Library DIY: Library Instruction at the Point of Need

Library DIY: Library Instruction at the Point of NeedMeredith Farkas, Portland State University

Two Revelations

Revelation #1

“What users seemed to want to know most was how to get the tasks for their research done fast, and they preferred to do so by themselves. They appreciated any tools that help them to achieve this if the tools were easy to use.  But they were not interested in being mediated by a librarian.”

“Librarians exist to serve as a mediator between

users and resources... but the users consider our mediation as a speed bump rather than as

value-added service. So where do research

libraries and librarians go from here?”

Reference usage has declined

“According to Association of Research Library (ARL) statistics, the number of reference transactions taking place in ARL libraries has declined by more than half since 1995. Control that statistic for enrollment and the decline is greater: in 1995, ARL libraries provided an average of 10.1 reference transactions per student FTE; in 2009 the number was 3.6, a decline of over 60%.”

Anderson, Rick. (2011). “The Crisis in Research Librarianship” Journal of Academic Librarianship, 37(4).

Reference transactions in U.S. academic libraries Source: NCES

Reasons patrons might not ask for help

Unapproachability of librarians

Library anxiety

Low academic self-efficacy - asking for help means admitting they lack ability.

Lack of understanding of the role of the librarian

They are “DIY patrons”

The DIY patron

Wants to figure it out themselves

Is accustomed to using Google and other web services

Is accustomed to using quick help sites like WikiAnswers, Yahoo! Answers, etc.

Wants things to be intuitive

Looks for pointers about how things work

Learning objects

Learning objects

INSTRUCTIONINSTRUCTION REFERENCEREFERENCE

Revelation #2

Learning objects

Learning objects

INSTRUCTIONINSTRUCTION REFERENCEREFERENCE

INSTRUCTIONINSTRUCTION REFERENCEREFERENCE

LEARNING OBJECTS TO SUPPORT A

COURSE

LEARNING OBJECTS TO SUPPORT A

COURSE

LEARNING OBJECTS FOR

POINT OF NEED INSTRUCTION

LEARNING OBJECTS FOR

POINT OF NEED INSTRUCTION

These are two different things

Do students come to the desk looking for this?

Or this?

So what about these?

Great when assigned

Not very helpful for point-of-need support

The answer for point-of-need instructional support

Develop instructional content/systems that mimics answer services on the web like Yahoo! Answers (small, specific bits of content)

Make that content available and easily findable at their points of need 24/7

Embed instructional content into the fabric of classes

Library DIY @ Portland State

“Reference librarian in a box” Small pieces of instructional content

Based on questions we get at the reference desk

Each one answers just one question

If in-depth help needed, link out

Information architecture gets students to just the info they’re looking for, much like in a reference interview

The environment at Portland State, Spring 2012

New instructional design team led by Head of Instruction (me)

Hired an instructional designer with funding from the Center for Online Learning

Big push from liaisons for learning objects to support teaching, LibGuide development, and reference

Trouble in paradise…

Why Drupal?

Comfort level

System we use for our website

Great for building database-driven CMS-type sites

Content needs to be findable via multiple paths

Discovering needs

Reference transactions

Web statistics

Usability testing

Ethnographic research

Observational studies

Focus groups

Interviews

Before launch Placement and marketing

On the library website

Under “Ask a Librarian”, “Research Tools & Collections”, “Help & Services”, “Services for Students”

In LibGuides – created a box for liaisons to put on their guides

In instruction sessions

In reference transactions

Early results

Google Analytics suggests promising, modest use (better than any of our existing instructional content)

Library DIY amazing for virtual reference – just send a link!

Definitely need to do better marketing

Unexpected benefits

Content from Library DIY reused in LibGuides and in other tutorials

Infrastructure useful for so many other purposes

Reaction from profession = AMAZING!

Lots of libraries working to implement open source code

Two DIY clones: https://my.ucs.ac.uk/Library/Centres/Ipswich/Find-your-question.aspx and http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/research/library/help-and-instruction/how-to-find/how-to-find_home.cfm

Next steps

Usability testing (in the process this week)

Updating all the things that change with Primo migration

Developing better marketing communications for students/faculty

Make sure Library DIY is prominently featured on new website

Links to specific DIYs in contextually-relevant places

Marketing Library DIY in the physical world

Caveat: Disintermediated instruction is just one piece

of the puzzle

Questions? Comments?

Find me at

http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress

mgfarkas (at) gmail.com

twitter: librarianmer

facebook: meredithfarkas

Making content findable at points of need

And how findable is this?

Links to tutorials

Under research resources/start your research

Under help/research help

Under Services

Under Library Services --> Instruction

Within LibGuides

Unfindable from some library websites

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yogendra174/5980718184

Get in their flow

Where might patrons look for/need help on your library website?

Ask a Librarian page

Any help type of pages

Research guides

Databases page (and inside databases)

Catalog

Webpages for specific services (ILL, gov docs, etc.)

“The library needs to be in the user environment and not expect the user to find their way to the library environment”-Lorcan Dempsey http://orweblog.oclc.org/archives/000688.html

Go where your users are

in the Learning Management System (LMS)

on an Intranet

in any local social networks or relevant community websites

on Facebook

on mobile devices

in computer labs (on the desktop)

Questions? Comments?

Find me at

http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress

mgfarkas (at) gmail.com

twitter: librarianmer

facebook: meredithfarkas