Rebus:list at Leeds Beckett:customisation and co-operation

Elly Cope

Content Delivery Manager

Leeds Beckett University

PTFS Customer Day 2nd December 2014

Background to the institutionLeeds Beckett (neé Metropolitan)

• 28,000 students from over 100 countries• Growth in part time and distance learning• 2,900 staff• Founded in 1824 as Leeds Mechanics Institute, formed into a

polytechnic in 1970 then became a University in 1992• Vocational focus • Growing portfolio of courses• Many courses not book based• Library service called Libraries and Learning Innovation (LLI)

Getting Rebus:List

• Resource discovery system raised the bar for student search experience

• No existing resource list system• Summer 2012 a proposal for funding went to the Vice-Chancellor’s

Group and was approved• Went to tender and 3 companies submitted

• Feedback from other customers• Flexibility of developers• No Shibboleth issues

Implementation (1)

• Took a while!• Awkward customers – we wanted a lot of customisation

• Lists to be tied to modules in VLE• Users authenticated to their modules via the VLE• University name change!

• Levels of engagement from other University services was lower than anticipated

• UG and PG curriculum review • Lack of relationship between PTFS and Sirsi

Implementation (2) • LLI staff started populating lists in March 2014• Estimated 2,200 potential modules

• Some duplication so number to input lower• All listed on VLE but empty until populated by staff• Unpopulated lists have a link to our ‘Skills for Learning’

service • Latest figure completed: 400• Rolled out to academics in June/July 2014• Made available to students September/October 2014• Good take up – students asking why not all lists are available• Focus on Level 6 lists ahead of NSS• Lists now being received in large batches from Faculties

Local practice• Debt of gratitude to University of Sheffield for sharing their

documentation• LLI staff to do first iterations• Academics to maintain (and enter if they want to!)• Very local user manual

• Internal to LLI • Manual for academics

• One example: treatment of unpurchased PDA titles in the catalogue• Repeatedly updated workflow document/diagram• Latest iteration…

Lessons learnt• Allow more time for everything!• Positive attitude essential for engaging LLI and faculty staff• Devising a workflow is very difficult• Finding a procedure to assign lists and track their progress was

challenging• Lists of varying degrees of quality…

• Curriculum review• Paper for Faculty Learning, Teaching and Enhancement

Committees

What’s next?• LLI to give more guidance on what makes good resource lists• Focus on populating lists• Maintenance of lists to pass to academics• Develop an audit process for academic year ‘rollover’• Increased functionality:

• Real time data • Sorting/editing functionality within lists

• Make more use of metrics and statistics• Help encourage even wider take-up• Internal KPI

• Incorporate non-credit modules• Share list information with University book service

For more information:

Project leadersClaire Williams: C.F.Williams@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

Fiona Middleton: F.Middleton@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

TechnicalAdam Watson: A.A.Watson@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

AdminLaurence Morris/Ellie Windle

L.D.Morris@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

E.C.Windle@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

ApprenticeMe! E.C.Cope@leedsbeckett.ac.uk