User-centered Decision Making: A New Model for Developing Academic Library Services and Systems.

The world’s libraries. Connected.

User-centered Decision Making:

A New Model for Developing Academic Library Services & Systems

Helsinki, Finland 12 August 2012IFLA 2012 Conference

Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D.Senior Research Scientist, OCLC

Donna Lanclos, Ph. D.

Associate Professor for Anthropological Research, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

David White

Co-manager, Technology Assisted Lifelong Learning, University of Oxford

Erin HoodResearch Support Specialist

Alison LeCornu, Ph. D. Academic Lead (Flexible Learning), The Higher Education Academy


Then & Now

• Then: The user built workflow around the library

• Now: The library must build its services around user workflow

• Then: Resources scarce, attention abundant

• Now: Attention scarce, resources abundant

(Dempsey, 2008)


The StudyDigital Visitors and Residents

Digital Visitors & Residents


Visitors & Residents

(White & Connaway, 2011-2012)


Video: http://is.gd/vanrvideo

First Monday Paper: http://is.gd/vandrpaper

(White & Connaway, 2011)

http://is.gd/vanrvideo

http://is.gd/vandrpaper


Triangulation of Data

• Several methods:

• Semi-structured interviews (qualitative)

• Diaries (qualitative)

• Online survey (quantitative)

• Enables triangulation of data

(Connaway et al., 2012)


Diaries

• Ethnographic data collection technique

• Get people to describe what has happened

• Center on defined events or moments

(Connaway & Powell, 2010)


Interviews

• Allows for probing, clarification, new questions, focused questions, exploring

• Enables data collection for extended period of time

(Connaway & Powell, 2010)


Phase 1

• Individual Interviews

• Emerging (secondary school/1st year undergraduates

• 31 (16 US, 15 UK)

• Establishing (2nd-3rd year undergraduates)

• 10 (5 US, 5 UK)

• Embedding (postgraduates, PhD students)

• 10 (5 US, 5 UK)

• Experiencing (scholars)

• 10 (5 US, 5 UK)

• Began data analysis

• Quantitative data:

• Demographics, number of occurrences of technologies, sources, & behaviors

• Qualitative data:

• Themes & direct quotes (White & Connaway, 2011-2012)


Phase I & 2: Participant Demographics

• 61 participants

15 secondary students

46 university students & faculty

34 females

27 males

38 Caucasian

5 African-American

2 Multi-racial

1 Asian

2 Hispanic

13 Unidentified(White & Connaway, 2011-2012)


US vs. UK Emerging Participant University Majors

US (9 of 16)

• 5 Engineering

• 1 Political Science

• 1 Business

• 1 Physics

• 2 Undeclared

UK (7 of 16)

• 3 Teaching

• 1 Chemical Biology

• 1 Chemistry

• 1 History

• 1 Languages


Participant Interview Questions

1. Describe the things you enjoy doing with technology and the web each week.

2. Think of the ways you have used technology and the web for your studies. Describe a typical week.

3. Think about the next stage of your education. Tell me what you think this will be like.


Participant Interview Questions

4. Think of a time when you had a situation where you needed answers or solutions and you did a quick search and made do with it. You knew there were other sources but you decided not to use them. Please include sources such as friends, family, teachers, coaches, etc.

5. Have there been times when you were told to use a library or virtual learning environment (or learning platform), and used other source(s) instead?

6. If you had a magic wand, what would your ideal way of getting information be? How would you go about using the systems and services? When? Where? How?

(Connaway & Radford, 2005-2007)(Dervin, Connaway, & Prabha, 2003-2005)


Codebook

I. Place

II. Sources

III. Tools

IV. Agency

V. Situation/context

VI. Quotes

VII. Contact

VIII. Technology Ownership

IX. Network used



Codebook

I. PlaceA. Internet

1. Search enginea. Googleb. Yahoo

2. Social Mediaa.

FaceBookb. Twitterc. You Tubed.

Flickr/image sharinge. Blogging

B. Library1. Academic2. Public3. School (K-12)

C. HomeD. School, classroom,

computer labE. Other



SnapshotsEmerging Educational Stage

Emerging is late stage secondary school & 1st year undergraduate


Snapshots of Emerging Findings

visitors

Residents

Hours spent online/ wk

>10 hrs

<6 hrs

Residents

Visitors

Online study habits

?

Changes in

academic life??

Evaluating info and websites?

Online

presence?

VisitorResiden

t


!

!

Characteristics of Visitors

See web as untidy garden

shed

VisitorThinking takes place

offline

Anonymous

Caution: identity theft,

privacy

Use technology to

maintain relationships

Face-to-face contact

Technology for formal

needs

!

Select most

appropriate tool for

task

Anatomy of an

Emerging Visitor

Passive

online

presenc

e


!

!

Characteristics of Residents

See web as place where friends meet

Resident

Visible online

presence

?

Popularity determines

reliability

Express identity in SN

Sense of community

Distinctions blurred

Anatomy of an

Emerging Visitor

Express opinions

onlineonline offline

persona content


ThemesWhat We Learned

A closer look


Convenience is King

• Convenience dictates choices

• Is it readily accessible online?

• Does it contain the needed information & is it easy to use?

• How much time will it take to access & use the source?

• Is it a familiar interface and easily navigable interface?

• Google

• Wikipedia Convenience is king


The Learning Black Market

There are alternate ways to get info you need

•Covert online study habits

• Wikipedia

• Don’t cite

• Widely used

• Guilt

•Perception that students & teachers disagree

• Quality sourceshttp://wp.me/pLtlj-fH


Syllabus & discipline based sites

Major media site

Retail

Other

University websites

University databases

iPlayer/TV

Photo sites

Exam board

No

n

En

glis

h

La

ng

ua

ge

Dic

tion

ary

Text

bo

ok

we

bsi

tes

Fan sites

Disc Ch

Sources



Information Evaluation

• Information evaluation

•Popular = correct

•Nervous about which sources are valid


What does this mean for practice?

Practical advice for librarians

The Takeaway


Making the Library More Attractive

• Library systems as search engines & web services

• Advertise resources, brand & value

• Provide search help at time of need

• Chat & IM help during search

• Suggestions for misspellings

Need help?

(Connaway & Dickey, 2010)

(De Rosa, 2005)



• Convenience

• Instant gratification at a click

• Accurate answers to questions

• Access to full-text sources

• User-centered development approach

• Metadata creation

• Interface design

• Services & systems

• Digital platforms



Amazon.com

Westerville Public Library



Librarians’ Role

•Meet practice & authority

• Include Wikipedia & Google within larger search strategy

• Correct Wikipedia inaccuracies

•Educate

• Provide information & digital literacy instruction

• Identify critical evaluation skills

• Teach early in educational stage

•Expert curation of links

• Add accurate links to authoritative sources

Educate early

(Connaway, Lanclos, White, Le Cornu, & Hood, 2012)


Selected Bibliography

Connaway, L. S., & Dickey, T. J. (2010). The digital information seeker: Report of the findings from selected OCLC, RIN, and JISC user behaviour projects. Retrieved from http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/publications/reports/2010/digitalinformationseekerreport.pdf

Connaway, L. S., Dickey, T. J., & Radford, M. L. (2011). "If it is too inconvenient I'm not going after it": Convenience as a critical factor in information-seeking behaviors. Library & Information Science Research, 33(3) 179-190.

Connaway, L. S., Lanclos, D., White, D. S., Le Cornu, A., & Hood, E. M. (2012). User-centered decision making: A new model

for developing academic library services and systems. IFLA 2012 Conference Proceedings, August 11-17, Helsinki, Finland.

Connaway, L. S., & Powell, R. R. (2010). Basic research methods for librarians. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Connaway, L. S., Radford, M. L., & OCLC Research. (2011). Seeking synchronicity: Revelations and recommendations for virtual reference. Dublin, Ohio: OCLC Research. http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/synchronicity/default.htm

Connaway, L.S., White, D., & Lanclos, D. (2011). Proceedings of the 74 th ASIS&T Annual Meeting, 48. “Visitors and residents: What motivates engagement with the digital environment?” Silver Spring, MD: Richard B. Hill.

Cool, C., & Spink, A. (2002). Issues of context in information retrieval (IR): An introduction to the special issue . Information Processing and Management: An International Journal, 38(5), 605-611.

Dempsey, L. (2008). Always on: Libraries in a world of permanent connectivity. First Monday, 14(1). Retrieved from http://www.firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2291/207

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/publications/reports/2010/digitalinformationseekerreport.pdf

http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/synchronicity/default.htm

http://www.firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2291/207



De Rosa, C. (2005). Perceptions of libraries and information resources: A report to the OCLC membership. Dublin, Ohio: OCLC Online Computer Library Center (p.1-8).

Dervin, B., Connaway, L. S., & Prabha, C. (2003-2005). Sense-making the information confluence: The hows and the whys of college and university user satisficing of information needs. Funded by the Institute for Museums and Library Services (IMLS). Retrieved from http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/past/orprojects/imls/default.htm

DeSantis, N. (2012 January 6). On Facebook, Librarian Brings 2 Students From the Early 1900s to Life. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/on-facebook-librarian-brings-two-students-from-the-early-1900s-to-life/34845

Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures: selected essays. New York: Basic Books, 6.

Gilster, P. (1997). Digital literacy. New York: Wiley.

Glaser, B.G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory; strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine Pub. Co., 273.

Helsper, E. J. & Eynon, R. (2009). “Digital natives: Where is the evidence?” British Educational Research Journal, 36(3), 503–520.

Holton, D. (2010, March 19). The digital natives/digital immigrants distinction is dead or at least dying. [Web log comment]. EdTechDev . Retrieved from http://edtechdev.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/the-digital-natives-digital-immigrants-distinction-is-dead-or-at-least-dying/

http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/past/orprojects/imls/default.htm

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/on-facebook-librarian-brings-two-students-from-the-early-1900s-to-life/34845

http://edtechdev.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/the-digital-natives-digital-immigrants-distinction-is-dead-or-at-least-dying/



Kennedy, G., Judd, T. & Dalgarno, B. (2010). “Beyond natives and immigrants: Exploring types of net generation students,” Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 26(5), 332–343.

Kvale, S. (1996). IntervVews: an introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications, 133-135.

Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (Eds.) (2008). Digital literacies: Concepts, policies and practices. New York: Peter Lang.

Margaryan, A. & Littlejohn, A. (2008). Are digital natives a myth or reality?: Students’ use of technologies for learning. Retrieved from http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/anoush/documents/DigitalNativesMythOrReality-MargaryanAndLittlejohn-draft-111208.pdf, accessed 15 August 2010.

McKenzie, J. (2007). Digital nativism, digital delusions, and digital deprivation. From Now On: The Educational Technology Journal, 17 (2). Retrieved from http://www.fno.org/nov07/nativism.html\

Prensky, M. (2001a). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5). Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Prensky, M. (2001b). “Do they really think differently?” On the Horizon, 9(5). Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.pdf

Radford, M. L., & Connaway, L. S. (2005-2007). Seeking synchronicity: Evaluating virtual reference services from user, non-user, and librarian perspectives. Funded by the Institute for Museums and Library Services (IMLS). Retrieved from http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/synchronicity/default.htm

Radford, M. L., & Connaway, L. S. (2010). “I stay away from the unknown, I guess.” Measuring impact and understanding critical factors for millennial generation and adult non-users of virtual reference services. In online proceedings of the Fifth Annual iConference. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, February 3-6, 2010. http://nora.lis.uiuc.edu/images/iConferences/2010papers2_Page-Zhang.pff

http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/anoush/documents/DigitalNativesMythOrReality-MargaryanAndLittlejohn-draft-111208.pdf

http://www.fno.org/nov07/nativism.html

http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.pdf

http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/synchronicity/default.htm

http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/3171/3049


Stoerger, S. (2009). The digital melting pot: Bridging the digital native–immigrant divide. First Monday, 14(7). Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2474/2243

Wasserman, S. (2012, June 18). The Amazon effect. The Nation. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/article/168125/amazon-effect

White, D. S., & Le Cornu, A. (2011). Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday, 16(9). Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/3171/3049

White, D. (2008, April 23). Not ‘Natives’ & ‘Immigrants’ but ‘Visitors’ & ‘Residents. [Web log comment]. TALL Blog: Online Education with the University of Oxford. Retrieved from http://tallblog.conted.ox.ac.uk/index.php/2008/07/23/not-natives-immigrants-but-visitors-residents/

White, D. S., & Connaway, L. S. (2011-2012). Visitors and residents: What motivates engagement with the digital information environment. Funded by JISC, OCLC, and Oxford University. Retrieved from http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/vandr/

Whyte, W.F. (1979). On Making the Most of Participant Observation. The American Sociologist 14 , 56-66.


http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2474/2243

http://www.thenation.com/article/168125/amazon-effect



http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/vandr/


The researchers would like to thank Alyssa Darden for her

assistance in team activities and preparing this presentation.


Questions and Discussion

Lynn [email protected]

User-centered Decision Making: A New Model for Developing Academic Library Services and Systems.

Education

worlds libraries

white

connaway

technology

data

qualitative

sources