Library Quarterly Report FY18 Q1: July-September 2017

N

o two quarters are ever the same at the VDOT Research Library, but the library's value to the agency remains strong as we find new ways to connect users with the resources they need to make informed technical and business decisions. 

We were honored to represent VDOT this quarter at a Product Advisory Council (PAC) held at ASTM International's headquarters. Ken Winter was invited to participate in the meeting, which focused on the ASTM Compass database, training resources, and some intriguing new products ASTM is considering. 

Ken Winter (far right) represented VDOT at a "Product Advisory Council" meeting at ASTM International's headquarters. 

The library continues executing elements of its outreach and marketing plan with regular posts to Connections, the library's E-Newsletter. Because it is technically a "blog" Connections is easy to review by month. Here are the posts for July, August and September of 2017.

This quarter we saw an unusual amount of change in our subscription databases, unveiling a completely redesigned version of Books24x7, as well as a new interface to the engineering database Compendex. In addition, Books24x7 is now available through "single sign on" which means that VDOT employees accessing the resource from the VDOT network don't need a user name or password...they are automatically recognized. In addition, the library upgraded its subscription to EBSCO's Business Source Complete to include additional business article content in the database Business Source Corporate Plus. These changes are outlined in the Database Improvements section of this report. 

Several personnel changes took place this this quarter. With the departure of Amber Anglada last April, a search was initiated and interviews conducted to find an hourly associate. In addition, James O'Leary left this quarter to begin his new career as an educator. Finally, we are delighted to report that the library's team grew with the addition of Haddis Abebe, who is pursing an engineering degree at the University of Virginia. Haddis will be working in library loans, circulation, shelving and with ready reference.