Coordinating Committees

User Services Coordinating Committee Meeting
Minutes, October 16, 2007

Present: Steve Frye, Ella Cross, Renee Buker, Nick Weber, Leigh Dorsey, Valerie Malzacher, Dave Dettman, Jill Markgraf, Barb Bren, Paul Moriarty, Jana Reeg-Steidinger

The meeting was called to order at 10:15 am, followed by introductions.

Review Charge

The committee’s charge was reviewed, with some discussion.  One question was how “users” is defined in the charge.  Although the primary users of UW libraries are students and faculty, other library users are also included, such as genealogists, local high school students, or other community members.  It was also mentioned that there will likely be a great deal of overlap between the User Services committee and the other three coordinating committees.  All committee members were asked to sign up for the email lists of the other coordinating committees to stay abreast of potential and on-going collaborations.

Non-represented Campuses

The committee has established contacts at non-represented campuses.   These include: Patti Becker at UW-Stevens Point, John Leonard-Berg at UW-Platteville, Randall Hoelzen at UW-LaCrosse, and Ann Vogl at UW-Colleges (Baraboo).  The committee will contact these individuals when specific information concerning user services at these non-represented campuses is needed by the committee.  General communication and discussions should happen through the committee email list which currently has representation from all UW campuses – including several representatives from the UW-Colleges.  When the USCC meets to discuss issues and implement action items, the committee will do so representing the interests of all campuses within the UW-System. 

General Overview of User Services on Each Campus

Each member present provided a one-page overview of user services on his or her campus, and a few non-represented campuses also sent overviews of their services for the committee’s review.  Some highlights follow; refer to the full one-page documents for more details about each campus.

UW-Baraboo

No member present, but the only UW-College to respond to the request for an overview.  Baraboo provides reference in person and via phone, email, and instant messaging.  Most instruction is provided in-class, and the number has been consistent from year to year.  They have used “Library Course Pages” in D2L extensively this semester, many customized for specific assignments.  Questions at the reference desk tend more toward computer questions (printing, etc.), and reference questions tend to be more difficult, “last resort” questions.

UW-Eau Claire

Jill Markgraf presented an overview of user services.  Eau Claire currently has a number of position vacancies, which are being used as an opportunity to rethink how reference and instruction is organized.  They are hoping to move toward a subject specialist model of providing reference and instruction and are currently utilizing on-call staff, LTEs, and trained students to provide reference services until librarian positions are filled.  The instruction program at Eau Claire offers many “one-shot” sessions, as well as a for-credit library skills course sometimes taught by librarians as overload.  They are working towards integrating a specialized library widget into D2L and hope to integrate into D2L even further when their Library Systems position is filled.  Eau Claire has participated in LibQual and evaluation of individual instruction sessions.  They also use “Libstats” to track reference questions throughout the library and develop training for various departments.  Some of the questions they are currently discussing are how to effectively provide reference service (traditional reference desk, or a change?) and how to balance the high demands of librarians’ faculty status on their campus.

UW-Green Bay

Dave Dettman presented an overview of Green Bay’s services.  Green Bay has included a computing consultant at their reference desk to answer technical or computing questions.  Other reference services include a one-on-one research assistance program, Meebo chatboxes on their website (hopefully to expand onto subject pages as well), and a “roving reference service” pilot at places around campus, such as the coffee shop or writing center.  Their instruction program is seeing more requests for sessions outside the library, in the instructor’s classroom.  Course guides are created for many classes and integrated into D2L –statistics indicate these are well-used.  Reference services are promoted in a variety of ways, including outreach to departments, a news blog, staff Facebook pages, and a weekly “Research Guy” column in the student newspaper.  Green Bay experimented with the iSkills information literacy assessment test, which opened doors for library staff to participate in campus-wide assessment committees.

UW-Madison

Steve Frye presented information about UW-Madison’s user services.  The Madison campus has over 40 libraries, about half of which fall under the campus General Library System and another half under other department administration.  Recently there has been more movement towards cooperation among all these libraries.  The instruction program includes an online tutorial and class session for all students in a “Communication Requirement” course on campus, reaching a large percentage of all freshman students (although some students test out of this course and thus miss the library component).  They would like to work on integrating information literacy at the major level.  There are some short, point-of-need tutorials available on Madison’s website, but the numbers are limited to reduce the amount of upkeep required.  Also, in user surveys, Madison has heard from students that they still want in-person reference and instruction, so this is still a focus.  Reference is becoming a more collaborative effort across campus, with general reference focused in College and Memorial Libraries and subject specialists at subject libraries across campus.  “Ask a Librarian” links are included in larger numbers throughout the website, and their chat reference service is staffed at reference desks during regular reference hours.  Qualitative assessment of reference service is something they are currently investigating.

UW-Milwaukee

Leigh Dorsey shared an overview of Milwaukee’s user services.  Milwaukee provides reference at a traditional reference desk, as well as via email, phone, and 24/7 chat.  Instruction is provided through course-integrated sessions and drop-in workshops.  This semester there is a special research workshop series, co-sponsored by the Graduate School, focusing on graduate-level research skills.  The instruction program also does outreach to local K-12 schools.  Through their instruction programs, they are experimenting with “clicker” technology to poll and assess students, especially in larger instruction sessions.  Milwaukee is remodeling their reference area and considering possible partnerships in this area with computing or tutoring resources on campus, as well as reconsidering how the area should be staffed effectively.

UW Oshkosh

Renee Buker presented user services at UW Oshkosh.  Reference is provided at the traditional reference desk, as well as via phone, email and 24/7 chat.  Some staff are experimenting with instant messaging for chat reference as well.  Library instruction is composed primarily of one-shot sessions.  This semester Oshkosh is piloting a one-credit “information skills” lab attached to an Advanced Composition course.  Oshkosh is also seeing an increase in popularity of one-on-one research appointments.  In D2L, there is a library widget as a default on the main D2L page and all course homepages; Oshkosh is exploring implementing UW-College’s model of integrating course-specific library pages into D2L courses.

UW-Parkside

Nick Weber talked about services provided by UW-Parkside.  Parkside currently has position openings and thus has reduced reference hours this semester, but they also offer email and chat reference through HumanClick.  They have subject specialists for both reference and instruction.  The campus has an information literacy requirement, which includes D2L-based quizzes; however, some students who test out of the English class to which this is attached end up only taking the D2L-based quizzes shortly before graduating.  Librarians are looking at how this could be reworked.  Parkside also offers some academic department based instruction sessions and a one-credit library resources course.

UW-Platteville

No member was present from UW-Platteville, but the committee reviewed the report submitted.  The committee was curious about what type of “live online training” Platteville offered to their distance education students.  Platteville affirmed the findings of UW-Madison that students “like and expect the personal contact; not just webpage tutorials”.  Platteville also brought up the concern of not having access to some of the same databases and journals that larger campuses are able to afford.

UW-River Falls

Valerie Malzacher presented information about user services at UW-River Falls.  This semester they have expanded their library and reference hours due to high student demand (and extra funding provided).  They are working with trained student assistants to provide weekend reference service and keeping a close eye on statistics to evaluate the use of the extended hours.  River Falls has discontinued their involvement with QuestionPoint chat reference, but they are exploring other options through instant messaging.  Information literacy sessions are provided for intro and advanced classes, and other instruction services include library orientation tours, librarian consultations in faculty offices, and some course-specific webpages.  River Falls has a basic D2L presence and are hoping to expand on this.  They have experimented with outreach in Facebook, placing some ads (and discovering that the small amount they paid was not enough to guarantee a lot of visibility) and creating a Facebook library group for keeping students up-to-date on library events.  River Falls has also utilized wikis for internal use.

UW-Stevens Point

No staff member from Stevens Point was at the meeting, so committee members reviewed the submitted overview of user services.  Some highlights that the committee commented on included Stevens Point’s blog for sharing about new books in their collection and utilizing the RSS feed from that and other sites to keep users current.  The work they are doing with instructing users how to customize Google Scholar was also mentioned.  It was also mentioned that Stevens Point relocated their reference desk for better visibility to users.

UW-Stout

Jana Reeg-Steidinger discussed user services at UW-Stout.  At their reference desk, they look to only have library staff providing reference service.  However, with the increase of computing and technology questions, they are in discussions about combining their reference and technology help desks to provide both types of expertise at reference.  Email reference is also provided and very well-used.  Instruction is strong at Stout, with most English 101 classes and graduate research methods classes receiving instruction.  Librarians are increasingly visiting classrooms for these sessions instead of requiring the class to come to the library; hands-on activities still work well due to the campus-wide laptop requirement.  Library staff also offer instruction to new faculty on customizing library offerings in D2L and creating “non-research-paper assignments” that still utilize and build information literacy skills.  Stout also offers instruction for distance education students through teleconferences and participating in D2L discussion threads.  Outreach and promotion is a new focus of the library.

UW-Superior

Ella Cross talked about services provided at UW-Superior.  Superior offers traditional reference, as well as phone and email reference.  They are not currently offering chat reference.  The traditional reference desk relies on trained student assistant staffing, especially students in the campus’s library science program.  Library instruction is offered for a variety of classes on campus, and course-related instruction sessions are much more popular than drop-in workshops.  There are basic links from D2L to library resources, and this is an area in which they would like to expand.

UW-Whitewater

Barb Bren gave an overview of user services at UW-Whitewater.  Whitewater provides traditional reference desk service and are also participants in the 24/7 QuestionPoint chat service.  Individual librarians also offer IM chat reference.  The instruction program is steady, reaching most first-year English classes and “New Student Seminars”.  Staff also offer training at the new faculty and staff orientation and some online tutorials.  Whitewater’s instance of D2L includes a library widget with links to basic library resources.  They have also mapped the e-reserves links to automatically go to the e-reserves page for that specific course.  A trend that Whitewater staff have noticed is that they are receiving more complex questions at the reference desk – the assumption being that users are able to find answers to the simple questions on their own.

We broke for lunch at 1pm.  The meeting reconvened at 2:05 p.m.

MetaLib Survey Results

Committee members discussed the Metalib survey results. Committee members reported on their experiences with metalib, focusing on how they are using and teaching it. Responses varied, with some libraries not using it at all due to lack of resources to implement it or customize it, those who have implemented it but don’t use it or teach it due to dissatisfaction with the product, and those who are using it and teaching it and are satisfied with it. Some libraries find that their students like it, while other libraries find that their students are confused and frustrated by it.

Malzacher suggested that we look at empirical evidence rather than rely on anecdotal evidence. Frye suggested that we consider conducting formal assessment of Metalib. It was also suggested that librarians look at Metalib configurations at other campuses via the Metalib change portal feature (demonstrated by Malzacher). Moriarty suggested that several assessments might need to be conducted to look at things such as implementation, needs of users, etc. He also cautioned that it may be difficult to assess when campuses are at such different levels of implementation and use.

Action Items

Committee members spent the remainder of the meeting discussing and identifying action items on which the committee will work. The following list was generated, with the understanding that it will be pared down and prioritized once CUWL provides feedback and direction:

  • Investigate new models of reference services while focusing on services for remote users, the role of students and paraprofessionals in providing reference services (staffing issues), the integration of reference services with other academic support services, training issues, assessment issues, and the future of the reference desk.
    Addresses Strategic Direction 3, Objectives 3, 4 and 6.

  • Explore information literacy/library instruction assessment tools and make a recommendation.  (The committee discussed Dettman’s experience with iSkills, which he will discuss at a future meeting).
    Addresses Strategic Direction 2, Objective 2; Strategic Direction 3, Objective 1.

  • Document user service tools, resources, and methods currently employed by UW campuses and facilitate the sharing and use of these tools, resources, and methods across the UW System.  The open source reference statistics software developed at UW-Madison (PS Stats) is one example.  The use of student response systems (clickers) at a few of our campuses is another example.
    Addresses Strategic Direction 1, Objective 4; Strategic Direction 2, Objective 2; Strategic Direction 3, Objective 3.

  • Explore the use of Web 2.0 tools in the provision of user services.
    Addresses Strategic Direction 1, Objective 4; Strategic Direction 1, Objective 5.

  • Create a system-wide user services wiki to share information, tools, resources and teaching materials.
    Addresses Strategic Direction 1, Objective 4; Strategic Direction 2, Objective 2; Strategic Direction 3, Objective 3.

  • Investigate and recommend ways to assess our user services - focusing on our shared resources and parallel services.  Note: One example of a shared resource is MetaLib. 
    Addresses Strategic Direction 1, Objective 4; Strategic Direction 3, Objective 1.

  • Identify the desired/required functionality of our next generation OPAC.
    Addresses Strategic Direction 1, Objective 4; Strategic Direction 1, Objective 5.

The comment was made that the list is ambitious but in tackling these action items, inter-committee task forces and work groups can be formed. These groups can include people who are not on the CUWL coordinating committees and may be one way to include individuals from unrepresented campuses.

The meeting adjourned at 4:10 p.m.