use of CD- ROMs.
• Induction tours were provided for library staff from other branch libraries.
• Open Day - 300 hundred visitors attended a number of hands-on classes on CD- ROMs and Internet-based information.
• Hargrave Home Page was created for the Internet.
• The electronic guidance system, "Navigating the Hargrave Library" was revised, extended and updated.
• New electronic screenshows were produced using Harvard Graphics and PowerPoint and the existing screenshows revised and updated.
• The IT training room was ready by the beginning of the academic year. The Hargrave IT room proved to be of considerable interest to other libraries and institutions.
• Evaluation forms were revised and distributed in most tutorials. Responses indicated participants found the sessions "geared at the right level", "the right amount of material covered," and "the sessions were interesting and they would recommend it to others."

7.3.2 Collection Development

The tailoring of current subscriptions to the academic and research profiles continued. The annual review of Hargrave subscriptions by academic departments and subject librarians resulted in the following developments:

• 40 Hargrave subscriptions were cancelled in 1995
• A document delivery budget was established in late 1995 to fund free and timely delivery of journal articles to primary clientele from journals cancelled during 1994 and 1995. The process will be improved in 1996 in the light of experience.
• Quality of financial information. The capacity to keep track of financial records for subscriptions improved with the acquisition module in Technical Services coming on line last September and the serials download that took place in May 1995. Identification of "phantom commitments" to serials released unspent funds for the acquisition of mongraphs.
• Binding. The trial of a new binder in 1995 proved that the quality of the binding was satisfactory and the cost lower. Hargrave will commence to transfer serials for binding purposes to achieve savings.

7.4 LAW LIBRARY

7.4.1 Electronic Library Developments

The Law Library is proceeding rapidly to provide electronic access to primary legal resources as well as secondary materials. The number of CD-ROMs and online databases subscribed to more than doubled in 1995 and this transition will continue in 1996. A major sell-off of the American print collection and replacement by electronic access will be much cheaper and less staff resource intensive. These services are now available from two computer laboratories in the Law Library and it is likely that 1996 will see home electronic access.

Also launched in late 1995 was a project to develop the "Electronic Law Library". A task force was established by Library Management Committee to investigate possibilities for the conversion of large parts of the print collection to electronic format by scanning. It is intended that the resultant database will be available from University and home computers and to remote, paying subscribers anywhere in the world via dial-up connection or the Internet.

7.4.2. New Training Program

After several 'pilots' and with feedback from students, the Law Library launched a comprehensive program of training to support the introduction of new electronic research resources. Under the program 'small group' informal sessions are run up to four times daily in the use of legal CD-ROMs, LEXIS and other online databases, Sesame 2 and the Internet.

7.4.3 Refurbishment

A major objective of the Library's Strategic Plan is the improved appearance of Library premises. In 1995 Law Library staff work areas were refurbished with the provision of new workstations. A new reference desk was installed and all workstations were cabled with Ethernet. All staff now have DITS compatible PCs.

7.4.4 Publications

Publications for 1995 included two new editions of the Mabo Source Book and a new Guide to Legal Research. Law Library staff were regular contributors to the professional literature. A Law Library Internet 'Home-Page' was also established in 1995. Prepared with help from the University's Graphic Design department and with major enhancements by Law Library staff, it has won praise from around the world and is the Library's most heavily visited site.

The ALLI database (Australian Legal Literature Index, produced by the Law Library) was released commercially on LEXIS, the world's largest supplier of legal information, KIWINET (New Zealand's national database) and on CD-ROM through Computer Law Services (Diskrom).

7.4.5 Professional Development and Staff Training

Law Library staff attended the Indexers Conference, Online/Ondisk Conference and the Asian Pacific, Specials, Health and Law Librarians Conference. The Law Librarian presented a paper - "Researching Mabo" - at this last conference.

The Law Library introduced a new program of in-house training in 1995. Weekly sessions are now held to introduce staff to new technology and to cover a variety of areas including first aid, the use of mobile phones and fire extinguishers, use of library tools and to brief staff on policies relevant to personnel, such as industrial relations. Visits to other libraries and institutions also form part of the program, which is suggested and arranged by Law Library staff.

7.4.6 Visit to Kiribati

Nick Pengelley and Lisa Smith spent three weeks in the Republic of Kiribati establishing a law library for the Island's Attorney-General. The visit was funded by AESOP (Australian Executive Service Overseas Program) under the auspices of the Australian Law Librarians' Group and donations of books and equipment were provided from many sources. During the visit the Library was completely re-arranged, catalogued and classified. Local staff were trained in library maintenance and legal officers were instructed in the use of law CD-ROMs. The visit was a highly successful one and will be the subject of lectures, professional articles and conference papers.

7.4.7 The Law Card

The concept of the Law Card was developed in conjunction with MONINFO. Through the Card the Law Library will promote and sell its services to law and other business firms as well as interested others. A range of services including access to CD-ROMs, training, post-graduate borrowing rights, publications and express document delivery will be available to subscribers for $300 per annum (individuals) and $1000 per annum (corporate). Monies earned will be used to extend ALLI indexing resources and extend reference services. The service was promoted to groups of Melbourne law and business firm lawyers and librarians at the city offices of Minter Ellison and Arthur Robinson and Hedderwicks in December with the support of the Law Faculty.

7.5 CAULFIELD/PENINSULA BRANCH LIBRARY

7.5.1 Accommodation

Caulfield campus library staff and users appreciated the space gains made by the library in early 1995. Thirty additional reader places were made available.

The existing collections were able to be better accommodated, but further expansion space is required to accommodate the collections, which are now growing by about eleven thousand volumes a year. This annual volume is expected to decrease gradually as the library moves away from print to electronic services, but in the interim it is increasingly difficult to house the print collections.

In early 1995, the Peninsula Campus Director's Advisory Committee recommended to the Vice-Chancellor's Campus Planning Committee that the library be moved out of A Block and located in a new dedicated building. The recommendation was approved and subsequently a Preliminary Brief on the new Peninsula Library Building was prepared and provided to the architects, Williams & Boag. Three thousand square metres of net useable space are planned. The building could be ready for occupation in mid- 1997.

In the interim, the Peninsula campus library has had to displace a number of seats to provide additional book stacks for the growing collections. The seats have been relocated wherever possible.

A new IT Training Room was created at Caulfield with the potential to house twenty personal computers for hands-on training. Initially, 10 PCs have been installed, and increasing use is being made of the room for the training of staff and students. At Peninsula a similar facility will be provided in the new building. In the interim, personal computers will be purchased for training purposes whenever funds permit. An initial number of five PCs were purchased in 1995.

7.5.2 Library Resources and Services

There was a general increase in all the service statistics as shown in the above tables. The Caulfield/Peninsula Branch Library received $1,458,700 as its share of Monash Library's Book Budget. In addition the Branch received $57,779 from various sources, including Research Infrastructure funds and Open Learning.

The Branch's collection grew by 16,437 representing 14,154 monograph volumes, and 2,283 bound volumes of serials. Some CD-ROMs added during 1995 included The Age on CD-ROM, Diskrom, AGSM Annual Report File and Film Index International.

7.5.3 Staff

A new Deputy Branch Librarian, Mrs. Judy Hopley, was appointed early in 1995. The Branch's Administrative Officer Mrs. Heather Stonehewer, a member of Caulfield library staff for twenty-three years, retired at the end of the year and will be sadly missed.

A major part of the staff undertook training on one or, in many cases, several occasions during the year to enable them to educate students and academics in how to access the growing number of electronic services offered by the library and/or to enable staff to offer better service to clients. In addition, staff members attended the Online/Ondisc, RAIS and Library Technicians' Conferences.

7.5.4 Surveys

The Branch participated in two Monash Library surveys during 1995 : the General User Satisfaction Survey, and the In-house Usage Survey. Comments forthcoming from the former have shown Branch administration directions for improvement in 1996.

The Branch also undertook two benchmark exercises connected with accessioning serial issues into the PALS library system's Serials Module, and reshelving of monographs and serials.

7.6 GIPPSLAND CAMPUS LIBRARY

7.6.1 Off-campus Library Services

A distance education library services fee of $40 per annum, introduced in 1994, was again charged. As a result, demand for Off-Campus services increased considerably. For example, 12,811 books and 11,646 photocopies were sent to remote students (compared with 9,971 and 8,997 in 1994; and 4,488 and 3,358 in 1993). The staff involved in Off- Campus services were extremely busy, but their custom-designed accommodation (formerly a class room adjacent to the Library) enabled them to work more effectively.

Following a legal opinion that the compulsory fee could be an illegal fee under the Higher Education Funding Act, it has been decided to discontinue this fee, and to replace it with an optional levy, beginning in 1996. In return for payment of this fee, students will receive a specified package of services additional to the basic services.

This year, off-campus students have been able to make requests for books, copying and literature searches through Netface, the network for Monash distance education students.

7.6.2 GILBERT (formerly ROMOTE-PLUS)

The Gippsland CD-ROM network Gilbert (formerly ROMOTE-Plus) became operational in the middle of the year, providing on-campus and remote access. Some initial teething problems were encountered but these have now been resolved. A number of stand-alone workstations also provide access to other CD-ROM databases. During the year the Library acquired the ACEL Australian standards (in microfiche, with CD-ROM index), replacing loose copies of patents held in filing cabinets.

7.6.3 New Library Building

Agreement was reached on the layout of the building, and detailed plans are now being developed. A central feature will be a reader education/network training room between the two wings. The new building will probably be ready for use in 1998.

7.6.4 Library Accommodation

There is already insufficient space on the shelves for all the collection. As a result, some books are stored on the floor and in a reader education room. The problem will be exacerbated by the removal of the Library Portable next year to make way for the new building. Discussions were begun with the Deputy Campus Director to address these problems.

7.6.5 Business Plan

All members of the Gippsland Library staff (except two members on staff development) attended a residential "retreat" at Monash Mt. Eliza Business School on 11 and 12 July to discuss the Business Plan for the Gippsland Library. A committee was formed to prepare a preliminary plan and, following discussions by staff in the second half of the year, a draft Business Plan for 1996 was completed.

7.6.6 Management Restructure

During the year, the senior management of the Gippsland Library was restructured, and a new position of Customer Services Librarian was created. In addition, action is being taken to integrate off-campus library services with the remaining document delivery functions, to streamline the telephone enquiry service, and to improve liaison between the Library and academic staff by designating some librarians as liaison librarians. As a result, some positions have been redesigned, and a number of new positions (formerly long-term casual appointments) will be advertised.

7.6.7 Open Learning Library and Information Service (OLLIS)

Following the acceptance by the Open Learning Australia (OLA) of the major recommendations of the Open Learning Library Review, the voucher system was discontinued and a new funding model for participating libraries was introduced.

Responsibility for coordinating library services passed from the Monash Library to an OLLIS executive officer, located at the OLA office in Melbourne. The OLLIS office within the Gippsland Library was closed at the end of June.