Provide seamless access to a collection of high quality resources, including print, web-based resources and locally produced content, which meet the curricular and research requirements of the University

Provide a user friendly website that increases the ease of accessing library resources and services.

A series of surveys will be conducted to gather user input on the usability of the website including layout and terminology. The first study evaluated the website and the information gathered from this study was used to development a new webpage. The second study will survey users to determine better, more intuitive terminology for accessing library tools and services from the website...  Changes in labels and icons on the webpage will be determined by this survey

The library terminology survey,  asked users to select 1-3 terms they “most liked” and then 1-3 terms they “least liked” for each resource definition/image presented. These results will help to shape the design of an actual card-sorting test, to be conducted later this year, where study participants will demonstrate how they would logically group together different library resources and services. These results, in turn, will shape our recommendations for relabeling options on the library website and reorganizing the library site’s main menu.

•  The survey included undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty/staff. We compared results for undergraduates only to the overall results, and the preferences were still pretty consistent.
• The MOST popular term to describe our definition/image of the catalog was “Books & Ebooks” (46%). The popularity of this term was further proven by the fact that it received the smallest number of votes (only 21%) for “least liked term.”
• The term “Catalog” actually fared better than the researchers expected, though reception was still lukewarm—43% chose it as a “most liked” term, but 30% chose it as a “least liked” term (this was the second-highest number of votes for least liked term).
• To describe our definition/image of the databases, the two “most liked” terms were “Articles, News, & Reports” and “Research Databases” (both with 45%).
• For the JournalFinder or A-Z journal list, the “most liked” term was “Journals, Magazines, & Periodicals” (52%). However the researchers are concerned that any label selected in the end should include the word “titles,” to help clarify (at least for some users) that the tool searches only periodical titles and not periodical contents.
• The vastly preferred term for our definition/image of Interlibrary Loan was “Can’t find it? Borrow from another library” (55%), followed by “Request items from another library” (50%). The researchers had some debate about the merits of “request” versus “borrow” in such a label, since the success of your request to borrow is not always guaranteed.
• The LEAST popular term for Interlibrary Loan was “ILLiad” (74%). The researchers discussed the fact that this name is not meaningful to students. Therefore, although the system can remain branded this way, we feel justified in continuing not to use this term in menu links.
• The most liked terms for our definition/image of citation guides were “How to Cite Sources” (33%) and “Citation & Style Guides” (28%). The researchers were surprised; we had expected greater preference for labels that included familiar buzzwords, such as the option for “MLA, APA, & Chicago Help,” but in reality that option received only 15% of the votes for “most liked” term. The “least liked” term for citation guides was “Bibliographic Help” (32%), and the researchers speculate that this is because the term “bibliographic” is foreign and meaningless to students.
• For our definition/image of LibGuides, the “most liked” labels were “Research by Subject” (33%) and “Start Your Research HERE” (30%).
• For course reserves, the most preferred label was “My Class: Reserved Materials” (37%). The researchers speculate that students and faculty are drawn to the emphasis on an individual class, which is most commonly how students are focused when they ask for help locating reserves (they often don’t know the word “reserves,” but they know they need an assigned reading for a specific class). The straightforward label “Reserves” was the “least liked” term (38%).
• Several other questions had unsurprising results and so are not included in these highlights (for example, “FAQ” is the most preferred term for frequently asked questions, versus options such as “Q&A,” and the most preferred term for Distance Learning Services is just that, “Distance Learning Services,” which matches the language currently used by both the library and DELTA).
• The researchers were AMAZED by the quantity and diversity of comments entered by survey participants. Respondents expressed passionate opinions about both extreme ends of the options provided. Some users expressed concern about being comprehensive rather than representative in our labeling, for instance suggesting that we can’t just call the catalog “books & ebooks” but should mention every material type that the catalog holds, and that we can’t call citation guides “MLA, APA, & Chicago help” but should include ASA and other styles as well. We will need to invest some serious time in determining how to code and use this wide variety of comments in our research.

These results will help to shape the design of an actual card-sorting test, to be conducted later this year, where study participants will demonstrate how they would logically group together different library resources and services. These results, in turn, will shape our recommendations for relabeling options on the library website and reorganizing the library site’s main menu.

This fall we plan to conduct a follow-up, card-sorting survey to guide us in terms of grouping tasks in navigation menus. Then the results of both the labeling and grouping surveys will be combined to make changes later in the academic year.

 

Improve access to the library’s monographic collection.

Access to library materials is dependent upon accurate description presented in the bibliographic record, accurate call number and labeling, and proper shelving.  A stratified sample of items cataloged for the Education and the Nursing subject areas for the years 2010 – 2012 will be examined.  Satisfactory results will be 99.8% for bibliographic access points and labeling, and 90% for shelving.

Reports were developed in the ILS for specific dates cataloged - two specific and different time frames in an effort to identify any technical services/ stacks maintenance issues that could be the cause of books becoming missing.

 After the reports were run, Access Services personnel searched for each book.  The title, Author, and Call numbers were compared to the catalog record for accuracy. 

 No discrepancies were found.

Using reports to try to identify issues in technical services or stacks maintenance that could cause new book to be labeled missing within the first year proved to be inconclusive.  It was decided to add an additional review of newly cataloged books.  First a new location, Available Soon, was developed for newly received books. After the books are cataloged and labeled, they are sent to Access Services where the following items on books and catalog records were checked:
               Title
               Call number
               Item ID
               Tattle tape problems
The final step in the process is to discharge the books from the Available Soon location and place them on the new book shelf.

 So far this process has not identified significant problems.

Provide and improve the services that support the learning, teaching, and research needs of students and faculty

Provide students taking online courses with direct linkage to library resources and a Librarian to help facilitate access to library resources that support the course.

An evaluation of the services offered by the embedded librarian will be sent to faculty and students involved in the online courses to determine if the material presented and the Librarian’s help provide the relevant information need by both the faculty member and the students in the course. Satisfaction with the services provided by the embedded librarian will be determined by a 90% favorable response to questions regarding relevancy, appropriateness and timeliness of the services.

The Library’s Instruction Librarian resigned in mid-year.  The surveys for fall and spring were not sent out. 

The Embedded Librarian Team is revising the the survey for the 2014-15 school year.  The survey will be used all three semesters.  The Team will also look at ways to advertise the program to the faculty.

Promote the Library, its services and role in the University

Create a blog for Special Collections, Digital Resources and University Archives.

The blog will facilitate better communication, reaching a wider audience, as well as providing a platform for collaboration. Blogs have a better record for being picked up by web-crawlers. A target of 5 new readers a month will indicate a wider audience is being informed about the resources, services and activities in Special Collections, Digital Resources and University Archives

The Newton Gresham Library added to its presence in the world of social media with:

 A Wordpress Blog, Out of the Box! Treasures of the Newton Gresham Library 

Tumblr: SHSU Special Collections and University Archives

 The use of social media help researchers identify material and posts on Tumblr have been placed on Tumblr Radar as interesting, creative, trending information.  During the summer semester Special Collections, Archives and Digital Resources had the help of an intern from the Public History Program.  This intern organized a collection from Archives and posted a journal describing not only the collection but the process itself.

 Wordpress Blog:

URL: http://nglarchivesandspecialcollections.wordpress.com/

Number of Subscribers: 5707 (as of 08/22/2014)

Number of Page Views: 3,437 (as of 08/22/2014)

Blog highlights:

On March 12, 2014, two researchers from Houston, TX looked at a number of criminal justice manuscript collections in Thomason Special Collections. They mentioned that they had learned about the collections from reading and following our blog.

 Tumblr

URL: http://nglspecialcollectionsandarchives.tumblr.com/

Number of followers: 8,048 (as of 08/22/2014)

Tumblr Highlights:

On March 01, 2014, a post of an animated John W. Thomason drawing was selected by Tumblr to appear on their Tumblr radar (Attachment 1). Tumblr Radar showcases creative and interesting posts. The post in question received over 1,800 notes (equivalent to Facebook’s like system).

On March 07, 2014, The NGL Special Collections and Archives tumblr was placed on Tumblr’s list of trending blogs right behind Newsweek. Trending blogs are featured predominantly throughout the site. (Attachment 2, 3 and 4)

On March 30, 2014, a post of an animated John W. Thomason drawing was selected by Tumblr to appear on their Tumblr radar (attachment 5). Tumblr Radar showcases creative and interesting posts. The post in question received over 1,900 notes (equivalent to Facebook’s like system).

On May 10, 2014, The NGL Special Collections and Archives tumblr was placed on Tumblr’s list of trending blogs. Trending blogs are featured predominantly throughout the site. (Attachment 6)

On July 22, 2014, we launched a second Tumblr page dedicated to sports history at Sam Houston State University called “Sports @ Sam” (http://shsusportscoll.tumblr.com/). The page is curated by Special Collections intern Amanda Chang. (Attachment 7)

Pinterest:
Pinterest:  Thomason Special Collections and SHSU University Archives (http://www.pinterest.com/feliciajt/thomason-special-collections-and-shsu-university-a/)

A new addition to NGL social media with 105 pins and 102 followers as of August 2014.

NGL's presence on social media helped researchers find unknow letters and documents. The postings on the NGL blogs are informative, creative and above all interesting.  The data  indicates that social media does provide a platform to communicate NGL resources to a wider audience.  Additional collections will be posted and with the help of interns from the Public History program, social media will not only make our collection nore accessible but will give students experience in organizing a collection and posting to a blog devoted to special collections.

Provide space that invites research, study and learning.

Provide a space for collaborative/group learning, sharing of information. 

Three collaboration tables will be purchased to provide spaces for group work. These tables allow users to connect a laptop to a large-screen monitor to share their screens on a large scale. These tables allow groups to work together while viewing or editing files and web pages.

The collaboration tables were installed in Spring 2014.  The large tables (seating for 6 to10) were placed in study areas for large groups (1st and 3rd floors); the small table (seating for 4 to 6) was placed in a corner of the Reference area. 

After installation, an announcement was placed on the Library's homepage and instructions were developed and place on the library's website.  Before Spring Semester ended it became obvious that the small table was not being used, although small groups of 3 and 4 were seen working with one computer around the 2nd floor.  At the end of Spring semester the small table was moved a more visible location in the Reference are on the 2nd floor.