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Held in Sydney on 27
and 28 November 2012, this conference pulled together some fascinating
presentations on challenges for libraries, particularly academic libraries, to
be relevant and demonstrate value in the twenty first century.
Peter Rathjen, Vice-Chancellor,
University of Tasmania opened the conference
with a range of provocative thoughts on universities, information, libraries
and relevance. He noted the importance
of trends in research – particularly the strengthening of cross disciplinary in
the last decade. Provocatively he
suggested that if we thought about what are the great libraries there are none
in Australia.
Significant concepts
explored were:
·
prestige
·
Collections including wider community access
·
Space
·
KNOWLEDGE
Libraries were encouraged
to evaluate their contribution against these aspects.
The environment is
characterised by changing resources. There has been an evolution from books and
scholarly journals to a demand for organisational contribution and knowledge
skills. He noted that changing behaviour of researchers meant they were no
longer using libraries physically as part of their research mission
He saw a renaissance
for libraries in their roles of supporting e repositories and contributing to
access for the community including access to research outputs through
repositories
Mapping the Library he proposed an evaluation as follows:
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key assets
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Research
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Teaching
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Prestige
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++
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+
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Space
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-
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+++
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Collections
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+++
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(+)
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Workforce
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++
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+++
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He suggested that
disciplinary differences may be significant.
In moving to a world
full of data intensive equipment, data and information will be the key assets
for research programs. There will need to be an investment at a new scale. The
nation will require national approaches, broad access protocols, and physical
access. We all will need to think internationally. Universities
will have value in maintaining data that is not available internationally; the
world will come to you because of these strengths. This will be a key aspect in
attracting funding.
At the University of
Tasmania a program to collect data across the island through broadband to
achieve value and insights to give new answers has been developed, It requires
very significant funding to achieve systems to set up data collection, manage
and develop analytic reports.
Key issues for
academic libraries include:
·
measuring
·
bibliometrics and usage.
·
segmentation is the key disciplinary level research vs.
teaching
·
a voice for the broad research community.
·
Knowledge insights
There is a strong need
to connect to senior management including Vice Chancellors and Research offices
(including on issues such as infrastructure, bibliometrics, ranking strategies,
IT Data management).
RAY CHOATE, University
Librarian, University of Adelaide
Ray encourages us to
consider redefining what a research collection is - not the number of volumes
held but clicks and use – encompassing digital and print collections. In redefining collections the important
question is - what do we mean by density (and richness) in the 21st century and
digital world including our collections, Google ephemera, data.
He noted that we are
all becoming coming more and more selective regarding collection building. The
University of Adelaide is re-evaluating existing collections e.g. Czech
collection of about 1,000 volumes in light of their value to the university and
pressures on the Library.
A major question is what
do we do about last copy? The Group of 8 project ceased, as online environment
now stable and the premise for the project is no longer applicable.
He discussed storage
and collection overlap. The South Australian university libraries have a joint
approach to management of off-site materials. A recent study found the store
had a 25% overlap, based on a study of 1m monographs in joint SA store.
Journals are likely to have much more overlap, not surprisingly. We tend to
have more common journal purchasing across the academic environment.
The underpinning
concept is a move to just in time, but would it be more effective to order
articles via Google or on demand rather than pull from store? A challenging question.
He noted that it is important
now to think about our special collections, what will differentiate us from
other universities. Part of the collection at the University of Adelaide
is university archives, theses, formed collections e.g. Alpine collection which
includes ephemera, theatre collection. Digitisation of special
collections is critical. This raises the question do they remain unique, to which
the answer is yes and no. The University of Adelaide has digitised Fisher
collection. It now receives several thousand hits a month. They are now working
on the Braggs collection, which will be launched next week. The next
adventure is to seek to digitise in three dimensions material from the Bragg
collection.
A fundamental issue is
creating the workforce for the future - to support traditional use,
digitisation and new digital services.
Our role is critical
with the emergence of lifelong learning and community support as an important
use. He forecasted this as a major issue in the next decade. We need to foster
the development and support of scholar librarians especially for special
collections.
He suggested looking
at creating a Centre for Scholarly Research and innovation including
publishing, special collections, as well as information literacy
SHARAN HARVEY, Manager
Library Services, Brisbane City Council
Sharan gave background
on the Library Service which is located in Brisbane. It is a large library
service $48.5 m budget plus $2.5 m capital for 2012/13.
The Library’s vision
has 8 themes alighted to the vision of the council. A major theme is one
council.
The Library is
committed to strong performance leadership. Continuous improvement is adopted at
the level of the team. Every individual can tell others how spend council
money.
There is a focus on
the importance of Lifestyle to the future of Brisbane – a differential point
with other cities. Economic development plan released by the Mayor provides a
strong context. There has been time to articulate brand change for strategic
approach of library move from book to community.
She commented that connecting
in a digital world space matters and place matters.
Lifestyle service
themes include:
·
Connect
·
Read powerhouses for children's literacy
·
Learn
·
Work
·
Relax
·
Get answers
Measuring value has
been an important issue for the library service. The measure customer
satisfaction - highest council satisfaction service 95% with 95% say it is
important to them. Citizens are aware that council is responsible for libraries
– 96% from the latest survey.
Performance +
importance + future behaviour to give current and future value
She proposed a concept
of natural range for funding e.g. library compared to parking or potholes.
A recent study
measuring the economic value of libraries was funded by SLQ. The report is
available of SLQ website. The findings were that libraries are highly
beneficial demonstrating $2.80 benefit for each $1.00 spent.
In addition there is
value from being a one stop shop for council services.
72% of customer visits
associated with shopping. The Library is seeking to support the late night
economy, “Libraries up late”. The objective is to move more of the community
sharing the city at night. Amongst other programs are developments of I- skills
in the city and a program of high profile authors - branded to the city.
A key goal is building
"our reputation".
During Brisbane flood
contributed -mass citizen volunteering event 15-16 January run by the
Library with remarkable effect. The event marshalled over 22,000 citizens.
She summarised that value
is a team sport, we need to give it to get it. And sometimes need to take
one for the team graciously.
KAREN JOHNSON,
Executive Director, Library Services, Charles Sturt University
Karen described
evaluation based on Survey/questionnaires. She talked about the huge range of
questionnaires run within the university including the student experience
questionnaire. The Library recoded the most significant improvement (plus 7).
CSU Library collects
daily feedback through Reftracker, ref chat, web form, Deskstats is used to see
trends in issues. Primo feedback an important area of client suggestions.
The Insync survey enables comparative data, useful comments for analysis.
CSU uses a Quality
framework based on business excellence framework. Plan Üimplement Üreview Üimprove.
The primary areas
identified for improvement were Primo and the website.
ANNE HORN, University
Librarian & Executive Director, Academic Support, Deakin University
Anne described the TEALS
project, which provides a framework for evaluating physical projects. It is a joint
research project with school of architecture and building. It aims to provide a
framework and data collection tools to evaluate academic library spaces.
Overall goal: to determine whether library spaces function as deigned.
The purpose was to be
empowering and reflective - people, programs, places and partners. See Building
futures report 2004 p. 7. Focus on students.
The underpinning
question was return from investment in buildings.
The methodology was:
Phase 1 exploratory research. Phase 2 Pilot study. Phase 3 evaluation
framework, package of tools.
Online survey of
students library experiences, an observation study list, and a list of
questions for staff focus group discussion were used...
Criteria of quality -
10 developed, evidence based. Established quality indicators under each
criterion.
Impact starts before
you reach the door to the Library from an architectural point of view. What is
the story you are telling through the library space that reflects its location?
Dimension for evaluation:
1. Positive image and
identity, sense of presence
2. Welcoming and
inviting entry
3. Functionality and
efficiency incl. control of noise
4. Flexibility and
adaptability
5. Variety of spaces
for different users and uses
6. Being social and
people centred
7. A sense of place
and inspiration
8. Environmental
comfort and sustainability
9. Access, safety and
security
10. Integration of
technologies - needs to be further focused
Deakin promise -
delighting students is more than numbers thought doors. We need tools that will
measure our unique selling proposition (at Deakin).
Now less a fan of
iconic projects, major issue that there is a five year gap between design and
completion in this sort of project.
ROUNDTABLE ON KPIs to meet
stakeholder needs
Challenges of creating
meaningful KPIs that are not just numbers that are operational and about
process rather than strategic goals.
Measure to influence
staff understanding of organisational priorities.
use in elevator
conversations, regularly reports and let everyone know.
Lots of examples of
good and meaningful statistics and breaking them down to show a pattern.
meaningful full
comparisons with other libraries, selective benchmarking.
LINDA MULHOLERON,
Manager Library Information and Resources, Westmead Hospital
She described tying library
standards to NSW Health's vision and health accreditation standards.
She noted that there
was a need to remember we are part of an organisation and communicate to al on
the value we give to that organisation. We must evaluate to ensure quality (to
standards that may be predetermined).
Again the message was focus on customers (and potential customers).
EQuIP (health
industry) standards - national evaluation scheme. includes productivity measures
e.g. circulation and gate statistics. Standards for turnaround in
requesting ILLs - 24 hours.
EQuIP action plan. She
took results into account with four key improvements from the last evaluation. Key
issues were after hours access to library, development of CIAP self education
models, point of care training, ongoing budget evaluation and review for cost
effectiveness and evaluation for transition to e- journals.
PANEL
DAVID HOWARD ECU
Assumption was that
everybody gets libraries. Old vision of books, new of an e collection, rather
than an active participant in the university. Need meaningful discussions about
the value libraries can add. Need to engage with senior university staff about
what we can do. Libraries need to repackage our message. Internal processes are
focused on traditional work on collections assuming lectures and traditional
teaching go on, rather that reaching out in innovative ways to support online
learning. Led approach to get into other business plans e.g. research. Open
access and data management are areas we can show leadership in that are focused
in the future.
SHARAN HARVEY BCC
2 sides - one delivery
to clients, second to reflect on relationship within organisation. Actively
contribute to the organisation - be the champion for what you believe in e.g.
wi Fi, literacy. Then become Lord Mayor’s deliverables which must be delivered.
Be at the table and deliver on the gods, don't be afraid to be accountable.
Garden - run the blog, be customer focused, be a good organisational
gardener. Have quick responses to remarks e.g. we won't need a library in 5
years. Report in context of bigger agendas, e.g. economic development
plan.
Breed champions
(including ex bosses).
Timing - understand
issues of organisation and do it at the right time. Timing is everything,
understand the organisations temperature.
ANNE HORN
Be loud and proud.
sell your expertise. Easy for the Library to be overlooked, make sure all
senior staff are taking the right messages to the right conversations.
Look at what the universities want help with and how we can contribute.
Can't sell to a want
only a need. Different skills needed for staff - need assurance that the advice
staff are giving are quality advice. Including on copyright.
DAY 2
Margie JANETTI,
University Librarian, University of Wollongong
Partnership with IT
Brian Cox to develop Library cube
The challenge was to
build a library data warehouse on collections, use and student grades
Data sources :
·
Student data
·
Loans - snapshot exported weekly
·
Electronic usage - ezyproxy log
Logs pulled every 10
minutes, mapped to student identification number. Mapped hours spent on
resources to student grade - interpret on average if x hours spent on
electronic resources this is what the student mark will be
Important message not
just for stakeholders/senior management but for students
Correlation for
loanable resources, but not as strong as for electronic resources.
Now part of institutional
reports - regular report on hours spent and grades trend over time. Can see
distribution of usage by faculties.
Navigation menu
offers things like space utilisation, student accommodation and not library one
of those reports. "Dimensions" menu offers different ways to
slice and dice the data e.g. head count, eftsul numbers, gender, international
countries, location. Can drag and drop the dimensions.
Caveats
·
Some limits in correlation,
·
arbitrary measures, business rules,
·
many external factors affect grades e.g. academic influence.
Conclusions - students
prefer electronic resources, 19% of students who didn't use electronic
resources failed, only half a percent of heavy users fail. importance of using
continuous data. Now think about how to develop communication interval
tin strategies.
Questions - when
should we be concerned that the resources are not being used. How can data be
shared across the university for better support for student achievement.
Can tailor library
promotion to students better - to particularly groups etc.
The solution provides
more effective information than satisfaction. Only have 3 years data - more
work to do. Factors - first year trends tend to carry through. more impact on
younger students.
JUDY STOKKER,
Director, Library Services, Queensland University of Technology
Traditionally we have
had well defined role in supporting research. Tenopir argues we need more than
one measure of e journal use.
The fourth paradigm by Jim Gray suggest that changes in research moved
from empirical to data exploration (through theoretical and computational)
Federal government
investment road map 2002 to 2013. Many reviews and reports on building new
research infrastructure including area where libraries can assist including
open access and data management. Over past decade significant increase in
research funding in Australia. Increases opportunities for academic libraries
to contribute.
Changes in subject
liaison libraries to support research. Changes in info literacy to provide
advice on open access and scholarly publishing. New roles being sought from the
library that add value. Question of can or will anyone else offer this
service. Is it making a difference? These are perspectives from which to
assess developments.
Institutional
repositories: new role playing a part in the research process enabling building
of collaboration and other researcher benefits. A sign of maturity is that
there is an International ranking of repositories.
40% universities are
looking at including data in their repositories.
Research training -
has expanded enormously. Have had 2000 researchers going through the training
in the last 18 months.
Tracking research
impact highly valued by VC and DVCs. Started to provide advice, support
and
Training on measuring
impact in social media.
Strategies for growing
from research support into research partnering.
·
partnering
·
Building a broader perspective
·
Building capacity
·
Restructuring
Messages for now and
into the future
- Know what builds value
- Demonstrate what we do
- need to be ahead of the game
- Not just our business anymore
- Leverage existing strengths and market share
- Alignment with organisational goals
New spaces and roles
are vital e.g. electronic lab notebooks.
HOW TO DETERMINE WHAT
TO MEASURE: PANEL
Margie JANETTI. Heavily
influenced by Australian Business framework. take a more holistic view in
thinking about excellence. There is a need for data to provide a platform for
change. transformations in measurement over the past decade. 4 key indicators
such as demand, to ensure right mix of service and resources. Next
organisational excellence to encourage continuous improvement. Third indicator
learning and growth - anticipate competences needed now and into the future -
professional capabilities. Final indicator is impact. To make us think,
challenges us to think about what we do differently, having an impact. Loosely
based on BSC. Impact and effect on student academic performance. engagement with
a range of studies. Collaboration success needs measurement, inter team
within the Library and collaboration across the institution. Will continue to
use client satisfaction. Accepting a form of narrative - accept this as a proxy
measure for now. Iterative model evolving within the university to develop
performance indicators.
Jennifer Peasley. Macquarie’s
journey. Historically focused on counting without enough analysis. Numbers not
reflecting role or quality of services. Moved to client centred measures of
success. For example instead of measuring the number of ills/doc supply it was
turn around. not always easy to measure. started to do more qualities
information gathering, focus groups, snapshot surveys. Multiple assessment
frameworks, including teaching standards framework. Looking at embedding
assessment of the library into the more common surveys run for students.
Looking at assessment against Megan Oakleaf's checklist. Important to ensure
everyone understands what we are doing and why.
Karen Johnson. CUS
follows Australian business Excellence framework. Analyse large amount of
quantitative data from surveys, SAF data etc. Will be speaking to researchers
and Research Office on benefit of library's support services. Importance of
attracting higher degree students and retaining them. need hard data to develop
narratives and success stories. Gather and publish data.
Concern are we over
surveying clients especially students.
importance of regular
reports to executive, 2 times a year, about achieving support for a university
goal area. Aligned messages.
MAL BOOTH, University
Librarian, University of Technology Sydney
Measuring and
improving library values. Environmental scans for key issues in research and
tertiary education. UTS framework Building and Leading Research
Performance.
Strengths - networks,
partnerships. OA repositories, copyright expertise, enjoy trust and
respect,
Weaknesses -
invisibility, own perceptions, OA is misunderstood, limited budget,
inflexibility, cautious, etc.
Opportunities - OA
promotion, personal relationships, bibliometrics, research metadata management,
online help, OA publishing innovation, altmetrics, alignment, new
collaborations (publishing, crowdsourcing and other forms), social networks for
research, etc.
Threats - Loss of
reputation, becoming too digital, OA gold model, permissions/control, time
available to researchers (can't do a one size fits all- some can only attend classes
on weekend etc), invisibility of our services, missing the boat.
How can we tell - data
etc. repository rankings. Invitations and requests to participate in research.
Examples from UTS: UTS
publications
- OA repository and E
press,
- assistance with
data, data archive register, data management workshops, data visualisation
- online support for
research
- research skills
training support
- research week
(annual)
Lessons learnt:
keep alignment with university, timing is everything, strict vs. open,
blogs must have a pulse, personalisation and voice, OA and APCs, stop doing
some things, cater for different needs, go deeper.
EVE WOODBERRY, Pro
Vice-Chancellor Students and Social Inclusion, University of New England
Selling to senior
executive is very different to selling to users.
Competitive
environment requires us to develop economic arguments.
Bradley reforms.
Elearning and googalisation.
Libraries need to
demonstrate how to add value for student retention and completion as wells as
researchers/hdr students.
Making the library
visible when many clients are only interacting with the online resources as
losing visibility.
Contribution to
retention.
Conclusions
- Libraries do add value
- Dependent on the context
- value and impact need to relate to your individual environment
MEREDITH MARTINELLI
and JENNIFER BREMMER, Macquarie University
KPIs and critical to
the success of the organisation, tied to business goals, measurable and small
in number.
Risks, can be
internally focused, loosely defined, too may, only associated with numbers
Must be linked to
academic plan.
University vision.
Quality enhancement model. principles based library. Collection organisation
principles, tested with academics. Then plan, also tested with academics.
Macquarie is reviewing
their quality framework, so Library will put off review of their quality
framework till this is completed.
What are our
stakeholders and clients telling us
- Significant increase in use of physical and virtual library spaces
- Insync survey reflected the same issues of space and access to computers, although the availability of these had doubled
- Need greater insight into client expectations, especially segmentation
Assessing what is
collected (stats) and whether it is used. testing what does this tell us about
service quality and client relationships.
Frameworks. Position
Library within workflow of research and teaching/learning (teaching standards
framework, research support framework, leaching and learning framework).
Provide opportunity to assess "value and impact".
Embedding library
outcomes and measures in academic plan and embedding library in new masters of
research program.
Value impact and the
Macquarie directions. Must be flexible, significant senior leadership at
Uni and library changes. Strategic support plans critical. Metrics that matter
- stats collected must have a real purpose. Partnering - Woking with campus
partners to build value proposition.
US Library assessment
conference 2012 take home messages
- Increasing challenge of online education
- Accountability for evidence
- Researchers require access to human knowledge
- Library role to provide access to and manage collections
- Focus on digital collaborations and digital infrastructure.
OLWYEN PRYKE, State
Library of NSW
Valuing culture quote
form Marie Bashir from One hundred.
Australian Council
Culture count conference
papers.
SLNSW moved from 16 to
32 KPIs.
Access economics
study. Similar project in 2008. Components - evaluation of SLSNW and
State library network.
Aimed to be
accountable, demonstrate and advocate value....
Counted direct and
indirect impacts, based on ROI economic impact assessment, contribution
analysis, valuation techniques.
Conclusions
The Library makes a
significant contribution to the Australian economy - 2011-12 $67million. For
every three people working in the library another job elsewhere in the economy
was supported.
For every $1 invested
in the library $2 is returned to the community.
Will be released
shortly.
Emphasises need for continued
funding.
Beyond economics -
importance of narrative accounts. 3 case studies.
- How history shaped the City of Sydney
- Bringing treasures to an appreciative audience New South Publishing
- history lost and found: Foxtel and WTFN
Roxanne Missingham,
ANU
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