36 · Survey Results: Survey Questions and Responses
Collections: Library moved to a new approval plan that emphasizes electronic over print as well as print/electronic
purchase-on-demand. Users now have greater input on collection decisions.
Comparative usability of discovery tools and next generation catalog interfaces.
Conducted five focus groups targeting various user groups to assess the library’s homepage for functionality and
usability.
Digital Social Science Center (DSSC) Evaluation: understand the awareness, use of, and service quality of the DSSC,
which has been open for 1.5 years. This was primarily done via a questionnaire distributed in-library, and via e-mail to
target student groups.
Ethnographic study incorporating 20, one-hour interviews with undergraduate students captured on video.
From December 2008 through to June 2009, Libraries and Cultural Resources conducted a thorough implementation
planning exercise in preparation for the opening of a new facility, The Taylor Family Digital Library. Six teams:
Collections, Learning Services, Media/Technology, Outreach and Community Involvement, Research Support, and
Staffing included representation from all areas of Libraries and Cultural Resources and all staffing groups. The work
was coordinated by a librarian assigned full time to this project in the role of Director, Implementation. All teams
included gathering information about the User Experience within their mandate.
In an effort to improve the “way finding” in the library, we observed users, asked them to get from point A to point
B in the library and mapped their route, and put up temporary signs and asked for user feedback on their design and
content.
In planning and preparing for the Learning Studio, we conducted a wide range of activities to gather user input. This
included observational studies, e-mail survey, furniture voting, focus groups, and in-person survey with handheld
devices. These focused on the use of space, furniture, and group needs, technology required, and available services
desired.
In planning for a major renovation of the first and second floor of the main library, we have been gathering input from
our users in formal and informal ways to better inform our planning.
In the spring of 2010, the library ran a LibQUAL+® survey, has already responded to some key concerns raised in the
survey regarding library hours, and is developing an action plan to look at other areas.
Last year, a number of librarians and IT staff were charged to create a replacement for WebVoyage, the current
OPAC interface. To determine the elements necessary for this new discovery tool, the group identified a group of
undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, librarians, and university staff for usability testing of various library
catalogs, including the Penn Libraries’ new books discovery tool, whose digital library architecture was proven
successful and envisioned as a suitable replacement for the current OPAC.
Learning Commons design: Affinity focus groups were set up to ask undergraduates: “How would you design or
imagine the learning space for your ideal academic learning environment?” Students were given post-it notes and
grouped their ideas based on themes. Design charettes were used.
LibQUAL+®.
LibQUAL+® 2010 survey: campus-wide, Vancouver campus. The UBC Okanagan campus conducted its own LibQUAL+®
survey.
LibQUAL+® 2009 survey.
LibQUAL+® Lite.
Collections: Library moved to a new approval plan that emphasizes electronic over print as well as print/electronic
purchase-on-demand. Users now have greater input on collection decisions.
Comparative usability of discovery tools and next generation catalog interfaces.
Conducted five focus groups targeting various user groups to assess the library’s homepage for functionality and
usability.
Digital Social Science Center (DSSC) Evaluation: understand the awareness, use of, and service quality of the DSSC,
which has been open for 1.5 years. This was primarily done via a questionnaire distributed in-library, and via e-mail to
target student groups.
Ethnographic study incorporating 20, one-hour interviews with undergraduate students captured on video.
From December 2008 through to June 2009, Libraries and Cultural Resources conducted a thorough implementation
planning exercise in preparation for the opening of a new facility, The Taylor Family Digital Library. Six teams:
Collections, Learning Services, Media/Technology, Outreach and Community Involvement, Research Support, and
Staffing included representation from all areas of Libraries and Cultural Resources and all staffing groups. The work
was coordinated by a librarian assigned full time to this project in the role of Director, Implementation. All teams
included gathering information about the User Experience within their mandate.
In an effort to improve the “way finding” in the library, we observed users, asked them to get from point A to point
B in the library and mapped their route, and put up temporary signs and asked for user feedback on their design and
content.
In planning and preparing for the Learning Studio, we conducted a wide range of activities to gather user input. This
included observational studies, e-mail survey, furniture voting, focus groups, and in-person survey with handheld
devices. These focused on the use of space, furniture, and group needs, technology required, and available services
desired.
In planning for a major renovation of the first and second floor of the main library, we have been gathering input from
our users in formal and informal ways to better inform our planning.
In the spring of 2010, the library ran a LibQUAL+® survey, has already responded to some key concerns raised in the
survey regarding library hours, and is developing an action plan to look at other areas.
Last year, a number of librarians and IT staff were charged to create a replacement for WebVoyage, the current
OPAC interface. To determine the elements necessary for this new discovery tool, the group identified a group of
undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, librarians, and university staff for usability testing of various library
catalogs, including the Penn Libraries’ new books discovery tool, whose digital library architecture was proven
successful and envisioned as a suitable replacement for the current OPAC.
Learning Commons design: Affinity focus groups were set up to ask undergraduates: “How would you design or
imagine the learning space for your ideal academic learning environment?” Students were given post-it notes and
grouped their ideas based on themes. Design charettes were used.
LibQUAL+®.
LibQUAL+® 2010 survey: campus-wide, Vancouver campus. The UBC Okanagan campus conducted its own LibQUAL+®
survey.
LibQUAL+® 2009 survey.
LibQUAL+® Lite.
