An Ode to SCELC

The Hugh and Hazel Darling Library serves Hope International University which has always been tuition driven. That means that our institution depends on thoughtful stewardship of its scarce resources.

If the library's value to the institution was based entirely on return on investment, the library’s value would not be clear. Of course, it supports the mission and values and is closely aligned with the HIU curriculum. It seeks to provide relevant resources, instruction, and services to facilitate the university's learning outcomes. But how does it contribute to the financial strength of HIU?  

A Little Background 

HIU saw distance education to be a worthy investment long before the Internet came into being. Therefor, since the mid to late nineties, the library has sought to support students in those courses on a par with traditional on-ground programs. Soon, we began to see that electronic resources provide the biggest bang for our buck - good for traditional on-ground as well as online students. 

However, at that time, pricing models for electronic resources were still under development and no one really knew how much subscription databases (such as ProQuest) were worth. Our librarians did not have a full understanding of the developing landscape nor adequate negotiating skills to make good stewardship choices. 

Thankfully, we were invited to become a member of SCELC early in its development. 

Membership in the Consortium

Membership in the Southern California Electronic Library Consortium gave us a seat at the table – a voice to be heard by vendors who were looking to establish sustainable products for libraries. Without the help of SCELC, small independent non-profit institutions like ours would be left behind larger better resourced educational systems. We may not have been able to survive. 

Because of SCELC, we can offer similar resources to our students based on FTE and other equitable measures. 

But, beyond the benefit of license negotiations, SCELC supports small libraries in other ways. Its model of governance in which library directors can be elected to serve on the board provides library leaders opportunities to learn from each other and make meaningful contributions to our professional community. Advisory committee membership provides similar opportunities for other librarians from member libraries. 

This strengthens the consortium and builds community. Its resource sharing initiatives offer affordable ways for small libraries to take advantage of opportunities not otherwise available to us. 

SCELC also offers librarians free quality professional development programs such as the annual SCELC colloquium and generous grant to attend conferences. 

SCELC membership has been crucial to our ability to serve our students, staff, and faculty well and SCELC has been a partner in fulfilling our institutional mission.

Thank you, Rick Burke

I have been involved with SCELC for many years. I was elected to the SCELC Board of Directors (twice) and have served as the chair of its Marketing and Communications Committee. I have received grants to attend a conference and to purchase a new laptop to facilitate my working from home last summer. This is just the tip of the iceberg. 

But my "Ode to SCELC" today is inspired by its long-term founding Executive Director, Rick Burke, who announced his retirement effective July 1st. After twenty-two years he leaves the organization which is in his DNA and was built largely on his personal values. His commitment to libraries like ours and his humble yet strong advocacy for us has served as a role model that I hope many will follow.