A Gateway for Intercollegiate Athletics Information

Lisa Greer Douglass, Research Analyst
NCAA Library & Archives
Master of Library Science, IUPUI (2002)

What is a special library?

Libraries are categorized by type—public, like the Indianapolis Marion County Library; academic, such as the IUPUI University Library; school, an elementary, mid¬dle school or high school media center; and, special, like the NCAA Library. Yes, the NCAA does have a library. We're tucked away in 2,500 square feet on the first floor of the National Headquarters building. Our collection is focused, or specialized, on a specific subject. In our case, college athletics is our primary focus; hence, the classifi¬cation is special.

We function just like any other library, complete with a cir¬culation desk, shelves of books and a periodicals section. As a special library, the staff serves 350 of our fellow NCAA colleagues, the membership, media, students, researchers, authors and the general public. Since 1994, over 10,000 items have been cataloged and two major manuscript collections have been indexed. In 2002 alone, the library added 4,000 items to our collection and online catalog. We process over 400 reference requests per year as well as support numerous researchers, both in-house and online. The library was also one of the first depart¬ments to design and maintain a website on the corporate intranet. We're growing almost every day.

Special libraries can be found all over the city and throughout Indiana, in places you might not even think of. Librarians are employed at various Indiana law firms, the Indiana Supreme Court, Bayer Corporation, Eli Lilly & Co., Dow AgroSciences, the American Legion headquarters, the Indianapolis Star and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

History of the NCAA Library

Known as the amateur sports capital of the world, Indianapolis welcomed the NCAA to beautiful White River State Park in 1999. The NCAA is a part of a board-based sports community that includes the Indiana Sports Corporation, National Art Museum of Sport, IU Natatorium, Indianapolis Tennis Center, USA Gymnastics, USA Track & Field and United States Diving—just to name a few!

Founded in 1906 and originally named the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, the NCAA grew from the original 39 college and university members to over 1,200 today. The national headquarters was officially formed in 1951 and a formal library established in 1994. Despite the number of years between these corporate milestones, early records do exist and are now housed in the archives.

Historical holdings include 1906-2005 NCAA Convention Proceedings, football guidebooks from 1896, complete meeting minutes of the NCAA Executive Committee from 1939 to the present day and Championships Records from over 80 NCAA sponsored championships across 23 sports in Division I, II and III today. Our archives also contain the invaluable papers of our former presidents: Walter Byers, Richard Schultz and Cedric Dempsey. We are fortunate to hold copies of nearly every NCAA publication as well.

The Library has played an instrumental part in preparing for the NCAA's Centennial celebration in 2006, as well as providing research assistance to staff at the Hall of Champions as exhibits are readied for the public.

Becoming a Librarian

How did I end up being a librarian? I'd like to say that I always knew my career path would lead here, but in truth, I had no idea. It was through an administrative job at the Indiana Chamber of Commerce I realized I liked the research process while searching Indiana code. Finding the answer to a question was great, but going through the process of getting to the answer was fascinating. It was an epiphany of sorts and sealed my decision to apply to library school at IUPUI. I was also fortunate to be acquainted with the librarian at the Chamber; she supported me throughout my coursework and she continues to be an invaluable mentor to me today.

My Experience at SLIS and Beyond

I worked full-time while going to graduate school part-time for two years. Not always the easiest route to take, but like most other students, I did have bills to pay each month. I enjoyed school and my classes, but one of my favorite aspects of graduate school was getting to know my teachers and fellow students. I still maintain contact with many of them and they are an important resource as well as friends. I cannot overstate the importance of networking—whether you are looking for your first job, your next job or simply need a colleague's advice, it's important to nurture these relationships.

As I neared my remaining semesters, I decided to finish my coursework full-time and took a part-time job as a library assistant at the NCAA. The position taught me so much and made my experience at SLIS even better. Over time, my job responsibilities developed into a full-time professional position. Even though I no longer use the title of "librarian" today, my skills are constantly challenged and enriched. Each day on the job is never the same. As a special librarian and as part of a very small staff, I'm required to wear many different hats. Reference, cataloging, website maintenance and collection development may come along every day. Librarianship as a profession is constantly changing and keeps me on my toes. Change can be a little scary at times, but being a librarian is certainly never dull.

About the Author

Lisa Greer Douglass is a research analyst and has worked in the NCAA Library since December 2001. Lisa is responsible for the library staff web pages, various digital projects, research and reference services for the NCAA staff, membership and general public and other library-related duties. She was honored to be named the New Outstanding Librarian of 2004 by the Indiana Library Federation. Lisa is also serving as president of the Indiana chapter of the Special Libraries Association for 2005-06. Prior to attending library school, she was employed by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and Clarian Health in governmental affairs and healthcare positions.

Article reprinted with permission from the author and Indiana Insight, a publication of IUPUI.