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Faculty Survey Results- Post 2

In the spring of 2013, the Spencer S. Eccles Library conducted a faculty survey related to public services. This blog post and others will outline the faculty responses and address the concerns raised.

You asked, we answered!

Read more about this survey and the results!

 

Eccles Library Usage by Faculty- Services

The second portion of the survey asked faculty about their use of library services and materials. Participants were also able to make comments in free text boxes. From the comments the Eccles Library was able to gather important information about the needs of the faculty and their perceptions of the Library.

  1. Have you used the following Eccles Library services in the past year?how often do you use library services

a. Is there a service that you would like the Library to support that is not listed above?another service EHSL should provide

b. Please tell us what other services you would like the Eccles Library to support.

c. Comments

For question 1b and 1c, the faculty provided a lot of feedback and suggestions. For the rest of this blog post, we’ll address those suggestions, questions, and concerns.

 

Journals

A majority of the comments related to journal subscriptions, specific journal titles, and accessing full-text materials (both electronic and hard copy).

Accessing full-text

  • To find full text articles, use eJournals and CitationLinker. Directions can be found here.
  • Interlibrary Loan, or ILLiad, is a service that provides access to materials that the University Libraries do not currently own, by requesting to borrow them from other libraries.Create an account (separate from your uNID login), and request the materials you need. You will receive an alert when the item is available either online or in the library. On weekdays, ILLiad takes less than 24 hours!
  • Did you know that you can Suggest-a-Purchase? Our Journal Evaluation Team (JET) reviews every suggestion- including journals, databases, and books.
    • While items supporting the curriculum, or those that are relevant across disciplines, are given the highest priority, JET strives to balance request for new materials while supporting existing materials used by faculty, staff, and students.
    • Each year, existing subscriptions to underutilized journals and databases are cancelled to cover the cost of publisher price increases and the addition of new titles. Even in these times of constrained budgets, access to new journals and databases are purchased each year so that the Library’s collection reflects the University’s current curriculum and research.
    • Faculty can also suggest textbooks for upcoming classes. If purchased, these items can be placed on reserve (a 2 hour check-out period), allowing more students to utilize the textbook.
    • Please provide JET with justification for your request to help inform the review process!

    Specific Journal Titles

  • Many faculty members referenced specific journals that they wanted the library to provide. Over the past year, we have obtained access to several of these journals and many others!
    • Through Mary Ann Liebert Publishers, we now have over 70 new journals!
    • Thanks to a generous donation, we recently secured access to several Nature journals through ReadCube. Learn more about ReadCube here.
    • Additional titles are available through Get it Now! Learn more about this free service on the Eccles blog.
    • Below is a chart of the journals requested, and the current status of obtaining full text!

journal title availablity

**Some publishers place an embargo on the latest year of journals—ILLiad can alleviate this!

  • Unfortunately, many databases and journals are extremely expensive. The graphic below shows a visual representation of the costs of some of the databases and journals we DO subscribe to. If you would like to speak in-depth about a specific database or journal, contact our Information Resources Librarian, Christy Jarvis.

comparison of expenses

Technology and Software

Many technology and software-related questions can be answered via our Online Tutorials Research Guide. You can also schedule one-on-one or group consultation or training session for free.

This chart highlights the different technology and software that faculty asked about, and available support services.

Technology Help Resource
EndNote- Citation management for reference lists Library consultation or online EndNote tutorials
Microsoft Access Library tutorials or Microsoft’s website
Microsoft PowerPoint Library consultation or library tutorials

Education Support

Did you know that Erin Wimmer, our Teaching & Learning Librarian, can help you with preparing and teaching your classes?

Erin and the Education Team are happy to assist you in identifying and including library resources into your curriculum and classes. We will even provide instruction in using these resources during your class! Every semester, students stop by the library before a big assignment and reflect that, “a librarian talked during our program’s orientation, but that was over a year ago. I can’t even remember what I ate for dinner last night.” Please consider using the Library’s Education Support services to benefit not only your students, but also yourself. After all, everyone needs refreshers!

Also, our Video Services Team can film you class for free! Videos are a great tool for students, as they can review lectures to study and adjust their notes.

 

Department Liaisons

Why can’t a librarian come to all my meetings? Well, there aren’t enough hours in a day! We’d love to participate in your department, lab, or research group’s meetings, but we cannot commit to attending every meeting on campus.

Here are a few ways we are “testing” this idea. We’d love to hear any other suggestions or ideas you have for including the Library in your work!

  1. Embedded librarian model: A librarian has an office in the College of Pharmacy, and, ideally, becomes involved in social activities, department meetings, research groups, etc. We have implemented this model, to varying degrees, in several departments, most recently in the College of Pharmacy.
  2. Research Librarian visits to research labs every few months.
  3. Innovation Liaison: A librarian liaison to the innovation initiatives on campus, primarily with the Center for Medical Innovation.
  4. Committees and research group meetings: Several librarians participate on committees and in specific meetings with departments across the Health Sciences.

 

Library Updates

Is there a new library database or tool I should know about? How do I stay current with technology? Did that software or platform change… again?

These are questions we have all asked ourselves before. Fortunately, when it comes to library information, services, and technology, there are three main ways we will let you know about these changes!

  1. eSynapse: The newsletter of the Eccles Library
  2. Eccles Library Blog
  3. Social media: Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and YouTube.

If you are new to the University of Utah or your role has changed, consider a consultation with a librarian to orient you to the library’s resources and services specific to your job and needs! We can also give you a tour of the library and answer your questions. You can request an orientation and/or tour via our Consultations website. As always, these consultations and training sessions are free!

 

Contacting the Library

There are four ways to contact us:

  1. Email- ehsl-reference@lists.utah.edu
  2. Phone- 801-581-5534801-581-5534
  3. Chat
  4. In-person at the Eccles Library

 

Read more about this survey and the results!