Presentation by Lynn Silipigni Connaway - June 2009, Glasgow University Library: "The library is a good source if you have several months": making the library more accessible
2. “ The Library is a good source if you have several months.” Making the Library More Accessible Presented by Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D. Senior Research Scientist OCLC Research
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26. What We Learned Multiple Demands on the Library Traditional Library Environment Baby Boomer Preferences Millennial Preferences Logical, linear learning Logical, linear learning Multi-tasking Largely text based Largely text based Visual, audio, multi-media Learn from the expert Learn from the expert Figure it out for myself Requires Patience Want it now Want it now Metasearch Full text Full text Complexity Simplicity Simplicity
27. Yes, libraries! A library experience like the experience available on the web
Academic Libraries vying for information seekers’ attention in today’s increasingly crowded digital environment To remain viable, today’s librarians must re-engineer to accommodate users’ workflows and habits.
Focus Group Interviews, 2005 5 academic institutions 44 colleges and universities 100 mile radius from Columbus, Ohio Total of 8 focus group interviews 31 faculty 19 graduate students 28 undergraduate students Semi-structured dialogue, 2005 15 participants 6 faculty 4 graduate students 5 undergraduate students Situations Academic Recall how you go about writing your most recent assignment or research. What sources did you consult How did you decide on using them Where did you locate them? Personal Show us one of your favorite websites, one you use frequently. VRS 8 Focus Group Interviews, 2007 2 with VRS librarians 4 with VRS non-users Screenagers Rural Suburban Urban College students Graduate 2 with VRS users College students Graduate Undergraduate Adults
Undergraduate Students Human resources Dad Parents Professors Google Online Encyclopedia JSTOR Academic databases Lexis Nexis Personal library
Graduate Students: Internet/Web and Google Quick Easy Personal library Library Databases EBSCO Lexis-Nexis Online journals and abstracts Human resources Friends Advisors Professors Dad Peers Other experts Bookstores Amazon.com Faculty: Human resources Experts in academic community Colleagues Subscribed services and electronic databases (Prefer to Google for credibility) PsychInfo Amazon.com Google for personal information
If you had a magic wand, what would your ideal information systems and services provide? How would you go about using the information systems and services? When? Where? How? PROBES: Try to find out if it is the library systems, inconvenience of going to the library, etc. Ask: What changes would you make to the current library environment to make it better meets your needs?
In FGI asked, “What would be your ideal information system and services?” High School senior in Dallas wrote an editorial in the Dallas Morning News about her school library. Part of what I was saying in the article was that people still go to Starbucks and people still go to Barnes & Noble, and if we want to make school libraries more relevant, then maybe we should make them more like those places. And most of the concern that I got was, “Oh my goodness, how can we let students bring food into the library? That would be ridiculous. I would have to clean all the time.” I heard that she [librarian] was really upset by it. So I went into her office and talked to her about it for a long time. And she invited me to go with her to a selection process for books. Even though they let a few kids pick out books that they like, I felt like they should have a request list so that kids aren’t going out and buying books themselves. And then we can put up a list that says, “Look what’s in the library this week.” I really wish we could have a coffee shop atmosphere, but I realize that seems impossible to them right now. And I’d like to see a display case outside the library that tells what new books we have, or a request list where students can write what books they’d like to see in the library. Also, we have a lot of blocks on our computers, so we can’t get to MySpace or our Yahoo! email accounts any more. (Whelan, 2007) PROBES: Try to find out if it is the library systems, inconvenience of going to the library, etc. Ask: What changes would you make to the current library environment to make it better meets your needs?
The characteristics of the demographic groups are generalizations and there always are exceptions. Our research and others support the characterizations of the demographic groups (see resources at end of the presentation). Generation X – 1965-1982
Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources , OCLC Dublin: OH, 2005.
28 Undergraduate Students Participated in SM Focus Group Interviews “… the thing about Google is that I generally find the little somethings under the search results and relevance to anything to actually be fairly good… You know, if I use the library catalog, it will give me a list of a thousand things, but there is really no ranking that I can understand.” “ I had the Google tool bar, tool bar on my browser. I don’t even have to go to a search engine anymore. I mean it is literally one tab down…” Expert web sites “ Um, like I find something on Google and there’s enough information on it and it seems logical, I’ll just go with it.” (Non-user focus group – Denton, MD) (High School) “ Yeah. I might go to like Yahoo or something else.” (Non-user focus group – Denton, MD) (High School) Online book sellers “ Like cause I have a lot of series on different types of books and I always go to Barnes and Noble.com for me to check when the new book is going to come out in the series.” (Non-user focus group – Elizabeth, NJ) (High School) More than 50% 13-24 year olds get health and wellness information from the internet, i.e., Health.com, webMD.com, message boards and blogs, Google, Yahoo. (“Youth Health and Wellness: Core Issues and views on existing resources,” www.isis-inc.org/in-print/Youth_Health_and_Wellness_Report_20008.php)
Human Resources Colleagues/Friends “ Oh and also like, also like she said, your friends might have already done the project. Especially if your friend’s in the class and they’re like a bit smarter than you, you can just be like ‘Oh hey?’” (Non-user focus group – Elizabeth, NJ) (High School) Family “ Family maybe.” (NTI-15) (Age: 15-18) “ I would try to see if it works but if it doesn’t work, then I would just like stay with my family and ask them the questions.” (Non-user focus group – Denton, MD) (High School) Teachers/Professors “ If it’s like math and science, I go to the teacher. No exception.” (Non-user focus group – Springfield, PA) (High School) In telephone interviews, non-users of VRS were asked hypothetically to compare the experience of chatting with friends and family, as opposed to chatting with a librarian. A number of them thought that the experience with a librarian would be at least more “formal,” if not more difficult. Total non-users: 107 Millennials= 19% say more formal More Formal: Millennial: Screenager (Age - 12-18): 5 Millennial: Age 19-28: 15 Age 29-35: 1
Convenience: “ Yes, I would recommend chat reference services to someone else because it is more convenient than other references. It is available 24/7 unlike the library.” (UOS-91507) (Age: 12-14) “ I would use the online references in the future because they seem convenient.” (NOS-76406) (Age: 12-14) What specific features are important to you about the experience of working with a librarian in person/ by telephone/ by electronic formats? The library/telephone/electronic formats are convenient 91% rated very important or important in choosing FtF, 81% for choosing electronic formats, 73% for choosing telephone. Sub-categories: I can use electronic formats while working from home (90% very important or important), I can use electronic formats at night or on weekends (81% very important or important). In our research several of the students asking questions via VRS were in the library but unwilling or nervous about asking or “bothering” the librarians
Preference for Independent Information Seeking: “ Try research on my own first. And if I get really stuck and I can’t find anything, ask for help if I have to.” (Non-user focus group – Springfield, PA) (High School) “ I wouldn’t really trust my librarian. I trust Google.” (Non-user focus group – Denton, MD) (High School) “ Especially if it’s something like you’re doing a paper in class and you already know the subject pretty well and all you’re looking for are sources to validate what you, you’re putting like your argument on paper. You validate your argument. I really don’t double check it. I’m like well ‘this is what I’m trying to say. This is the source I’m going to use.’ But if it’s like a research paper, I’ll double check my sources a couple of times just to make sure it’s the right information.” (Non-user focus group – Denton, MD) (High School) No Librarian Necessary “ A librarian’s trying to do like 15 of those conversations at once they’re going to mix up replies, mix up the …what and it it, I just don’t think it’d be a very applicable…” (Non-user focus group – Denton, MD) (High School) Privacy “ I’m not going to go get tutored on the Internet by somebody who I personally don’t know who might be some psycho serial killer out there when I could get personal help from my home and people in my community.” (Non-user focus group – Denton, MD) (High School) “ I don’t usually like to talk to like people I don’t know on the Internet.” (Non-user focus group – Elizabeth, NJ) (High School) Fear of appearing stupid, or being negatively evaluated by the librarian. “ With a librarian, I much rather would see the facial expression with the librarian. I don’t know them that much. Like to see if they think I have asked a stupid question or something.” (NTI-57) (Age: 12-14) “ I like going to people I know.” (Non-user focus group – Denton, MD) (High School)
Did not know services available: Hours: “So basically when you need homework with help, you don’t really think about asking your librarian because sometimes it’s late, it’s too late, it’s 12 o’clock at night; the library’s not open.” (Non-user focus group – Denton, MD) (High School) Which of the following have been reasons why have you not used chat reference services (VRS) Not knowing that the service was available (60% strongly agree or agree, 57% do not even know what chat reference is); 28 Undergraduate Students participated in SM focus group interviews “…you need to know which database with abstracting, indexing… Google, I don't have to know, I go to one spot.” “…first thing I do, is, I go to Google… I don't go into the [library] system unless I have to because there's like 15 logins, you have to get into the research databases. Then it takes you out of that to [the local consortium]…” Librarian stereotypes “Because, I mean, once they do their famous point, it’s just like… you don’t want to go near them again” (Non-user focus group – Elizabeth, NJ) (High School)
“ I had to look up the books myself and the only way librarians were available was to point me in the directions of the vast amounts of confusing racks of books.” (NOS-84775) (Age: 15-18) “ There is usually a collective groan when the teacher says you have to use at least one book source; you can smell the human despair.” (NTI-137) (Age: 15-18)
Needs of both FtF reference users and virtual reference users include: extended hours of service access to electronic information Regardless of the preference for FtF reference or VR library users prefer to interface with friendly librarians and to develop relationships with them
Boomers (Gillon, 2004; OCLC Perceptions, 2005; IMLS Sense Making, 2005) Value authoritative information Involved in information-seeking Value library as place Use technology as tool Personalized service Millennials (OCLC College Student Perceptions, 2005) Information is information Media formats don’t matter Visual learners Process immediately Different research skills
Easy search functionality Integrated library search for all sources Social networking software Recommender service Reviews Click-through to online sources Point of need reference services Instant messaging reference services Customizable library portals
this site wants authentication to do a search in the search box. However, if you click on zoology, you can retrieve the information on the next slide.
You have to have a password authentication so clicked on Nature Serve Explorer.
Searched the name of the fish, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, in Google images.
The circle demonstrates that the search term (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) was linked from the NatureScience Explorer site.
Inconsistencies in Google Book Search – reference to the Saint Augustine, not the geographic location of Saint Augustine. Could use library metadata in our systems to perfect such linking. Page 148 ... the understanding of those miserable wretches be fixed continually on the sins of which they were guilty and moreover, as Saint Augustine points out, ... Page 278 Saint Augustine says that about unbaptised children going to hell — Temple answered — because he was a cruel old sinner too. — — I bow to you — Dixon said ...
Screenshot of cover from Google Preview
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Open University Library Catalogue
Open University Library Catalogue
Released April 2007 30+ million article citations, deduped across the 4 databases, to be added to the WorldCat.org index. All citations will receive an OCLC # as its identifier. Citations are NOT being added to WorldCat proper.
We do NOT have an example of linking to full text outside of the OCLC platform. Will do so through OpenURL resolver as configured in the FirstSearch admin. We are looking to offer the OpenURL links to remote users. Future enhancement to make full text collections more accessible. Corporate Marketing IS putting together a Tip Sheet that will be distributed to RSPs (Doug will confirm date for release).
Dramatically simplified registration: only requires username, password & email address Ability to create customized profiles, including: Name Address Occupation Photo Website Links to other social sites e.g. MySpace or Flickr accounts Links to personal lists List interests – linked to other people with similar interests
Summary page of lists, both your personal lists and other people’s lists that you want to keep
Sample list of your favorite books. Some features: Format the view (compact, covers only, etc.) Sort the list (by date, author, title, pub date, etc.) Add notes or comments
Branding Replaces “Find in a Library” with local branding in the header Ranking algorithm adds weight for institution holdings and holdings of one or more groups profiled in WorldCat Inherits all WorldCat.org functionality (facets, sort, multilingual interfaces etc.) Also notice that there is an entry for an article citation in the result set. Part of the platform service that is inherited in WorldCat Local.
Item availability – real time Sending a query to the Summit union catalog and returning results to the end user, showing UW results at the top of the item availability section, followed alphabetically by all other Summit libraries that own the item. Request item In this case, all requests for returnables that are held by UW or another Summit library are sent to Summit for processing.
Item availability – real time Sending a query to the Summit union catalog and returning results to the end user, showing UW results at the top of the item availability section, followed alphabetically by all other Summit libraries that own the item. Request item In this case, all requests for returnables that are held by UW or another Summit library are sent to Summit for processing.
The user is taken to the request item page in Summit Bibliographic citation passed through to Summit, so user only has to authenticate to complete the transaction. Where they are prompted, as they are accustomed to, for their affiliation. Then their username, netID, and pickup location. A hold will be placed against the UW circ system, if they hold the item and it is available. Otherwise, if the item is held by a Summit library and at least one copy is available, Summit will process a direct consortial borrowing request.
Item availability – real time Sending a query to the Summit union catalog and returning results to the end user, showing UW results at the top of the item availability section, followed alphabetically by all other Summit libraries that own the item. Request item In this case, all requests for returnables that are held by UW or another Summit library are sent to Summit for processing.
“ Excellent library service begins with understanding the community and positioning the library to be wehre users are when library services and information resources are needed. This implies a willingness to meet the community on hteir terms and to close service gaps that might exits. Undergraduate research presents additional opportunities to accomplish this in academic communities.” Stamatoplos, Anthony. 2009. The role of academic libraries in mentored undergraduate research: A Model of engagement in the academic community.” College & Research Libraries, 70: 3, p. 235-249 Quotation on p. 246.