Conference Session

Empowering the User Learning Experience: Evolution in Library Design

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Honora N. Eskridge, North Carolina State University; Kim Duckett, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Libraries

usedpersonas, popular in web interface and product design, to package much of our data into a formthat can be used for planning spaces and services within the new library. Such efforts to studyour users have enabled us to keep students and researchers at the heart of designing new spacesand services. It should be noted that this paper does not discuss the findings of the data collectedin detail, but focuses on our processes of gathering user-research data and effective methods foruser studies that are applicable in other libraries.II. Designing for the userProviding excellent spaces, services, technologies, and websites are now fundamental to themission of the academic library. At the heart of these efforts is the need to design with the user inmind

Conference Session

Empowering the User Learning Experience: Evolution in Library Design

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jill H. Powell, Cornell University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Libraries

advantages of reference desk mergers atCalifornia State University, Sacramento.19 Dodd gives good advice on strategic planning witharchitects and administrators.20 Popescu gives a detailed report of the result of student focusgroups and their input for library spaces.21Cornell has 3,051 undergraduates, 1,426 graduates, 236 faculty, and 217 staff in the College ofEngineering, which has 12 schools. There are 2.5 engineering librarians, down from 9.5 FTEstaff when this author started work 25 years ago. Administrative consolidation had already takenplace with the Engineering, Mathematics, and Physical Sciences Libraries cluster, who sharestaff and expertise. The director of the Mathematics Library also became the director of theEngineering Library. In

Conference Session

Information Literacy in Context: Enabling Real World Problem Solving

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adriana Popescu, Princeton University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Libraries

collectively to support discipline based collections with multiple interdisciplinaryrelations, such as engineering.The other action taken was to update the profile for the engineering approval plan to broaden thecoverage to specific geographic areas corresponding to places where the university offersinternships and study abroad programs, as well as to extend the plan to include titles withinterdisciplinary treatment. The collecting focus for the engineering library has actively shiftedtowards areas of the world with high output of STM research and scholarship, such as Asia andSouth America and selective collecting in other languages than English has been initiated. Tothis extent, specific subject areas have been identified (Engineering, Soil &

Conference Session

Considerations for the Collection Conscious Librarian

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Theresa M. Calcagno, George Mason University; Jessica Bowdoin, George Mason University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Libraries

purchase”policy for textbooks.17 Libraries with this policy identified budget constraints as the mainreason for not purchasing textbooks. From a collections standpoint, a “no purchase” policy fortextbooks makes sense because they may go out of date as new editions are published. Severalstudies found that the time between the original publication of a textbook and its new editionaveraged only 3 to 3.8 years and frequently, the faculty did not see any significant changes to thecontent.5,6Recently, several university libraries have created textbook collections as part of their coursereserves program.9,10,11 In 2009, the Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City Libraryrecognized the students’ needs for textbooks and began planning a program to place

Conference Session

Orienting Students for Lifelong Learning Success

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michelle Spence, University of Toronto; Jason A. Foster, University of Toronto; Robert Irish, University of Toronto; Patricia Kristine Sheridan, University of Toronto; Geoffrey Samuel Frost, University of Toronto

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Libraries

course have typically shown a shallow knowledge ofinformation resources in their field. Relying on the low-hanging fruit found easily by usingsearch engines such as Google, these students tend to rely on a brute force strategy rather than asophisticated and planned approach to finding information sources. In the 2010-2011 academicyear, Praxis I students found a more hands-on approach to library tutorials beneficial in theiruptake of knowledge and skills related to information literacy instruction1. Because of thepositive correlation between hands-on experience and improved uptake, we wanted to attempt todevelop the students’ experience further and, hopefully, push them to a more informed andconsistent use of the library in their ongoing design

Conference Session

Information Literacy in Context: Enabling Real World Problem Solving

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Fosmire, Purdue University, West Lafayette; David F. Radcliffe, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Libraries

spentdoing ‘library research,’ and most of the information related activities carried out by the studentsstudied involved ‘planning to gather information.’ Denick et al10 found students relied too muchon lower quality web sites rather than more appropriate formal publications like handbooks in theirdesign reports. Wertz et al11 found similar results, and further than students frequently mis-applied information they did gather. These results are in line with the results of Head andEisenberg’s12 national survey of students, in which less than a third of respondents had a researchstrategy, and three-quarters had difficulty getting started on a project.The authors contend that, in order to improve information gathering and application in designprojects

Conference Session

Considerations for the Collection Conscious Librarian

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peter Zuber, Brigham Young University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Libraries

becomesless volatile.7 Alternatives also exist in charitable organizations or recycling. However, somepatrons will always prefer a book; greener alternatives require more planning; and time is oftenat a premium given other tasks at hand. Librarian’s time or motivation Page 25.1470.3 Studies have reported the tendency of librarians to find little time for weeding or tomaintain the motivation to work on weeding.8 Wallace states that the use of conventionalweeding techniques, meaning judgment based decision making, can require several minutes pertitle. As the number of volumes increases, the dedicated time required for weeding can reach

Conference Session

Orienting Students for Lifelong Learning Success

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mary L. Strife, West Virginia University; Robin A. M. Hensel Ed.D., West Virginia University; Marian G. Armour-Gemmen, West Virginia University

Tagged Divisions

Engineering Libraries

Large Classroom Settings. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 10(2), 147-163.Holden, I.I. (2010). Science Literacy and Lifelong Learning in the Classroom: A Measure of Attitudes amongUniversity Students. Journal of Library Administration, 50, 265–282. DOI: 10.1080/01930821003635002Mounce, M. (2010). Working Together: Academic Librarian and Faculty Collaboration to Improve Students’Information Literacy Skills: A Literature Review 2000-2009. The Reference Librarian, 51(4), 300-320.National Society of Professional Engineers. (2007). Code of Ethics for Engineers. Publication 1102.http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.htmlOakleaf, M. (2009). Writing Information Literacy Assessment Plans: A Guide to Best Practice. Communications inInformation