Technical Services within academic libraries continue to undergo changes and new challenges. More than ever, we are asked to make cases for how well we are successfully strengthening and meeting the needs of our constituents. This session will discuss how technical services at the LSU Libraries are positioning itself to better assess and add value to our services by aligning technical services with the Libraries’ strategic plan, leveraging cooperation and collaborations across the Libraries, applying new technologies to improve workflows, and retooling technical services staff to meet evolving needs.
Tulane currently purchases ebooks as firm orders and as a subset of two larger approval plans, and is considering the Demand Driven Acquisitions model. We recently established policies on the acquisitions of ebooks that addresses issues with all available purchase options. This presentation will provide an overview of our policy process as well as in-depth details of how ebook acquisitions have and will impact technical services workflows.
OCLC’s WorldCat Discovery Services will be replacing OCLC FirstSearch in 2015. It is available now for use as both systems will operate concurrently for a year. LSU Libraries and LSU Law Library have configured and tested WorldCat Discovery Services. This presentation will look at the basic configuration steps needed to migrate from OCLC FirstSearch. Differences between the two services will be noted. Questions to be considered will be how does WorldCat Discovery Services stack up to other discovery layers, and what is its role in the information services landscape as libraries integrate it into their existing collection portals.
This presentation will explore the development process of an online library orientation for college students, created collaboratively by the Instructional Services Librarian and the Distance Learning Librarian at UL Lafayette. The orientation was designed for undergraduate distance learning students, but can also be used to complement and enhance face-to-face instruction in an academic library setting.
In 2012 the LSU Law Library began using the Digital Commons platform to provide open access to faculty scholarship and academic journal collections on a scale not previously possible. Two years later, are professors, scholars, and librarians satisfied with the results? This presentation will answer that question in addition to touching on the management of such large projects, digitization workflows, the advantages and disadvantages of the bepress interface, and future plans for the repository.
One year after presenting our Learning Commons idea to the Chancellor we are well on our way to creating a space that supports learning in a whole new way for our students. From centralizing our circulating collection to showcasing collaborative work areas, the BPCC library is ready to move forward to bring our space into the functional layout needed by our students.
Students may approach the reference desk completely clueless about their research, almost done, or any point in that spectrum. This poster demonstrates four basic questions that can be used to help budding researchers develop study questions, regardless of their current status in the process.
Through a linear approach, reference personnel can assist in the formulation of research questions by sequentially determining the population, independent variable, dependent variable, and study approach.
While this method may seem overwhelming for a timid student, straightforward question wording can ease woes, as shown through a series of research topics across various fields.
In this session Suzanne Butte, OCLC Library Services Consultant, will talk about the added value that OCLC WorldCat Discovery brings to you and your users with a modern, mobile optimized interface. Get access to more content – full-text content from 8 million open-access materials, central index representing more than 1.5 billion e-articles and e-books, and of course WorldCat with more than 320+ million records. Come see WorldCat Discovery, and see the improvements and expanded functionality. Learn what next steps you can take and tools available to help with your transition to the new service
Library leaders need to be equipped with the best data in order to make the most effective decisions. How should a library prioritize collecting statistics? What types of statistics can be collected and for what purposes? Should we just count everything? Daugherty will moderate a panel discussion between members of the Statistics Task Force and session participants.
Beginning in fall 2013, the Research and Instruction department at LSU Libraries began to look at the consultations provided by librarians. Prior to then, these one-on-one meetings had been infrequently requested by students or recommended by teaching faculty. Consultations occurring within the department were almost exclusively for researchers and the general public on the subject of patents and trademarks and were coordinated by a single librarian. A confluence of events, including Student Government requests for room scheduling software, English assignments that required students to set up reference assistance sessions, and modifications made to an underused media room, led to a marked increase in library consultations. This presentation will discuss this transition, highlighting best practices, the use of these sessions for general education and discipline-specific courses, and the sustainability of library consultations.
Daugherty and Lercher will present on collection usage tracking done with COUNTER compliant reports and SUSHI harvested data. An explanation of different types of COUNTER reports will be provided as well as a glimpse into the EBSCONET Usage Consolidation product. Additionally, an analysis of LSU Libraries’ Elsevier journal titles done with COUNTER reports and other metrics such as cost per use and cost per citation will be discussed.
Daugherty and Lercher will present on collection usage tracking done with COUNTER compliant reports and SUSHI harvested data. An explanation of different types of COUNTER reports will be provided as well as a glimpse into the EBSCONET Usage Consolidation product. Additionally, an analysis of LSU Libraries’ Elsevier journal titles done with COUNTER reports and other metrics such as cost per use and cost per citation will be discussed.
Google Analytics is very a popular tool for web statistics, and some libraries are already using it. You don't have to be a web designer or expert to do it, and this presentation will show you how to get started with Google Analytics and use its unique features for your library. You can use it not only for web pages, but for CMS-type websites, CONTENTdm, and others. Google Analytics can tell you where your users are from, what device they use, and much more, so you can better meet their needs. This will be similar to my LLA 2014 presentation, but with more focus on Google Analytics itself and its interface.
Join us on our journey as Delgado Libraries implemented LibGuides within our institution and website. How we are preparing for the impending upgrade and some helpful tips and tricks to help you do the same.
Library stacks can be an intimidating place for our users. We can make it easier for them to find materials with detailed maps and directions straight from the catalog. StackMap offers such a service that integrates with e-Library. This presentation will show how the LSU Law Center Library integrated StackMap in its catalog.
Louisiana has introduced new user-friendly, subject-based document numbers for official state publications that will make the items easier to discover through online catalog searches and by browsing items on shelf. Presenters will provide an overview the new classification scheme, including how topics are organized, how call numbers are built, how items are ordered on shelves, and the recommended SirsiDynix Symphony configuration changes to best accommodate the new classification scheme.
In 2013, LOUIS was at a crossroads as the SirsiDynix (SD) long-term contract was coming to an end. Cathy will discuss how the LALINC community had many factors to consider before automatically signing another long-term contract for the Symphony ILS that LOUIS manages for thirty-four college and university member libraries. LALINC’s strategic decision was to continue the partnership for another five years. Efforts will be focused on building upon partnerships with SD and EBSCO, with an emphasis on the integration being developed between these partners, in order to craft the best Library Services Platform (LSP) for LOUIS libraries and their end-users.
SirsiDynix is in the process of redeveloping the services they offer, using modern design principles like software as a service, and cloud-based, multi-tenant architecture. But what does this really mean for your library? Carla will describe the evolution of the products, and the benefits of the new approaches to development. She will also talk about the benefits of partnering with EBSCO for industry-leading content and content management tools seamlessly integrated into the BLUEcloud Campus Library Services Platform.
Harry will discuss how EBSCO is working to give libraries options when choosing a discovery experience while integrating and providing all the benefits that the chosen ILS offers. He will discuss the many ways the combination of services can offer big benefits to the library and describe EBSCO’s vision and partnership roadmap with SirsiDynix.
A significant increase in participation in the physical reserves program was experienced at Loyola University that coincides with two new librarian liaison activities. First, a program at Loyola University New Orleans to increase use of open access textbooks was launched. Unanticipated results from this program included new philosophy of textbook collection and a dramatic increase in use of physical reserves. Second, the library engaged in heavy promotion of reserves services to faculty. These initiatives and outcomes will be discussed as well as assessment challenges and areas for further research.
In April 2013, NEH awarded LSU Libraries a two-year grant to digitize archival holdings related to free people of color from the collections of LSU, Tulane, The Historic New Orleans Collection, the New Orleans Public Library, and the Louisiana State Museum, and to publish them in the Louisiana Digital Library. Laver will provide an overview of the project and talk about the decision to present materials at the folder level as opposed to the item level. Mlotkowski will discuss project methods for uploading metadata using tab-delimited text files into CONTENTdm, metadata decisions made to enhance discovery of free people of color, and the linguistic challenges inherent in describing archival materials relating to them. Marks will compare the process of scanning and creating metadata at three institutions, share some resources that were helpful in conducting research, and discuss challenges in researching and representing free people of color.
Many of Louisiana’s academic libraries are tasked to serve branch and satellite campuses. As mobile libraries, can bookmobiles be used as an economical, effective alternative to maintaining and staffing libraries away from an institution’s main campus? A panel of academic and public librarians will explore the pros and cons of bookmobiles as an outreach tool (costs, services, etc.), answer questions, and provide tours of the public librarians’ bookmobiles.
Funded through a Student Technology Fee grant plus generous donations from the Friends of Sims Library, iPads have been added to the library's bank of available technology for circulation. Join this session to learn how librarians at Southeastern Louisiana University set up an iPad lending program from start to finish. Topics include equipment purchase and App selection, configuration profiles, reset and restoration, loan policies and student feedback.
Usability testing is the most effective method to learn how your patrons interact with your web services. Unfortunately, many don’t see it as an option, under the assumption that it requires expensive equipment and expertise. But in fact, effective usability testing can be done by staff with limited training and equipment and software that most libraries already have.
This session will begin with a definition of usability testing, and explain how it differs from other user testing methods such as focus groups. We’ll also address how usability testing can complement other assessment methods such as surveys and usage analysis. We will outline both the skills and equipment you need. The main focus of the session will be practical tips on steps such as recruiting participants, writing good scenarios, conducting the test and analyzing results.
Over the last two years, the librarians and the music department have collaborated to install a music library in the music department in CAPA using existing items from both their unofficial library and ours. Join us to hear the high and low notes of creating, installing, and cataloging a new music library into Workflows.
Elizabeth Graves and Gail Kwak (Northwestern State University of Louisiana)
This poster session will describe the ways the faculty-staff of the Xavier Library Resource Center are developing to become more effective in engendering a sense of empowerment in our students and our surrounding community.
The outcome of this presentation will give attendees instruction in how such an agenda can be set into their library’s strategic plan and how they can cooperate with other organizations to catalyze the empowerment of the people in their communities.