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Ms. Muglia is the Head Resource Sharing and Collection Assessment Librarian at the University of Southern California

IGI Global Speaks with Librarian Caroline Muglia, Winner of the Academic Librarian Sponsorship Award

By IGI Global on Nov 11, 2016

At the 2016 Annual Charleston Conference, we had the opportunity to meet with IGI Global's Academic Librarian Sponsorship recipient, Caroline Muglia, Head Resource Sharing and Collection Assessment Librarian at the University of Southern California. Here we reached out to her to get some feedback on the conference, as well as some insight on the position of librarians today.

IGI Global: In your experience as a librarian, what are some of the most dramatic changes that have taken place in libraries?

So much change has occurred in our society, and if libraries are situated correctly, we feel a lot of those changes. I think this is a good thing. There are a few dramatic changes that have taken place in libraries.

First- the increase of ‘openness’ including open access and open educational resources (OER). This trend puts libraries in such an interesting place with regard to buying collections. It also keeps us engaged in questions of textbook affordability on campuses, storage space in libraries and the opportunity for resource sharing. It also puts new emphasis on our mission of accessibility.
Another dramatic change is the way in which libraries are data creating and producing entities. I think the profession is beginning to embrace the volume, variation, and variety of data being created by libraries each day, and how to capture, analyze, and make decisions based on that data.
Finally, I think another dramatic change is tackling the concept of privacy and its real life applications. Of course, privacy is nothing new in libraries- the ALA has a privacy statement in its Library Bill of Rights. But, with increased surveillance and librarians getting arrested for protecting the intellectual pursuit of free speech, it’s an issue that needs to remain at the forefront of our minds as professionals. Silencing librarians hinders our democratic progress.

Are you finding you are acquiring more on an individual title basis or are you more geared towards bundles and collections?

Most of the heavy lifting on our collections comes from bundles and packages. We do a lot of individual title purchasing, but it doesn’t compare to the package deals we have to bring content to users. Individual titles in books, journals, databases, and streaming media often come from faculty requests or when the university is developing a new field of study and we need to bulk up the collections in order to meet the research needs.

What can academic librarians do to better prepare for the uncertain future of libraries?

The future is always uncertain. And great work happens all the time. Maybe certainty is overrated. Maybe we just keep moving forward knowing that we can have a say in new web-based tools and technologies; teach information literacy to digital natives because growing up with the Internet and being able to scrutinize resources are very different; and continually develop measurements that accurately reflect our contributions to the future and to our profession. Even with all that, I’d say adaptability is among the most important qualities of any librarian and information professional.

Your library has owned a variety of IGI Global content throughout the past few years. What qualities do you find most useful and valuable about IGI Global e-Resources and products?

A clear user experience should never be overlooked. In our eBooks and journals, it’s really easy for users to get to the content and dig into the resource in any way they need. Our reference librarians constantly get questions about the proper way to cite references. IGI Global’s citation options are simple to use and interoperable in terms of citation management options that different users prefer. This saves librarians a lot of time! The Reference Hub that shows where the article is cited is a really smart way to lay the groundwork for including altmetrics into the platform and showing users—especially novice ones—the research cycle. And, of course, the growing content is great as we continue to build our collections and as the university introduces new areas of study the library will need to support.

In your submission essay for the Academic Librarian Sponsorship Program, you mentioned viewing vendors/publishers as a partner in research design, methodology, and execution. Are there any ways publishers can better cater to the specific needs of academic libraries? How can we make your job easier?

I am so glad you asked. Yes! There is always more that publishers can do to strengthen the relationship with librarians, while also making the librarian’s job a bit easier.

Make data available- Libraries are the content providers, but we are also becoming the project/service providers. Digital humanities projects, for instance, require data in some form. For publishers to make the data available is a great first step.
Help us figure out how to show value. As we move into altmetrics, digital humanities, and other initiatives, sometimes it’s difficult to legitimize the work we’re doing. It’s a hazard of being an early adopter. Especially at academic institutions that aren’t quick to change, we need to figure out how to show value in all we do.
Help us think through perpetual access and ownership.
Help us think about sustainability, which is a constant question in a lot of new initiatives we’re embarking on.
Help up move beyond the stuff we already know: books, journals, and databases. Let’s try something entirely different.

Is this your first time attending the Charleston Conference? How has your experience there influenced or impacted you as a librarian thus far?

This is my second Charleston conference. I met a few people this year who have been attending since its inception when the entire conference was housed in a single hotel and attendees received boxed lunches. We have evolved a lot since then! Without fail, Charleston is a whirlwind combination of networking, inspiring and provocative panels, butter, and semi-productive cocktail hours. The conference influences me in a few ways: I use it to calibrate what I’ve been doing as a lone assessment librarian in my library—am I behind the curve? Am I ahead of it? What am I missing? I use it to network with vendors and publishers as well as other librarians who I don’t have a chance to meet in my daily work. I love this aspect of the conference. And I use it to figure out my next steps. I think my year starts in November. I get all these ideas from Charleston and feel so motivated to engage those ideas throughout the year. By the time the next conference comes along, I have a list of what I accomplished and what I didn’t. It’s a great way to figure out my annual priorities.

Has your award stipend proved useful for your travels? What was your favorite part of the conference?

I would not have been able to attend the conference had it not been for IGI’s stipend. Thank you! My favorite part of the conference was meeting lone ranger assessment librarians like myself. I am the only person in my library tasked with this kind of work, so sometimes it’s difficult to know where I stand in the field. Of course, I read a lot of blogs and articles; I scour conference agendas, and try to network as much as I can. But, there’s nothing like spending time with a bunch of people dedicated to collections and acquisitions especially when they are assessment focused. I learn so much from all of them, not the least of which is that I am not alone!

Caroline Muglia is the Head Resource Sharing and Collection Assessment Librarian, a first-of-its-kind position at the University of Southern California Libraries. Her work focuses on a metrics-driven approach to maintaining a strong and relevant collection for users and researchers. Her work requires seeing the metrics behind all resources, but not relying entirely on them to tell the important story that brings together users, budgets, and the shifting needs of physical spaces of libraries. Some days she’s number cruncher. Other days, she’s a social organizer. Caroline received her MSIS from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Join us in congratulating Caroline on this award as well as her exceptional accomplishments in advancing the state of knowledge resources.

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