Research and Innovation at the University of Warwick Library

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Research and Innovation at the University of
Warwick Library

• Jenny Delasalle
• Service Innovation Officer
• Research and Innovation Unit

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About University of Warwick Library

• student population of approximately 15,500 (full
  time equivalents)
• Innovative Interfaces Millennium
• Electronic journals 16,000
• Electronic books  15,500
• Five main sections of library staff
• Planning Resources
• Academic Support
• Modern Records Centre
• Operations Development
• Research and Innovation

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The Research Innovation Unit

• Jenny Delasalle and Gareth Johnson, managed by
  John Dale.
• Library strategy
• the user-focused library
• enhancing the student educational experience
• Set up
• to support service development through
  evidence-based research
• to embed programme and service developments into
  mainstream activity
• Remit to
• disseminate project findings
• collaborate with users, library staff and other
  service providers
• Research innovation also happens outside of the
  RIU at the University of Warwick Library

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RIU focus

• Supporting teaching and learning
• How the internet and e-Learning affect the
  opportunities for service support and delivery .
• How students are seeking out, identifying, using
  and managing information sources to support their
  studies.
• Identification of library responses to changing
  student information needs and practices.
• Multiple text provision.  

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RIU Projects
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Early Childhood Studies

• Created Resource Bank
• Themes and references chosen by Subject
  Librarian 23 topics, each with 5 online journal
  articles and 5 websites.
• some e-book items (not listed by theme.)
• Deep linking issues
• Authentication
• Review of Resource Bank e-mail invitation to
  complete an online survey.
• 89 of respondents felt more confident in
  searching for their own online articles.

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Multiple copies - Student perceptions

• Why are there only enough books for 2 of my
  course to get hold of them?
• Gathering feedback.
• Student Sabbatical officers election campaigns.
• University Academic Satisfaction Survey.
• Staff Student Liaison Committees.
• You Say We Say board.

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Multiple copies Library policies

• Libraries were polled to ask for their policies
  on multiple copies.
• Books per student ratios widely used.
• Reliance on judgement of Subject Librarians.
• Electronic resource provision.
• Course packs.
• Broad research collection.

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Politics Reading List - methodology

• Student perceptions of their module handbook.
• Focussed interviews with 11 Students (20
  minutes).
• Follow up survey to test the validity of themes
  that arose in the interviews.
• 10 questions, pairing 20 different themes in a
  semantic-differential grid were distributed.
• 32 (of 226) responded to the questionnaire
• I prefer to use

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Politics Reading List Results

• Student dislike of online only module
  information.
• Student dislike of themed reading list structure
  and preference for a weekly reading list.
• Student desire for guidance to key reading rather
  than a broader reading list.
• Further evidence of student desire for yet more
  copies of key text books!
• Students prefer not to have an electronic only
  reading list.
• Students gave online, print and short-loan
  reading items equal prominence supports a
  continued hybrid Library provision.
• Further phase to research the same issues after
  changes have been made to the handbook.
• Carry out similar research in other departments.

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Psychology reading lists

• 2nd year module adapt the reading list to
  encourage further student use of non traditional
  materials.
• Phase 1
• A simple and short paper based survey (2004/05
  cohort).
• 79 questionnaires were returned out of a
  potential 110 (72 of total).
• Phase 2
• 2005/06 cohort exercise to construct their own
  reading lists for one week.
• Survey of this new cohort of students. (Total
  cohort of 112, of which 80 at lecture where
  survey given out 62 questionnaires returned
  55)

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Psychology Highlights some student reading list
observations

• None had a recommended purchase, although many
  referred to the main general text for their
  course.
• A heavy focus on items available in the Library.
• Some groups structured reading lists from general
  to specific, whilst others presented a list by
  material type.
• Little evaluation of the authenticity or value of
  items.
• Some had chosen items because they had
  comprehensive bibliographies.
• For some, the process of creating their own
  reading list developed an appreciation that all
  the items on a list are potentially useful to
  them, not just the core reading.
• Also observations on searching techniques
  mentioned.

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Psychology Highlights - What is the most useful
material?
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Psychology Highlights When are reading lists
used?
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Psychology Highlights What are the most
important information resources?
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Psychology Highlights Student perceptions of
their information skills

• Asked 2005/06 cohort.
• Students were very satisfied with their ability
  to search the catalogue .
• Main problem remains the ability to locate
  sufficient reading list referenced books.
• Reported a reasonable ability to locate relevant
  items for themselves.
• Seem very confident in their own skills, except
  in relation to sophisticated searching when only
  moderately confident!

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Psychology Highlights Some recommentations

• Increase reading list use of journals (preferably
  ejournal) to decrease demand upon limited book
  stock.
• Consider rebranding or promotion of items on
  reading list for wider reading as a beneficial
  exercise.
• Consider advocating student reading focus away
  from the core only model so regularly
  encountered.
• Consider greater promotion of library and tutor
  staff as authorities in recommending evaluating
  alternative sources of information.
• Consider allowing students to recommend readings
  for subsequent module reading lists.
• Continue OPAC training and promotion at current
  levels.
• Develop training for other resources more.

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Reading List audit

• Large project, 40 of reading lists for taught
  modules in each subject area
• By type how many e-journals, print journals,
  books, book extracts.
• Levels within the list, and headings used.
• Presciptiveness,
• Analysis overall and at faculty level.

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Reading list audit - results

• Two thirds of reading lists are available online
• Average of between 1 and 3 levels of headings.
• Medical and Social Science faculty have highest
  proportion of journal articles, although all
  reference mostly books and book extracts.
• Postgrad Medical lists have highest proportion of
  website references.
• Most modules do not make explicit recommendations
  of texts for student purchase.
• The Library provides on average 5 copies of each
  title recommended for student purchase.

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Reading list audit - Results

• Average of 67 references per module reading list.
  
• Art and Social Science lists are up to twice this
  length while Science and Medicine lists are
  approximately half this size or less.
• Only the Art Faculty is unable to access at least
  50 of all article references online.
• An estimated 40 of reading lists are not
  regularly received by the library.
• Allows us to identify modules for further
  projects.

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Deep Linking

• Contacted all our full text providers
• Produced guidelines, based on OpenURL link
  structures for consistency.
• Recommend using DOIs to link http//dx.doi.org/
• Gave instructions for linking to the catalogue
  (best method for linking to e-books)
• Even most simplified guidelines were complicated!
• Identified a need for a tool.
• Created Build-a-Link (in test version now).

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CLA Scanning Pilot

• Contacts with tutors made.
• Material covered by licence selected.
• Scanning begun.
• Testing method of provision password protection
  by pdf password or Network login.
• Generation of CLA records cover sheets.
• Opportunity to survey students and find out the
  value to them.

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Learning Grid satisfaction survey

• Analysed their June 2005 user survey. 
• 60 of users are very happy and believe the Grid
  to be beneficial to their studies,
• Only 5 not achieving any benefit. 
• Plenty of requests to enlarge or duplicate the
  Grid elsewhere on campus BioMed Grid.

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Learning Grid satisfaction survey
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Audio tour

• To enhance induction voluntary, not timetabled.
• Promoted by posters and websites.
• Handsets and website availability.
• Evaluation
• Statistics on number issued.
• Statistics on which sound files played by
  handsets.
• Statistics on website accesses.
• Feedback forms.
• Why not market survey.

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Audio Tour feedback
56 feedback forms received. Of 43 comments on
how we could improve the tour, 10 responded that
it needed no improvement! When asked if they
would recommend the audio tour to others, 93
responded positively, saying yes or I will or
even I have.
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Audio tour evaluation
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Audio Tour evaluation

• 126 students surveyed.
• 24 1st year undergrads
• 25 1st year postgrads,
• Just 3 students had already taken the audio tour,
  of which 1 was a first year.
• 72 (57) of them had heard of the audio tour.
• 50 students said that they knew enough about the
  library already as their reason for not taking
  the audio tour.
• The second biggest reason is time, which 15
  students gave as the reason.

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Further projects

• Evaluating deep linked reading lists.
• Medical focus groups.
• Subject Librarians work flow diary exercise.
• Induction evaluation.
• Review of Millennium.
• BioMed Grid study.

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References

• Website - http//www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/libra
  ry/subjects/riu/
• Blog - http//blogs.warwick.ac.uk/lriu/
• E-mail - riu_at_warwick.ac.uk
• Multiple copies article in Sconul Focus -
  http//www.sconul.ac.uk/pubs_stats/newsletter/34/5
  .pdf
• ECS Resource bank - http//www2.warwick.ac.uk/serv
  ices/library/subjects/education/ech-studies/
• Build-a-Link http//go.warwick.ac.uk/buildalink
• Audio tour - http//www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/li
  brary/usingthelibrary/audiotour/