Cascadia Community College Student and Faculty Focus Groups

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Cascadia Community College Student and Faculty
Focus Groups

• Amanda Hornby and
• Julie Planchon Wolf
• Bothell Campus Library

March 6, 2008
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Focus Group Reports Web Site

• To view reports, focus group quotes, and our
  recommendations for running focus groups, visit
• http//library.uwb.edu/focusgroups/

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History of the Project

• UW Bothell, Academic Services User Needs
  Committee, co-chairs from 2005-2007.
• Constructed the questions and marketing materials
• Sought and received approval through UW Human
  Subjects Dept. and CCC Human Participants
  Committee.
• Conducted eight focus groups with Students and
  Faculty

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Focus Group Results Library as Learning Space

• Facilities and Environment/Space
• Student Focus Group Comments
• Meet in the Library with their groups
• Design is conducive to studying students are
  motivated by peers, who are reading, researching,
  etc.
• Librarians and staff love their jobs and
  really care about helping them.
• Faculty Focus Group Comments
• Enjoy the space but requested more informal
  gatherings for CCC and UWB faculty to discuss
  assignments, teaching strategies
• Library should offer forums on topical issues

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Focus Group Results - Collections

• Both students and faculty appreciative of access
  to the UW collections and resources
• Students and faculty impressed by depth of
  local Bothell collection
• Students find Library of Congress Classification
  system confusing

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Focus Group Results - Librarians

• Librarians are viewed as helpful and
  knowledgeable by students and faculty
• Need to market subject librarians more
• Faculty Focus Group Comments Several faculty
  indicated that the librarians are their favorite
  part of the Library
• Its the librarians. I could give everything
  else up.

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Faculty Focus Group Results Librarians as
Instructors

• Variety of ways librarians are integrated into
  Cascadia curriculum
• Librarians listed on course syllabi and
  Blackboard sites students see the instructor
  and the research librarian instructor working
  together
• Absolutely pinpointed Library instruction
• Librarian as colleague who assists in developing
  assignments, course outcome guides, and guided
  research projects

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Student Focus Group Results Librarians as
Instructors

• Students connect specific Library services and
  resources with certain classes and projects
• Student examples
• ENG 102 and historical New York Times
• BIT 105 and specific databases
• Art 110 and Media Center film editing rooms

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Focus Group Results Services, Technology, CMC,
and Tours

• Services positive comments, need to market them
  more. LC Classification system confusing.
• Technology room for improvement
• Campus Media Center helpful, need to market
  more
• Library Tours students recommended improvements

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Actions Taken (So far) - 1

• Signs created to explain/clarify Library of
  Congress organization in the stacks
• Librarians have built into research workshops
  time to get acquainted with the Library of
  Congress Classification System and look for books
  in the stacks. 
• Explicit printing instructions posted in the
  Information Commons

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Actions Taken (So far) - 2

• Our UW Human Subjects Department Application was
  used as a model when applying for other projects.
  Accepted quickly.
• User Needs Committee continued for 2007-09
• Administrators are using the results in strategic
  Library planning documents

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Actions Taken (So far) - 3

• Marketing in the classroom and online the
  services of subject librarians including
  individual and group consultations.
• Web team moved the Subject Librarians web link
  to a more prominent location on the top web page.
  
• Added two more scanners to the Information
  Commons now have a total of five.

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Supplement Additional Student Quotes from
Transcripts

• I think its nice that the librarians arent
  justpeople off the street. They have some
  knowledge of classes and courses
• I think the staff here is really helpful. They
  did a good job of hiring people that actually
  know what theyre talking about and they want to
  help people instead of just thinking its a job.
  They actually want to better you and help you
  with your education. I found that they are really
  helpful when I needed help.

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Supplement Additional Faculty Quotes from
Transcripts

• repository of assignments librarians
• what benefits my students is the idea that the
  library is integrated into our curriculumas
  instructors. Theyre not just librarians, they
  also come in and teach our students about
  information literacytheyre more than just what
  we would imagine a librarian would serve.

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Questions?

• Amanda Hornby ahornby_at_uwb.edu
• Reference Instruction/Media Technology
  Studies Librarian
• Phone [phone], Office LB1-210A
• Julie Planchon Wolf jwolf_at_uwb.edu
• Reference Instruction/Nursing Librarian
• Phone [phone], Office LB1-210B