NFC
Contributor
On Friday, Sept. 15, during the Northeast Florida Library Information Network (NEFLIN) Annual Meeting at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, North Florida College (NFC) received the Continuing Education Award for Making the Most of NEFLIN.
This award is given to a NEFLIN institution member that uses all its many Continuing Education services, limited to only three recipients.
NEFLIN’s award recognized the use of the Innovation Grant for over $7,000 by NFC’s Marshall W. Hamilton Library (Library) to assist the purchase of sixty additional TI-84 calculators for students to borrow. Grant funds also included piloting a "Calculator Cart" to be placed outside math classrooms during the first week of classes. Students take advantage of the new items when they arrive.
NFC Director of Learning Resources, Ellie Morgan, and Coordinator of Library Resources, Jamen Brock, attended the meeting, where Brock presented on the recent success of the NFC Library's "Calculator Cart" to over three dozen other NEFLIN members from the region. In Fall 2023, the “Calculator Cart” contributed to a 225% increase in calculator loans compared to Fall of 2022.
Regarding the Innovation Grant, “the NEFLIN team made the process simple and encouraged us to support our students’ academic goals,” stated Morgan. “Jamen’s enthusiasm and effort towards the ‘Calculator Cart’ are the reasons for students’ success. We look forward to meeting the needs of NFC students with new ideas and initiatives in the future.”
“Working the ‘Calculator Cart’ at the math building during the first week of school allows me the chance to personally meet students we help through the grant,” states Brock. “This is a wonderful opportunity to tell them about other ways we can help them succeed and start building those relationships.”
NFC students may check out calculators by term from the Library. They may also take advantage of other recently acquired items, such as headsets and webcams, as well as a recently revamped study room.
The NFC Library is just one of the 550 libraries NEFLIN serves throughout 24 northeastern Florida counties.
NEFLIN is a non-profit, multitype library cooperative. Established in 1992, NEFLIN’s members employ 2,720 staff at 550 public, academic, school and special libraries that serve over four million people.