CILIP Umbrella 2009-2

An evaluation of academic e-book accessibility in a diverse student population- Dr Laura Muir Robert Gordon University Aberdeen.

Dr Muir presented the initial findings of a study to explore the behaviour and attitude of students using e-books for study.  The context of the research is the culture of lifelong learning and increased access to higher education.  Diverse students have diverse needs and expectations.  E-books have great potential to increase access.

Key research questions:

• How do students use academic e-books?
• Do academic e-books meet their study needs?

Previous research on attitudes found barriers to e-books- difficult to read, no ownership, difficult to browse and annotate.  There needed to be a move towards “monitoring the actual online seeking behaviour of their users” (CIBER 2008).

Therefore this study is a qualitative study of behaviour and experience.  Here are the stages of the study:

• Design an e-book task- relevant and beneficial
• Pre-task questionnaire showing information needs and attitudes
• Direct observation and recording during task- screen capture, video, audio capture.
• Post task interview

Initially the study found that students were more positive about e-books after the session.  They were reading up to 60 pages alongside keyword searches, highlighting, scanning, taking notes and paraphrasing.  However they were frustrated by a poor search display, a lack of seeing obvious progress and having to scroll.

This is a very valid study.  Students study needs are changing and it is important to recognise this and also work with them to assess how they can use new resources and gain benefits.  I have never used an e-book but the reader passed around the session was very accessible.  E-books and use in Local Studies Libraries is something for me to consider!

Just one world or is it? Information skills for the small museum.  Dr Diana Dixon Southwold Museum.

Dr Dixon came from being a Local Studies Librarian to managing a small museum.

Local Studies is at the cutting edge of library and information work and needs many skills and techniques.  Unfortunately it has been discontinued in Library courses and has suffered.  Libraries, Museums and Archives are driven by a demand stimulated by programmes such as Who Do You Think You Are? and customers have very high expectations.

Local Studies Group- Key skills for Local Studies Librarians:

• IT Skills- FUNDAMENTAL
• Management Skills- Customer care, marketing, promotion, fund-raising, people management, project management
• Preservation- Crucial skill on Museum courses 
• Communication Skills- Outreach, education, community profiles, Local Societies
• Local History Knowledge- Have to live in local community and be willing to absorb information.

Dr Dixon spoke of managing her 70 volunteers who are stewards, indexers and cataloguers.  She has training for specific tasks and handbooks.  She also spoke of the difficulty of cataloguing books onto the museum system.

Ruskin University has an innovative multidisciplinary course for Libraries, Archives and Museums.  Dr Dixon spoke about the importance of transferable skills, courses, teaching qualifications, managing and marketing degrees.

I found Dr Dixon’s talk very interesting especially as I am a librarian working in a small museum.  I also utilise volunteers so her comments were very useful.  Transferable skills are important when working in this environment.  It is useful to know about books and objects and also be up to speed with IT- for websites and digitisation.  Marketing my resources is an area I want to explore.  I found it reassuring that Local History Knowledge was last on the list of essential key skills for librarians as I have only lived in this area for 8 months but it is true that an enthusiasm for history and learning means that you can learn lots, also making good contacts with local people is incredibly useful!

Poster Presentation- Part 2

Poster Presentation

Presenting my poster at Umbrella was tiring, interesting and rewarding. 

I had to be near my poster throughout all conference breaks, ready to discuss the project and answer any questions.  The poster sessions were busier than I imagined, many conference goers were genuinely interested in viewing all the posters and commenting on exciting new projects.

Personally, presenting my poster on MENTOR represented a HUGE step forward in my professional development.  I had to know the project inside out and prepare myself for any unknown questions.  I also had to leap out of my comfort zone and interact with peers, answering questions and accepting comments and constructive criticism.  Finally I  had to talk to two judges about my poster.

I am excited and passionate about MENTOR and used to working with the public on a daily basis, therefore I did not find it too difficult to be an (hopefully) informative and friendly presenter.  People asked me insightful questions and I was able to engage in professional discussion ad also offer my advice on the use of volunteers.  Volunteers do not seem to be utilised in other library sectors such as academic and health.  However they are common in most public libraries, archives and museums.

Presenters were entitled to also produce an information sheet about the project to hand out to interested people and I believe my weak point was the quality of my information sheet.  Having taken the time to design and print an eye-catching, professional poster I should have done the same for my hand-out.  Instead I typed an A4 sheet of information in Word.  If I present a poster again I will ensure that my hand-out is equally well designed, well thought out and attractive.

I would definitely recommend taking a poster to a conference.  It is great for:

• Networking
• Gaining valuable feedback about a project
• Personal Professional Development

However I would strongly advise having a team of at least two people to present the poster, otherwise it is very intensive and tiring!

There were 16 Posters on display at Umbrella 2009.  Some of my favourites were:

• University of Portsmouth Are e-books taking off This was an eye-catching, precise and very informative poster with a great information sheet.
• Liverpool John Moores University Learning 2.0 @ LJMU Again a very well designed poster, based on a monopoly board.
• Northumbria University Turning Point for Evaluation A well designed poster, interesting handout and helpful and engaged presenter.

 

Volunteers

My job involves the supervision or management a number of volunteers.  This dedicated team enhance the resources in the library through historical newspaper indexing, indexing shipping lists, transcription and digitisation.  Yesterday I attended a meeting with the volunteer co-ordinator for Museums and Arts in the district which was a very positive experience.

With some joined-up working the library volunteers can become part of a larger network- with benefits such as free courses and social events.  I can also advertise any opportunities to volunteer in the library to a larger network.  The information I learnt at the meeting and the contact I have established will allow me to enrich the volunteer experience and hopefully lead to my own development as a supervisor as options to go on courses and training will be available. 

I have been reading the Volunteering England website which has opened up a range of literature , best practice and ideas.