Evaluating and Marketing Electronic Reference Collection

ER&L 2010 February 1 – 3, Austin, Texas

The College of New JerseyJia Mi

Information Retrieval Landscape

Students/Faculty have very different approaches to information retrieval ◦ OCLC report “Perceptions of Libraries and

Information Resources” (2005)◦ Ithaka’s studies “Key Stakeholders in the Digital

Transformation in Higher Education ” (Aug. 2008)◦ Simon Inger Consulting report “How Readers

Navigate to Scholarly Content” (Sept. 2008)◦ University of Washington study “Lesson Learned:

How College Students Seek Information in the Digital Age.” (Dec. 2009)

They all prefer online resourcesLibrary is not the first place to start their research

Researchers vs. Librarians

Researcher’s Perception Librarian’s Perception

Online Major Reference Works Librarians: 86% Online

Online Handbook Series Librarians: 75% Online

Online MonographsLibrarians: 57% Online

92% :CRITICAL to Access Fundamental knowledge [BOOKS] on each discipline

Sources: Global Faculty eBook Survey 2007 (E-brary); Global ScienceDirect user survey, S.M.S. Research 2009, 450 Librarian Responses

“My faculty and students prefer electronic format, so I am moving most of my reference books to e-format.

My print material is not being used, it sits on the shelves.”

Librarians say…

# o f R e s e a r c h e r s

Researchers say…

Researchers vs. Librarians

Online

No Preference

Print

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

400

250

150

Studies on Print Reference Usage

1990 Eugene Engeldinger

5-year study at University of Wisconsin

Result: more than half of the reference items (51.4%) had been used no more than one time

2005 Jane T. Bradford 2-year study at Stetson University

Result: Only 9.7%of the print reference collection was being used

2007 58% 33%

Survey of 145 Librarians @ALA

Print reference was dead or on its way out

It is not dead

Affordability41%

Accessibility15%

Patron Demand14%

Easy License Agreement

10%Easy to Use Interface

Content7% Space

6%

Source: 2009 SMS Research/Elsevier Survey Responses from 450 Librarians Worldwide

Impact Factors for Librarians

Before eBooks Purchasing

Source: 2009 SMS Research/Elsevier Survey Responses from 450 Librarians Worldwide

Acces

sibilit

y

Multip

le S

imulta

neou

s...

Quick

Bro

wse&Se

arch

Cost

Patro

n Pr

efer

ence

Discov

erab

ility/Usa

ge

Ease

of U

se0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

69%

26%

20% 19%

13% 13% 11%

Series1

Librarians ‘ Consideration After eBooks Purchasing

The College of New Jersey

A highly selective, Comprehensive Undergraduate College with a strong liberal arts core

Approximately 6,000 FTE 992 faculty membersOver 564,000 monographsOver 46,165 journals95% Freshmen are on

campus

Evaluate eReference Collection

Searchability

Navigability

Results Linking Citation Tool

Browse Uncluttered design

Clearly resented

Linking to Other DBs

Instruction on Citation

Basic Search

Minimal clicks to search

Search Terms Highlighted

Linking to Library Catalog

Citation Tool

Advanced Search

Clear Site Navigation

Relevancy Ranking

Inter-operability

Multimedia

Metasearch Plain Language

Ease of working

Persistent links to the item level

Help

eReference Usage in 2009Sess

ions

Searc

hes

FTSess

ions

Searc

hes

FTSess

ions

Searc

hes

FTSess

ions

Searc

hes

FTSess

ions

Searc

hes

FTSess

ions

Searc

hes

FTSess

ions

Searc

hes

FTSess

ions

Searc

hes

FTSess

ions

Searc

hes

FTSess

ions

Searc

hes

FTSess

ions

Searc

hes

FTSess

ions

Searc

hes

FT

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

3,379

3,185

Encyclopedia of Women in World HistoryEncyclopedia of Popular Music, 4th Ed.Oxford Islamic Studies Online Oxford English DictionaryOxford Reference Online Grove ArtGrove Music

Where did Users Access From?

Entrance Sources

Linking, Linking and Linking

Link to Other Databases

Also linked to ARTStor (ARTStor)Literature Online (Proquest)Classical Music Online (Alexander’s)RILM (EBSCO)

Link to Library Catalog

Course Management Systems

● Library Resources– Add the link to your Browser

– Direct link as a banner – Direct link to a search box – Linking directly to subject homepages– Linking directly to book homepages ● Incorporate eReference into CMS● Subject Specific Guides (LibGuide)● Embedded librarians (SOCS)

Marketing Resources in theCourse Management System

Jackson, P. A. (2007). Integrating Information Literacy into Blackboard: Building Campus Partnerships for Successful Student Learning. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 33(4) p.454-

461.

RSS Feeds in SOCS (CMS)

● Deliver dynamic content● Low maintenance ● New Books● Database listings● Canned database

searches● Can be re-purposed

RSS: French Studies Guide

http://www.tcnj.edu/~library/moulaison/FrenchStudies.htm

RSS: Italian Studies Guide

http://www.tcnj.edu/~library/moulaison/ItalianStudies.htm

22

RSS Feeds in Library Subject Guides

RSS Feed in Other Spaces

LibGuide: Marketing Resources

User Centered Example: Connect to Student Portals

● MyMonash– Reading lists– Past exams– Search the library catalog– Checked out materials– Links to library databases– Podcasts (Online Lectures)– Library SMS Notifications

● For more information, see Simon Hugard's 2007 EndUser

presentation available from:http://

users.monash.edu.au/~simonh/enduser2007/

User Centered Example : Course Reserves in the CMS

Course Reserves in the CMS. Yale University Library is dynamically including course reserves from Voyager in u-Portal and Sakai. (Thanks to Kalee Spraugue for the screenshot and details)

Conclusions

● Making students and faculty more aware of the library's role in providing access to the high-quality resources they need.

● Continue to find more effective ways to integrate our resources and services with the Course Management Systems

Patrons don't come to the library firstPatrons don't start the search from the library website

● Go to the patrons in the online environment● Work with vendors to improve the product

quality

Thank You