University Libraries

Impact Report 2024

Reflection from the Dean

University Libraries Dean Julie Garrison standing in front of Waldo Library at Western Michigan University.

I’m pleased to share our Western Michigan University Libraries 2024 Impact Report with you! I hope you’ll see the University Libraries’ 2024-2027 Strategic Plan reflected in our work this past year and celebrate the many ways we serve our community through our leadership and impactful programming.

As you peruse this year’s report, you’ll notice our continued investment in open scholarship, dedication to enriching the student academic experience, and emphasis on fostering community connections, bringing to light and preserving the storied histories of diverse communities in West Michigan.

Our talented and committed library team continues to produce high-impact programming and services to meet the demands of an ever-evolving higher-education environment. I invite you to reach out if you want to learn more and consider a visit to witness our ongoing progress with your own eyes.

Julie Garrison
Dean, University Libraries

Empowering academic excellence

Alex Teal, emerging technology specialist, talking to elementary students at the Three Rivers Community Schools.

Expanding horizons with virtual reality

Elementary students at Three Rivers Community Schools get a hands-on experience with virtual reality, thanks to a partnership with University Libraries.
Read how students are exploring VR
Student employee Kira at Waldo Fest making a W with their hands.

More than a job: Gaining career-ready skills at the library

Western students are gaining meaningful, resume-building experiences through student employment opportunities offered by the University Libraries.
Read about these job experiences
Hollis Whitman standing with boxes from the Curtis Smith collections.

Alumni spotlight: Hollis Wittman

Hollis Wittman began her graduate studies in musicology at Western. She had no idea that a student job in the University Libraries would transform her career path.
Read what inspired Hollis Wittman

Usage statistics

260,692

library visits

9,993

questions answered

853,789

Library Search sessions

157,767

library website visits

1.02m+

student pages printed

This data is from FY 2023-2024 and was compiled from a variety of sources1.

Advancing research, scholarly communications, and publishing

Hassan Shirzadi presenting his research at the 2024 3MT Competition.

Celebrating research and creativity

Student exhibits, research poster competitions and author events are just a few of the ways University Libraries recognized the creative and research works of the Western Community this past year.
Read how we celebrated research and creativity
Map with bubbled indicating number of items read by various countries around the world.

ScholarWorks at WMU reaches 20 million downloads

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Seventeen Western instructors awarded OER grants

Textbook covers for "Seeing the World Through Religion and Culture" and "Career Chinese"

WMU Libraries publishes open textbooks on religion and Chinese language

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WMU Libraries publishes two new open textbooks

Two people huddled over multispectral imaging scanner.

Revealing lost text with multispectral imaging

A cutting-edge, multispectral scanning process was demonstrated on some of our medieval manuscripts and documents during the 59th International Congress on Medieval Studies.
Read about multispectral imaging
Instructor at a table talking with students.

Student perspective: Open access and open educational resources in higher education

Western student Kira Paluch gives insight into the value of open access and open education resources to students in higher education.
Read about open access and OER

Collection statistics

2.16m+

books (print and electronic)

695

databases

4,139

ILL and document delivery requests filled

8,552

loans to other libraries

15,545

ScholarWorks items added

2.19m+

ScholarWorks downloads

This data is from FY 2023-2024 and was compiled from a variety of source2.

Fostering community building

Three people presenting at 2024 MiALA Conference.

Leading the way in statewide organizations

University Libraries employees have been driving library organizations and initiatives forward, offering leadership and collaborating with colleagues from across Michigan.
Read how we're leading the way
Vicki Carter, cataloging coordinator at the University Libraries, on the left, and Terri Stowers, library acquisitions coordinator, on the right.

Two longtime staff members retire from University Libraries

Photo of a crowd in front of the Felix Schmidt Saloon in Kalamazoo Michigan from the Regional History Collections at Western Michigan University Libraries.

Libraries releases new digital collections featuring historical photographs, rare manuscripts and oral histories

Cover image from the Western Michigan University Campus History map featuring photo of trolley that operated on east campus from 1908 to 1949.

WMU Campus History Map update released

Joan Morin (left) and Sara Volmering (right).

Make a Difference Award recipients

Student inside Redbird motion flight simulator.

New ‘RedBird’ motion simulator takes flight at Tech Lab

Aviation students can now log hours on a Redbird FMX motion flight simulator in the Tech Lab at Waldo Library. But you don't have to be an aviation major to try it out—it's free for the entire WMU community to use.
Read about our Redbird flight simulator

Program statistics

189

workshops and events

367

instruction sessions

302

research consultations

1,376

Tech Lab sessions

1,100

3D printing requests

This data is from FY 2023-2024 and was compiled from a variety of sources3.

Cultivating well-being

Associate Dean of University Libraries, Mary O'Kelly, help to sort seeds for the Seed Library at Waldo Library.

Growing community with a Seed Library

University Libraries is growing something new for the Western community—a free seed library for students, employees and community members to grow herbs, flowers, native plants and vegetables at home.
Read about our Seed Library
KARE Award recipients Cherise Fox and Dr. Kate Langan with dean of University Libraries Julie Garrison.

Libraries awards two ‘KARE’ awards to library employees

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University Libraries awards three scholarships to student employees

Student reading a book in the stacks at Waldo Library.

Waldo Library continues to evolve

University Libraries continually invests in making Waldo Library an inclusive and flexible environment for our students, faculty and researchers. This past year was no exception.
Read about refreshed spaces at Waldo Library

University Libraries
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5353 USA
(269) 387-5059 for information
(269) 387-5155 for hours

Data in the University Libraries' 2024 Impact Report is from FY 2023-2024 unless otherwise noted and is compiled from our integrated library system and other sources.

1. Usage statistics sources

  • Library visits: Number generated by security gates at the entrances of Waldo Library and Zhang Legacy Collections Center.
  • Question answered: Reference Analytics transactions in LibAnswers, a ticketing system by Springshare. Includes all question formats (in-person, email, live chat, web conference, etc.) and all question types (reference, scheduled consultations, directional, etc.).
  • Library Search sessions: Session count in Primo, the patron-facing discovery service by Ex Libris for our integrated library system.
  • Library website visits: Engaged sessions count for webpages filtered by wmich.edu/library subdirectory in Google Analytics, a website tracking tool. 
  • Student printing pages: Total pages count in PaperCut, a print management tool that provides printing access to students across campus.

2. Collection statistics sources

  • Books (print and electronic): Sum of total titles count for physical and electronic items in Alma Analytics, a data analysis and reporting tool by Ex Libris for our integrated library system.
  • Databases: Electronic collections count in Alma Analytics.
  • ILL and document delivery requests filled: Borrowing and document delivery requests count from Fill Rate Statistics web report in ILLiad Client by Atlas Systems, an interlibrary loan management tool. Includes both returnable and non-returnable materials.
  • Loans to other libraries: Lending requests count from Fill Rate Statistics web report in ILLiad Client. Includes both returnable and non-returnable materials.
  • ScholarWorks items added: Works posted count in Digital Commons, an institutional repository and publishing platform for scholarly works.
  • ScholarWorks downloads (current year): Downloads in the past year count in Digital Commons.

3. Program statistics sources

  • Workshops and events: Number of records for Events, Orientations, Workshops, Tours dataset in LibInsight, a data and usage analytics platform for libraries by Springshare.
  • Instruction sessions: Number of records for Research Instruction Analysis dataset in LibInsight. Includes all online and in-person sessions, both synchronous and asynchronous.
  • Research consultations: Reference Analytics transactions in LibAnswers; includes scheduled consultation question type only.
  • Tech lab sessions: Total bookings in LibCal, a calendar and reservation system by Springshare, for the Virtual Reality Lab, Flight Simulator Lab, Learning Glass Studio and Media Studio/Respondus Testing Room. Also includes manually tabulated class visits, campus events, and offsite visits for all spaces and walk-in data for all spaces except for the Media Studio.
  • 3D printing requests:  Number of recorded responses for the 3D Print Request Form in Qualtrics, a platform for creating and distributing surveys.

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