Hudson County Community College Library Staff Receive Statewide Awards
June 27, 2018
Staffers awarded for planning, innovative use of technology.
June 27, 2018, Jersey City, NJ – The New Jersey Library Association (NJLA) has recognized members of the Hudson County Community College (HCCC) Library staff for excellence in planning, implementation, and innovative use of technology.
The staffers were honored at the 2018 NJLA Conference which took place from May 30 through June 1 at the Waterfront Conference Center at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City. The conference provided a forum for the state’s librarians and library associates. Approximately 1,000 library employees met to discuss emerging library trends, review changes in policy and technology, and share best practices for delivering services.
HCCC Technical Services Librarian Mei Xie received the NJLA College and University Section (CUS) Technical Services Award. This was the first time this award was given. She was honored for leadership and efforts in improving access to electronic resources, enhancing workflows, and implementing new services/cataloging standards. Mei Xie led the Library catalog migration from SirsiDynix to open-source Koha, updated library catalog records to RDA standards, modernized the Library’s authority file and subject headings, improved access to electronic resources for all users, and added support for emerging technologies such as linked data.
Library Technology Associate Devlyn Courtier, along with Johnathan Cintron (a former HCCC employee), won the NJLA CUS Technology Innovation Award for their application of Raspberry Pi technology to advance the current manual door count to an automated system. By building three different prototypes using lasers, PIR (passive infrared sensors), and ultrasonic technology, they created devices that can collect and transmit door counts to a database, making record keeping much easier.
Seven HCCC Library employees attended the conference, including Cynthia Coulter, Devlyn Courtier, John DeLooper, Devika Gonsalves, Lotta Sanchez, Lawren Wilkins, and Mei Xie.
Courtier, DeLooper, and Gonsalves presented a poster entitled “Lessons Learned from Sampling a Library Collection.” In Spring 2018, the HCCC Library began sampling the availability of its shelved items. The goal was to determine what percentage of the library’s collection was available at the correct location, and learn how this information can be used to improve check-in and shelving procedures. The poster was used to illustrate what was learned from the sampling process, what actions the survey led to, and how other libraries can conduct sampling. Cynthia Coulter, who is a librarian at the HCCC North Hudson campus in Union City, moderated the NJLA CUS Research Award Forum.
The HCCC Library supports students, staff, and faculty in their pursuit of knowledge and research. It currently holds more than 40,000 books, 750 DVDs, 37,000 online journals, and 2,800 E-books at the North Hudson and Jersey City campuses.