Search

This study examines data from a survey conducted at a U.S. public research university, focusing on students' behaviors and attitudes toward the library, both physical and online. The analysis categorizes student users and nonusers based on demographics such as full-time enrollment, first-generation status, college, and grade point average (GPA). Results indicate that first-generation students were most likely to never use the online library. Low GPA respondents visited the physical library most frequently, whereas high GPA students were more inclined to use e-resources. The discussion section includes suggestions for improving services and resources to support student success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study on delinquent acts in three academic libraries in northern Ghana. A survey method was used for the study and a questionnaire was used to collect data. The study population consisted of staff in the Reader Service Sections of the three libraries. The study found that failure to observe library regulations, keeping overdue materials, eating in the library, littering, reserving seats unjustifiably, and hiding of books for the purpose of monopoly are examples of delinquent acts practiced by library users. According to the participants, the main reasons for delinquent acts are inadequate orientation to users, insufficient copies of books, and indiscipline among library users. The respondents further reported that these actions led to a reduction in library resources and low patronage. To curb deviant behaviors in libraries, the study recommends the adoption of pragmatic approaches including massive orientation for users, imbibing positive library culture that fosters respect, bolstering commitment and cooperation among library users and the staff, increasing library budgets as well as finding more creative ways of acquiring more copies of books, such as using Open Educational Resources (OERs), belonging to consortia and building and/or enhancing existing Institutional Repositories (IR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid pace of change and the high cost invested in information technology, it is important for academic libraries to evaluate the information technology solutions they use in their institutions to determine whether they are meeting the needs of their students, faculty, staff, and other users of their libraries and resources. This study presents the results of an online survey of Association of Research Libraries (ARL) academic library members to benchmark the assessment strategies that they used to evaluate their IT activities. This article compares their responses with earlier studies to identify trends and make recommendations for effective assessment practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the gap between library users' expected and perceived library services and to examine the role of library services in developing user satisfaction and loyalty. A quantitative research design using a questionnaire was used to investigate the research objectives. Undergraduate students were selected as the population from the Information Technology University. The questionnaire was adopted from previous literature. It was pilot tested with 50 undergraduate students and found reliable. Data was collected from 304 respondents and were analyzed using SPSS (v.20) software. The study found that library users expected a high level of service in three categories, i.e., Affect of Service, Information Control, and Library as a Place, as all mean scores were higher than 7 when rated against a scale from 1 to 9. The participants reported that they were likely to consult the library and recommend it to others. The structural equation model confirmed that better services will increase users' satisfaction with the library resources and services and will lead to winning users' loyalty. The findings from the study provided useful insight into the determinants of user satisfaction and loyalty and could be useful for other academic libraries seeking ways to increase user loyalty and user satisfaction with library resources and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this column, we will share the benefits and challenges of adopting two EdTech tools (Scholarcy and Grammarly) to support library users' research workflows. We share how we introduced Grammarly and Scholarcy to the college community through a marketing campaign via ConvertKit, an email marketing tool, and the benefits and challenges of Grammarly and Scholarcy's vendor-supplied usage statistics to support student success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In early March 2020, a global COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of a large majority of academic institutions including libraries, archives, and cultural heritage institutes in North America and around the world. As we write this article, almost two years later, the situation remains critical, and most universities continue to offer online teaching while most libraries provide remote access to their resources. This article presents the results of a survey that was designed and circulated to faculty and students at US and Canadian universities in the summer of 2020. This article aims to draw a portrait of the state of research in the Summer of 2020 and seeks to understand how libraries and users customized their access to resources during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The article identifies the main challenges faced by scholars in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies to develop, pursue, or complete research projects during the pandemic, and the strategies implemented to make up for the loss of access to primary source materials and field research. The article also highlights immediate initiatives developed by academic and research libraries to support the research community, and demonstrates how these responses to the crisis matched their institution's strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article demonstrates how a public research university library responded to user needs following radical service changes during Fall 2020 and assesses whether the library met challenges resulting from COVID-19. The library reduced hours and occupancy and implemented a reservation system and new health safety guidelines with the goal of a safe environment. During Fall 2020, 540 survey respondents reported feeling their health was not at risk, suggesting the goal was accomplished. Additionally, users provided feedback about the altered landscape. This article will benefit administrators and user experience librarians who need to balance user preferences and administrative reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the College's Hirons Library & Learning Center (HLLC) library marketing efforts included word of mouth, information literacy instruction session, physical and electronic displays, and announcement on the library webpage to library users. In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the HLLC, in collaboration with the Office of Institutional Research & Training (OIRT), designed two new library marketing campaigns using the project management app, Notion. Both campaigns were designed to meet the new and changing needs of our new, predominately remote, users. In the first library marketing campaign, the HLLC's marketing goal was very focused and deliberate in purpose. The library emailed the College community messages to increase awareness and usage of the library's eBook collections. In the second library marketing campaign, the library broadened the purpose of the marketing campaigned to promote online resources, tools, and virtual programs. The library sent text messages to the students. In this edition of the column, we describe how our marketing efforts have changed due to the pandemic, including which strategies we employed, and the extent to which we recognized success with these new efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to examine key management principles that are crucial for sustainable social media engagement with library customers. To explore these principles, the Strategic Social Media Marketing Framework was applied in interviews to contextualize the management considerations of preselected Nigerian university libraries (n = 6) with social media accounts. Interview results reveal that clarity of purpose and adequate planning are lacking in the approach adopted by libraries for social media marketing, yet these are established as essential ingredients for creating and sustaining social media engagement. Against this background, a framework was developed to provide a high-level guide for social media management with both practical and theoretical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey was performed over all university libraries within the Association of European Research Libraries (LIBER) in order to study how different methods of user input are utilized. Libraries using analysis based on explorative methods—such as UX and process mapping—report significantly increased user knowledge and perceived well-function. Over three-fourths of the respondents reported performing general user surveys. Surveys offer ease of collection, effectively gather researcher user group input and generate data suitable for communicating library value to stakeholders. However, it is resource-demanding to transfer findings into service changes, especially for smaller libraries, and results often support stepwise improvements rather than discovery of new services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steven Bell's "Academic Librarians' C-Word Problem" recommends that to improve customer service academic librarians like public librarians call their users "customers." This column argues that academic library users should not be called customers for a variety of reasons. Primarily, the goals of public and academic libraries differ. Public libraries seek to discover their users' wants and meet them. Academic libraries, in contrast, aim to teach and support their users' educational growth. Calling an academic library patron a customer implies that individual wants can take precedence over educational needs and that students should have influence over classroom instruction and curricular content. Steven Bell and I agree on the importance of customer service, but I believe that it is defined differently in public and academic libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Librarians have been seeking solutions to improve library user experience. The popularity of mobile devices leads to the increasing demand for reliable and efficient wireless communication in libraries. The City Tech librarians make an effort to improve Wi-Fi network to address such challenge. The Wi-Fi survey results indicate that students are dissatisfied with the library Wi-Fi access and hope to get better wireless communication for their mobile devices. To seek approaches to the improvement of Wi-Fi speed and reliability, the authors adopted NetSpot Pro loaded with the library building map to audit wireless network performance. The Wi-Fi site survey shows the library Wi-Fi network has not only weak Wi-Fi signal strength, but also experiences severe interference and overlapping channels. The study suggests that the Library and campus IT can enhance the Wi-Fi network performance by adding more wireless APs and optimizing the locations of existing APs, Wi-Fi network setting, and wireless connection procedure. By upgrading the CUNY Fiber Network and network improvement strategy, the Library can provide effective wireless communication for student learning and research, and ultimately give students memorable library experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2017, the Riyad Nassar Library of the Lebanese American University - Beirut, Lebanon - conducted a student survey as part of its assessment plan to evaluate all functions offered to its stakeholders including space design. The results of said survey are discussed in this paper to ensure if the executed redesign of the library space, carried out during the last 5 years, helped in meeting students' perceptions and expectations. The authors will discuss the methods used to assess space change such as survey, behavioral observation and statistics as well as the challenges faced by the library during this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Payson Library, the largest library at Pepperdine, primarily serves undergraduate students. It underwent a renovation between spring 2016 and fall 2017. Payson Library was closed during this renovation, and a Library Hub was established as a temporary service point and library information and teaching center on campus. Maintaining market share led to rolling out new services such as RAPID-ILL, repurposing a graduate campus library for increased study spaces, and reliance on a strong library liaison program. Predictably, there was a sharp reduction in patron visits, but there was success in providing reference, instruction, and access to the collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Library data in the form of holdings, expenditures, and transactions continues to be collected. Recently emphasis is being placed on connecting library usage data to student success indicators for purposes of indicating impact. This article describes how one library involved in a large-scale, student success assessment project analyzed usage data linked to unique student IDs prior to connecting data to student academic information. Results revealed a trove of useful information that led to a more robust understanding of how students interacted with library services over the course of a year and are discussed in relation to process improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A research project was undertaken by a university library system to develop a sustainable user experience strategy. A task force was convened to conduct a pilot project with members from both libraries in the system to assess staffing responsibilities, guidelines, processes, and data-gathering procedures. The team tested an electronic resources list common to both libraries. In describing the methods employed by the task force in their research, this article outlines the benefits and drawbacks of staffing configurations to initiate user experience practices in an academic library setting. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Academic libraries are taking a closer look at how well they are serving the needs of their users. As a result assessment activities become more important. In this column, the authors will focus on and describe one major tool of assessment—the user survey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though there has been much discussion of the connection between libraries and digital humanities (on both sides), a general model of the two has not been forthcoming. Such a model would provide librarians with an overview of the diverse work of digital humanities (some of which they may already perform) and help identify pockets of activity through which each side might engage the other. This article surveys the current locations of digital humanities work, presents a cultural informatics model of libraries and the digital humanities, and situates digital humanities work within the user-centered paradigm of library and information science. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The University of Arizona (UA) Libraries are implementing a comprehensive patron-driven acquisition (PDA) system for English-language books. The goal is to increase discovery options and improve delivery of monographic content for users while increasing cost effectiveness. PDA is one part of a multi-pronged monographic acquisition system that includes patron-driven acquisition for both electronic and print books, as well as a highly selective approval plan that is complemented by librarian selection as needed. Rapid changes in technology, supply-chain management, business models, and scholarly communication provide opportunities to redefine how best to meet the needs of the academic community the UA Libraries serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 15 years, the work of staff at the University of Arizona (UA) Libraries has transformed significantly to meet the evolving needs of library users, the changing profession, and the economic climate. To keep pace with these changes, the UA Libraries have gradually shifted to a new, competency-based hiring and performance management model. This article will describe the process of moving to a competency-based model both for librarians and classified staff at the University of Arizona. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ithaka S+R's Faculty Survey 2009, the 4th iteration since 2000 of this survey of faculty members at colleges and universities across the United States, offers insights into how faculty attitudes about electronic media and technology have evolved over the last decade. In this article, the authors focus on the aspects of the survey that most directly relate to the work of research libraries, including commentary on information discovery and use, the evolving role of the library, and changing attitudes toward access and preservation of journal current issues and backfiles. The responses to this survey point to some of the more valuable services libraries offer (or could offer), as well as highlighting the many challenges facing libraries and putting an exclamation point on the widely shared view that the libraries cannot rely on what have been their traditional strengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What shapes and extends user expectations? How well is the library positioned to meet and exceed those needs? How are library collections, services, technology, space, staffing, and organization influenced by these developments? What new roles and responsibilities are being embraced and advanced? This article outlines the growing desires and requirements of the academic research library user under the impact of digital and network technologies, with a focus on the student, the teacher, and the researcher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Handheld electronic devices are becoming popular and are playing an increasingly important role in the distributed learning environment. Enabling library users to maximize their access to library resources through these devices involves challenges that include determining the level of interest among users, identifying relevant resources, and establishing technical and compatibility standards. Affordability of devices for consumers, and availability of resources and support for handheld computing initiatives within libraries must also be considered. This study examines issues and challenges surrounding the design and delivery of library services and resources for personal digital assistants (PDAs) at Royal Roads University Library, finding that there are beneficial research applications for handheld devices that can be implemented even while related technologies continue to evolve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community colleges serve a large and diverse student population. Vendors and community colleges would be well served by smaller database packages with focus on non-traditional studies. Untapped key elements vendors should consider in promoting sales with community colleges include: timely responses, practical license structures, and consistent database offerings. Fostering positive vendor/ community college relationships is assisted by strategies to address current economic realities, customizing database contents, focus groups and other forums to communicate mutual needs and capabilities. Proactive librarians should assist vendors in understanding the unique needs of community colleges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Anatolian University Libraries Consortium (ANKOS) was formally created in 2001 following joint licensing projects by four libraries in 1999 and twelve in 2000. The consortium has grown to encompass eighty-nine libraries in 2005, and the number of its contracts has increased to twenty-five. Members include Turkish university libraries and research libraries attached to hospitals and government offices. A voluntary association, ANKOS is run by a Steering Committee composed of the directors of nine member libraries with the help of staff members from those libraries. The first agreements were for print+e-access for journals and for an aggregator database, and these were mostly informal subscription arrangements. An early activity was the development of a model Turkish National Site License. That license now forms the basis for negotiations with vendors, which culminate in formal license agreements. Beginning in 2004, ANKOS contracts are for electronic-only access and are often for multiple years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the relations between libraries and vendors which need to have an open communications to better provide services to end-users. The author points out that if there is relationship, there is dependence. The library employees are providing a service to their customers which can be improved if the working relationship between library staff and the vendor can also be enhanced. The author points out that the open lines of communications and the sharing of information are the key points of library and vendor relations.

Like many other university libraries, Bowling Green State University (BGSU) faces the challenges of change due to reduced funding, competition from information vendors, and new emerging technologies that have fueled users' expectations, These factors have led to a review of the library' s role and operations, which in turn has resulted in significant strategic planning to ensure the library's central role in higher education. Users' perceptions play a key role in defining the role and centrality of the library. Recognizing the value of user feedback in planning, BGSU Libraries participated in the LibQUAL+TM survey as a member library of the OhioLINK consortium in spring 2002. The LibQUAL+TM data, coupled with subsequent focus group interviews, provided valuable user feedback that will be helpful in developing plans to achieve our strategic goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2002, the Duke University Medical Center Library administered the LibQUAL+TM survey instrument, which measures library users' perceptions of service quality and identifies gaps between desired, perceived, and minimum expectations of service. This case study represents the Library's decisions regarding participants, approaches used to reach them, problems encountered with the survey, and the results of the data for the health care community. We will also explore how including hospital staff in the survey impacted our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between library institutional characteristics such as volumes held, volumes added gross, current serials, total staff and expenditures, and the scores on the four LibQUAL+TM service quality dimensions (Affect of Service, Access to collections, Information Control, and Library as Place) are analyzed across a group of 130+ libraries that participated in spring 2002 for the members of the Association of Research Libraries and the participating libraries that are not members. Service quality indices, especially as measured by the service affect dimension, appear to have a slightly inverse relation to collection investments reflecting the higher expectations and harder-to- meet demands of the research library user. Relationships between institutional characteristics and service quality indices are also explored for OhioLINK and AAHSL, the two consortia groups that participated in 2002. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]