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Towards Democratizing Library Data:Data Management and Sharing in the Institutional
Repository
Margaret Friesen, Assessment Librarian
Bailey Diers, Co-op Student and Graduate Academic Assistant
Suher Zaher-Mazawi, Assessment Projects Assistant
Library Assessment Conference, Baltimore, 2010
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• Over 50,000 students
• 2,600 full time faculty
• 9,450 graduate students
• Over 7,000 international students
• 300+ library staff FTE
The Environment: UBC Vancouver campus
Image credit: Peter Fitzgerald, Creative Commons
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The Environment: UBC Vancouver campus
Off-site: 3 hospital libraries, Robson Square Library, UBC Okanagan (Kelowna)
Barber
(IKBLC)
Koerner
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• merge [data + presentation tools]
• democratize [simplify, educate, disseminate]
• raise awareness [broader audience – staff, public]
• engage, learn, communicate
Purpose of Project:
1. Nesstar WebView
2. cIRcle
Cases: Two Tools
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Allows users with or without expert
knowledge of statistical programs to:
• search and browse
• download any statistical program
• create user defined variables
• manipulate data
• customize output
• share access
Purpose of Nesstar
WebView:
http://nesstar.library.ubc.ca/webview/
• data analysis
• training tool
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• scope
• methodology
• deliverables – data sets simplified
• data sets: 2007, 2009, 2010
• data dictionary
Project Management:
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Data Analysis: LibQUAL Data – from SPSS to Nesstar
Example: Nesstar menu for the LibQUAL data sets
and the renamed variables for the 2009 data set
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Nesstar menu for the 2010 survey with the renamed variables
corresponding to the LibQUAL survey questions.
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Metadata for the LibQUAL 2009 Subset record
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Description of the variable “academic discipline”
with response numbers and percentage responses for each discipline
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Example of manipulating data by variables “academic discipline”
and “user group,” presenting the table in column percentage
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Mission:• Using library data to tell the library story
• exploratory
• accessible
• broad audience
• use/re-use library data
Purpose of project:
: UBC Institutional Repository
http://circle.ubc.ca/
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The broader audience:
For:Audience:
Understanding the value of the libraryPublic
Decision-makingManagers
“Making the case”Development Office
AdvocacyLibrary Administration
LearningLibrary Staff
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• strategic plan goal – cIRcle “showcase for research”
• assessment program – critical enabler
• assessment goals:– move data from desktop
– develop expertise
– communicate
Why the institutional repository?
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• staff intranet?
• audience?
• credibility of information?
• maintenance?
• user-friendly?
From Desktop to Open Access
Differences:
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• Policies
• Tools
• User perspective
Intersections
cIRcle
University Archives
Assessment
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• scope
• method
• deliverable – data dictionary
• deliverable – findings, comparisons
• deliverable – deposit
• evaluate
Project Management
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• Library Assessment: LibQUAL Surveys
• Library Assessment: Publications/Presentations
• Library Assessment: Statistics
Library Assessment Collections in cIRcle:
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LibQUAL feedback
• remote access
• library website
• library as place
Selection of Content: User-perspective
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Accessible
• Explanatory notes (data dictionary)
• Survey findings
• Variables - selected
cIRcle Deliverables: Audience-perspective
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Collection: LibQUAL Surveys
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The StoryHChart 7 – Quiet space for 2007 and 2009 in IKBLC and Koerner
“the mall at
Christmas”
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Collection:
Library Statistics
• Circulation
• Visitors
• Instruction
• Reference
Move data from staff
intranet to open
access:
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cIRcle use statistics – 4 month period
“cIRcle is the perfect place for this data”
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Comparing the two tools: Presentation tools for Library data
Both:
• From desktop to open access
• Use and re-use Library data (add value)
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Summary
• Wider audience
• Non-specialist audience
• Open access
• Value-added
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Challenges
• Limited human resources
• Elusive data repository
Future Steps
• Extend methodologies
• User-centered improvements
• Communications plan
• New tools
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Tools to visualize data Example: mapping the percentage of LibQUAL
respondents with library branches
Undergraduates
Faculty
%
Maps courtesy of Tom Brittnacher, GIS Librarian
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Who gets to view
what data, when, and how?
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Margaret Friesen, Assessment Librarian
Bailey Diers, Co-op Student and Graduate Academic Assistant
Suher Zaher-Mazawi, Assessment Projects Assistant
Library Assessment Conference, Baltimore, 2010
Thank youH
Towards Democratizing Library Data