Using Google Forms to Track Library Space Usage

This article is a response to the excellent “Using Mobile Technology to Observe Student Study Behaviors and Track Library Space Usage” by Susan Thompson (2015). Thompson reviews the literature regarding user counts on mobile devices, and describes the California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) Library’s evaluation of SUMA, Counter+ and CloudOn. After trialing these mobile technologies, CSUSM selected CloudOn. At New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), we use Google Forms to conduct user counts on an iPad and Google Sheets to evaluate this data. We find that Google Forms are easy to set up, modify as necessary, and present the data in easy-to-manipulate spreadsheets

Collection Management

Using Steven Carl Fortriede's method in Moving Your Library: Getting the Collection from Here to There as a framework, we successfully moved the New York University Abu Dhabi Library from a library and offsite storage facility to one new library. While we generally followed Fortriede’s advice, we deviated from his plan in three important ways: we created a color-coding system for the boxes, which eliminated the need to keep the boxes in strict order; we integrated two collections during the move (rather than before); and we created phantom books to create space for lengthy multi-volume sets in the smaller collection

Innovative Solutions for Building Community in Academic Libraries

Students are a primary part of any academic library’s community of users. However, students’ voices are often left out of the conversation when libraries develop policies, services, and resources. One option for libraries who would like to consider students’ opinions and needs more closely is the formation of a Student Advisory Group (SAG), a group of students who meet with library staff on a regular basis to discuss and provide advice on library policies, resources and strategies. Academic libraries can use SAGs for assistance with communication, collection development, focus group testing, and more. This article explores the logistics of creating, maintaining and assessing a SAG, along with concrete examples from the SAG at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). Student Advisory Groups have the potential to enrich any academic library’s outreach and community-building efforts, and should be considered as an option by any library looking to become more student-centered

Journal of Access Services

New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Library receives copies of all course syllabi to provide a number of services to faculty and students related to acquisitions, access, collection development, subject liaison, and library instruction. Access services and acquisitions staff, as well as subject specialist librarians, work together using specific workflows to ensure subject-relevant materials are selected and purchased on an ongoing basis and access needs are met by course reserves or the learning management system. In addition, the library works closely with the NYUAD Bookstore, which also receives textbook orders, to ensure students have access to all required and supplementary materials on the first day of classes

Tracking our shipping with OBILLSK

Developed by Texas Tech University Libraries, OBILLSK Shipment Tracking system provides a single web-based portal for inputting, tracking and assessing shipments regardless of shipment method. NYU uses OBILLSK to track shipments between NYU locations, including five libraries in New York City and two global sites (Abu Dhabi and Shanghai), as well shipments to resource sharing partners

Bridging Worlds: Emerging Models and Practices of U.S. Academic Libraries Around the Globe

Six years ago NYU Libraries did not offer comprehensive delivery services, scanning or paging of local collections, to library users. Today delivery services are well developed for select library users throughout NYU’s global network. How does a major research library develop these services? This chapter outlines the conceptualization, development, and current state of delivery services at New York University’s three degree-granting campuses and academic centers. Topics include selection of request system, shipping of materials, user expectations, usage statistics, staffing, and the rewards and challenges of working with a team based around the globe

Community-based surveillance of unaccompanied and separated children in drought-affected northern Ethiopia

Background Children separated from their caregivers in humanitarian emergencies are vulnerable to multiple risks. However, no field-tested methods exist to capture ongoing changes in the frequency and nature of separation in these contexts over the course of a protracted crisis. Methods Recognizing this gap, a mobile phone-based surveillance system was established in a drought-affected district in northern Ethiopia to assess the feasibility of using community focal points to monitor cases of unaccompanied and separated children. A total of 29 focal points were recruited through village elections from 10 villages in the district. Feasibility was assessed directly by measuring the number and quality of messages sent by the focal points each week. The team also evaluated the implementation process and any challenges that arose through observations and key informant interviews with focal points at the conclusion of the project measuring frequency of employing various information gathering techniques, challenges faced, and perceptions of community expectations. Likert scales were used to measure overall satisfaction with the experience of being a focal point, self-assessed difficulty of being a focal point, perceived likelihood of cases captured, and motivation. Results Over a six-month period, the focal points reported 48 cases of separation. The majority of separated children (64.6%) were 10 years of age or older. Work was a major driver of separation, especially for boys. Age, sex, role in community, and density of community had no statistically significant impact on focal point performance in terms of frequency, accuracy, or consistency of messages. The focal points themselves reported high levels of motivation, but suggested several areas for improvement in the surveillance system. Conclusions Without the surveillance system, most of these children would have otherwise been unrecognized. From a technical standpoint the system was successful and resilient in the face of unexpected external challenges. However, focal point participation and accuracy was variable over time and across groups and diminished towards the later months of the study, suggesting that the community-based approach may require additional supports to ensure that the surveillance system is able to accurately capture trends over time

Functional Polymorphisms in PRODH Are Associated with Risk and Protection for Schizophrenia and Fronto-Striatal Structure and Function

PRODH, encoding proline oxidase (POX), has been associated with schizophrenia through linkage, association, and the 22q11 deletion syndrome (Velo-Cardio-Facial syndrome). Here, we show in a family-based sample that functional polymorphisms in PRODH are associated with schizophrenia, with protective and risk alleles having opposite effects on POX activity. Using a multimodal imaging genetics approach, we demonstrate that haplotypes constructed from these risk and protective functional polymorphisms have dissociable correlations with structure, function, and connectivity of striatum and prefrontal cortex, impacting critical circuitry implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Specifically, the schizophrenia risk haplotype was associated with decreased striatal volume and increased striatal-frontal functional connectivity, while the protective haplotype was associated with decreased striatal-frontal functional connectivity. Our findings suggest a role for functional genetic variation in POX on neostriatal-frontal circuits mediating risk and protection for schizophrenia