2021/22 Library & Learning Commons Annual Report

With total expenditures on Library collections now reaching half a million dollars, the library increasingly leverages the scalability of electronic resources, including online databases of journal articles, ebooks and streaming videos, to meet the needs of students where and when they are, be it in the Library on a break from class, or in the middle of the night at home while working to complete an assignment due the following day.

The Library’s collection is developed in consultation with the Langara community, with liaison librarians assigned to each of the college’s departments. Collections staff employ an evidence based approach to determine the needs of specific divisions, departments and courses, seeking to support Langara’s curriculum.

Although the library spaces were closed to start the year, Langara community members never lost access to the Library's physical collection. Borrower Services staff remained in the Library throughout the COVID-19 shutdown to ensure students and instructors could still retrieve physical items from the Library. With the return to campus in the fall, usage of the Library's physical collection saw a noticeable and expected uptick. Overall, physical circulation experienced a 400% increase compared to 2020/21. However, physical circulation remains significantly lower than pre-COVID figures. 

Downloads of articles and eBooks decreased slightly from recent years but remained stable compared to historical trends.

While overall usage of streaming media decreased slightly from its peak during the COVID-19 shutdown, the format remains popular among instructors and students. Streaming media is a great tool for flexible and effective delivery to students, and in many cases include additional accessibility features such as captioning and transcripts that further the goals of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).