About Schaffer Library

Schaffer Library provides access to information resources that support the educational mission of Union College and we teach the critical and analytical skills necessary for the intelligent use of those resources.

Since its founding in 1795, the Union College library has been housed in various places on campus. Throughout the nineteenth century, its resources were supplemented by those of a number of College literary societies, whose materials were eventually incorporated into the general library collection. From 1903 until 1961 when the current building was completed, the central library was located in the Nott Memorial. In the summer of 1961, the books were transferred to what is now known as Schaffer Library. The building was transformed in 1999 with the completion of a major expansion and renovation project.

The library houses many of the documents related to the founding of Union College, including nearly all of the materials purchased to create the first College library in 1795. "First Purchase" books are housed in the library's Special Collections & Archives, which also contains many other treasures added to the library's collections over the years. Among the College's most prized possessions kept in Special Collections are an elephant folio edition of Audubon's Birds of America, which the College purchased directly from the artist; the original Ramée drawings for the campus; the Trianon editions of William Blake's works; and the original College charter.

Schaffer Library provides access to millions of items in print and electronic formats. The general collection includes books, videos, audio materials, scholarly journals, patents, government documents, and more. Many items are available electronically, and the library's vast holdings can be searched using Primo, our online discovery tool. The library has also been a partial depository for federal government documents since 1901. The library's active digitization and repository programs help to make collections available online; collections include rare and unique archival materials, art, and scholarship such as student honors theses.

The library's open and welcoming spaces provide a variety of options for study or meeting, including individual study carrels, study tables, group study rooms, and research workstations dispersed throughout the four floors of the building. The basement houses periodicals, government documents, CDs, DVDs, and books. The first floor contains a large number of research workstations, including a Bloomberg Terminal, in the Learning Commons area, as well as the Service Desk, current print periodicals, newspapers, and the Current Reading Area. The second floor contains the remaining books that circulate and the Mandeville Gallery/Permanent Collection Office. The third floor houses the Administrative Office and Union College's Special Collections and Archives.

Library staff offer a wide variety of services including information literacy classes, course specific library instruction, digital scholarship services, one-on-one research assistance, and interlibrary loan and document delivery service. Librarians are available via appointment, email, and chat to facilitate questions and help advance the research process.

Beyond the library's collections and services, Schaffer also houses the following offices and services on the 2nd floor:

• Union College Permanent Collection
• Office of Student Accessibility Services
• Writing Center

Build and steward collections to support research and teaching and to document institutional history.

Objectives:

1. Evaluate scholarly trends and current research and teaching topics to select library and information resources.
2. Research and negotiate best prices for scholarly e-books, journals, and databases, assess their use, and obtain or cancel subscriptions accordingly.
3. Build collections that reflect diversity, equity and inclusion.
4. Collect and preserve institutional records, documents, historic artifacts, cultural and art collections in physical and digital formats.
5. Curate and preserve the Union College Permanent Collection.
6. Steward our historic collections by appraising archival and rare book collections to adequately value our collections.
7. Partner across campus to enhance the reputation and prestige of Union College scholarship, teaching, and learning through our collections and services.

Design programs and services to enable faculty to achieve their teaching and research goals.

Objectives:

1. Apply our expertise in library resources to partner with disciplinary faculty instruction and teach course-integrated library instruction sessions.
2. Promote and educate faculty on Library resources and services to address their critical teaching and research needs.
3. Provide digital platforms to publish faculty research and student projects.
4. Provide repository services for faculty to meet their data management plan requirements.
5. Apply expertise in copyright, open access, instruction, and collections to guide how faculty use and teach content.

Ensure access to library resources and spaces, inspire critical thinking, and teach the whole student to navigate the evolving, complex information landscape.

Objectives:

1. Center the library as a space for community, belonging, and meaningful engagement.
2. Foster a creative environment for student supervision which encourages student employee growth and active participation in the Library.
3. Foster critical thinking and the integration of research skills.
4. Cultivate curiosity, partner in student inquiry, and teach students to use library resources.
5. Educate and encourage students to think ethically and critically about emerging technologies in their research.
6. Collaborate with key partners across campus, such as the Director of First Year Experience, Class Deans, AOP, Student Affairs, the Kenney Center and other committees and organizations.
7. Use relevant social media platforms to promote our collections and services to students.

Leverage digital and cooperative shared collections to broaden access to information and to create user centered spaces.

Objectives:

1. Create teaching and programming spaces that allow for flexible and creative engagement with Library resources.
2. Develop the ITS/Library Service Desk Programs and Services.
3. Fund and prioritize the plan for managing physical collection growth, including the UCPC, within the current footprint of Schaffer Library and Hattie Warehouse.
4. Maintain Schaffer Library building to ensure sustainability of collections, services, and physical infrastructure.
5. Propose the creation of an architectural master plan for Schaffer Library and Hattie Warehouse for the Capital Planning Group.

Prioritize inclusive, equitable, and sustainable access to library and information resources.

Objectives:

1. Expand access through more diverse and inclusive description and metadata creation for subject access.
2. Decrease costs associated with courses by purchasing required course materials.
3. Promote open access, open educational resources (OERs), and open data through a combination of infrastructure, licensing, publishing, and transformative agreements.
4. Mitigate the harmful effects of the digital divide and provide equitable access to technologies that support teaching and research.
5. Support initiatives that build collections and share the cost of preserving print and electronic collections across institutions, such as Eastern Academic Scholars Trust, HathiTrust, and SPARC: Advancing Open Access, Open Data, Open Education.

Employ technology to solve problems, gain efficiencies, and meet current and emerging needs.

Objectives:

1. Build and enhance the digital library infrastructure to support access and preservation of library and college collections.
2. Capture and make available research outputs of the college. Examples include: Mohawk Watershed Symposium, Steinmetz Day, faculty research, Honors Theses, data management plans, Schaffer Library Research Prize winners.
3. Research and use best practices in artificial intelligence to stay on the forefront of change in information technologies.
4. Promote systems and workflow solutions that improve services for research, teaching, and preservation.
5. Explore new resource sharing opportunities to streamline delivery of interlibrary loan materials, lower costs, and improve the user experience.

Employ organizational excellence to manage resources, build strong teams, and achieve focused objectives.

Objectives:

1. Employ strong communication practices within teams and across departments.
2. Budget resources (time, people, financial) to support crucial objectives, with maximum impact.
3. Provide resources to support training, professional development and scholarship to keep skills and knowledge up to date.
4. Continue to pursue innovative ways to foster digital preservation methods and best practices to support college needs and guide conversations for other liberal arts colleges.
5. Sustain inclusive and equitable practices by fostering strong relationships and building a culture of trust, innovation, and accountability.
6. Learn, grow, and constructively engage in our professional responsibilities in a way that develops our professional identities, builds relationships, and supports the Union College community.
7. Actively participate in faculty governance and campus activities.
8. Recruit and retain staff with expert skills, growth mindset, and reflect diverse perspectives and lived experiences.
9. Regularly collect data about and reflect on our programs and services to inform experimentation and innovation.
10. Partner with cultural heritage organizations in the local area to enhance collaboration and learning.