October 14, 2013 Meeting of User Education Committee

Agenda not yet available.

Members Present: Melody Allison (14), Susan Avery (ex officio), Kirstin Dougan (14), Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe (ex officio) – Chair, Cindy Ingold (14), Elizabeth Sheehan (15), Jameatris Rimkus (15), Mara Thacker (14), Sandra Wolf (14)

Members Absent: Merinda Hensley (ex officio), Mark Wardecker (14)

Additional Attendees: Meredith Riddle (Information Literacy GA)

 

1. Welcome and Introductions

Lisa welcomed the committee.

2. Agenda Review

Lisa reviewed the agenda and asked the committee members if they would prefer to receive a detailed agenda one week in advance of meetings. Some committee members expressed interest and so Lisa will organize and distribute future agendas one week in advance of the meetings. After a few meetings the committee will discuss whether this new approach is useful.

3. Acclamations and Accolades

Cindy and Beth reported that they have been co-teaching a 200-level sociology of gender course for the first time. They taught two sessions in each course. Cindy also reported co-teaching most classes this semester. The committee discussed how the increase in co-teaching may reflect the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of courses and an increase in use of primary and legal resources.

Mara reported that she taught a class of 65 students that resulted in 10 research appointments in a single week. Though it was a bit overwhelming, it was also very rewarding.

4. Committee Charge:

Lisa reviewed the committee charge and summarized that, if users are learning something from the library, such learning is within the scope of the committee’s work. Given the broad scope of this charge, the committee must select annual priorities.

5. Brainstorm/Review Additional Goals/Projects for 2013-2014

Lisa shared that an ad hoc group has drafted a proposal for a new user experience group. This proposal has been submitted to Dean Wilkin and will be discussed by the Executive Committee. When discussing the need for this new user experience group, User Education Committee members referenced changes in Robert Slater’s position with respect to web services and Dean Wilkin’s request for study of the library Gateway. A committee member articulated that the new user experience group would conduct usability testing of physical and virtual spaces within the library. This testing would be distinct from other general library assessment. Committee members expressed concern about this proposal originating outside of the existing committee structure, thus making it difficult to engage with the proposal development process. The committee looks forward to working with the user experience group on projects.

The discussion of the proposed user experience group segued into a discussion of the online public access catalog environment at Illinois. The committee briefly discussed the functions and interfaces of the three catalogs. Need for advocacy with the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI) was briefly discussed. Committee members identified the need for documenting catalog differences for staff training. Lisa mentioned that a graduate assistant from Reference, Research, and Scholarly Services is developing this information as a LibGuide.

A committee member requested follow up from last month’s meeting about developing a series of workshops inspired by the University of Michigan Library’s Instructor College.

6. Continuing Projects from 2012-2013

ACES 509 Reconfiguration

Lee Galway sent the working group a space outline and asked Jeff Schrader questions about the proposed re-design. Committee members briefly reviewed the layout, pointing out that the two-foot clearance behind the instructor’s station is insufficient for wheelchair access. In order to keep accessibility and sightlines a top priority, the committee expressed a preference for keeping the current configuration with its new central aisle. The committee plans to focus future efforts toward improving the instructor’s station.

Discovery – Primo Implementation, Access to Subject Databases

No update at this time.

Ithaka Faculty Survey Data/Reports

Lisa and Susan have received a sub-report of the national survey data pertaining to peer institutions. Lisa and Susan are currently working through the report to extract relevant information for committee review.

LibGuides and Virtual Reference

Lisa reported that the new chat widget is available for updating LibGuide profiles. All librarians and units that need to make this code update have been contacted. Lisa also announced that introductory LibGuide training is in October. She asked the committee if there is interest in offering in-depth assistance with LibGuide’s statistics module. Many committee members expressed interest in using these statistics more effectively in their annual personal reports as well as unit reports. The committee discussed scheduling and concluded that training before mid-February would be best.

7. New Projects in 2013-2014

Library 106 Space

Lisa was recently invited to a planning meeting. The working group for Library 106 Planning consists of Jim Dohle, Rhonda Jurinak, Lee Galaway, Beth Sheehan, Lisa Hinchliffe, Susan Avery, Jeff Schrader, and Beth Woodard. The group anticipates using Library 106 as a hands-on teaching and learning space; it is similar in size to Library 314.

Purdue Data Literacy Symposium (September 22-24)

Four committee members attended the symposium and reported an emphasis on training librarians to conduct instruction and assessment as part of their professional portfolios.

8. Upcoming Events

• Purdue Information Literacy Research Symposium (October 29)
• Fall CARLI Instruction Committee Webinars on Assessment – Lisa, Jen-chien Yu, and a librarian from Northwestern University will be presenting webinars. The dates are not yet announced.
• Spring CIC Conference on Information Literacy/Instruction – Date not yet announced.

FYI – Upcoming 2013-2014 Meetings – 10:00-11:00 am

• November 11
• December 9
• January 13
• February 10
• March 10
• April 14
• May 12
• June 9
• July 14
• August 11

Respectfully submitted by Meredith Riddle