Safety in Numbers: Developing a Shared Analytics Service for Academic Libraries

Purpose It is clear that libraries consider the use of data to inform decision making a top priority in the next five years. Jisc’s considerable work on activity data has highlighted the lack of tools and services for libraries to exploit this data. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of a shared analytics service for UK academic libraries and introduce the Jisc Library Analytics and Metrics Project (LAMP). The project aims to help libraries effectively management collections and services as well as delivering pre-emptive indicators and ‘actionable insights’ to help identify new trends, personalise services and improve efficiencies, economies and effectiveness (student attainment and satisfaction and institutional reputation, for example) . The project builds on the Library Impact Data Project at the University of Huddersfield and the work of the Copac Activity Data and Collections Management tools. The paper will deliver a case study of the project, its progress to date, the challenges of such an approach and the implications the service has for academic libraries. Design, methodology or approach The paper will be a case study of the project and its institutional partners and early adopters work to date and explore both the technical and cultural challenges of the work as well as its implications for the role of the library within the institution and the services it provides. Specifically the case study will comprise of the following aspects: 1. A brief history of the work and the context of library analytics services in the UK (and internationally). A description of the approach adopted by the project, and the vision and goals of the project 2. Exploration of the challenges associated with the project. In particular the challenges around accessing and sharing the data, ‘warehousing’ and data infrastructure considerations and the design challenge of visualising the data sources in a useful and coherent way 3. Outline of the implications of the project and the resultant service. In particular the implications for benchmarking (within the UK and beyond), standards development for library statistics and impact (in particular the development of ISO 16439), service development, the role of the library within the wider institution and skills and expertise of librarians. Findings This paper will report on the initial findings of the project, which will run from January 2013 to October 2013. In particular it will consider the issues surfaced through the close engagement with the academic library community (through the projects community advisory and planning group) and the institutional early-adopters around data gathering and analysis. Practical implications Data accumulated in one context has the potential to inform decisions and interventions elsewhere. While there are a number of recognised and well understood use-cases for library analytics these tend to revolve around usage and collection management. Yet, the potential of a shared analytics service is in uncovering those links and indicators across diverse data sets. The paper will consider a number of practical impacts: Performance: benchmarking, student attainment, research productivity Design: fine tuning services, personalised support Trends: research landscape, student marketplace, utilisation of resources. The case study will explore these practical implications for libraries and what they mean for the future of the library within the academy. Originality and value of the proposal The paper will present a case study of a unique service that currently fills an important gap within the library analytics space. The paper will focus on the services potential to transform both the way the library works and how it is erceived by its users, as well as its role and relationship within the broader institution

Safety in Numbers: Developing a Shared Analytics Services for Academic Libraries

Purpose It is clear that libraries consider the use of data to inform decision making a top priority in the next five years. Jisc’s considerable work on activity data has highlighted the lack of tools and services for libraries to exploit this data. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of a shared analytics service for UK academic libraries and introduce the Jisc Library Analytics and Metrics Project (LAMP). The project aims to help libraries effectively management collections and services as well as delivering pre-emptive indicators and ‘actionable insights’ to help identify new trends, personalise services and improve efficiencies, economies and effectiveness (student attainment and satisfaction and institutional reputation, for example) . The project builds on the Library Impact Data Project at the University of Huddersfield and the work of the Copac Activity Data and Collections Management tools. The paper will deliver a case study of the project, its progress to date, the challenges of such an approach and the implications the service has for academic libraries. Design, methodology or approach The paper will be a case study of the project and its institutional partners and early adopters work to date and explore both the technical and cultural challenges of the work as well as its implications for the role of the library within the institution and the services it provides. Specifically the case study will comprise of the following aspects: 1. A brief history of the work and the context of library analytics services in the UK (and internationally). A description of the approach adopted by the project, and the vision and goals of the project 2. Exploration of the challenges associated with the project. In particular the challenges around accessing and sharing the data, ‘warehousing’ and data infrastructure considerations and the design challenge of visualising the data sources in a useful and coherent way 3. Outline of the implications of the project and the resultant service. In particular the implications for benchmarking (within the UK and beyond), standards development for library statistics and impact (in particular the development of ISO 16439), service development, the role of the library within the wider institution and skills and expertise of librarians. Findings This paper will report on the initial findings of the project, which will run from January 2013 to October 2013. In particular it will consider the issues surfaced through the close engagement with the academic library community (through the projects community advisory and planning group) and the institutional early-adopters around data gathering and analysis. Practical implications Data accumulated in one context has the potential to inform decisions and interventions elsewhere. While there are a number of recognised and well understood use-cases for library analytics these tend to revolve around usage and collection management. Yet, the potential of a shared analytics service is in uncovering those links and indicators across diverse data sets. The paper will consider a number of practical impacts: Performance: benchmarking, student attainment, research productivity Design: fine tuning services, personalised support Trends: research landscape, student marketplace, utilisation of resources. The case study will explore these practical implications for libraries and what they mean for the future of the library within the academy. Originality and value of the proposal The paper will present a case study of a unique service that currently fills an important gap within the library analytics space. The paper will focus on the services potential to transform both the way the library works and how it is erceived by its users, as well as its role and relationship within the broader institution

Understanding patterns of library use among undergraduate students from different disciplines

Objective The objective of this study was to test whether routinely-generated library usage data could be linked with information about students to understand patterns of library use among students from different disciplines at the University of Huddersfield. This information is important for librarians seeking to demonstrate the value of the library, and to ensure that they are providing services which meet user needs. The study seeks to join two strands of library user research which until now have been kept rather separate – an interest in disciplinary differences in usage, and a methodology which involves large-scale routinely-generated data. Methods The study uses anonymised data about individual students derived from two sources: routinely-generated data on various dimensions of physical and electronic library resource usage, and information from the student registry on the course studied by each student. Courses were aggregated at a subject and then disciplinary level. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann Whitney tests were used to identify statistically significant differences between the high-level disciplinary groups, and within each disciplinary group at the subject level. Results The study identifies a number of statistically significant differences on various dimensions of usage between both high-level disciplinary groupings and lower subject-level groupings. In some cases, differences are not the same as those observed in earlier studies, reflecting distinctive usage patterns and differences in the way that disciplines or subjects are defined and organised. Arts students at Huddersfield use library resources less than those in social science disciplines, contradicting findings from studies at other institutions, although music students are high users within the arts subject-level grouping. Computing and engineering students were relatively similar, although computing students were more likely to download PDFs, and engineering students were more likely to use the physical library. Conclusions The technique introduced in this study represents an effective way of understanding distinctive usage patterns at an individual institution. There may be potential to aggregate findings across several institutions to help universities benchmark their own performance and usage; this would require a degree of collaboration and standardisation. This study found that students in certain disciplines at Huddersfield use the library in different ways to students in those same disciplines at other institutions: further investigation is needed to understand exactly why these differences exist, but some hypotheses are offered

Social Media Usage by Library Staff in Academic Libraries: The Case of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos State, Nigeria

The significance of social media in an academic library cannot be overemphasized. The advancement and application of information technology to academic libraries has brought about change in users attitudes and needs, changes in library services and changes in library staff job functions. The objective of the study was to ascertain the awareness and use of social media by library staff of Yaba College of technology, Lagos, Nigeria. The descriptive survey method was employed for the study. The sample for this study comprised of 60 library staff. The questionnaire was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data collected. Findings of the study revealed that Facebook and WhatsApp are the most commonly used social media tools by library staff in promoting library and information resources and services. However, major constraints to social media usage include poor internet access, irregular power supply and lack of social media tools, hence, recommendations were made; these include the provision of internet facilities in all offices in the library and uninterrupted power supply for library staff amongst others. Keywords: Social media, Library staff, Academic libraries, Yaba College of technology, Nigeri

Recent Developments in Cultural Heritage Image Databases: Directions for User-Centered Design

published or submitted for publicatio

DeWitt Wallace Library Annual Report 2015-2016

Summary of library and media services activities for 2015-201

Evaluation of Digital Libraries

The paper discusses the need for digital library evaluation. It provides insight into a framework for digital library evaluation. The paper also discusses various evaluation techniques in detail. Examples of major digital library evaluation projects underway world-wide are also included. The paper presents a detailed case study of digital library evaluation conducted by the Management Development Institute, India. Techniques used and the results of the evaluation are also discussed

Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind: Surveying Library Use Among Students Studying Abroad

Pepperdine University\u27s six international campus libraries are not staffed by librarians. However, the library serves overseas students with small print collections, course specific LibGuides and highly trained student assistants. A goal of the LibGuides and student workers is to make students aware of library resources and services while studying abroad. Students studying overseas were surveyed to determine their use and awareness of library resources. In addition, to determine if the library could have an important role in supporting study abroad programs, students were asked if they had research assignments that required outside resources. While the results of the survey revealed that the majority of students are aware of library resources and services, the library should take additional steps to better serve overseas students

Conference Proceedings

On April 18, 2008 the College at Brockport\u27s librarians and IT staff stirred up a successful one-day conference: Integrating Library Services into Learning Management Systems. “Library-2-LMS” (its shortened title) was a one-day regional conference where participants learned about ways in which libraries had incorporated information, databases, tutorials, and assessment instruments into learning management systems. The concept for the conference originated during a library/IT meeting. One librarian, with support from several departments, wrote and received a $5000 COCID (Conference on Computing in the Disciplines) grant from the statewide SUNY Technology committee. This amount plus a small registration fee paid by participants covered all aspects of the conference

Geoscience after IT: Part L. Adjusting the emerging information system to new technology

Coherent development depends on following widely used standards that respect our vast legacy of existing entries in the geoscience record. Middleware ensures that we see a coherent view from our desktops of diverse sources of information. Developments specific to managing the written word, map content, and structured data come together in shared metadata linking topics and information types