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Faculty Survey Results- Post 4

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- Finding and Managing Information

  1. Do you believe the library provides enough support for you to confidently search the previously mentioned databases and resources?does the library provide you with enough support and training to search

a. If no, how we could be of further assistance?

b. Comments

Let’s address those suggestions, questions, and comments from 1a and 1b.

Journals

A majority of the comments revolved around journal subscriptions, specific journal titles, accessing full text materials (both electronic and hard copy), USearch, and open access journals.

  • USearch, the University Libraries catalog, is geared more towards undergraduate students, who only need a few articles for a paper topic. Try searching in PubMed or a field-specific database (CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, etc.) rather than using USearch. If you are looking for a specific journal title, use our eJournals tool (instructions here). We can also search for you: just ask!
  • Interlibrary Loan, or ILLiad, is a service we provide for accessing materials that the University Libraries do not currently own. ILLiad allows libraries to share material between one another. By creating an account (separate from your typical uNID login information), you can request material through the ILLiad website. The library will alert you when the material is available either online or in the library. On weekdays, ILLiad takes less than 24 hours! If you need it before a certain time or very quickly, please indicate that on the form. Thanks to the LEAN process, we decreased the price for faculty member ILLiad requests. This is much cheaper than buying the article through the publisher’s website.
  • Did you know that you could Suggest-a-Purchase? Our Journal Evaluation Team reviews every suggestion- this includes journals, databases, and books.
    • Each year the Library must cancel existing subscriptions to cover the cost of publisher price increases and the addition of any new titles. We also strive to balance requests for new material with the desire of other patrons that existing subscriptions be continued. Even in these times of constrained budgets we do start new subscriptions each year and are anxious that our collection change to reflect the University’s current curriculum and research. The Library gives the highest priority to items that are related to curriculum, and that would be of interest to multiple departments. It is really helpful the Library’s Evaluation team if you provide some words for justification for your request!
    • Faculty can also suggest textbooks for upcoming classes. If purchased, we can place these items on reserve (a 2 hour check-out period allows more students to utilize the textbook).
  • Many faculty members referenced specific journals that they wanted the library to provide. Over the past year, we 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 huge donation, we recently secured access to several Nature journals through ReadCube. You can learn more about ReadCube here.
    • Get it Now! Learn more about this free service on the Eccles blog.
  • To find full text articles, two helpful tools we use are eJournals and CitationLinker. Find directions here.

 

Publishing

Where should I publish? Should I publish in an open access journal? What is a predatory journal?

 

 

  1. Are there other databases and/or resources that you would like the library to provide?are there other databases andor resources you want the library to provide

*Remember to use Interlibrary Loan or Suggest-a-Purchase!

 

  1. How often do you believe that you are successful in your information search? (0-100)rate of success for searching

 

  1. What challenges do you encounter when searching for information?challenges you face when searching for information

a. What other challenges do you encounter?

b. Comments

For 4a and 4b, a majority of the comments were either about a lack of full text articles and subscriptions or a problem with finding the best search terms.

For items that the University does not have full-text, please use Interlibrary Loan. While there is a nominal fee associated with this service, it is much less expensive than purchasing the article through the publisher’s website. Additionally, you can Suggest-a-Purchase.

Having difficulties developing search strategies and picking the correct search word or keyword? Remember that we can help you! RISe- Research Information Services– let us help you rise above research information barriers.

 

  1. Have you used the following reference management tools in the past year?what citation management tool do you use
  2. Are there other reference management tools you regularly use?do you use a different citation management tool
  3. Do you believe that the library provides enough support and training for using reference management tools?does the library provide enough citation management support

a. If no, how we could be of further assistance?

b. Comments

For 7a and 7b, here are a few things to consider:

  • The University Information Technology Software Licensing office purchases these licenses for the entire university. If you prefer another platform, please let them know.
  • The Eccles Library offers training and has online tutorials for citation management tools. The training sessions can either be one-on-one or with a group to tailor the learning to your specific needs. Since the University licenses EndNote, we primarily encourage and teach this platform; however, we can help with other platforms.
  • If EndNote isn’t working, try contacting their support (http://endnote.com/support/search-knowledgebase or over the phone at 1-800-336-4474 or 1-800-336-4474, press 4)

 

One great suggestion we received for question 7 was to host a webinar on citation management and other tools. We are currently investigating this option. If you have an idea, let us know!

 

 

Read more about this survey and the results!