Standard 7: Library and Information Resources

Dartmouth has long assigned a high priority to library and information resources. Its system of eleven libraries with a combined collection of 2.25 million books, 2.5 million microform items, and extensive digital resources is being substantially augmented by the $55 million Baker-Berry Library project at the center of the campus. Extensive electronic information systems, including the pioneering Dartmouth College Information System (DCIS) are supported by a state-of-the-art campus network with access to the Internet and Internet 2.

Dartmouth has also pioneered universal access to computing resources, initially in the time sharing era and later via networked personal computers. The first college or university to network its dormitory rooms, it was also one of the first to require all undergraduates to own a personal computer. (Students in the Tuck School also have such a requirement, and the School of Medicine is considering it.) Leveraging the pervasive computing environment, the College has also been a leader in infusing computing into teaching and learning, providing technical and staff support to faculty interested in such pedagogical innovation.

Collaboration between the Library and Computing Services, already long standing and effective, will be accelerated by the Baker-Berry Library complex, which will house a media center, electronic teaching facilities, public computer stations, as well as Academic Computing and other units. Strikingly symbolic is the planned demolition of the renowned Kiewit Computation Center to make way for the collaborative Library-Computing facilities.

Inter-institutional collaboration is also a tradition at Dartmouth. The Library and Computing Services have been active in regional and national cooperative and resource sharing projects. The growing importance of digital resources as well as the expansion of the Internet and Internet 2 suggests that such collaboration will be increasingly important in the future.

Both the Library and Computing Services report to the Provost and engage with advisory committees, including the Council on Libraries, Council on Computing, Administrative Computing Policy and Advisory Committee, and an alumni Computing Advisory Group. Additional user input is solicited via focus groups and extensive surveys. Our interviews supported survey reports of widespread satisfaction with the facilities and services of the Library and Computing Services.

The capital investment, operating budget support, and staff expertise for Library and Computing services are exemplary as compared to leading liberal arts colleges, yet substantially more modest compared to leading research universities. As the College plans for a Capital Campaign, it will be important to assess the long-term capital and operating needs of these increasingly important, inter-dependent, and labor-intensive services.