The ERIAL Project: Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries Andrew Asher, Lead Project Anthropologist Lynda Duke, Academic Outreach Librarian, Illinois Wesleyan University Dave Green, Associate University Librarian for Collections and Information Services, Northeastern Illinois University

Introduction Library Services and Technology Act grant, $377,000 Two years Five institutions / 27 people

Research Question What do students actually do when they are assigned a research project for one of their class assignments and what are the expectations of students, faculty and librarians of each other with regard to this assignment?

Dr. Nancy Foster, University of Rochester, Project Consultant Dr. Andrew Asher Resident Anthropologist Illinois Wesleyan University Northeastern Illinois University Susan Miller Resident Anthropologist University of Illinois at Springfield University of Illinois at Chicago DePaul University The ERIAL Project: Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries Dr. Andrew Asher, Lead Research Anthropologist Dave Green ERIAL Project Manager Susan Miller Resident Anthropologist Northern Libraries Coordinating Team Central Libraries

ERIAL Participating Universities IWUUISDePaulUICNEIU LocationBloomingtonSpringfieldChicago EnvironmentResidential Urban Commuter/ Urban Public/PrivatePrivatePublicPrivatePublic TypeLiberal ArtsLiberal Arts/ Professional Catholic- Affiliated ResearchHispanic- Serving Total Enrollment ,35225,83512,320 Undergraduate Enrollment ,78215,66510,114 Graduate Enrollment

IWUUISDePaulUICNEIU Enrollment Full-time99%62%81%92%56% Part-time1%38%19%8%44% Age 24 and Under100%55%79%87%54% Age 25 and over 045%20%13%35% Unknown 11% Gender Ratio Male41%44%45%47%42% Female59%56%55%53%56% Race/Ethnicity Black/African American 6%12%8%9%10% Hispanic/Latino(a)3% 12%17%30% White/Caucasian76%74%57%45%41% Asian4%3%8%23%11% Unknown5%6%11%5%7% International Students 6%1%0%1%0% Transfer Students

ERIAL Graduation/Retention Rates IWUUISDePaulUICNEIU Graduation Rate83%57%64%48%18% Transfer Out Rate No data 25%No data33% Retention Rate90%67%85%78%64% (first year, fulltime students)

ERIAL Research Participants IWUUISDePaulUICNEIU Total Librarian Interview Faculty Interview Student Interview Student Photo Journal Student Mapping Diaries24N/A Students in Web Design Workshops30N/A Faculty in Web Design Workshops18N/A Research Process30N/A Student Cognitive Mapping442337N/A Research Paper Retrospective Interview9N/A 9 Total

Cognitive MapMapping Diary

Students' View of Research An inability to correctly read citations Little or no understanding of cataloging systems No organized search strategies beyond "Google- style" any word, anywhere searches Poor abilities in locating and evaluating resources (of all types).

Examples On a 2009 information literacy test, only 14.5% of IWU freshmen could correctly identify four citations. 42% answered 0 or 1 question correctly. “Apparently you don’t have much on Rock and Roll.” No information on “All-American girls professional baseball league.”

General Observations Technological solutions might allow more instructional focus on concepts However, these solutions are unlikely to effectively address students' conceptual deficiencies. Easier information access and more robust search capabilities compound students’ research difficulties. Addressing the students' instructional needs requires broad educational and curricular solutions in which the library can be a key player.

Students Fail to Utilize Librarians Very few students seek help from librarians. Librarians invisible in academic world-view of IWU students Students do not view that librarians as possessing disciplinary expertise. “I always assume librarians are busy doing library stuff and it’s just not the first thing that pops into my head when I think of a librarian, like helping with papers or paper writing.” The confusion about what librarians do hinders students from asking questions and obtaining the help they need. “I don’t know where the librarians here are. There’s someone that sits at the information desk, and I don’t know if he’s a librarian... But I would never go to their office and knock on their door and say, ‘help me out’ which just makes me feel bad.”

Student/Librarian Relationships Students worry about being judged for asking "stupid" questions. Students who had developed a relationship with a librarian reported high levels of satisfaction with the help provided Students who participated in instruction sessions with a librarian had markedly better research skills than those who had not “I understand that [librarians] are not magicians or something, but sometimes they seem like it.”

The Role of Professors Professors often play a key role in brokering this relationship between students and librarians. Students view professors as experts, and when the professor specifically recommends a librarian they highly value this advice. Professors act as gatekeepers who mediate when and how students get in touch with librarian as they are working on research assignments. Given librarians' structural placement as marginal to students' academic world, librarians can not effectively address these needs without active participation from teaching faculty.

IWU Project Goals Understand students’ research processes Role academic libraries and librarians play Adjust library resources and services

Changes Implemented / Planned Library / faculty relationships Teaching Information literacy / research skills Website / tools of scholarship Student assistant training Library Space Outreach activities

Project Management, Logistics and Collaboration Before the beginning…

Collaboration among Libraries

Collaboration among 5 ERIAL Libraries

Collaboration among ERIAL Participants on Research

Logistics Centralized Administrative Structure

Logistics Communication Structure Phone 4 Meetings per month 29 Regularly Scheduled Meetings Each Month

Logistics Communication Structure Communication as needed BaseCamp by 37 Signals Dropbox Phone X

Logistics Communication Structure Communication tool not utilized X

Project Management ERIAL Administration ERIAL Research ERIAL Local Projects

The ERIAL Project: Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries For more information: A. Asher: L. Duke: D. Green: