PROF/ PERFORMANCE AWARD 2016

Nominee: Gracie Otin Supporting Documentation

Win-Win attitude (Always presents a pleasant demeanor, approachable, open-minded, creates
atmosphere of caring, and positive problem solving).
The library is the physical manifestation of the core values and activities of academic life (Kuh
& Gonyea, 2003). Hence, a library is a symbol of a quality academic institution, a concept in line
with the mission of Galveston College, a comprehensive community college committed to
teaching, learning, and creates accessible learning opportunities to fulfill individual and
community needs by providing high quality educational programs and services (GC)
Being part of GC family, I embrace its values whole heartedly since they are holistic and speak
to every individual. The following values clearly articulate the vision and the goals of the
college: access, achievement, diversity, excellence, integrity, respect, and stewardship. Therefore
my role as a librarian and member of the GC community is to support these values, the vision
and mission of the college through strong work ethic, adaptability, resourcefulness, a sense of
cooperation and caring. In view of the aforementioned, I afford priority to the service of students
hence, responsibilities are centered around them. I collaborate with faculty in planning library
instruction to enable me to meet each student at a point of need and to tailor the instruction to
specific subjects. I look for the best in everyone in every situation which propels me to
participate in various activities that contribute to the betterment of individuals and/or the
community. I participate in both college and community out-reach programs. For example, GC
Fall Festival 2015; I facilitated a presentation through student participants for faculty
development session Hear Our Voices March 2015; Galveston Reads Program 2014/2015 a
community out-reach program in which 5 English classes participated, and over 150 people
attended the author visit held at GC campus; Keep Galveston Clean Servolution mission week in
April 2015. The above attachments demonstrate some of my interest in being part of a working
entity with the shared purpose. The purpose being to create accessible learning opportunities to
fulfill individual and community needs. In addition, I support core values by promoting student
success through services such as providing access to the library by opening the library at 7:30
am. Should there be a complaint from a patron or a student regarding service or library
operations, I seek fair, just, and prompt solution which could also include directing a student to
the library director to discuss issues of concern.
Collaboration (Exhibits positive teamwork to achieve institutional goals, supportive of other
people and departments, goes beyond and above job duties to help others).
I strive to promote team work, as I participate in various functions and in campus activities such
as the recently instituted online orientation for students. I work with colleagues to ensure that the
students are online, and assist those with difficulty in getting into the system. I collaborate with
faculty in areas of information literacy to ensure that students are provided with relevant and

current resources as shown on the above attachment. I provide information literacy classes at
point of need to enhance learning. My participation in the LRC and Library Committee affords
me an awareness of the needs of our students. As a volunteer of Galveston Reads Program
2014/2015 along with members of the faculty, several of GC students have participated in the
activity enhancing their literacy skills as shown on the Galveston Reads Program attachment
above. Thus it enables us to incorporate appropriate learning strategies which are being shared
and synthesized as a broader institutional goal (QEP).
Enhancement of college operations (Develops effective department/college procedures and
processes, identifies areas for improvement and recommends changes, works to achieve
resolutions.
The vision of Galveston College is a beacon of light guiding life-long learning
I share the same vision which states that learning is a life-long process. While I mentor new
library employees, and work study students, I promote a strong work ethic by being an example.
I also provide them with skills to enable them to provide patrons with exemplary service. In
addition, I ensure that the library web site is user friendly, easy to navigate, and contain up-todate information that is useful to students, and other patrons. I recommend enhancements that are
appropriate to our students; and I respond to student requests for information in a timely manner
and offer research assistance as needed. I formulate short and long range plans by prioritizing. I
give priority to urgent projects such as updating of the OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog)
Website. I recently added useful links such as tutorials, Databases, and widgets or tools such as
CQR code to enhance the students search experience thereby moving OPAC to discovery
interface. The recent change from AACR2 (Anglo American Cataloging Rules2) to RDA
(Resource Description Access) necessitated changes in the processing module. I have been
implementing these changes by migrating bibliographic data from AACR2 to RDA with the goal
to enhance students referral and access experience such as finding an item, identifying,
selecting, and obtaining the required item. Migration to RDA also ensures that access is available
to items in a variety of formats.
My educational background, interests, and professional experience reflects the interest and
needs of the targeted community, hence as a library liaison, I identify user needs, and I provide
library research instruction face-to-face and hands-on. Online instruction is made available
depicting the trends of virtual online learning. It allows the users to gain instruction remotely at
any hour, and to rewind or fast-forward through the modules. In addition, I work with individual
faculty to provide subject specific information or specific sets of skills to meet their research
goals.
Thus collaborating with instructors both individually, and in Library committee sessions enables
me to assess our stakeholders needs in terms of resources and services. Therefore I focus on
providing opportunities for students to have an environment conducive to learning which will

lead to retention, completion and higher graduation rates, thereby meeting Galveston Colleges
shared values. This is evidenced on the following documents:

To Whom It May Concern,

It is my honor to recommend Grace Otin for the 2016 Employee Performance Award at
Galveston College. I have known Grace for almost three years and I have come to appreciate her
very much as someone who is very committed in all she does. She is always gracious and
amenable in her conversations and personal interactions. She listens with a caring and
compassionate attitude to everyone who speaks with her.

She has been an important part of the development of the Robbie Farmer Memorial Library, an
extension of the Rosenberg Library. She has served as a leader on the Library Team for some
time. The work of the Library Team involves creating programming and collaborating with other
ministries of the church.

I cannot think of a more appropriate choice for the 2016 Employee Performance Award. Grace is
well known within the community of Moody Methodist Church as a joyful, positive participant
in the work we all share in. She is a wise and stabilizing presence in all circumstances. I highly
recommend Grace Otin to be the recipient of this Award.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Randall Robinson

Pastor of Spiritual Formation
Moody Methodist Church
409-744-4526

Library Instruction Assessment Report

Fall Semester 2015
The Assessment Process
In Fall 2015, library instruction sessions were conducted for 20 classes INRW English, 3001, 3002,
3003, English 1301, 1302, Psych 2301, Dual Credit students, Nursing, Sociology and Microbiology,
Humanities classes 363 students participated in Library Instruction sessions.
Assessment Tool
Assessment tool utilized was a method recommended as best practice according to the ACRL
Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy that Illustrate Best Practices: A Guideline. The
document recommends that instructors Employ a variety of pre and post instruction outcome
measures (ACRL standard 1.2).
Pre- and post- tests were used for this assessment. This report only used test results in those cases
where a student handed in a pre-test and the instructor provided the results from the class assignments
as post -test. Some participating students either left some questions unanswered on the pre- test, or
were late for the class and did not fill out a pre-test, or left early (withdrew from class) and did not
complete a post-test. Hence 150 responses were obtained.
In tallying the test question responses, students sometimes selected more than one answer for
questions designed to have only one correct answer. I considered the answer to be do not know in
those cases.
The pre- and post-tests that were administered were those that were developed and refined to test
learning outcomes developed by the librarian in partnership with some of the English professors in the
Fall 2012.
The pre- test that is administered prior to the instruction session consists of 6 questions. One question
asks students to evaluate their own research skills and 5 questions are related to content presented in
the instruction session. (See Appendix A.)
The post-test also consists of 6 questions. 4 of the 6 questions were the same as 4 questions as on the
pre-test which relate to content presented in the instruction session. Some of the instructors embedded
these questions within their course content. These questions were used to assess the effectiveness of
the instruction sessions. In addition, there is one additional summative question and one question
asking students to rate the helpfulness of the session. (See Appendix B.)
Pre-Test Responses
Below are the pre-test question responses. The questions and answers are presented in an abbreviated
format. The complete test is in Appendix A. The top row of each table lists the response choices, line 2

lists the number of students choosing the response and line 3 indicates the percentage of students
choosing the response. If there is a correct answer it is highlighted.
1. My personal research skills are:
Excellent
Decent
20
80
13.3%
53.3%

1. To find books use:

Databases
Catalog
29
31
19.3%
20.6%

Limited
33
22%

Journals
12
8%

Non-existent
17
11.3%

Dont Know
78
52%

2. Identify part of citation Speaking Out for Dying Languages

Journal Title
Subject Heading
Article Title
Dont Know
57
5
14
74
38%
3.3%
9.3%
49.3%

3. To find an article for which you have a citation

Search Catalog
Database Listing
Journal Listing
75
13
8
50%
8.6%
5.3%

Dont Know
54
36%

Total
150
100%

Total
150
100%

Total
150
100%

Total
150
100%

4. For help choosing an appropriate database for your topic, use the:
Annotated Bibl
Alphabetical
Subject
Dont Know
15
9
6
80

Total
150

6.6%

11%

6.6%

53%

100%

5. A citation is:
Notice of wrong
8
5.3%

Identifying info
16
10.6%

Award for valor

1
.6%

Dont know
125
83.3%

Total
150
100%

Post-test Responses
1. To find books use:
Databases
Catalog
54
83
36%
55.3%

Journals
7
4.6%

Dont Know
6
4%

Total
150
100%

2. Identify part of a citation Speaking Out for Dying Languages

Journal Title
Article Title
Subject Heading
Dont Know
48
73
8
21
32%
48.6%
5.3%
14%

Total
150
100%

3. To find an article for which you have a citation

Search Catalog
DB /article title
Journals/Jn. Title
59
46
39
39.3%
30.6%
26%

Total
150
100%

Dont Know
6
4%

4. Which type of search produces more specific results?

Keyword
Subject
Dont Know
44
95
11
29.3%
63.3%
7.3%

5. A citation is:
Notice of wrong
8
5.3%

Identifying info
133
88.6%

6. This library session was:

Very Helpful
Helpful
141
5
94%
3.3%

Total
150
100%

Award for valor

4
2.6%

Dont know
5
3.3%

Total
515
100%

A little helpful
3
2%

Not at all helpful

1
.6%

Total
150
100%

Post-test Discussion
All four questions that were asked on both the pre- and post- test showed improved scores on the post
test as indicated below.
To find books and government documents - use the catalog
Pre-test % correct
20%

Post-test % correct
53.3%

% improvement
33.3%

Finding an article for which you have a citation Use the Journals link
Pre-test % correct
9.3%

Post-test % correct
30.6%

% improvement
21.3%

A citation is
Pre-test correct
10.6%

Post-test % correct
88.6%

% improvement
78%

Identifying the title in a bibliographic citation

Pre-test % correct
38%

Post-test % correct
86.6%

% improvement
48%