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Changes in Library Usage, Usability, & User Support

This study examines trends in library usage and usability assessments, exploring how libraries are changing in response to changes in library use. The report provides guidance on assessment methods, issues, and challenges faced by libraries, along with potential solutions. The goal is to inform library practice and improve planning for the future.

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Changes in Library Usage, Usability, & User Support

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  1. Changes in Library Usage, Usability, & User Support Denise A. Troll Distinguished Fellow, Digital Library Federation Associate University Librarian, Carnegie Mellon 4th Northumbria International Conference August 12-16, 2001

  2. The Assessment Problem • Libraries are changing • How & why? • Traditional measures are inadequate • Assessing HOW library use is changing, will not explain WHY library use is changing, or HOW libraries are or should be changing in response to changes in library use

  3. Like a Ship on the Sea of Change We experience, but do not control, the changing sea & weather around us. Understanding is crucial to navigating the changes & staying afloat.

  4. The DLF Initiative • Study usage & usability assessments • Study assessment priorities Facilitate future research

  5. Usage & Usability Assessments • What data are being gathered & analyzed? • Why, how, & by whom? • Who uses the results? • Why, how, & to what effect? • What are the issues, problems, & lessons learned?

  6. Purpose of the Study To identify trends in leading digital libraries that are likely to inform library practice Not to be exhaustive, representative, or predictive

  7. Full Report – Sept / Oct 2001 • Common ground • Why to conduct assessments • Instructions to use popular methods • Issues, problems, & lessons learned • Bibliography • Appendices • Sample instruments • Other methods & measures

  8. Common Ground • Focus on (diverse) users • Useful & usable Web user interfaces • Guidance for undergraduates • Continuous marketing of library resources • Focus on assessment • Inputs, outputs, & composite measures • Service quality & user satisfaction • Usability, outcomes, & impacts • Cost effectiveness & cost benefits

  9. How & Why to Conduct . . . • Surveys • Focus groups • Usability tests • Transaction log analysis What the methods are good for. What they’re not good for. What to look out for.

  10. Issues That Cross Methods • Sampling – cost-benefit analysis • Permission & Privacy – informed consent & working with the Institutional Review Board • Observational research – what to observe, how to record it, & training the observer • Study design – start early, use multiple methods to identify problems, figure out how to solve them, & verify they’ve been solved

  11. Assessment Challenges • Defining & measuring things that are changing • Collecting meaningful, purposeful data • Acquiring the requisite knowledge & skills • Managing the data cost effectively • Organizing the library appropriately

  12. Critical Problems • Useless data collection • Individually, libraries aren’t organized internally to collect, analyze, or use data strategically • Duplicated efforts • Collectively, libraries haven’t developed the methods, standard definitions, & guidelines needed

  13. Assessment Priorities • Survey aims, audiences, & methods • Identify highest priority • Design & facilitate research to fill gaps Academic Library Directors Colleges, mid-size & large universities

  14. Assessment Aims • To meet user needs & expectations • To allocate expenditures to meet user needs & expectations cost-effectively • To validate expenditures of existing funds & strategic planning requests for more funds • To recruit & retain competent librarians & staff Many audiences

  15. Top Priority Assessment • Study information use in a broader context • What resources do students & faculty use? • How do they locate, evaluate, & use them? • Do the resources & activities differ across user groups, disciplines, or type of institution? • What needs are not being met? • Target for report – February 2002 DLF & Outsell, Inc.

  16. Purpose of the Study • Provide context for interpreting usage trends • Evaluate the library’s current role • Focus efforts appropriately • Improve planning • Strategies • Organization • Human resources • Financial resources

  17. Tentative Plans • Survey aims, audiences, & methods of librarians in different departments & different levels of the organizational hierarchy • Commonalities may suggest areas for collective effort • Discrepancies may suggest areas for improved communication, coordination, & planning

  18. Smoother Sailing On the Sea of Change

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