Showing posts with label WAAL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WAAL. Show all posts

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Register for WAAL Conference: Quest for Excellence in Lake Geneva


Have you registered for WAAL 2012: Quest for Excellence in Lake Geneva April 18-20?  If not, read on.  You certainly don't want to miss these programs:

Keynotes from Jenica Rogers and Kim Leeder will get us motivated and invigorated.
Luncheon Speakers will take us into another world with "Lots of Dungeons, No Dragons" by Margaret Weis and "Monsters of Wisconsin" by Linda Godfrey.
PLUS: programs and posters presented by innovative librarians from right here in Wisconsin!

Check out the full program for all of the Excellent offerings to fill your conference Quest.

Check out the fabulous accomodations at the Grand Geneva. If you are going to attend a conference, why not do so in the best possible environment?!

Come for an amazing three days of learning, networking and sharing while...
Enjoying a martini in a world class lounge,
Experiencing a massage and spa treatment,
Experiencing a hay-ride with friends at a tranquil resort,
Networking to your heart’s content in luxury with colleagues from around Wisconsin,
Enjoying an elegant room with television, WI-FI, and stunning view, AND,
Soaking in the multiple pools or water park.

But you can't enjoy this wonderfully relaxing learning experience if you don't register!

Register today!

See you in April in Lake Geneva!
--Ane Carriveau, WAAL Chair and Conference Publicity Chair

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Call for WAAL Conference Programs

The WAAL 2012 Conference Planning Committee invites proposals for 75-minute breakout sessions for Quest for Excellence: WAAL 2012 at the Grand Geneva in Lake Geneva, WI, April 17-20.
Proposals and recommendations for presentations, panels, and active workshops are welcome.  Target areas for sessions from the 2011 conference evaluations and possible topic ideas include (but are NOT limited to):
  • Access Services
  • Digital Preservation and/or Data Management
  • Distance Librarianship
  • E-Collection Development
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Information Literacy
  • Instruction and Teaching
  • Marketing and Outreach
  • Resource Sharing
  • Serving Nontraditional Students
  • Technical Services
To submit a breakout session proposal please forward the following information:
  1. Abstract of the program (300 words or less)
  2. Presenter name(s), institutional affiliation(s), and contact information
  3. Format (presentation, panel discussion, workshop, etc.)
  4. Equipment needs
Proposals are due by October 24, 2011.
Please send via email all proposals and questions to Sheila Stoeckel (sstoeckel@library.wisc.edu)

Friday, April 23, 2010

WAAL10: Rachel Singer Gordon - "Getting Unstuck"




Rachel Singer Gordon - Getting Unstuck

* The "Brisket" Story - great-granddaughter was still cutting off both sides of the brisket before cooking, because that's the way her mom did it - but it was originally only because the pan was too small.

* Why do we do things the way we do them?  Just because the person before us did it?  What's the purpose behind the action?  Did we cut back at one point and then forget to go back to full service?  Don't stop asking!

* Librarians can be agents of change for our constituencies

* If you don't promote yourself, you're doomed to defend yourself

* Your career is not your job - look at your job as a single piece of your career puzzle - where do you want to see yourself in 1, 5, 10 years?  Are your activities moving you towards those goals?  You may need to do things outside of your job.

* We talk a lot, and we complain a lot - if we do so without exploring solutions, we start to enable each other into a rut

* What do you cut off to fit in?  In hard economic times, we hunker down to not get noticed.  When new staff come on board, we say "that's not the way we do things here" - new staff need to pace themselves, or they'll get burned out by tilting at windmills.

* We put people into boxes, and say "this person is good at X, and that person is good at Y" and there they stay forever - what skills haven't been identified or expressed at work?

* "I can't..." - spiral of negativity - How could I learn how to do that thing I want to do?

* Where is your locus of control?  External (life is pushing me around  things happen TO me) or Internal (I am the master of my own fate)?

* Are there grants I could apply for?  Are there resources or services that are no longer priorities for our constituencies, and we could save money if we don't do?

* Rather than a pie-in-the-sky idea, propose a plan - who, what, where, when, why

* Resilience - what steps can I take to improve this situation for myself?  No white knight is going to ride up and fix all the problems.

* Are you just passively receiving information for your professional development?  A magazine isn't going to send you to a conference.  There are a lot of free online webinars.  You could volunteer in exchange for free registration fees - or be a speaker!

* Don't let 15-20 years go by where you only do the same things at your job - if you ever want a different job (or are forced to seek another job), you're going to need more than just that position on your resume.  Write articles, attend trainings, give presentations, show interest.

* Develop a picture in your mind of your goals - what are you doing this week to move yourself towards that?  Power of incremental change - 15 minutes + 15 minutes, etc. adds up, can grow to 30 minutes + 30 minutes, etc.. - develop habits.

* What drew you to this profession?  Try to re-capture that excitement.  How do you tell your own story - you can tell it from multiple perspectives.  Power of story.

* Rachel keeps up with what new librarians are up to.

* Why do you not have enough time?  Do you watch TV?  Cut out a show each week.  You may not have hours of free time in a block, so you need to learn how to work differently - multitasking, or 15 minutes here or there.

* Don't procrastinate because you think it needs to be perfect.  Life is perpetual beta.  Try things!  What parts worked to some extent?

* We can get into ruts - commute to work the same way each day, stop for coffee and lunch at the same times, see the same people, etc. - try changing one small thing each day - new conversation, new lunch partner.  Make new connections in other cities through professional social networking sites.

* Even those actions that helped you to be successful can be your downfall, if you get stuck in them - read outside the library literature and learn from others.

* Re-assess your goals, and change them as needed

* Nothing lasts forever - change is constant

Thursday, April 22, 2010

WAAL10: Information Literacy in a Biology Lab

Information Literacy in an Animal Behavior Lab
Susan Heffron and Eric Thobaben, Carroll University

* Front-loaded into first two semesters of Biology

* 1st library session -

* Overview of applicable library resources

* Scholarly vs. popular, primary vs. secondary

* At end - ok, everyone feel 100% confident about these resources?  [they think they are]

* Lab -

* Observation of an organism (amphipod) in clear plastic cups of water, with leaves and twigs - model system

* What questions can you generate?  "Just be 10" - totally open to anything

* 2nd library session -

* We pair students and have them highlight words in printed article abstracts that relate to these organisms

* We compile a master list of keywords from students' reports back - keywords, and what they think the article was about

* "OK, now get started!"  [They realize they've forgotten everything from 1st library session.  We're comfortable with their discomfort.]  "Who would like a refresher - which databases?"

* Students start asking: "Is this okay, Dr. Thobaben?" - review of scholarly, primary research

* Recognition of scientific article vocabulary, pieces & parts (abstract, methods, etc.) - 2nd semester lab, we have them spend an entire period reading an article from start to finish

* What can they take from methods section that they can take back to the lab and use to experiment with their amphipods? - not repeating, but getting inspiration - how generate data?  how measure?  how control? - up until now, we've only given them the T-test (compare x to y)

* What will help them to answer the questions they generated through initial observation?  Do more observation and develop explicit questions you could test.  How would you measure behavior?

* Thinking like a biologist: Observation - generation questions - finding key words - selecting articles - knowledge application - experimental design

* Future labs - do more and more on their own, build on what they've learned; assignment: write a grant proposal, librarian assists with finding funding sources

* Juniors/seniors can work with faculty doing research - one of them actually does use amphipods to study the behavior of cannibalism

* Other assignments require multiple iterations of a report (proposal, draft, final) - which require 4, 6, 10 citations.

WAAL10: Preserving Intellectual Freedom in the Face of Googlization










The Google Books Settlement

Prof. Michael Zimmer, School of Information Studies, UW-Milwaukee

* http://michaelzimmer.org/

* "Spheres of mobility" - can be physical, intellectual, digital - freedom to improve ourselves

* Historically, we've had general freedom to move about in these spheres without people looking over our shoulders

* Much of our mobility has been redefined and converged through Google - Siva Vaidhyanathan: "The Googlization of Everything"

* Faustian bargain - may constrain/restrict our ability to move about in these spheres

* Data-vaillance - surveillance of personal data - built into Google's infrastructure

* Searching is not anonymous - cookies identify your computer, Google encourages creation of accounts - including Gmail, actions increasingly linkable, data is retained, their goals include selling advertising personalized to you

* Google Book Search - launched Google Print in 2004; they already had a digitization service in place

* UW-Madison and Wisconsin Historical Society Library joined the project

* Notable lawsuits: US Authors Guild, Assn of American Publisher - Settlement proposed - cash payment of a couple hundred million dollars; creation of a book rights registry - anytime someone paid for access, some money would funnel back to authors/publishers; allowed advertising (Amazon.com, etc.)

* Anti-trust +  international copyright concerns

* Revised settlement now back in front of a judge

* Deleterious to intellectual freedom and privacy - non-anonymous

* After pressure from European Union, cookie only lasts 2 years (except it renews each time you visit)

* At a library, I can pick a book up and read it without being identified or tracked; libraries delete patron records after various amounts of time

* Settlement requires authentication before buying a book

* In future, might need to log in just to search, or to read free books in Google Books

* Concerned that our gains will be overshadowed by our losses

* How do we build library/librarian values and norms into Google Books settlement?

* Libraries/librarians have attended related conferences, written letters, asked questions - mainly, Google is remaining silent - they say they need to build the product first and think about privacy next, but this is a flawed design

* "Media ecology" - systemic effects of these decisions

* Dept. of Justice and Federal Trade Commission indicated they'd block settlement - Google finally released some information about privacy (July 23, 2009)

* Can you trust Google?  Their people are nice, but...

* Other countries have laws that required Google to protect more privacy than they do in the U.S. - ex: Google Street View - faces blurred

* Libraries are facing more of these issues themselves; decisions need to be made - Patriot Act challenges, Facebook pages giving access to patron information, etc.

* There will always be a struggle with privacy and security

* Google actually refused an order to provide a month's worth of search data, from government agency trying to determine how easy it is to return child pornography from innocent searches - all other search engines complied

* Google uses encrypted login and doesn't allow advertising based on their Health Records service

* Google reports to Chilling Effects Clearinghouse when they've been requested to take something down from YouTube, etc.

* Electricity involvement has made them a de facto public utility - so far, they haven't been treated as such

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

WAAL10: Digital Archive of Wisconsin Aerial Photographs





Wisconsin Aerial Photographs

Jaime Stoltenberg (UW-Madison's Map Library)
Melissa McLimans (UW System Digital Collections Center)
Michael Bricknell (State Cartographer's Office)

* "Changing Landscapes of Wisconsin", soon to be released
* Thousands of photographs

* ~900 Gb in storage for 1930s images

* Original purpose: to determine crop acreage

* Modified Dublin Core metadata schema (14 fields, some automated) - includes geospatial references

* UWDC has other digital map collections, in different formats

* Hope to connect multiple collections, so one search on particular parcel will return aerial photo, land patent, etc.

* Typically, you would come into the library and look at an "index map" to determine which photographs you want to look at - this project involved software that matched points on map to GIS coordinates

WAAL10: Fun with FDSys

Fun with FDSys (Federal Digital System)
Beth Harper, UW-Madison Memorial Library

* FDSys  = New database from U.S. GPO (Government Printing Office)

* Designed to handle changes in digital formats

* Intended to replace GPOAccess (15+ years old), which was difficult to navigate and annoying to search

* Search box is front and center, results include keywords in context and date, able to perform faceted browsing, better metadata for files

* Help file is decent - explains all about what publications are produced by different agencies, with sample searches

* Facets: Collection, Date, Government Author, Person (can also be place), etc.

* Advanced search allows searching in various fields, including full text, SuDoc number, etc.

* Citation search - shows you what a sample citation looks like for each collection

* Some collections can be browsed (alphabetical or date published)

* Intended to collect documents from many agencies, all branches

* Includes news media transcripts - interview on Jay Leno, etc.

* Currently only text, not other types of media

* Thomas - from different agency (LOC); only legislative or Congressional materials; will continue to exist

* Links to Catalog of government publications - not integrated into FDSys

* GPO isn't currently taking digitized documents from others, because they aren't the "official" copies

* "View in Catalog" and "Find in a Depository Library" links aren't particularly useful yet

* No "Print" button - just use browser's print option

* Considered "beta" - GPO has announced future changes with new releases

* Could use an RSS feed

* Can bookmark settings

WAAL10: Wisconsin Environmental Public Health Tracking

Wisconsin Environmental Public Health Tracking
Marni Bekkedal, WI Dept. of Health

* Part of National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network

* Face difficulties with combining environmental hazard datasets + exposure datasets + health effect datasets.

* Need to agree on definitions of terms

* Owned by different governmental agencies and private entities across country, requires negotiations.
* How do you match data sets geographically?  Some sets use zip codes, some use counties, some use GIS coordinates for monitoring stations which are only located in a few places, etc.

* Which data can/should/will be released to the public online?  Some is "suppressed" for privacy reasons, others considered "unstable" because not large enough statistical sample.

* Websites are very user-friendly, visual; Wisconsin's has built-in logic that only allows queries that will result in data

Friday, April 24, 2009

WAAL09: We're from the Government and We're Here to Help! : Reference and Loan Library Services for Academic Libraries



"We're from the Government and We're Here to Help! : Reference and Loan Library Services for Academic Libraries"
Martha Farley Berninger, Abby Swanton, Lisa Reale, and Vickie Long
Reference & Loan Library, DPI - http://dpi.wi.gov/RLL

BadgerLink:
-- Appreciate getting credit for database links (ex: "provided by BadgerLink" or logo)
-- Access is via IP address or library card barcode ranges (please provide both to Badgerlink), or other as needed
-- New: Federated searching across all EBSCOhost and Proquest databases, (and WisCat for licensed libraries)
-- Support: online form for tech support & promotional materials (bookmarks, posters)

WisCat:
-- Since 1980s - resource-sharing tool for ILL, MARC record sharing
-- Z39.50 compatible
-- Includes public, academic, and medical library catalogs, (and Minitex - Minnesota catalogs?)
-- For past year, ISO connection with Illiad for UW-Madison libraries (GZM) brokered by WILS
-- Splash page is customizable, with up to 4 RSS feeds, calendar message of the day
-- "L" list libraries only - can't afford others

Wisconsin Digital Archives - http://cdm15011.contentdm.oclc.org
-- WI Document Depository Program - http://dpi.wi.gov/rll/inddep.html
-- Academic and public libraries
-- Some docs are born digital and only exist online
-- Authoritative, long-term access
-- Primary access is via OPACs - all records in WorldCat, WisCat, MadCat, LRBCat, FirstSearch
-- Collection: hot topics, statistics, task forces, final reports
-- All are assigned WiDoc numbers
-- Open to suggestions for documents to add
-- Not archived: public records, databases, private info (intranets), print that hasn't already been digitized, entire websites (tho can do *parts*)
-- RSS feed or Monthly lists sent to libraries since 2005 - http://salcat.dpi.wi.gov/refloan/indship.asp

Reference Services:
-- AskAway = chat for all public libraries & paid institutions, email for paid institutions - not encouraged to be linked as primary service
-- Backup reference (phone, email, mail) - all WI residents / libraries
-- Songbook database - links into WisCat
-- Library directory
-- Automobile service manuals (coming soon)
-- Access to Dialog, WestLaw, Lexis-Nexis

Questions:
-- Plans to add more databases to Badgerlink? Answer: COLAND recommendation was to enhance access, but waiting to hear about funding.

WAAL09: Fake it 'til you make it with government documents



"Fake it 'til you make it with government documents"
Nancy Mulhern, Wisconsin Historical Society
Michael Current, UW Lacrosse

Usa.gov (was First.gov)
-- Top choice for starting points
-- Yahoo type subject directory
-- Official search engine for free government websites (plus images, news, maps...)
-- Faceted search
-- For popular, current information retrieval

Wisconsin.gov
-- News
-- Subjects
-- Agency index
-- Search engine
-- For popular, current information retrieval

Google.com/unclesam
-- Searches .gov, .mil, and other U.S. federal, state, and local (?) sites
-- May use less now that Usa.gov is so good
Catalogs:
-- CGP: Catalog of U.S. Government Publications = http://catalog.gpo.gov (was "the monthly catalog") - supposed to include all pubs back to 1976 - use Ex Libris' Aleph software - SuDoc sorting works!
-- Worldcat.org, WisCat, BadgerCat
-- Local library catalog

Official access:
-- www.GPOaccess.gov - supports their own staff too - documents by government branch - moving over to FDsys (Federal Digital System) which is already live - full text search (faceted) of unaltered official versions - currently back to ~1994

Country information:
-- CIA World Factbook - https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook - updated at least annually
-- State Dept. Background Notes - http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn - update data provided
-- Library of Congress Country Studies (formerly Army Area Handbooks) - http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs - most were last updated in early 1990's

Statistics:
-- FedStats - http://www.fedstats.gov - homepage doesn't look like much - by topic, geography, agency - search function
-- Statistical Abstract of the United States - http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab - lots more than statistics - annual, all online back to 1879 - summary data for social/political/economic - pulls in data from other organizations (ex: Am Vet Med Assn = pet ownership)

Strategy:
-- Think of the associated agency, not individual "author"
-- Challenge: what did the government call it?
-- Tutorial: http://www.library.ucsb.edu/ala/tutorials/agency.html
-- State gov agencies usually mirror fed gov

Census:
-- American Fact Finder - http://factfinder.census.gov - multiple variables - only 1990 and 2000 - "custom table" - slow between 10am-2pm
-- Historical Census - http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus - different questions were asked each time - ex: in 1940, how many people were born in Rumania, by state/county?

Other:
-- State Information - http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/State_Agency_Databases
-- Wisconsin - http://www.getfacts.wisc.edu/?geo-mcd - from UW-Madison Applied Population Lab - multivariable - to municipality/tract/block group/basin/watershed (unless privacy could be invaded, for 72 years)
-- Bureau of Labor Statistics - http://www.bls.gov - ex: Unemployment: Mass Layoffs, CPI Inflation Calculator
-- Science.gov - http://wwww.science.gov - "Usa.gov for science" - includes Agriculture, Food, Biotechnology, Animals, Plants, Ecology, Genetics... - faceted results - includes Agricola and PubMed article records

Historical Laws & Congress:
-- Keep in mind that agency names change, and come in/out of existence
-- Century of Law Making - http://lcweb2.loc.gov/amem/amlaw - (1774-1875) - digitized documents - search function
-- Thomas Congressional Information - Library of Congress - http://thomas.loc.gov/cp111/cp111query.html
-- Google Book Search - Google afraid of being sued for posting government info after 1923 even though it isn't copyrighted - can still get limited preview or snippet -
-- WorldCat.org - more historic documents being added

Faking it:
-- Resources above
-- Agency approach
-- Robust referral to gov doc specialist - WHS, UW-Madison Memorial Library, Milwaukee Public Library

Thursday, April 23, 2009

WAAL09: Public Records in E-Mail and Winning Strategies for Managing Them


"Public Records in e-Mail and Winning Strategies for Managing Them"
Amy Moran, WI Dept. Administration
Nancy Kunde, retired UW-Madison Records Officer - starting as adjunct professor for SJSU in Fall

  • Open Records/Sunshine Law: "...all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs..."
  • What needs to be retained? Public record = documentation of public decisions and transactions.
  • Gets into area of "appraisal" - setting value of records
  • Why save? Administrative, legal, financial, historic, and research reasons
  • May only be disposed when authorized by an approved RDA (Records Disposition Authorization)
  • Most public records now generated electronically
  • Program area determines retention needs - IT has custodial responsibility
  • Content determines record status:
  • does it: interpret or execute policy? record important meetings? document accountability? facilitate department actions/processes? convey an action? support a transaction? support or convey a decision?

Email in the workplace:

  • Continues to grow
  • Attachments getting larger
  • ~93% of all incoming email is unsolicited
  • Most may not be public records - can be deleted right away
  • In the past, every department had a "file room" managed by the secretary
  • Now, we're all data managers / records custodians - everyone's business
  • Focus on major functions of the department (communicating with faculty? students?)

Legal considerations:

  • Email retention is the same as for hard copy (public records, FERPA, HIPAA, other privacy acts, etc.)
  • May be an overall appropriate use policy for organization - differs from one to another
  • Subject to open records requests
  • Subject to discovery - federal rules changed recently
  • California is the state pushing the bubble
  • Legal world just starting to consider metadata (largely invisible)
  • For authenticating, metadata are critical (to/from/subject/less visible parts)
  • Harder to tell when electronic materials have been tempered with

Saving too little:

  • violation of public trust/responsibility,
  • not available when needed,
  • opposition has copies that we don't,
  • embarassment

Saving too much:

  • Davy Jones' locker
  • cost for storage/migration/retrieval/redaction - CD degradation after 5 years
  • "Working in the cloud" - online repository = helps with migration problems
  • "Smoking gun" - $2.2 million in damages awarded to women suing for sexual discrimination, when found "10 reasons why beer is better than women"
  • Not everyone who receives an email needs to save - sender should always save if meets criteria; receiver should receive if it is actionable
  • Delete: transitory material, unsolicited, personal, copies, captured in later messages - weekly

Decision tree:

  • Personal? Delete
  • Work related? Reply or Retain or Delete
  • Outgoing? Retain or Delete
  • Retained? For current use, Archive, or Delete

Classification:

  • Appropriately named folders
  • Either within or outside the client - not both; ex: Thunderbird allows setting # of days to keep
  • File related records in the same folder
  • Each year, close old folder and start new
  • May be able to incorporate retention schedule into metadata
  • Administrative Rule 12 - protect access to e-only records over retention life (retrieval/redaction/etc.)
  • Xythos - pilot project to use; UW-Madison has records module
  • Maximize use of email software "folders" - instead of using "inbox" as a catchall
  • Online storage isn't appropriate for secure access
  • "Near line"
  • Offline - printing to paper, or print to PDF file (still manipulatable, except for PDFa)

Information Life Cycle:

  • Designing > Record created > Use of record > Dormant > Long-term storage
  • Must maintain accuracy, accessibility, retrievability, reliability throughout life cycle
  • Conflicting life cycles of information vs. media

More resources:

Questions:

  • who can make requests? Answer: Anyone; federal open records/sunshine law was modelled on Wisconsin's - you don't have to say who you are, or why you want it - ex: WI State Journal requested salaries of all employees
  • Another example: all the email from one of our deans - you can petition for this to be narrowed, but have to respond in timely manner. "All" might really be "all."
  • does this affect non-UW System institutions? Answer: Yes, not just issue for biggest schools.
  • other technologies? Answer: Some say "don't use IM for official communications" - but this may not be possible. Some gadgets allow synching, backup, etc. - don't want people walking around with records. Could summarize chat in email or print for offical record. Telephone conversations aren't normally recorded, but exceptions: calling in for unemployment benefits.
  • Disintermediation - very few secretaries anymore; no one training and overseeing records management responsibility
  • can we ask IT to be responsible? Answer: Backup isn't record retention - they have a role, but can't be the sole managers.

WAAL09: Tapping the Creative Spirit to Spur Innovation


"Tapping the Creative Spirit to Spur Innovation"
Kathryn Deiss, ACRL Content Strategist

  • http://kathryndeiss.pbwiki.com/ - presentation posted

  • How do you develop a creative environment?

  • New stuff - how do we get it? Depend on creative part of the mind - how tap it?

Who's creative?

  • Audience: everyone, (usually people say: musicians, artists, writers)

  • "Creative Inventions" lightning round (60 seconds) - create an invention using your card and someone else's (items like: ping pong balls, wind chimes, empty 35mm film canister, thermos, bubble-blowing kit, milk crate, waffle iron, gerbil wheel, whistling tea kettle, cassette tape player, cell phone, water pitcher, bicycle helmet, corkscrew, wallet, measuring spoons, compass, slinky, cupcake liners, camera, mousetrap, spray paint, ice cube tray, mickey mouse ears, bandana, zipper, skateboard)

  • Everyone is creative - process of generating novel ideas that are likely to be useful

Creative process:

  • Difficulty = we don't know where we are:

  • problem/opportunity > divergent thinking > convergent thinking > decision point

  • Most people truncate early part, and don't generate enough ideas

  • Problem/opportunity identification - generate ideas - analyze options - choose - implement prototypes - incubate and get feedback - revise and reintroduce

  • We say "but if we put out a prototype and then take it away, patrons will get mad" - not a good reason not to do it

Tools & practices - creative spaces - attitudes & frames of mind

  • Tools:

  • Precise observation - ex: some libraries doing "ethnographic research" of students like they're tribes - U. Rochester Research Project published "Studying Students"

  • Penetrating questions - why do we think this? what happens when we do this?

  • Absence of judgment - suspend in idea-generation period - not "it didn't work last time" or "that won't work"

  • Faith in your resources - group's creativity can do it

  • Stages:

  • Preparation - sitting, waiting, being open, groundwork of processes to bring people together for sparks

  • Time off - don't jump into decision; incubate inside

  • The spark! - leap on it

  • Selection

  • Elaboration - what could idea look like? brainstorm on the one idea

  • Brainstorming rules:

  • Someone records it all

  • Rapid

  • No Voice of Judgment

  • Quantity over quality

  • Wilder the better

  • Build on the ideas of others

  • Other ways:

  • Silent brainstorming (individual, on piece of paper; round robin sharing - get more ideas because introverted people participate)

  • Visual brainstorming

  • Brainwriting - circulate pieces of paper with ideas among participants

  • Bodystorming

  • Mindmapping - there are software programs to help, or can do manually

  • Think of something at work you'd like to change or understand better - Being in this situation is like [add metaphor] - spin off - feelings associated - how affect communication

  • Changing perspective:

  • Can we put to other use? adapt? modify? rearrange? substitute? reverse? combine? ...

  • Effective group creativity requires diverse points of view - not nasty conflict, but multiple perspectives

  • Incubation - like seeds in the soil, like eggs in a nest, like bread rising - "you know, I was thinking..."

  • Scott Adams (Dilbert) went to work for IDEO - to improve "the cubicle" - modular, fun, customizable - (photos) which would you rather work in? - IDEO carves furniture out of styrofoam and says "how's this?"

  • (photo of big conference table room) - what's wrong with this? - (alternative: what looks like my old housing co-op living rooms)

  • Zephyr Innovation Incubator - Illinois - lots of little toys for customers/staff to play with while brainstorming

  • Imagine a place that stimulates you (art gallery) - qualities/characteristics: changes periodically, thought-provoking, sometimes beautiful, emotion-provoking - how can your work place better reflect that space?

  • Creativity is messy! - we don't have patience for "fooling around" - but you have to, to get the new!

  • Have to be willing to break the rules!

  • Use unexpected detours to your advantage - others may think that you're distracted and not doing "work"

Killers:

  • we can't

  • it won't work

  • we tried that before

  • we don't have the money

  • they won't let us

  • what if it's too successful

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

WAAL09: Transformative Technology: Screencasting and the Use of Jing at UW-Madison


Transformative Technology: Screencasting and the Use of Jing at UW-Madison
Steve Frye & Ian Benton, College Library at UW-Madison

  • http://www.jingproject.com/ - quick download

  • We're not here because we work for Techsmith - more interested in how this technology can change what we do - link on handout to comparison of screencasting tools

  • What do you think of when you hear "transformative technology"? Changes what you do, or how you do it; NOT hype - it's use is immediately apparent

  • Examples from audience: internet, e-mail, online circulation / OPAC, telephones, automobile, IM

  • What are the steps for changing a tire? Those who know in the audience list steps - so everyone else can now change a tire, right? I think we just need more information - Steve explains in detail using all kinds of words that most people probably don't know - now how many people could do it? OK, let's try YouTube... - now how many people could start doing this? - lots and lots of people raise their hands - is YouTube transformative technology?
    We librarians are bicycle repairpeople - when they ask us how to do something, we send them tons of words - or, we could send them a screencast with video and sound (shows example for finding a specific article)
  • When you try to describe a visual process with a textual description, you must translate
  • Jing videos can be created in real time, at the reference desk

  • Patron responses (unsolicited) are VERY happy - (shows examples)

  • What is a screencast? Much bigger than what we've shown - Wikipedia definition

  • Techsmith has video on homepage to show you the value of Jing (shows) - same company makes Camtasia, but Jing is free and fast and has free hosting - just a link, no file transfer necessary

  • Removing a barrier to communication (the long list of words and steps and jargon) - no technological hurdle

  • How many times have you described a process, and had the patron say "but I that exact thing!"

  • Question: what about kinesthetic learners? Answer: They need to follow the process, because my video doesn't provide them the materials they want

  • Anyone challenge our assumptions? Audience: Not sure if it's transformative; used to co-browse and be there in realtime with user

  • There could certainly be instances in which Jing is not the right tool for the job

  • Instruction librarians showed interest

  • Ian uses it to send in tech glitches, rather than just describing

  • Staff use to send explanations to each other, too

  • College Library: Dec 2007-July 2008, soft roll-out in evening reference; Aug 2008 - Official Jing training - not mandatory, but it's a useful tool

  • If desired, could be a re-usable object, both for librarians and for users

  • Statistics: 1,400-1,550 chat reference calls in 1-2 months; 15-25% use Jing - needed to upgrade

  • Jing Pro = low cost for institutional use, had to upgrade to get enough storage space; now enough for UW-Madison's entire campus library system

  • Steve doesn't think he's ever had a patron who couldn't get the Jing video to work

  • Embed function doesn't seem to be robust

  • Most library staff initially didn't record sound - patron response was favorable

  • Nice to tell patrons ahead that there's audio, in case they need to turn it on or off
    (Show chat transcript, time involved in recording Jing, then continuing chat)

  • Documents normal human interaction, not perfection

  • Can also share with patrons, so they can make videos themselves

  • Can transfer between Pro and free Jing

  • Online "help" files are robust

  • If interrupted, just push "pause" and continue video again

  • (Demonstrations of making, playing, saving video)

  • We consider these videos as disposable - don't agonize over its organization; probably easier to create a new one

  • Question: Does this work the same on Mac as on PC? Answer: Yes.

  • Jing also captures still images, and then there's some extra tools (arrows, boxes, highlighting)

  • Question: General screencasting - any pushback from vendors on demonstrating the use of their databases, say if posted to YouTube? Answer: Haven't heard anything yet...

  • Video length limit = 5 minutes; suggest not going over 2 1/2 minutes and not trying to explain more than 4 concepts per video

  • Question: Does Jing save time on the desk? Answer: Ian's chat transcript data shows that it doesn't, actually lengthens chats

  • When sending, ask patron to "tell me if this doesn't work"

WAAL09: Tale (Tail) of the Tyger



Tale (Tail) of the Tyger
Rev. Dr. David Joyce, President of Ripon College

  • What do you think of when you hear "Ripon"? Harrison Ford, Rippin' Good cookies, and now "The bike thing"

Goal: Appreciate the worth in yourself and others so that you can influence and create your own future

  • We spend too much time picking things apart, and not enough time putting things together

  • "Nothing endures but change" - Heraclitus (500 B.C.)

  • The rules are changing in this economy - old ways of doing things don't necessarily work - can't just look to the past - it used to be that if stocks were down, then bonds were up - not right now!

Fear-based decision-making:

  • We instill fear in others to control what they do or don't do

  • How much do we do or not do because we're afraid of what might happen?

Transformational Process:

  • May be considered "inefficient" because time intensive - I meet with senior staff 4 hours each week to do this process

  • #1 Mutual Worth - Begins with belief that "you have worth"

  • #2 Authentic Interaction - What's going well? - everyone tends to jump to problem-solving too quickly - sometimes what's going well might be in our personal lives

  • #3 Appreciative Understanding - everyone has a skill set, and they have more skills than you know - if you only look at those like you, all you'll get is those like you

  • #4 Progressive Integration

  • #5 Continuous Improvement

  • #6 Transformation

Decision-making:

  • Motivation (memory, emotions, attitudes) > Decisions > Behaviors > Perceptions > Trust or Distrust

  • Ask open-ended questions

  • Listen

  • Paraphrase

  • Instead of "Yeah, but" say "Yes, and"

  • Enablers: awareness, reason, freedom, skills

The Bike Thing (Velorution):

  • Ripon College is growing, and we were running out of car parking

  • 1,100 students; 7,800 town residents > unhappy with students parking on streets

  • "Creative Interchange":

  • #1 Wish statement - "I wish/I would like it if... we didn't need to pave more green space to create parking lots for cars"

  • #2 Another person paraphrases, then offers an idea - "We could give all incoming students a bicycle"

  • #3 Next person paraphrases, then offers 4 reasons why they like the idea for every 1 wish statement

  • #4 Continues until solution arrived upon - give out about 200 bikes per year

WAAL09: Digitization on Demand: ILL Operations Participating in Institutional Digitization


"Digitization on Demand: ILL Operations Participating in Institutional Digitization"
Angela Milock, Laura Rizzo, Eric Robinson - WiLS (Wisconsin Library Services)

  • How it all began... WiLS was already scanning masters theses, special collections, etc. for document delivery - thought they could start saving their scanned documents to make them available to everyone

  • Models? Found existing Digitization-on-Demand (DOD) and Print-on-Demand (POD) programs at other institutions - Cornell, Penn State, U Michigan

  • Where deposit? UW Digital Collections - http://minds.wisconsin.edu/, Google Books & CIC Hathi Trust > OPAC

  • Which items to digitize? Started with: Special collections, Music Library

  • Turnaround time? Walked through detailed workflow; appears to be faster for ILL to do it than Digital Content Group (therefore, less expensive)

  • Partnerships? Special collections, some institutions with Kirtas/Booksurge/Amazon

  • Paying for service? WiLS mainly emulated Michigan: cost passed on to requester, posted per page cost, $30-160; Cornell: Amazon ($20-40, 1-4 days); Penn: $26 paperback; WiLS just tries to cover costs; Surprised to find that people at our own institution willing to pay for digitization of materials they already have physical access to

  • Requests? Web form, OCLC

  • Usage? Huge differences from institution to institution, based on how easy it is to find out about materials/service; people *are* willing to pay; WiLS filled 6 in first 3 weeks (not even announced yet!) vs Michigan ~20/year (multiple communication steps) vs Penn = 1 total in 2 months vs Cornell = heavy POD usage of selected 6,000 titles (Amazon helps!)

  • Copyright? Tricky U.S. vs non-U.S. laws; needed clear guidelines > "Cornell matrix"; wanted to be safe from litigation > very conservative (use Google's policy: pre-1923, author death year + 70 years - "are they dead enough?"); other institutions follow different policies

  • Technology? WiLS: b/w 300 dpi, grayscale/color 600 dpi; existing ILL/Special Collections scanners; some institutions send to Kirtas scanners (turn pages automatically; Google's probably look like this too); is the scanner up to the challenge? WiLS had nice new scanner but it would

  • New tasks? Barcoding and item records on the fly if needed, whole document and each page separately so works with page-turning model

  • Total planning time? WiLS took 7 months from idea to reality

  • Why? Access more convenient, seamless, removed digitization selection decisions, cost-effective

  • Hey, you! Any UW System school can deposit their materials in http://minds.wisconsin.edu/

Questions

  • Did WiLS not scan materials in Special Collections or the Music Library before you intiated this program? Answer: Went from part (article or chapter) to whole (500+ pages, rare, fragile materials).

  • Are Cornell & Penn shipping rare books or doing in-house? Answer: Apparently, they *are* shipping at least some rare materials.

  • Some requests denied? Answer: Yes, holding library has that power.

  • How delivered? Answer: Preferred delivery method of institution; mounted, hosted PDF version if that's the normal manner.

  • Payment details? Answer: If university doesn't cover costs, then patron can use Google Shopping Cart (all communication goes through their local institution)

  • Don't need institutional affiliation to request materials? Answer: Correct.

  • Is your copyright policy posted? Answer: Not yet.

  • What about duplication from one library to another? Answer: We may get fewer requests for duplicate items as things become findable online.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

WAAL 2008: Standardization of Interlibrary Lending (ILL)



Standards-based ILL

Terry Wilcox, Reference and Loan Library
Bob Shaw, WiLS

• Directors don’t want to know more about ILL, just want it to work
• We’re using standards all the time, we just don’t know it
• Whenever you search an online database – it’s built on standards - the way it looks for a title, author, ISBN, etc.
• Standards are confusing, so no one talks about them

Why do we have standards?

• Helps software programs talk to eachother
• Help you retrieve information in a way you can understand
• Z39.50 – with Wiscat license (vs. free interface), you can see a lot of resources – takes you into other institution’s online catalog
• Can be developed by different companies, as long as use standards – allows searches across multiple catalogs and databases – can make ILL request
• State agency - we have to re-bid our projects at least every 5 years, regardless of whether there’s another vendor that can do it or not – may sound difficult, but it keeps things changing and evolving, so I don’t get bored

What standards are we using?

• ISO 10161-1 / 10161-2 – international exchange of good and services – could be a cell phone, PDA – much more than ILL/circ – might help you connect with OCLC
• SIP / SIP2 – was never actually adopted as standard, but gave an idea of how systems could connect to produce an end result – developed by 3M for remote patron identification – now NCIP
• NSIP – national standard for circulation

ISO

• Equivalency standards for fields across systems allows accurate, narrowed search results
• One interface to search many systems, don’t have to repeat over and over
• WisCat union catalog - 1,205 libraries of all types and sizes – 7 million records for 35 million holdings – 72 online catalogs (WI + MINITEX + LOC + NLM) – see actual availability [my question: what do you do if it’s at LOC?]

What have we done so far?

• Set ourselves up to be a lender through OCLC
• Wiscat libraries (AGent) can request from WiLS (direct into ILLiad)
• If you don’t want to lend out a certain type of material, you won’t get the request – this would be an improvement for OCLC
• WiLS is a broker (handles requests on behalf of multiple libraries) – UW-Madison might get same request 4 times, which makes sense because of multiple libraries – but ILLiad thinks if you cancel initial request, have to cancel all – we came up with workaround

Before you start

• Testing is crucial – every step
• Vendor may claim to have implemented a standard - but maybe not whole standard, or in same way as other vendors
• Test again anytime something changes!
• Small number of problems encountered shouldn’t necessarily stop you from going ahead
• Error messages may not be intuitive
• Address files may all be different, or just codes

NCIP

• Z39.83 NISO allows actions in ILL or Circ, and opposite action will happen automatically in Circ or ILL (ex: “ship” > “checked out”)
• Not always completed implemented by vendor - may need to buy the fanciest version from vendor to get fullest implementation – ask specifically which ones
• Need to match up every little status change on both sides (ex: accept item, cancel request item, check in item…) – and indicate which side can initiate (or both)
• Many status messages aren’t on NCIP list (ex: recall)

What can you do?

• Encourage administration to request ILS vendors to include standardization
• Don’t recreate the wheel with RFPs – contact other libraries for theirs
• Communicate about potential time/money savings
• LITAC provides guidance to Reference & Loan Library – technology recommendations for all libraries in state – they support standardization
• Most states have systems clearinghouse with hierarchical structure – standards don’t yet recognize reality

Wiscat AGent and ILLiad at WiLS

• ILLiad is more robust and intuitive than AGent or OCLC Resource Sharing
• Consolidated locations to GZM
• 1,500 address records shared
• Just 1 type of “pick slip” for lenders to use – also used as mailing slip and return slip – library system as well as local library printed on slip
• Wanted to move everything online – can use Odyssey/Ariel or “E-doc” for free (by email)
• If citation is bad, or can’t lend but can offer scanning of TOC/index, that note goes into AGent - sometimes doesn’t make it to ILLiad – developing workaround
• Working on improving messages for end-user – rather than “Error – NISO xxxx…”
• Test again each time either side changes something!
• High success rate

Friday, April 18, 2008

WAAL 2008: Diversity and Undergrad Internship Programs


"ISIP: Diversity and the Information Specialist Internship Program at the UW-Madison"

Why an internship program?

  • Diversify future of the profession
  • Admin support - $$$ - so we can pay the interns
  • Provide variety of work experiences to spark interest

About the ISIP program

  • Work 8-10 hours/week within regular business hours - librarian supervisors are volunteering
  • Initially, thought 4 modules/year - now varying 1 16-week and 2 8-week modules - gives time to recruit both interns and supervisors
  • Breadth and depth - balanced experience
  • How recruit? Partnered with other diversity programs on campus, able to target 2nd-3rd year students - able to get many applicants - also went to student fairs, get it out there in front of students and staff - wanted to get on radar
  • Keisha is one of our 1st interns - very valuable feedback to improve
  • Not necessarily a goal for students to go on to LIS grad school and profession - helping to create more informed citizenry - more library supporters - better research skills

An intern's experience - Keisha

  • Looking for job - saw posting on student job website
  • Previous experience just with being a reader, checking out books at library
  • Great experience, now applying to grad school
  • Have completed 5 modules: life of a book, reference/instruction, special collections, branch library (Art), library technology support, digitization/metadata
  • Life of a book - from purchasing to discarding - good introduction
  • A lot more went into libraries than I thought - didn't know you needed a master's degree - thought librarians just went "ssshhhhhh!" [laughter]
  • Really enjoyed working at Art Library - hands-on Cuban artists' book display with faculty - mentor in art history had passion - I even go to the art museum now!
  • Mentorship - Nola Walker working on PhD at SLIS, met with other masters students at SLIS - what they love and hate - real feel for what goes into it

Running the program

  • Set goals for program - Defined an "information specialist" - beyond librarian
  • Collection management - including analysis to assess what we have and find out what we don't have that we should that interns could help with - gave budget
  • Other institutions - could make specific to your subject areas (ex: nursing)
  • Keep focus on the goals, big picture - here are the tasks, and here's why we do that - beyond training a student to do hourly work which is short-term + intensive
  • 8 week modules are short - need to find appropriate projects and work with them all along
  • 5 new students each year - currently have 5 new and 3 continuing
  • Detailed timeline across 2 years
  • Meet & greet at beginning of each module brings everyone together, interns can re-connect and discuss experiences, see old supervisors
  • Part of their hours include occasional activities - some in conjunction with SLIS
  • Remember: these are undergrads, pulled in many directions, they aren't in grad school
  • Contingency plans: relevant projects to work on day-to-day if supervisors get busy, something is cancelled, etc. - don't show up and find nothing to do
  • Supervisors asked to bring interns along to meetings, social events, etc.

What have we learned?

  • Successes: "Life of a Book" has a narrative with beginning and end
  • Projects that interns can complete and have tangible result they can take pride in
  • Seeing the behind-the-scenes work at meetings
  • Passionate volunteers who love what they do, and love ISIP program
  • Realistic: some of the work you do is boring, but fits into big picture
  • One-on-one meetings between steering committee member and intern - constant checking in, especially during 1st semester, so could change as we go - not necessarily with their current supervisor
  • Small group meetings - like focus groups, one intern's comment would spark others to share
  • Realized that we didn't have interns write anything 1st year - started module summaries - could share with next supervisor so they'd know what they'd already done, to customize (don't have to sit through 5 iterations of same workshop)
  • Needed more supervisor feedback - started supervisor trainings - had them also write module summaries, helpful with recommendation letters in future
  • Want supervisors to benefit from interns' work
  • 20 supervisors + 8 interns + steering committee = communication complex
  • Confusing to talk about both ISIP program and LIS grad school at same time - bring close SLIS ties into 2nd year
  • Marketing - "ISIP" as an acronym, or even spelled out, doesn't clearly communicate to potential interns or supervisors what the program is all about
  • 40 applicants 1st year, fewer 2nd year - why? we did the same things - timing, turnover at diversity programs
  • Requires more focus on why interns might be interested in what you do - that interest isn't necessarily already there
  • Interns becoming library advocates - telling their friends that library/librarians can offer some surprising things
  • 2 of 3 finishing interns from 1st cohort are going on to LIS grad school, 3rd more interested in museum studies
  • Will be hiring a project assistant to help with this program - what can we expect them to do? - has been challenging to have a committee-run program due to communication overlaps and gaps

Questions/comments

  • UW-Eau Claire similar paid program in reference.
  • I've been a librarian for 23 years; some of these things we've been trained to do, and others you read about and have to try - way to rethink what you're doing and see if applicable across our "one system, one library" - perhaps a weekend CUWL training? How make scalable? Many supervisors also want to take the modules. 5 interns is a LOT - you could have 1. But cohort is good - 3 minimum? But doubles in 2nd year. Keisha would have still done program if only intern.
  • How get time commitment? Stress it from the beginning. Expand hours with evening/weekend librarians. These tend to be highly-involved students, differently involved from grad students.
  • Library administration seems to be missing? Starting this; one student has requested. Could have work with different directors for a week. What about issues that are of a sensitive nature?
  • 2 interns dropped out after end of 1st semester, another 2 dropped out after end of 2nd semester.
  • Grad students would be very envious of this program - what did SLIS students say to interns? Talked about the school aspect. Makes us think about what we can develop for grad students, and current librarians.
  • Important that this is an ongoing budget line item - not just a short-term project.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

WAAL 2008: User Surveys: Cost-effective Marketing Strategies



  • Larry Duerr and Dolores Skowronek, Alverno College

Cost-effective Marketing Strategies

  • Both of us are on campus library marketing committee
  • Previous committee members were more interested in promoting internally through bulletin boards, etc.
  • International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science: "Marketing represents an organized way of offering library services cost-effectively and efficiently, baesd upon user interests, communication methods, imaginative design of service and products, and feedback that improves what the library is doing."
  • Rather than pulling an idea out of a hat and saying, "let's try this" - we needed data on our users
  • Last time we'd gathered data like this was 10 years ago
  • Info we wanted to gather: frequency of library use, demographics, reality of student tech proficiency vs. their self-assessment, satisfaction level with library

Data gathering & statistical analysis

  • Probability sampling - better option but requires more understanding of statistics, and more funds - everyone has same chance of being surveyed - yields statistically measurable results
  • Non-probability sampling - tends to be biased and not representative of whole population - not generalizable - convenience sampling (try to get as many people as possible who come into library on certain day/time to take survey) - handy when you aren't sure if there's a problem or not
  • Most librarians don't have the research methodology skills to do probability sampling
  • We had both taken a research methods class, but had never used in practice - we chose non-probability sampling
  • Used same categories in our demographic survey questions, as those used by college - could then compare
  • Educational institutions have tons of data on students - very helpful
  • Attempted to minimize bias when distributing surveys - handed out to absolutely everyone who passed by, whether or not we knew if they were students
  • Larger the sample size, the better - our goal was 331 (minimum sample size for our overall study body, if we'd used probability sampling)
  • You're welcome to use our survey questions - contact us

Our questions + results

  • We adopted a definition of a non-user: "somebody who uses the library once a year or less" - turned out that it wasn't good definition - very few people fit into that category - but it was good that we didn't seem to have the problem of non-use that we suspected
  • Identify and separate 1st-year students, because of course they didn't use library last year...
  • When analyze open-ended questions, need to go through "open coding" process - group into categories and assigned code to enter into analysis software - librarians are good at this!
  • Try to reduce bias by having more than one person work on open coding, separately
  • SPSS is great qualitative analysis software, but not intuitive - seek someone out with know-how
  • 377 usable surveys, 322 were students, 8 nonusable, 124 chose not to answer survey [a data point most people don't collect]
  • Happy to get small differences in percentage between our sample, and overall population by year in school, etc.
  • Grad students - higher non-use of physical facility, but higher use of website; don't necessarily know why
  • "Liked best about the library?" - generating talking points we can use with the administration - why have a library, why continue to staff it - leverage value-added component - high = library staff, quiet space
  • "Liked least?" - too few computers (we had anecdotal evidence about this, but now real data to use in requests for funding); too few hours (have made some changes)
  • "Where do you go first?" - internet (no surprise, not trying to compete there); library building 21%; library website; library databases

What changes have we made?

  • 1st/2nd year students don't use website - more focus by Librarians in Residence, and tutorial videos
  • Students say staff are friendly and easy to work with - confidence for librarians to serve on more curriculum committees, extend staff outside the building
  • Want more computers - budget request, opened nearby computer lab for drop-ins from 12-1pm during week
  • Focus group: more classes in how to do research - offering more workshops on APA citation format - got 5 people at each of 3 workshops [hmmm... not sure this is the right tactic]
  • Low use of web2.0 (blogs, wikis, rss) - continuing workshops on learning technologies, want to purchase Captivate license
  • High use of Facebook - created page, want to create link from website - communicating resources/services/events - gray area about crossing the line into student online communities - but we know it's being used, so good place to spend library time
  • Faculty focus groups: expect library to keep them informed about new technologies and research

Future

  • Do more frequent surveys - not wait 10 years between
  • Target grad students
  • Short-term goals: more laptops, more embedded librarians for specific courses - "Librarian in Residence," promote website to freshmen
  • Long-term: new library building 4-5 years (ours is from 1950's) - get librarians involved, include Information Commons; create information literacy general education course taught by librarians (ACRL IL competencies); staff training - using technology

Lessons learned

  • Find and use experts on campus (ex: SPSS experts)
  • Redefine non-user = someone who uses library once a semester or less
  • Verify college data - use master set/codes, rather than info on the open web which might not match (oops!)
  • Detailed timelines would have been more helpful - tried to go back to analyze data after a semester, had lost momentum - this is common - loss of morale for staff as well as users who have answered survey
  • Offered online survey version after refused paper survey - not many takers - has to be exactly the same
  • Followed up survey with one focus group with students, one with faculty - wanted more, but very hard to schedule - good information - wanted to know what librarians "really do"
  • Need IRB approval, admin buy-in, above-board
  • Without funds for outside expert consultant, wanted to become good researchers - wonderful experience - will understand the literature better now - positive change - total cost was under $600

Questions/comments

  • Let users know results? Haven't yet much; some info in annual report. Will make formal report to admin. Notepad at next "Institute" event where faculty meet - giveaway with facts about library.
  • Memorial Library at UW-Madison did a "know your librarian" display - what they do when they are and aren't on the job
  • Non-usable surveys? Filled out front and not back of survey.
  • Amanda's reaction: Yay! Assessment as part of marketing!