Friday, December 21, 2007

Grinnell College Libraries Website Improvements

One of the things we learned from the LibQUAL survey (http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/general/LibQUAL/index.html) that the libraries administered in Spring of 2007 is that the Libraries’ website is not as easy to navigate as we would like it to be. The website provides a central interface and delivery platform for the Libraries’ services and collections. During the Fall of 2007, the Libraries held a series of feedback sessions with students, faculty, and staff to gather opinions on how to improve the usefulness of the Libraries’ home page. We asked each group what they are trying to do when they visit the Libraries’ website, and what would make it easier to accomplish these things. The changes made to the Libraries’ home page are a response to what we learned in the feedback sessions and from other comments about the website. Our goals are to make the links for the most needed items more visible, to group links more logically, and to use more familiar terminology. Because the Libraries’ website is constantly evolving to better meet the needs of students, faculty, and staff, we always welcome your input. Please send feedback and further suggestions to Cecilia Knight [knight@grinnell.edu] and/or Sharon Clayton [clayton@grinnell.edu].

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Checking Out Books Over Winter Break

Students may check books out over break. Books will be due the first day of spring semester (Jan. 21, 2008).

You may renew books you currently have checked out through your patron record in the library catalog: https://cat.lib.grinnell.edu/patroninfo/

Monday, December 17, 2007

Burling Study Breaks

The libraries will be hosting study breaks featuring entertainment, homemade cookies (made by the library staff!) and milk at 9:00 P.M, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of finals week.

Monday night come hear Con Brio and The G-Tones acappella groups.
Tuesday night enjoy the Improv comedy troupe Wednesday night take a break with Buckthorn blue grass band.

Library Exhibit of 18th Century Works

"A Glimpse into the World of the Eighteenth Century" highlights some of the 18th-century editions in the Libraries¹ Special Collections Department, showing the wide range of information available to 18th-century readers ­ and to 21st-century Grinnell students and teachers. The exhibit features books on the exploration of North America, tracts proclaiming the danger of attending the theater, and works that chronicle the experiences of travelers to China, Surinam, and Patagonia. The exhibit is currently on view in Burling Gallery.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Library Service Quality Survey 2007

In February and March 2007, the Libraries surveyed the Grinnell College community to find out how well we are serving campus needs. We used a national survey instrument called LibQUAL (http://libqual.org/) which measures the gaps between your minimum expectations for library service at Grinnell College, your desired level of service, and what you perceive the Grinnell College Libraries to offer in three areas:

  1. Affect of Service: how courteously and responsively library staff serve you
  2. Collections and Access: how well our collections of books, journals, and databases – and such services as the catalog, the website, and interlibrary services – give you access to the information you need
  3. Library as Place: how well our physical facilities serve your needs for space and technology

The survey also included an option for making free-text comments on any subject. Altogether, 278 students, faculty, and staff participated in the survey and 114 gave us comments.


Students

Faculty

Administration and Staff

Librarians and Library Staff

Total

Survey

172 =12% of the students

54 =28% of the faculty

29 = 8% of administration and staff

23 = 85% of librarians and library staff

278

Comments

72

23

14

5

114

What We Heard

Overall, faculty and students perceive the Libraries to meet minimum expectations in the area of Collections and Access – and this is the area that matters most, as expressed by desired level of service. For faculty, Collections and Access are just at the level of minimum expectation. For students, Collections and Access exceed this level by a small amount.

Expectations for Affect of Service are lower, and we come close to meeting desired level of service in this area (though some of the free-text comments reveal concerns in this area, too).

Students have a similar “desired” level for Library as Place as they do for Affect of Service – and perceive our facilities to fall about midway between “minimum” and “desired” levels. More detailed information on the responses can be found in the links below.

There were several comments that questioned the validity of the survey instrument. We agree that this is not a perfect tool and we do not intend to rely on these results alone to understand student and faculty opinions. We see the results as clues to issues and problems (and strengths!) that we need to learn more about, through focus groups, quick point-of-service surveys, and – most important – ongoing conversation. Meanwhile, the survey gave every student, faculty member, and staff member an opportunity to be heard, and gave us a snapshot view of campus opinion at that time.

We have posted a more detailed summary of the survey results, the free-text comments we heard, and the report prepared by the LibQUAL organization. A note on the comments: we have done everything we can to remove information that might reveal the identity of the writer. The comments have been broken up into topics. Otherwise the wording has not been changed. See the links at the end of this page.

What We Plan to Do in Response

Faculty and students give highest priority in their survey responses to library collections and access to information. We have proposed a significant increase in funding for collections in our FY09 budget request, and we have also proposed to purchase new software to improve turnaround speed for books and articles, and the quality of the articles that you receive through our interlibrary services. We will also undertake an assessment of our collecting patterns, usage patterns, and faculty and student priorities; to be sure that we are making the best use of the resources we have been given. Ongoing conversation with faculty and students is essential for us to remain informed about those priorities, and we have reorganized our liaison program (http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/research/consultinglibs/) and our SEPC to help us do that.

Over the next year, we also plan improvements in our Web site that will make it easier for you to find what you are looking for.

We have already begun to address some of the concerns raised about Burling Library, and have made improvements in lighting, furniture, and technology (see What's New at the Grinnell College Libraries for further information).

Look for additional news on these plans over the next few months. We – the librarians and library staff – are responsible to you, the students, faculty, and staff of Grinnell College. Our job is to make the best use of the resources allocated to the Libraries in support of the learning and teaching mission of the College, and to prepare – as best as we can – for the College’s future needs for information and library services. This will sometimes require difficult choices and complex prioritization. We can serve you best if we know your needs and concerns, through your feedback and conversation. Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey.

Richard Fyffe

Rosenthal Librarian of the College

fyffe@grinnell.edu

269.3351

October 2007

Students [PDF]

Faculty [PDF]

Staff [PDF]

Tell Us What You Think: http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/feedback.html

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Grinnell College Libraries: Summer Projects 2007

The Libraries will be unusually busy between May 22 and August 1. We will open the new Science Library in Noyce Phase 2, and make several changes on the first floor of Burling to improve lighting, accessibility, and services. This will involve shifting collections, drilling and construction, and some general disruption. We will do our best to maintain services. However, we encourage all faculty and students who might need library collections for MAPs or other summer research to plan ahead and to ask for assistance. We will generally be able to retrieve items that are en route to some new location.

Thanks in advance for your understanding, and please let me know if I can answer questions.

-- Richard Fyffe, Librarian of the College (
fyffe@grinnell.edu, 269-3351)

Science Library: May 22-30

Move the science collections out of Burling to Science Library and offsite storage. For details see
http://www.lib.grinnell.edu/collections/ScienceLibrary/Sciencemove.html

Inaugurate Science Library services: May 29

Burling Reference Reconfiguration: June and July
We will create a new computer commons in the northeast alcove (by the windows) for study, research and teaching. The newly reconfigured alcove will feature 12 workstations (Macs and PCs) at sit-down tables. The tables will accommodate single users as well as small groups of users working together. The furniture will be similar to that in the Creative Computing Lab. We will create a new reference consultation area near the center of the reference area.

For more information please see Burling Reconfiguration.

Upgrade Burling First-Floor Lighting: June
We will install new overhead lighting in the northeast and northwest alcove areas, between the circulation and (old) reference desks, and in the (new) reference area. Many students used the LibQUAL survey to comment on the dim lighting in Burling.

Accessible Restroom in Burling: June
We will build an accessible restroom on Burling 1st floor near the elevator.

Door Openers for Burling Main Entrance: early June
We will install automatic openers on the main entrance doors.

Shift collections in Burling: May 29-August
With the departure of the science books and journals from the 4 th floor of Burling, the collections remaining in Burling will be reorganized and shifted to allow for continued growth.