  |
 |
|
|
|
     |
Library News for the Faculty |
||
|
Spring 2004In This Issue:
Report Issued on Service Quality Survey ResultsThe UCLA Library has finished analyzing the UCLA results from LibQUAL+, a national project to measure service quality in libraries. The full text of the report as well as the raw data reflecting the survey responses are available in PDF format through the Web site. The Library's goal in participating in LibQUAL+ was to identify areas in which users feel that services need improvement to better meet their research and instructional needs. Summarized very briefly, the results indicate that, while undergraduates ranked services overall as well above the minimum they expected, both graduate students and faculty expressed concerns in two areas. One of those areas is what the survey categorized as "access to information." This concept encompasses access to electronic and print journals, books, and electronic information resources; and timely interlibrary loan and document delivery. The other area is "personal control." Factors of concern in this category are easy-to-use access tools, the quality of the Library's Web site, independent use of library information, and remote access to electronic resources. Several initiatives are underway to address concern about access to information. With regard to collections of electronic and print journals, maintaining and expanding these holdings in the current budgetary climate is challenging. However, collaborations with other UC campuses such as shared print collections of titles available electronically and coordinated cancellation projects ensure continued access to vital materials. UCLA Library staff will continue to consult with faculty on these issues and to collaborate with other UC libraries on shared collections. The perceived unavailability of print materials is a complex issue, and several strategies are being developed to address it. A high percentage of items that users are unable to find are in fact shelved correctly, are checked out, or are not owned by the Library; this suggests that more effort needs to be devoted to informing users about how to search and interpret results in the online catalog and how to find items on the shelves. Additional shelf reading to reduce the number of mis-shelved items and, once the Library's new online information system is implemented, notes in the public catalog about the status and location of recently received items should help reduce other causes of this problem. To further address the number of missing items, the Library is considering the implementation of a more aggressive process of fine and replacement bill issuance and enforcement along with increased and revamped security procedures. In addition, after a complete inventory of the collection, catalog records for items that cannot be found or replaced will be updated. With regard to timely interlibrary loan and document delivery, the Library recently participated in a national survey of academic research libraries that measured the turnaround time for these services, and the Library's performance was better than or comparable to other academic libraries. This suggests that further research is needed to identify the reasons for user dissatisfaction. However, new software implemented last fall should reduce processing time and also allow users to track the status of their requests online, which may help address the perceived deficiency. Regarding the concerns users expressed in the area of personal control, a project to redesign the Library's Web site is currently in progress and will be completed during the summer. The usability testing and user input processes that are part of the project should address users' requests for a more intuitive and usable Web site; more usable online research or reference guides for off-campus users; online tools, as well as instruction in their use; and assistance in solving connectivity problems for off-campus users. Visit the Web site for more information. Send a message if you have further questions. From University Librarian Gary E. StrongWhat can we do for you? That's not a rhetorical question; library efforts in the areas of collection development and management and information literacy are particularly focused on responding to faculty needs and supporting their research and teaching. The need for and use of collections is obvious, but what may not be so obvious are the complex processes the Library uses to develop and manage collections that support all areas of study on campus. These strategies enable Library staff members to reconcile budgetary realities and space constraints with the constantly growing body of scholarly knowledge and the increasing variety of formats in which resources are available. One of the most valuable tools librarians use in this regard is information from faculty, such as that gathered by the Collection Management Initiative and the LibQUAL+ survey, about what materials are essential to their work and how they prefer to access those materials. Being part of the larger UC system also enables the UCLA Library to pool its information and financial resources with those of the other campuses to develop shared collection development and management strategies that explore and address the needs of faculty members. But the most extensive collection is of no use if a user can't find the item he or she needs. To minimize this occurrence, which many LibQUAL+ respondents mentioned as a concern, the Library has increased shelf reading to find and correct shelving errors, is considering a more aggressive process of fine and replacement bill issuance, and plans to conduct a thorough inventory and update catalog records accordingly. In addition, in the new public catalog, it will be possible to place notes about the status and location of a recently received item in that item's record. Not all items that users are unable to find are missing. The Research Library has been conducting a study that has revealed that a substantial number of items reported as missing are shelved properly, checked out, or not owned by UCLA. This indicates that we need to do a better job of educating users on how to search and interpret catalog records and how to find items in the stacks. And speaking of educating users, the need for information literacy instruction is likely obvious to any faculty member who's read a student paper with incorrect or incomplete citations. Recognizing that many students do not possess the skills to locate information, evaluate it, and use it correctly in university-level work, and that this is a problem faculty members cannot address on their own, the Library's Information Literacy Program is actively pursuing a number of strategies to assist both faculty and students. Library instruction tailored to a course's subject area orients students to relevant resources and provides them with searching skills that will transfer to other courses. Adjunct for-credit courses developed in consultation with faculty and taught by librarians offer more in-depth instruction in research methods in a particular discipline. And the recently launched online tutorial "Carlos and Eddie's Guide to Bruin Success with Less Stress" entertains and engages undergraduate students on topics of intellectual property, file sharing, citing and documenting sources, time management, and academic dishonesty. You'll find more information on all of these efforts in this issue's articles. And as always, if you have questions about Library resources or services or have suggestions about how we can better meet your research and instructional needs, please contact me by phone at extension 51201 or by email. User Input Needed on New Catalog PrototypeUsers are invited to review a prototype of the new public access catalog, which will replace the ORION2 online catalog at the beginning of July. By the end of April, the prototype will be accessible. Working with a faculty and student advisory committee, the Library conducted usability testing on the prototype during March and is now inviting feedback on the refined prototype. Other activities related to the implementation of the new library information system are proceeding on schedule, including the transfer of catalog, circulation, and acquisition records and training of Library staff members. The goal is to launch the new system to users at the beginning of July. Updates on the implementation process will be posted on the Web site. Users can email questions about the new system and the implementation process. Semi-Annual Loans Due for RenewalMaterials checked out on semi-annual loans and due May 3 should be renewed now. Users can renew their own materials online by using the renewal feature in My Account on ORION2. Users can also renew materials by calling the telephone renewal number at 310/825-9188, by email (please include the library account number), or in person at any campus library. This applies to materials checked out from the Arts, Music, and Research libraries and the Southern Regional Library Facility only. Final Report Issued on UC Collection Management InitiativeThe Collection Management Initiative, a UC-wide project designed to study issues related to integrating and managing journal collections comprising print and digital formats, has concluded. The final report is available online. Funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the study examined usage of print and digital journals in an effort to provide campuses with new approaches and greater flexibility in managing print collections, given the constraints imposed by existing facilities and limited capital funding. The findings of the study support a number of recent and longstanding UC initiatives. These include efforts to add to collections of digital journals, which users indicated a preference for, and to maintain shared collections of print versions, which remain important, particularly in certain disciplines. The findings also suggest areas for further study. Examining journal usage among users in the humanities and social sciences would provide information on their lower rates of use and less favorable opinions of digital journals. Exploring undergraduates' information-gathering practices would provide insight into their infrequent use of digital journals and reconcile it with their stated preference for digital over print. Determining users' preferred discovery tools - online catalogs or journal lists - would improve access. In addition, methods used to quantify the use of print or digital journals would benefit from further definition and refinement. The study's steering committee was chaired by principal investigator Brian Schottlaender, university librarian at UCSD, with members including faculty and other university librarians. The research advisory committee was chaired by Gary Lawrence, UC's director of library planning and policy development, and included faculty members from a number of library schools. The operations advisory committee, chaired by Cecily Johns, associate university librarian at UCSB, included representatives from each campus. New Resources: Early English Books, Film Index, TV News ArchiveThe UCLA Library is participating in the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership (EEBO-TCP). Through this initiative of the University of Michigan, Oxford University, the Council on Library and Information Resources, and ProQuest Information and Learning, users can search the full text of more than 6,000 books published between 1473 and 1700. When the encoding project is completed, UCLA will provide access to fully searchable versions of 25,000 e-texts, which the Library will manage and distribute locally and make available for UCLA-based scholarly projects. This resource improves upon the Early English Books Online database that the Library currently subscribes to through the California Digital Library. Searching in that database is limited to indexed entries for each work (e.g., author, title, and subject terms); EEBO-TCP expands that capability dramatically by enabling users to search for words anywhere in a work. In addition, the database contains image files for each work so users can see the original printed pages. The Library has also added a subscription to Film Index International, which offers international coverage of films and film personalities, including film credits and review citations, from more than 170 countries from the era of silent films to the present. Its contents are based on the British Film Institute's Summary of Information on Film and Television database. Film Index International can be accessed at through the Film Indexes Online Web site. That site also offers access to the AFI Catalog, which focuses on American films. In addition, the UCLA Film and Television Archive has subscribed to the Vanderbilt Television News Archive and has asked the Library to add this resource to its catalog and electronic resources database to make it easy for faculty, students, and staff to access. Users can search the extensive Vanderbilt news database, which dates from 1968 to the present, and view online streaming of CNN programs from 1995 to the present. Library Establishes Center for Primary Research and TrainingEstablished in the Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections to integrate special collections more fully into the university's teaching and research mission, the Center for Primary Research and Training will provide a substantive educational experience by training students in archival methods and will simultaneously make accessible lesser-known collections through the creation of finding aids. The application deadline for positions starting during the summer is Friday, May 28. For further information visit the Web site or call Victoria Steele, director of the center, at extension 44408. The center will pair students with unprocessed or under-processed collections in their areas of interest, which will give them access to materials that others have not yet fully investigated, and will provide training in archival organization and description, which will make those collections more accessible to other researchers. They will be compensated at a rate competitive with similar on-campus employment options such as teaching and research assistantships. The center has been launched with a generous lead gift from the Ahmanson Foundation. Information Literacy Instruction in ActionThe Core Competencies Please review the draft competencies below and let us know what you think. If your students exhibited these competencies, would they be able to perform at a higher level in your classes? Are there additional competencies that you feel are essential? An information-literate student at UCLA is able to:
|
