HELPING YOUR LIBRARY BE THE BEST PARTNER FOR RESEARCH.

HELPING YOUR LIBRARY BE THE

BEST PARTNERFOR RESEARCH.

Accessibility of Library Resources________

Primary Research on End-User Behaviors [Implications and Opportunities]

John LawVP Discovery Services

January 20, 2009

Primary Research

• Observational research of student researchers

• 70+ sessions across 8 universities and 2 continents

More Primary Research

• Online focus groups with end-user researchers

• 9 groups, 80 participants (multiple demographics)


• Focus group sessions with librarians

• 7 groups, 47 librarians


• Surveys of end-user researchers

• 10,463 respondents across diverse demographics

Research Indicates

Has better quality and credibility of content

Web searchLibrary resources

Is preferred for academic research and course assignments

Different Behavior

Even though the library is perceived to be better…

The use of Google and other internet

search engines continues to rise

Has an easier to use search interface

Web searchLibrary resources

Why? Research Indicates…

Existing Options for Accessing Library Content

• Library catalog

• eResources page

• Federated search

• Google/Google Scholar

Perspectives about the Library’s Roles

Source: Housewright, R., & Schonfeld, R. (Aug2008).

• The importance of the role of the library as a gateway for locating information has fallen over time

• The library is increasingly disintermediated from the actual research process



The library's role in academic research

• Library as place

• Purchaser

• Archive

• Gateway



• Librarians view gateway role as highly important

• Patrons view the library's gateway role as being in decline• Patrons misunderstand library's role in providing

access to electronic resources

• As a research starting point• Decreasingly likely to start research in the library

• Increasingly likely to start with general resource like Google

Librarians Focus Group Sessions

“People know we are losing ground to what's out there in terms of research. Libraries are trying to figure out ways to reach out to users. Rather than having students use Google, we need to make libraries the best, first choice to do research for anything.”

Librarian

“There is a need for the most simplest of interfaces to provide to the customer while simultaneously giving the customer a rich information store in a Google type environment.”

Librarian

“We are still not user-friendly enough. Our users … expectations are that when they type something in they will get results—they are used to Google. We need to provide information as well as Google can.”

Librarian

Library online presence comparatively weak

• Users have difficulty identifying appropriate resources

• Lack of awareness of resources

• No clear and compelling starting place

Compensatory Behavior

Frustrated researchers turn to what they know

• Library databases, regardless of their purpose

• Google and other resources found on the Web

“I get confused and end up going in circles.”

“Library sources are great but internet sources are the most convenient.”

“If only there was a Google-like search…”

Researcher Focus Groups (online chat-sessions)

Quantitative Online Surveys Indicate

What users want in library search tools

• More than 7 of 10 researchers would prefer to use a search tool that provided:

• More credible search results than Google

• Better ways to narrow results for scholarly research

• Limit results to full-text resources available through their library

• Comprehensive representation of the full breadth of the library’s resources

Quantitative Online Surveys Also Indicate

What users expect from any search tool

• Speed

• Interface Simplicity

• Highly relevant search results from full complement of disparate sources

• Seamless access to content (full text)

Not Simply Site Navigation

Better navigation won't solve the problem

• With hundreds of available resources as potential starting places for research

• Navigation doesn't address• Speed• Relevance• Disambiguating resources

"In an ideal world, the content of all the library's collections would be available through a single search box…all the traditional ILS content and the electronic resources "

Breeding, M. (2007). Next-generation library catalogs. ALA Library Technology Reports, 43(4), 5-42.

The Dream Solution is Clear

“I will believe it when I see it!” librarian in a focus group

Simplified Access to Library Content

• More than a convenience, a requirement

• Critical to preserving library's role in research

• Google usage should serve as both warning and guide

• Drive changes that secure library role in academic research

Recommendations

• Information literacy

• Library marketing

• Access points in context

• Unified discovery service

Questions

Unified Discovery Service

Everything has been leading to this

HELPING YOUR LIBRARY BE THE BEST PARTNER FOR RESEARCH.

Documents

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