Across the pond: an update from the US EDS conference
The first US EDS Conference
- In Boston, MA- May 10th and 11th 2016- Free event, including 2 nights
free accommodation- Sponsored by EBSCO, APA
and IET
- Organised by EBSCO with a committee of librarians
- Lots of sponsorship- Many presentations were joint
between EBSCO staff and librarians
- c. 400 attendees, with 10% from EBSCO
- EBSCO led, not user led
- EBSCO encouraging users to take a lead
What’s happening across the pond?
What’s trending in the US…Visuals
- APIs - ‘Bento box’ style interfaces- Custom interfaces- Use of professional web developers on Library websites- EDS as the powering source,
rather than the interfaceUniversity of Alabama’s OneSearch https://www.lib.ua.edu/#/home
Brigham Young University’s Library Cataloguehttps://lib.byu.edu/
What’s trending in the US…Information literacy
- More opportunities for embedded teaching- Status of librarians as faculty staff- More subject specific teaching- Vastly different in different
institutions
However basic principles of information literacy are the same
- source types- peer review
- issue of too many results
What’s trending in the US…Usability- Lots of US universities making time for usability studies - Repeat testing- Larger universities will often have a usability librarian or team - Aim to be more proactive in seeking user feedback
Simmons College Usability Labhttp://
internal.simmons.edu/students/slis/slis-tech/technology-spaces/usability-lab
University of Washington User Experience Program
http://www.lib.washington.edu/usability/projects
Disruptive discovery in the US
10
How are discovery services changing the wider Library?
The goodthe bad and the ugly…
(Un)intended consequences
Information seeking
behaviour
Information literacy
User expectations
Resource usage
Acquisitions processes
Inter-library loans
Alumni access
Collaborative resource sharing
What’s next…?
Common challengesUS libraries also seeing the impact of their discovery services on many areas of their work
Positive
- Collaborative resource sharing
- Consortia- InterLibrary loans- Usability
Negative
- Resource usage- The ‘walled
garden’- Acquiring
according to the discovery index
Unknowns
- Information seeking behaviour
- Information literacy
- User expectations
General observations
- From EDS Conference (Boston) May 2016
- NASIG Conference (Washington, D.C.) May 2015
- Personal experience(Adelphi UniversityOhio StateMIT)
Where the UK is ahead- Open access
- Research data management
- Innovation in information literacy
- Consistency
Where the US is ahead- Interface design
- Collaboration and consortia between universities
- Embedded teaching
- Open source software
The role of librariansMore central role supporting the research processes in their universities
Engaged in research more often themselves
More knowledge of government mandates
More comfortable with technology and eager to engage, e.g. using open source software
Division between practitioner and faculty librarians
Or more access to IT professionals
Joined up thinking between information literacy, digital literacy and employability
Some light reading…Library Systems Report 2016
Https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2016/05/02/library-systems-report-2016/
Marshall Breeding | May 2, 2016
See also 2014 and 2015
2014: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2014/04/15/library-systems-report-2014/ 2015: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/05/01/library-systems-report/
Library Systems Landscape 2016: Company Profiles
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2016/04/technology/library-systems-landscape-2016-company-profiles/
And 2015:
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/04/technology/library-systems-landscape-2015-company-profiles/
Thank youAny questions?
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