LIBRARY. OLA 2008 Inside Out: Library Services at Point of Need Sharon Munro, University of Windsor Sophie Bury, York University Ilo-Katryn Maimets, York.

LIBRARY

OLA 2008

Inside Out: Inside Out: Library Services at Library Services at

Point of NeedPoint of NeedSharon Munro, University of Windsor

Sophie Bury, York University

Ilo-Katryn Maimets, York University

OLA 2008

Session OutlineKey Questions

What are the needs of faculty and students – what do we know about their knowledge, experience and skills?

Reference Research Information Literacy

What difference can we make and how? Theory, practice and case studies

Learning from each other

OLA 2008

Assessing Needs Examples from the literature User needs assessment

Focus groups Surveys Pre-test/post-test

OLA 2008

What are the needs?

“…Librarians are dedicated to maintaining the importance and relevance of the academic library as a place of intellectual stimulation and a center of activity on campus. Even so, some feel that libraries are becoming marginalized. …We must find ways to promote the values, expertise and leadership of the profession throughout the campus to ensure appreciation for the roles librarians can and do play. Though access to information is becoming increasingly decentralized and computer labs now compete with libraries as campus gathering points, librarians must demonstrate to the campus community that the library remains central to academic effort.”

Hisle, W. Lee (2002) Top issues facing academic libraries: a report of the Focus on the Future Task Force. College & Research Libraries News, 63 (10), pp. 715.

OLA 2008

What are the needs? “Let’s face it: not only do many faculty

members not think of the library as the heart of the college, but we seem to be more like the kidneys – often ignored when we’re around but missed when significantly compromised or removed.”

Rabinowitz, Celia E. (2003). Moving beyond the “Re” generation: making libraries and librarians count in the twenty-first century. In Martin H. Raish (ed.), Musings, meanderings, and monsters, too: essays on academic librarianship. Lanham, Md: The Scarecrow Press, pp. 23.

OLA 2008

“…observing faculty in their offices as they interacted with our electronic resources, outreach reference librarians noted that faculty would habitually execute the same keyword search across different databases without taking advantage of controlled language searching through thesauri. In addition, faculty seemed to be unaware of the advantage of using proximity operators in searching full text databases.”

Cruickshank, John, & Nowak, David G. (2001) Marketing reference resources and services through a university outreach program. The Reference Librarian, 73, pp. 271.

What are the needs?

OLA 2008

What are the needs? - Evidence

“…The survey findings indicate that 89 percent of college student information searches begin with a search engine… Library Web sites were selected by just 2 percent of students as the source used to begin an information search.”

OCLC (2006). College students’ perceptions of libraries and information resources – Part 1, pp. 1-7.www.oclc.org/reports/pdfs/studentperceptions.pdf

OLA 2008

What are the needs? - Evidence “Fifty-four percent of college students

do not seek assistance when using library electronic resources, while 64 percent of total respondents report they have not sought help when using the library’s electronic resources.”

OCLC (2006). College students’ perceptions of library and information resources - Part 2, pp. 2-6.

OLA 2008

What are the needs? - Evidence “…Although usage of many of the library

electronic resources is relatively low, respondents indicated that the information provided is worthwhile. While only 8 percent of college student respondents have used an online librarian question service, 64 percent of the college students who used this service completely agree or agree this service provides worthwhile information.”

OCLC (2006). College students’ perceptions of library and information resources - Part 1, pp. 1-14.

OLA 2008

What are the needs? - Evidence

“My schedule rarely fits their schedule.”

21-year-old undergraduate from the United States

OCLC (2005). Perceptions of libraries and information resources - question 812b, “Please list two negative associations with the library”.

OLA 2008

What are the needs? - Evidence

“Just remember that students are less informed about the resources of the library than ever before because they are competing heavily with the Internet.”

20-year-old undergraduate from the United States

OCLC (2005). Perceptions of libraries and information resources - question 1240, “If you could provide one piece of advice to your library, what would it be?”

OLA 2008

What are the needs? - Evidence “…Libraries will continue to share an expanding

infosphere with an increasing number of content producers, providers and consumers. Information consumers will continue to self-serve from a growing information smorgasbord. The challenge for libraries is to clearly define and market their relevant place in that infosphere – their services and collections both physical and virtual.”

OCLC (2006). College students’ perceptions of library and information resources - Part 6, pp. 6-6.

OLA 2008

Outreach - planning and preparation

“Before implementing outreach programs, librarians should analyze, or review, user needs, campus context, and available resources.”

Westbrook, Lynn, & Waldman, Robert (1993) Outreach

in Academic Libraries: Principle into Practice. Research Strategies,11 (2), pp. 61.

OLA 2008

User Needs Assessment Conducted at York University Libraries Graduate students

Survey Focus groups

Goal of gathering information about: Research habits Awareness / experiences / perceptions

reference IL services web-based guides and tutorials

Recommendations and advice on how reference, IL, and web-based guides and tutorials should be enhanced at York

OLA 2008

Survey of Graduate Students Online survey: Survey Monkey Sent to all graduate program directors for

distribution to graduate student mailing lists on campus in October 2007

193 completed responses (60.9% Masters; 39.1% Doctorate) Total response rate was 5%

Survey

OLA 2008

Graduate Student Focus Groups Five focus groups

Two at Scott Library - Social Sciences, Humanities, Environmental Studies, Education, Fine Arts - October 2007

Two at Steacie Science & Engineering Library - October 2007 Two at Bronfman Business Library (MBAs) – May 2005

Volunteers sought through e-mail (graduate student listservs) and through graduate student classes, workshops and TA events

Participants in focus groups 18 at Scott Library 13 at Steacie Science and Engineering Library 11 at Bronfman Business Library

Focus groups

Resources Used for Research

Survey

Frequency of research activitiesSurvey

OLA 2008

Challenges with research Focusing the search – frustrations

Challenges of navigating the Library web site Lack of awareness of:

Web-based subject research guides Especially Science and Business

Relevant databases for their discipline Especially Science and Business

Unfocused results / too much reading Multiple database interfaces “we waste too much time

when we don’t know the tricks” and need Time-saving shortcuts Effective search tips

Focus groups

Awareness of library servicesSurvey

Usage of library servicesSurvey

Accessing librarian servicesSurvey

Resources - Professor inputSurvey

Services - Professor inputSurvey

OLA 2008

Research - Professor input “Professors do not give a lot of guidance on

approaching research” Faculty appear to expect them to have skills already

Students say they lack skills Or to expect them to know how to teach themselves

Any guidance given involves: specific journals/ authors/ references resources relevant to specific research projects/tasks

No guidance on searching / finding relevant library resources / services

Students want more guidance!

Focus groups

OLA 2008

Student recommendationsOutreach to faculty

Increased communication of librarians with faculty

Faculty and librarian collaboration on assignments to combine research process with subject content

Professors themselves need help to develop their own research skills and knowledge of library resources and services. This may explain the lack of referral to library

services.

Focus groups

OLA 2008

Student recommendationsPromoting Awareness of Workshops/Classes

E-mail is preferred - listserv was requested

Posters in the Libraries, academic departments and high traffic areas / hang-outs

Raise profile for workshops and classes on Library home page

Raise awareness of names and responsibilities of subject librarians

Focus groups

OLA 2008

Student recommendationsWorkshops/Classes: Content/Format

Need workshops to accommodate Multiple skill levels Varying knowledge requirements

Types of workshops: Generic/introductory Subject specific (program related) Advanced/customized workshops - mentioned themes

covered by library specialized workshops e.g. RSS feeds, digital copyright, and Google Scholar

Writing / presentation skills / etc

Focus groups

OLA 2008

Graduate students -Important issuesCampus partnerships needed for supporting student research:

Campus-wide collaborations with relevant learning support services: Writing centres, Computing services, Faculty of Graduate Studies

How to research and write papers: Changed expectations in graduate programs Guidance needed to meet expectations Better access to online writing guides

How to make effective presentations (including conference presentations)

How to submit papers for publication and conferences

Grant writing

Focus groups

OLA 2008

Making a Difference Examples from the literature Case studies

Off-site reference/IL services in person – University of Windsor

Nursing and Social work Off-site reference/IL services online – York

University Nursing

Evaluation of learning outcomes in curriculum integrated IL initiative – York University

Biology Pre-test / post-test

OLA 2008

What difference can we make?

Inside the classroom, Outside the library

Librarians as proactive and innovative partners

Meeting users at their “point of need” Curriculum integration vital to teaching,

learning and research Ongoing evaluation informs change

OLA 2008

Off-site Reference/IL “For years, the focus has been to draw people into

libraries. Libraries’ holdings have been moved to offsite locations, and student services have been brought into our buildings as information commons become more popular and ensure bodies passing through gate counters. Longer visits have been encouraged with cafes. Still, this isn’t enough. A different tack is needed. Instead of pulling people in, librarians need to reach outward to become an integral part of the routine interactions of faculty and students.”

Ramsay, Karen M., & Kinnie, Jim (2006) The embedded librarian. Library Journal, 131 (6), pp. 34.

OLA 2008

Off-site Reference/IL “Students may be reluctant to ask questions at a

library reference desk because it is such a public venue. It may be possible to give them an alternative by providing reference service outside of the library within a faculty lab or office. Advantages include convenience and proximity to students, faculty and their learning communities. The service may also foster closer and stronger relationships within departments. It is important to choose a location wisely, as well as advertise widely.”

Lee, Jennifer, Hayden, K. Alix, & MacMillan, Don (2004) “I wouldn’t have asked for help if I had to go to the library”: reference services on site. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, 41 (Fall). Retrieved online: www.istl.org/04-fall/article2.html

OLA 2008

Off-site Reference/IL “…The relationships created through the

interactions of library staff with students in the informal environment of the Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) lounge has provided contact with students that do not ordinarily come into the engineering library and in some cases, lasting contacts with a few students of Purdue University. These positive interactions have shown that this service enhances the experience of library patrons.”

Nelson, Megan S. (2007) Initiating engineering outreach reference services: background and practice. Reference Services Review,35 (2), pp. 283.

OLA 2008

Nursing and Social Work at Windsor Set up office space in a high profile area

within the department and ADVERTISE Choose days and times when student traffic

will be high Check in with faculty about their research

projects and keep them apprised of new library resources

Check in with support staff Connect with representatives of relevant

student associations

OLA 2008

Get a web page for the library on the department’s web site

Include information about library resources on departmental bulletin boards

Get involved with faculty council meetings for your departments

Hold workshops for faculty

Nursing and Social Work at Windsor

OLA 2008

Partner with faculty to write research papers

Attend conference and research sessions organized by your departments

Develop ties with relevant professional organizations, e.g., the Ontario Association of Social Workers

Integrate information literacy into the curriculum

Nursing and Social Work at Windsor

OLA 2008

Nursing at York Introduction to IL

Presentations at Retreats and New Faculty Teaching at York (NFTY) seminars

Curriculum Committee School of Nursing Council

Language included strategically UPR Library statements OCGS Library statements Discussions with external reviewers

OLA 2008

Nursing at York Undergraduate Level:

Factors for success: Most important is program director’s interest Individual faculty buy-in also important

MScN online program: Library presence a must in wholly online program E-learning librarian input in creation of an integrated library

module during migration from WebCT to Moodle Instructional video clips integrated for ‘point of need’

assistance

OLA 2008

Nursing at York

Mandatory IL assignment in 3rd year Internationally Educated Nursing Post-RN program (IEN) Collaborative program 2nd entry program

Integration most successful into IEN program 3 in-class library sessions Assignment-driven skills acquisition Marks given for process

OLA 2008

General instructional video clips Catalogue Workshops walk the viewer through

the steps of logging into the York Library website, and using the Library Catalogue for finding books, journals and other library items such as databases and online resources. Accessing e-Resources from Home  Searching the Library Catalogue Setting Limits Reserves – short term loans Databases at York   RACER- Document Delivery

OLA 2008

Nursing instructional video clips Searching and refining searches in CINAHL(Ovid)

and MEDLINE(Ovid) Subject Headings - Single Search Subject Headings - Combining Searches   Keyword Searching Combining Subject Heading Searches with Keyword

searches Setting Limits - date ranges, journal sets, publication

types, etc. Finding Full Text Articles Results Manager - Save search results and send them to

RefWorks

OLA 2008

Lessons Online Lessons teach the principles behind searching.

contain definitions and more detail about the processes they address.

Developing a Search Strategy:  This lesson is the precursor to Keyword Searching, and Subject Heading Searching.  It describes the use of the Boolean Operators AND and OR as well as Truncation and troubleshooting to optimize results.

Subject Heading Searches and Keyword Searches: This lesson contains a glossary of terms and clarifies the differences between subject heading and keyword searching

DEMO

OLA 2008

Biology at York - History

Several years of one-offs in specialized upper level courses and graduate program

A few very supportive faculty Ecology (2ndyr, 4thyr and grad level) Immunobiology Microbiology

Large first-year classes 1200+ students

OLA 2008

Dialogue begins Summer 2007 Abysmal quality of writing and

referencing Lack of understanding of the research

process

OLA 2008

SC/BIOL 3100 Current Topics in Biology ‘Gateway' course for 3rd year honours biology

students Designed to prepare them for the 4th year

honours thesis Major aim to teach the research and writing

skills to students, at a level appropriate for an upper-year course

“I am sick and tired of citations from the 1st year biology textbook and Wikipedia!”

OLA 2008

Desired Outcomes1. How to search for and evaluate relevant

primary, secondary and tertiary literature as well as grey literature – government reports etc.

2. How to read and interpret research articles

3. How to properly write a research paper

4. How to properly give a research seminar

OLA 2008

Skills Needed for Research:

Learn how the scientific method is related to the research process as well as the publication cycle in Science

Acquire expertise in the use of tools and resources in the chosen subject area

Develop sound research, evaluation and critical thinking skills

OLA 2008

Ultimate Goal: To be able to participate in the research culture of

the University and the science community at large

Science research is enhanced when students: Know what research has been done, and where the gaps

are in the existing literature Who is doing good work How they do it, what tools are they using How research is evaluated

OLA 2008

Framework

Outlined list of objectives for each session and related outcomes for the assignments

Designed collaborative assignments that coupled content with process

Pre-test/Post-test/evaluation

Student evaluation of the course content

OLA 2008

Tying Science Literacy to Information Literacy Scientific Method - Research Publication Cycle

Grey literature vs. Popular literature Primary / Research Secondary / Review Tertiary / Accepted theory, data, etc

Indexing and databases Resources and access Formal peer review vs. Informal evaluation Reading papers and Writing annotations

OLA 2008

Biology 3100 - assignments Assignments

In-class exercises – first and last class1. Comparing publication types2. Reading for information – what and how to read, writing

annotations – questions to ask Take Home assignments focused on topic development

through library research1. Scavenger hunt – orientation in the library2. General background information – tertiary literature –

locating/evaluating resources3. Identifying areas of interest – secondary literature4. Developing a research strategy – primary literature5. Evaluating research using citation information –

researching a researcher6. Reading skills and writing annotations

OLA 2008

Biology 3100 – Skills Learned Technology skills introduced and practised:

Library catalogue/Library resources Moodle Biological Abstracts Web of Science Gov Docs searching RefWorks / RefShare / RefGrabIt / WriteNCite

Soft skills mastered for informed searching: Evaluating publication types and sources Refining and broadening concepts and searches Using citation data to evaluate articles

All the basic skills they will need to conduct research for their honours level research thesis

OLA 2008

Pre-test/post-test – basic Qs

IL Training Test Results

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Question number

Perc

ent c

orre

ct

OLA 2008

Student perception of learning outcomes

0

1

6

14 14

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4

17

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6

13

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2

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12

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Strongly disagree………………………...strongly agree

# of

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nts

Understanding of research process

Transferability of knowledge

Resource knowledge

Formulating search strategies

OLA 2008

Student Perceptions of EvaluationStudent perceptions of evaluating publication types

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2

8

14

11

1

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6

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Strongly disagree...strongly agree

# of

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Understanding of publication cycleEvaluation of web sites

I now understand how and when it is appropriate to use Tertiary, Secondary and Primary literature in my course work.Yes 89% No 11%

OLA 2008

Effect of sessions on resource selection

29

25

18

7

1213

5

13

29

16

13

34

3029

22

31

13 13

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29

19

26

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40

LC1 SL1 BA1 BRG1 WoS1 Med1 Gov1 GL1 Goo GooS RW1

Resource

# of

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Before Af ter

OLA 2008

Student perceptions of the value of assignments

2

9

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6 6

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44 4

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12 12

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12 12

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1 2 3 4 5Low value………………………………………………..…………High value

# of

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Article comparison

Library scavenger hunt

Gathering tertiary information

Searching Biological Abstracts

Formulating search strategies

Web of Science citation searching

Researching a researcher

Writing annotations

OLA 2008

Faculty feedback

“I hope this year's BIOL 3100 offering can be utilized by librarians to widely advertise and highlight the teaching and research resources librarians have to offer to course curriculum. 

This course would have been much less useful if not for the time and resources the librarian had to offer to the course.”

OLA 2008

More Faculty feedback

“The class average to date, without considering Assignment 3 - Web of Science and annotated bibliography - is a

The Chair of the Biology Department also mentioned to me that she has heard good things from students about the course! “

79%

OLA 2008

Integration into 1st Year Biology

First Term: All 1st year students received “Publication Cycle” lecture Final exam had 4 library related questions

Second Term: All 1st year students will have a “dry lab” replaced by a hands-on IL session in a computer lab Lab report will focus on process of library

research

OLA 2008

We Need to Make a Difference “This is not the time for academic librarians to be

timid or to wait patiently for new developments. On the contrary, it is time for them to become aggressive and dynamic participants in the campus community’s teaching, learning and research agendas. They must share their information expertise with their campus community and build productive partnerships with teaching faculty.”

Rader, Hannelore B. (2004) Building faculty-librarian partnerships to prepare students for information fluency: the time for sharing information expertise is now. College & Research Libraries News, 65 (2), pp. 76.

OLA 2008

Inside Out: Inside Out: Library Services at Library Services at

Point of NeedPoint of NeedLearning Learning from from each other!each other!

LIBRARY

OLA 2008

BibliographyCruickshank, John, & Nowak, David G. (2001) Marketing reference resources and

services through a university outreach program. The Reference Librarian, 73, 265-280.

Donham, Jean (2004) Developing a culture of collaboration: librarian as consultant. Jourhal of Academic Librarianship, 30 (4), 320.

Ducas, Ada M. (2004) Toward a new venture: building partnerships with faculty. College & Research Libraries, 65 (4), 334-348.

Giustini, Dean (2007) Web 3.0 and medicine. BMJ, 335, 1273-1274. Hisle, W. Lee (2002) Top issues facing academic libraries: a report of the Focus on the

Future Task Force. College & Research Libraries News, 63 (10), 714-715, 730.Jankowska, Maria Anna (2004) Identifying university professors’ information needs in the

challenging environment of information and communication technologies. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 30 (1), 51-66.

Lee, Jennifer, Hayden, K. Alix, & MacMillan, Don (2004) “I wouldn’t have asked for help if I had to go to the library”: reference services on site. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, 41 (Fall).Retrieved online: www.istl.org/04-fall/article2.html

OLA 2008

BibliographyNelson, Megan S. (2007) Initiating engineering outreach reference services:

background and practice. Reference Services Review, 35 (2), 265-284.OCLC (2005) Perceptions of libraries and information resources.

www.oclc.org/reports/2005perceptions.htmOCLC (2006) College students’ perceptions of library and information

resources. www.oclc.org/reports/pdfs/studentperceptions.pdfRader, Hannelore B. (2004) Building faculty-librarian partnerships to prepare

students for information fluency: the time for sharing information expertise is now. College & Research Libraries News, 65 (2), 74-76, 80, 83, 90.

Raish, Martin H. (2003). Musings, meanderings, and monsters too: essays on academic librarianship. Lanham, Md.: The Scarecrow Press.

Ramsay, Karen M., & Kinnie, Jim (2006) The embedded librarian. Library Journal, 131 (6), 34-35.

Westbrook, Lynn, & Waldman, Robert (1993) Outreach in academic libraries: principle into practice. Research Strategies, 11 (2), 60-65.