up2date

Preprint: “Deal or No Deal? : Evaluating Big Deals and Their Journals”

From INFOdocket (note the preprint, accepted for College and Research Libraries in Dec 2011, will be pbd in 2013 -- what a date spread!) :

Abstract

This paper presents methods to develop metrics that compare Big Deal journal packages and the journals within those packages. Deal-level metrics guide selection of a Big Deal for termination. Journal-level metrics guide selection of individual subscriptions from journals previously provided by a terminated deal. The paper argues that while the proposed metrics provide helpful quantitative data for comparative analysis, selection of individual subscriptions must also involve informed judgment about a library’s subject coverage needs and alternative sources of access. The paper also discusses how replacing a Big Deal with a reduced number of individual subscriptions may affect the collections.

Direct to Full Text (38 pages; PDF)

 

Ithaka S+R Library Survey 2010: Insights From U.S. Academic Library Directors

From the post to the libraryassessment.info site :

" ... Library Survey 2010: Insights From U.S. Academic Library Directors, ... is now available from our website at http://bit.ly/eBdWYd. The Library Survey aims to help academic libraries and other members of the higher education community understand the changing role of the library and how to adapt strategically to an increasingly digital environment. This survey focuses on strategies that directors are pursuing for their libraries, the management of library collections, the development of new digital collections, and the creation of new services to meet changing user needs. Our Library Survey complements our Faculty Survey 2009...

Over the course of this month, we will be conducting several webinars to explore our findings and discuss their implications:

· Wednesday, April 13th, 12:00 – 1:00 pm (EDT) Ithaka S+R Library Survey 2010: Academic Library Services and Strategy

· Wednesday, April 20th, 12:00-1:00 pm (EDT) Ithaka S+R Library Survey 2010: Academic Library Collections

· Wednesday, April 27, 2011 9AM EDT / 2PM GMT Ithaka S+R Library Survey 2010: Perspectives for Non-U.S. Academic Libraries”

Please consider joining us for one or more of these webinars – like the report, they are freely available for all interested individuals."

"A Survey and Empirical Study of Virtual Reference Service in Academic Libraries"

From the JAL :

A Survey and Empirical Study of Virtual Reference Service in Academic Libraries

Xiangming Mu , Alexandra Dimitroff, Jeanette Jordan and Natalie Burclaff

Abstract

Virtual Reference Services (VRS) have high user satisfaction. The main problem is its low usage. We surveyed 100 academic library web sites to understand how VRS are presented. We then conducted a usability study to further test an active VRS model regarding its effectiveness.

"Comparison of User Search Behaviors with Classic Online Catalogs and Discovery Platforms"

New in the latest Charleston Advisor :

 Ballard, Terry. "Comparison of User Search Behaviors with Classic Online Catalogs and Discovery Platforms." Charleston Advisor. 12, 3 (2011): 65-66.

 

Web Analytics in libraries

From the ALA TechSource blog :

"...

In their upcoming ALA TechSource Workshop, Paul Signorelli and Char Booth will show you how to make web analytics work for the library. I had a chance to ask them some questions about web analytics generally, and what they'll be covering in their workshop.

Dan Freeman: So can you tell me in a few quick sentences why you think web analytics are important to librarians?

..."

7 things to know about...Open-Ended Response Systems

From our friends at EDUCAUSE (just when I thought clickers were the greatest thing since sliced bread) :

"An open-ended student response system is an electronic service or application that lets students enter text responses during a lecture or class discussion. Open-ended systems give faculty the option of collecting such free-form contributions from students, in addition to asking the true/false or multiple-choice questions that conventional clicker systems allow. Such tools open a channel for the kind of individual, creative student responses that can alter the character of learning. The great strength of open-ended student response systems may be that they create another avenue for discussion, allowing students to join a virtual conversation at those times when speaking out in live discourse might seem inappropriate, intimidating, or difficult."

Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report & A Week in the Life of the Value Report

I'm sure many of you have seen this report which was released by ACRL recently. Lisa Hinchliffe, UIUC librarian and current ACRL president, has been asking folks to send how they are using the report. 

A Week in the Life of the Value Report

FireFox "heat map" of where people click

This "heat map" from FireFox is an interesting display of data (I am really enjoying some of the data visualization I see now!), and I wonder how they captured the information. This would be really interesting to see about some of our pages. Could we use data gathered from weblogs to display how people use our homepage in this fashion, perhaps? Other ideas?

Trust Online: Young Adults' Evaluation of Web Content

Interesting study from Northwestern.

http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/636/423

Little of the work on online credibility assessment has considered how the information seeking
process figures into the final evaluation of content people encounter. Using
unique data about how a diverse group of young adults looks for and evaluates Web
content, our paper makes contributions to existing literature by highlighting factors
beyond site features in how users assess credibility. We find that the process by which
users arrive at a site is an important component of how they judge the final destination.
In particular, search context, branding and routines, and a reliance on those in one’s
networks play important roles in online information-seeking and evaluation. We also
discuss that users differ considerably in their skills when it comes to judging online
content credibility.

Can we explain info. lit. online?

From the latest issue of the JAL :

"The Readability of Information Literacy Content on Academic Library Web Sites"

Adriene Lim

Associate University Librarian, Portland State University and MLIP doctoral candidate at Simmons College, Portland, OR, and Boston, MA, USA

Abstract

This article reports on a study addressing the readability of content on academic libraries' Web sites, specifically content intended to improve users' information literacy skills. Results call for recognition of readability as an evaluative component of text in order to better meet the needs of diverse user populations.

Digital Information Seeker (OCLC report)

Thanks Paul for forwarding news of this OCLC report which includes some findings from 12 studies they analyzed and synthesized on the Digital Information Seeker. Some findings:
* Library systems must do better at providing seamless access to resources
* Librarians must increasingly consider a greater variety of digital formats and content
* Library systems and content must be prepared for changing user behaviours
* Library systems need to look and function more like search engines, i.e., Google and Yahoo, and Web services, i.e., Amazon.com, since these are familiar to users who are comfortable and confident in using them
* High-quality metadata is becoming more important for discovery of appropriate resources
* The library must advertise its brand, its value, and its resources better within the community

Online Evaluations = Same Results, Lower Response Rate

From the Chronicle's Wired :

"Students give the same responses on paper as on online course evaluations but are less likely to respond to online surveys, according to a recent study.

..."

The Library Study at Fresno State

  The Library Study at Fresno State

 

  ...Our goal was to discover information about student life that

  our campus librarians could use to both increase library usage

  and improve student users' experience of library services. Our

  ethnographic study of student experiences with an academic

  library was inspired by the work of Nancy Fried Foster and Susan

  Gibbons (2007). Their study of undergraduates and libraries at

  the University of Rochester has propelled a growing nationwide

  interest in applying ethnographic research methods to campus

  libraries and their users.

 

  http://tinyurl.com/yjyww4w

A Process Approach to Defining Services for Undergraduates

From Current Cites:

Prescott, Melissa Kalpin, and Jerilyn R  Veldof . "A Process Approach to Defining Services for Undergraduates"  portal: Libraries in the Academy  10(1)(January 2010)

The goal was to make a significant impact on the learning experience of undergraduates at UMINN through new or revamped library initiatives. How they went about this, how they identified needs and prioritized solutions, makes up the heart of this article. They started with focus groups. They analyzed data. They brainstormed solutions. What they finally came up with, 12 top initiatives, was reduced to five through a final survey of students. While the process was admittedly elaborate, the authors conclude that is was also transparent, well publicized and ultimately almost 100% fully funded.

Valuing a library

Cornell University Libraries have done a very interesting evaluation of the money that the libraries save the University. I excerpt a few, minus the rationale behind the numbers. The complete list is worth reading.

If CUL did not exist, the university would have had to pay the following amounts last year to secure services that are comparable to the use that the Cornell community makes of the library:

 for the use of physical volumes: $15,135,782 ...

for articles accessed online and through interlibrary services: $61,265,783 ...

for answering questions to build research skills and contribute to Cornell research results: $1,176,615 ...

up2date reading group tomorrow: "Personas: Practice and Theory"

Meeting 6: Tuesday, Oct 27 , 2009
12:15 - 1:30 p.m.
Crerar Conference Room (downstairs)
Assessment: Personas: Practice and Theory

Informing Innovation: Tracking Student Interest in Emerging Library Technologies at Ohio University (A Research Report)

A new digital publication from ACRL that stresses the need for local assessment of our users rather than relying on national studies or trends:

Informing Innovation: Tracking Student Interest in Emerging Library Technologies at Ohio University (A Research Report) (PDF 3,854 KB)

From the ACRL description:
"This book by Char Booth examines one institution’s efforts to move away from technolust and towards a “culture of assessment." It presents findings from an environmental scan conducted at Ohio University, which investigated the convergence of students, libraries, and emerging information, communication, and academic tools. Survey data is used to test generational and demographic assumptions that often guide technology development in academic libraries. The identification of student behaviors related to emerging and social technologies and the implications indicated by those behaviors are central to this study. The need for local user assessment is a fundamental message in this volume, which shares practical research strategies and methods with the reader. University and college libraries can use this case study and its appended survey instrument template to conduct similar investigations on their campuses."

You can also click here for links to an archived webcast and the original survey instrument.

UIUC publications and presentations on Assessment

An impressive list of work by our colleagues at UIUC  at the Library Assessment Blog. http://libraryassessment.info/?p=325

Assessment Project Team May meeting agenda

Thursday, May 7
TIME: 10:30 - 11:45
LOCATION: CRERAR BOARD ROOM

1. Review of proposals by Tracey Snyder and Larisa Walsh (10:30-10:50)

2. AT: Discussion of current policy on which projects need to go to IRB review/exemption (10:50:11:00)

3. AT: Survey (11-11:20)

4. Project updates (11:20-11:45)

5 next-gen library catalogs and 5 students: their initial impressions

Brian Matthews, a user experience librarian at Georgia Tech, did a quick and dirty assessment of five students' initial impressions of five next-gen catalog interfaces, including our very own Lens (which he refers to simply as Aquabrowser). All of the catalogs elicited both positive and negative feedback; here's what they had to say about Lens:

• General feeling of too much text up front. “Put the search in the middle” Overall, a feeling that it looks too-hard-to-use and confusing. I think it is safe to say that compared with others this one appeared less intuitive.
• The one student raved about the suggested spelling feature. “This is what they all need!”
• There were mixed feelings about the call numbers box showing up before the results. “This should be on the side” Others were confused by why it was there or what it was to be used for.
• Four of five loved the concept map feature. One said it was lame. As they clicked through it, some got lost or found it “strange” but it definitely brought the “wow-cool” factor.
• The interface was perceived to be “old” “clunky” “minimalist” and even “an early-web-edition” Even though it offers many of the modern features, like tags, it didn’t seem to come across as contemporary as the other catalogs.
• “I like how I can report an item that is not on shelf.”
• Issues again with [book] covers on the right, instead of left.

You can read the full post here.