The Bright Spots: The Library in 2011 and Moving Forward April 18, 2011

The Library in 2011 Some bright spots: 1)Supporting students 2)Supporting research 3)Lending our expertise

Listening to Students Encourage and take action on student feedback –Noise Survey at the Dana Porter Library –The “DC Zone” at the Davis Centre Library –Library web redesign –Express workstations pilot –Study rooms survey

Reaching Out to Students Jumpstart Friday –The Library’s orientation session combines information literacy with an outreach approach –In 2010 it ranked on par with the day’s invited speaker Value of Content 4.81/5 Effectiveness of Materials 4.5/5 Presenter Ability 4.69/5

Engaging With Students Launched the buttons campaign on Library Day at the end of October It created a unique and fun opportunity for students to engage with the Library Astonishingly, students, faculty, and staff have picked up over 20,000 buttons from our locations

Connecting Students Alumni remember us and stay connected Daniel Simac, BSc 2008 “I always loved studying in the Dana Porter Library, some nights I would be there until it closed.” Mike Murkovic, BASc 2010 “I am a recent grad and I would love to get a handful of buttons for me and my friends. I really like the one of the DC desks… There was a core group of 6 of us who slugged it away every day in those desks.”

Students Giving Back Students recognize the importance of the Library to their success Most recently, the Arts Endowment Fund and the Student Life Endowment Fund have provided funding to purchase a total of 18 new study carrels and chairs for the Dana Porter Library Students use the Library

Students Use the Library (“Turnstile” counts on an average day in mid-October)

Supporting Research Provide highly-used research support –Workshops Librarians offered close to 150 workshops in the fall term –Online subject guides Have received thousands of hits from students, faculty, and other researchers since launching in September

Supporting Research Connect faculty with information providers –The Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) conducted a focus group with Engineering faculty members –Engineering Village, one of the Library’s largest database platforms, featured the research of Waterloo Engineering faculty

Supporting Research Explore and implement new technologies to better serve our community –Primo Central trial –Voyager testing partner

Lending Our Expertise Professional staff share their expertise across campus and with the broader research community Invited to take part in collaborative software testing by the Primo vendor Educate others on mapping and the application of GIS technology to research topics. Upcoming book: “How Every Library Can Use Geographical Information Systems (GIS)” Provide expertise on information architecture and accessibility to benefit the campus web redesign

Lending Our Expertise Create opportunities for the campus community to engage in relevant issues –Friends of the Library Lecture by Beckie Scott

Moving Forward

Engaging With Students