Ka-Neng Au
Microcomputer Coordinator
John Cotton Dana Library
Annual Report
FY1999/2000

Highlights | CIF | CD-ROMs | Presentations | Webpages | Duties | Goals | Statistics

HIGHLIGHTS

This year, I continued to teach an undergraduate course at the School of Management: Computer Network Applications, 29:623:375. In return, the SOM provided compensation for Dana Library to hire a temporary reference librarian. Enrollment during the Spring semester was 30 students, a 50% increase from the previous semester.

The RUL Business Research Guide was expanded and moved to a new location, with the inclusion of two new sections. The usefulness of this Research Guide is attested to by the increasing number of sites around the world that link to it. The Business Research Guide was also awarded five check marks (the highest overall rating) in the Argus Clearinghouse, the Internet's premier "selective collection of topical guides."

COORDINATED INSTRUCTIONAL FACILITIES

This program, run by Rutgers University Computing Services-Newark, allows the Dana Library to have several student assistants available to serve library users of electronic resources, as well as computer hardware upgrades when necessary. In return, computer workstations are available to students for non-library academic computing activities when they are not used for access to the Libraries website. Applications software available include two office suites, a range of course-related instructional packages, and various utility programs; students can also do e-mail and FTP.

Dana Library continued to benefit from the presence of the student assistants in both the Reference Area and Media Services. During the school year, the students provided more than 90 hours a week of coverage. Student assistants were also on duty during the Summer months, for about 50 hours a week. There were many new hires this year, including Mohammed Ali, Hala Amer, Sharean Bowser, Nisarg Gohel, Sanjay Kulchandra, Larry Jones, Anthony Lopez, Tom McCarthy, Ezekiel Ogunkola, Pragnesh Patel, Mel Stoby, and Ronak Zaveri. They joined Ivenchy Faife, Albert Pascual, Reggie Thomas, and Andrea Xie from last year, and answered more than four thousand queries in the Reference Area alone. Jude Lennon continued to serve as Site Manager to oversee the staffing and operation of the two CIF labs. However, in April 2000, Jude took a new position with RUCS-Newark, and the oversight responsibilities were temporarily delegated to the Site Managers from the other two labs on campus.

CD-ROM COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

The collection grew to more than 370 titles this year. Notable acquisitions of the year included:
1997 Economic Census - Econ97 Disc 1A (the first in a series of reports)

Congressional District Atlas 1998 (a biennial publication from the Census Bureau)

USAMark Facsimile Images of Registered United States Trademarks 1884-1994 (a set of more than 160 CD-ROMs)

Additional titles continued to stream in from the Government Printing Office, including those from the US Geological Survey, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Education.

PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS

I gave one conference presentation as part of a panel:
Au, Ka-Neng. "BI/How is the Librarian's Role Changing?" VALE Users' Conference, New Brunswick, NJ, January 7, 2000.
I was invited to do a presentation for the Rutgers University Foundation Development Officers:
Au, Ka-Neng. "Library Resources and Services." Rutgers University Foundation, New Brunswick, NJ, December 15, 1999.

I also conducted the following workshops:

Au, Ka-Neng, and Roberta Tipton. "Internet Marketing for Non-Profit Organizations". Rutgers School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, Professional Development Studies Program, Somerset, NJ, December 1, 1999.

Au, Ka-Neng. "Uncle Sam to the Rescue! Searching for Government Information on the Web". Small business executives training program sponsored by Rutgers University Libraries, NJ Small Business Development Center, and the Rutgers Center for Entrepreneurial Management, New Brunswick, November 12, 1999; Newark, November 19, 1999; Camden, December 3, 1999.

WEBPAGES

I am the primary contributor to a seventeen-part business research guide on the Rutgers Libraries website, all of which were recently revised (two of which were created this year):
Au, Ka-Neng, Theo Haynes, Yoshiko Ishii, Wen-Hua Ren, Roberta Tipton, and Ryan Womack. "Rutgers University Libraries Business Research Guide," created November 1994; last revised June 2000, --1,744 links. [http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/rr_gateway/research_guides/busi/business.shtml]

The following are part of this Research Guide:

The School of Management invited Dana Library to create guides to Internet resources in several business areas; I created a set of twelve subject guides that were mounted on the SOM server:

Au, Ka-Neng, Lonnie Johnson, and Roberta Tipton. "Rutgers Business CyberLibrary," created January 2000; last revised June 2000, --417 links. [http://business.rutgers.edu/~faculty/faculty_dir/cyber/cyberlib.htm]

The following are part of the Business CyberLibrary:

I also maintain two shorter Webpages that serve as an introduction to resources on the Internet.
Au, Ka-Neng. "Other Electronic Journal Directories," created May 1998; last revised July 1999, --25 links. [http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/rr_gateway/ejournals/ejour_dir.shtml]

Au, Ka-Neng. "Starting Points For Exploring The Internet," created July 1996; last revised October 1999, --43 links. [http://newarkwww.rutgers.edu/guides/search.htm]

The Dana Library webpages were moved to the new RUL website and reorganized; the new URL of the homepage is http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/libs/dana_lib/dana_lib.shtml. Dana librarians also contributed many new or revised library guides to the website:

DUTIES

As the Microcomputer Systems Librarian, I have overall responsibility in evaluating, selecting, recommending, installing, and maintaining all microcomputer software and hardware at Dana. This year, the total number of machines in Newark declined slightly, to 143. Even though some new staff PCs were installed (see Table A), in Adminstration, the Media Center, the Reference Office, and the Institute of Jazz Studies, others in the Reference Area and the Electronic Classroom had to be de-commissioned due to system failures. Roberto Crespo, our computer technician, had his hands full swapping parts and machines around throughout the year.

This year, I represented Dana Library on the Technical Services Council. I continue to serve as the Newark representative to the Coordinating Committee, and as a member of the Web Advisory Committee as well as the PC Working Group. I also represented Dana Library on the Newark Campus Y2K Committee, and served on one RUL search committee.

GOALS & OBJECTIVES FOR FY2000/01

To continue to maintain, update, and expand the Business Research Guide

To revise the webpages of the Institute of Jazz Studies

To assist in the planning of the CIIT
KNA: 19 Jul 00