522 research outputs found

    Analyzing data in LibStats to reveal trends in academic library usage at the University of Kansas

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    In recent years, academic libraries have been increasingly challenged to offer newer, more sophisticated ways to engage their community of users that keep pace with rapid technological development. Research shows that faculty, students, and other academic users place increasing value on digital scholarship and may not always view the academic library as the best gateway to access such information. At the same time, academic libraries have continued to rise to the challenge presented by rapid technological evolution can changing information seeking behavior among primary constituents by offering new services, providing greater access to traditional and digital collections, and offering creative approaches in reference services in order to reach library patrons. Reference staff in particular have been challenged to define, develop and implement new methods for reaching those who seek research assistance as traditional measures of reference service have revealed declining activities at ‘traditional’ settings, such as a ‘reference desk.’ Several new approaches that have been launched over the last several years at various institutions have included the wholesale abandonment of ‘traditional’ reference desks, combining service points into large multi-purpose service desks, introducing “roving” reference staff, providing IM and texting capabilities or mobile connectivity, and embedding librarians in academic departments and buildings, among other things, all designed to reach beyond the walls of the library to provide service to users in as many ways as possible. While many of these different strategies are being employed today, numerous academic libraries still maintain vital and active service desks, or at least a semblance of such reference outposts, that continue to provide services to users. These services more often than not include a combination of ways to interact with patrons: in person, telephone, IM, email, and text message, for example. At the University of Kansas, such daily interaction has been collected via the open source software known as LibStats since 2007 at the two largest campus libraries: Anschutz and Watson Libraries, which together contain the central collections in the sciences, humanities, and social sciences. In light of continuing changes in patron information seeking behavior, and in an effort to understand more fully the patterns, modes, and disciplinary areas that can be uncovered by analysis of the data that has been collected, we propose to present a poster with the following aims: Who: To discover patterns of usage among patrons at the reference desks in Anschutz and Watson Libraries. What: To discover the kinds of research inquiries being asked at these libraries When: To discover the times when research assistance is being sought Where: To discover which locations and modes of communication (i.e., in-person, IM, etc.) are experiencing significantly greater volume than others Why: To try and help the KU Libraries organization answer increasing complex questions regarding how faculty and staff time should best be relegated within reference services

    Reference Transactions at the University of Kansas Libraries: An Analysis and Evaluation of Transcripts from 2008-2011.

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    Purpose: At the University of Kansas Libraries (KU Libraries), daily reference interactions have been collected since 2007 via the open source software known as LibStats at the two largest campus libraries: Anschutz and Watson Libraries. Together, these libraries contain the central collections in the sciences, humanities, and social sciences. We propose to present information that reveals trends about the patterns and modes of reference questions posed by users at these libraries, more specifically about the disciplines from which these questions emanate. Design/Methodology/Approach: Using the transcripts (~27,0000) recorded in LibStats from a three year period (2008-2010), we reviewed a sampling of reference questions (4,200 or 15%) and tagged them by subject and discipline. The code was developed using a taxonomy based on subject headings on the KU Libraries website to organize databases into broad categories, in addition to corresponding to professional schools within the University. Usage patterns were also examined to determine the busiest times and days of the week and which patron types most frequently used reference services. Findings: Using an earlier study (presented at the A2011 ACRL Conference) as a point of departure, we will present additional information of a more detailed nature about questions asked in the areas of humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Based on our research, we will present information revealing trends in queries posed by users at our reference desks. We will also consider broader implications to assist the Libraries in addressing increasingly complex questions regarding how faculty and staff time should best be relegated within reference services. Practical Implications/Value: Our aim is to reflect on reference-related work within the context of other assessment activities currently underway at the University of Kansas. The University has recently undertaken a wide-ranging strategic planning initiative which will have an impact on both administrative and academic functions, including the University Libraries. In 2011, for example, the Libraries hosted two consultants charged with examining the position of the Libraries within the wider University context. Further, the University has engaged with an outside agency to conduct a broad-ranging self-study with the goal of improving efficiencies and effectiveness of certain administrative functions, including the University Libraries. These reviews and other assessment activities will ultimately determine how we approach our profession, which includes reference and research assistance, in the future at the University of Kansas

    Charting Future Directions for Reference Service

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    At the University of Kansas Libraries, daily reference interactions have been collected since 2007 via the open source software known as LibStats at the two largest campus libraries: Anschutz and Watson Libraries. Together, these libraries contain the central collections in the sciences, humanities, and social sciences. For the CULS conference, we propose to present information about the reference questions posed by users at these libraries, more specifically about the disciplines from which these questions emanate. Our proposal is based on a study done for the 2011 ACRL conference held in Philadelphia this past April. In that work, we presented information about the patterns, modes and disciplinary areas of patron interaction at these two reference desks. Reference questions were coded using a taxonomy based on subject headings used to organize databases into broad categories, in addition to corresponding to professional schools within the University. Using our earlier study as a point of departure, we will present additional information of a more detailed nature about questions asked in the areas of humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Based on our research, we will discuss how this information reveals trends in queries posed by users at our reference desks. We will also consider broader implications to assist the Libraries in addressing increasing complex questions regarding how faculty and staff time should best be relegated within reference services. In addition, our aim is to reflect on our reference-related work within the context of other assessment activities currently underway at the University of Kansas. This past summer, for example, the Libraries hosted two consultants charged with examining the position of the Libraries within the wider University context. Further, the University has engaged with an outside agency to conduct a broad-ranging self-study with the goal of improving efficiencies and effectiveness of certain administrative functions, including the University Libraries. These reviews raise questions regarding levels of staffing, the nature of our work, and may determine how we approach our profession in the future at the University of Kansas

    Toward Open Access: it takes a village

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    This is the author final draft (post peer review), as permitted by publisher agreement. Published, closed- access version is available on the Taylor & Francis website for Library Administration journal.Academics and librarians have worked in tandem for many years to broaden access to the scholarship they create, scrutinize, collect, and consume. Recent developments have focused on campus faculty advocating for change by developing self-imposed open access policies. Such policy developments have occurred in an evolutionary process, the beginnings of which might be identified as the “serials crisis” peaking in the 1990’s, followed by the focus on efforts to examine and reform broken aspects of the system of scholarly communication, and most recently the feasibility of faculty-initiated open access policies on university campuses. This paper provides an analysis of one university’s ten year evolution to an open access policy focusing primarily on its advocates’ lessons learned and the library’s role in order to add the perspective of a public institution’s experience

    R U There? Looking for those Teaching Moments in Chat Transcripts

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    The University of Kansas Libraries implemented its chat reference service in 2003 to provide research assistance to students, staff and faculty. To further extend our hours of service, we established partnerships with three other state academic institutions in 2004 and created the Kansas Academic Cooperative Chat Service. Usage statistics have shown that this is an increasingly popular service and is being used by students to get online library help. For our poster session, we will present results based on our analysis of approximately 2,000 chat transcripts from 2005 and 2006 using the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. We have developed questions for each standard to determine if library staff are using chat interactions to instruct students how to find appropriate resources and provide them the tools to conduct research. Our evaluation of transcripts will provide insights into whether librarians are teaching students to determine what information they need, how to access it, use it and to evaluate it critically. In addition, an analysis will identify staff training needs and help us determine future strategic directions to improve our service

    Successful Approaches to Teaching Through Chat

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    Purpose – The purpose of this study is to determine whether librarians at the University of Kansas are providing instruction through chat in order to develop best practices for training purposes. Design/methodology/approach – The authors analyzed a sample of chat transcripts using the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education to determine whether librarians were utilizing opportunities for instruction in the chat medium. Using this analysis, they selected the best examples of instructional techniques. Findings – Students were open to receiving instruction through chat. Librarians who were most successful in providing assistance to students demonstrated persistency and approachability in their interactions. Practical implications – The authors developed a list of top ten practices for instruction through chat which can be used for training purposes. Originality/value – Librarians need to continue to develop instructional techniques to create more opportunities for teaching moments in chat. The authors would like to raise awareness of the impact of librarians‟ demeanor in the online environment

    Impedance of an induction coil at the opening of a borehole in a conductor

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    The electromagnetic field of a cylindrical eddy current probe coil near the open end of a borehole in a conductor has been calculated analytically accounting for edge effects. Calculations of the coil impedance as a function of position and excitation frequency have been made allowing theoretical results to be compared with experimental measurements. Comparisons have been carried out for special cases in which a cylindrical coil has its axis either perpendicular or parallel to the axis of the hole. In the approach used, the field is expressed in terms of transverse electric and transverse magnetic potentials defined with respect to the axis of the hole. The domain of the problem is truncated in the axial direction in order to express the solution in the form of eigenfunction expansions. The truncation modifies the original unbounded domain problem, but the additional boundaries can be made as remote from the coil as desired so that they have a negligible effect on numerical estimates of the coil field. The truncated region approach has proved to be accurate and computationally efficient but more significantly, it allows new solutions to be found for problems that are otherwise analytically intractable. The results model eddy current inspections of boreholes including edge effects at the opening of the hole

    Grappling with Changing Realities

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    Imbued with the sense of mission to serve as cultural and intellectual bastions, research libraries have continued to build collections to meet both immediate and anticipated future scholarly needs across a broad range of disciplines. While this mission may still stand as a guiding precept today, the issues facing collection development librarians have changed immensely since the millennium. Some important questions remain: How do we continue to meet the mission of building research collections in an era marked by considerable budget constraints, technological innovation, new publishing models and changing expectations from users? How do we engage these changing realities? Over the last several years the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries have developed several methods to enhance traditional collection development practices in an effort to grapple with the continuing challenge of building research collections relevant to modern scholars and students. This presentation will provide an overview of these strategies, which have included improved ways both to develop and manage collections. Such methods have included improved ways to manage resource expenditures (spending deadlines, database steward program, approval plan review), engaging in collection building (e-book acquisitions, purchase on demand) and collection management practices (serial review, WorldCat Collection Analysis, significant analysis of recent monographic and database usage), among other approaches. In addition, we have guided our work with ideas gleaned from the perspective of institutional and library leadership about the future of research library collections and where such collections may be headed. The audience will be asked to share methods that we, as collection development professionals, can adopt to balance collection development practices within the institutional framework. Attendees can expect to learn how research libraries are adapting collection development strategies to meet the changing needs of users, ongoing budget constraints, and the vision of the future of collections as articulated by our library leadership

    Testing the performance of risk prediction models to determine progression to referable diabetic retinopathy in an Irish type 2 diabetes cohort

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    Background /aims: To evaluate the performance of existing prediction models to determine risk of progression to referable diabetic retinopathy (RDR) using data from a prospective Irish cohort of people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods: A cohort of 939 people with T2D followed prospectively was used to test the performance of risk prediction models developed in Gloucester, UK, and Iceland. Observed risk of progression to RDR in the Irish cohort was compared with that derived from each of the prediction models evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic curves assessed models' performance. Results: The cohort was followed for a total of 2929 person years during which 2906 screening episodes occurred. Among 939 individuals followed, there were 40 referrals (4%) for diabetic maculopathy, pre-proliferative DR and proliferative DR. The original Gloucester model, which includes results of two consecutive retinal screenings; a model incorporating, in addition, systemic biomarkers (HbA1c and serum cholesterol); and a model including results of one retinopathy screening, HbA1c, total cholesterol and duration of diabetes, had acceptable discriminatory power (area under the curve (AUC) of 0.69, 0.76 and 0.77, respectively). The Icelandic model, which combined retinopathy grading, duration and type of diabetes, HbA1c and systolic blood pressure, performed very similarly (AUC of 0.74). Conclusion: In an Irish cohort of people with T2D, the prediction models tested had an acceptable performance identifying those at risk of progression to RDR. These risk models would be useful in establishing more personalised screening intervals for people with T2D
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