Library News - University of Tasmania Library

Library news:

From the University Librarian

Thanks to all of you who filled out the Library Client Survey during September. This is the third time that we have run the survey, which is used by university libraries in Australia and New Zealand to benchmark performance. It was good to see comments such as:

“All library experiences have been positive”

“Overall the library is a really nice place to be, and is nice to study in. The silent areas work really well.”

It was pleasing to see that over the three surveys, your satisfaction with library services has increased. The results this time put the library in the top ten university libraries in Australia and New Zealand.

The Library has improved its performance in most areas. The only area in which there has been a slight decline is in ‘Facilities and Equipment’. An initial interpretation is that with the creation of the very popular Learning Hubs, the provision of high quality individual study areas are limited. A refurbishment program is underway for the Morris Miller Library which should help address this. The survey results will be analysed in greater depth to confirm if this is interpretation is correct.

The highest performing factors in the survey were:

Library staff treat me fairly and without discrimination
Library staff are friendly and helpful
Library staff display professionalism

The lowest performing factors were:

Access to computers to support study/research is adequate
Library staff keep me informed about new services, resources and collections
Prompt corrective action is taken regarding missing books and journals

The survey analyses results to identify gaps between areas which you consider important against our performance. While the gaps were small, the key issues identified were:

The library collection is adequate for my needs
Access to computers to support study/research is adequate

The Library will identify ways of addressing these issues in the next year. Meanwhile we will continue to look for ways to improve service and we value your feedback to help us do this.

Linda Luther
University Librarian

UTAS Library providing basic IT support

Tricia Vierra at a training session with branch library staff

Recent changes to the Service Desk have seen the “virtual Service Desk” (that is the 1818 phone and email service) return to IT Resources. The Client Services Desk in each library now provides face-to-face service for students needing basic IT support (such as change of email and Novell passwords, and assisted EFTPOS for CAPS and Library fines). This basic support, initially offered only in Morris Miller and Launceston Campus libraries, has been extended to all branch libraries from November 2006.

There will still be a restricted advanced IT support service available in Morris Miller and Launceston Campus libraries for student users who are referred by Client Services Desk staff.

Library staff involved in basic IT support have undergone training from IT Resources, Library and CALT in information and tools needed to assist students with their basic IT needs. Some Library staff are proving their credentials in computer competence by completion of the International Computer Driving Licence, the ICDL. This is an internationally accredited certificate which proves that the holder is competent to operate a range of everyday computer applications. Seven Library staff have their ICDL certificate and licence; three of these staff, Martine Guesdon, Jeremy O’Reilly and Debbie Ploughman, have completed their licences since the Service Desk began testing for the ICDL late 2005.

Debbie Ploughman works in the Science Library, which was the first branch library outside of Morris Miller and Launceston Campus libraries to provide basic IT support in October 2006. Debbie worked through the ICDL modules available on the CALT IT-training website http://www.utas.edu.au/it_training/ and then arranged testing through the Library.

Martine Guesdon, Debbie Ploughman and Jeremy O’Reilly

For more details see the UTAS ICDL website:

http://www.utas.edu.au/library/icdl/index.html

Di Worth
Associate Librarian (Systems & Collection Management)
Phone: (03) 6226 2208

Email: Di.Worth@utas.edu.au

ePrints Update

The Library, the School of Computing and ITR have been working to establish UTas ePrints as a permanent digital archive of the University's research output. The School of Computing and ITR have collaborated on implementing a new version of the software and Library staff have worked on the new look and feel and on cataloguing the content using DEST's preferred classification scheme.

The new version of ePrints is now up and running on a centrally administered sever.
The URL of the new version of ePrints is http://eprints.utas.edu.au/ The old URL is being re-directed. If you had material in the old archive and people have made links to it, they, too, will automatically be re-directed to the same material on the new server. During this 'beta' phase, please report any problems or errors you encounter (or comments or suggestions) to Lynn Davies on ext 1895 so we can resolve them as soon as possible.

To add material to the new ePrints you will need to re-register. This is a simple process taking a few minutes. In the next phase of the project, access to the archive will be through the University's normal logon processes. During the next phase we also hope to upgrade the server to increase performance and achieve a level of integration with the Research Office's PES system allowing an item entered in ePrints to be automatically lodged in PES.

The repository is still growing even though we have needed to restrict the amount of material going in to the repository during this bedding down phase. The archive now contains 400 items and has had 117,000 downloads. The most popular item in the archive is Professor Saxby Pridmore's book 'Download of Psychiatry' having over 15,000 downloads in the short time it has been online. The Library encourages all researchers at the University to put their work in the archive and make a contribution to this potential revolution in scholarly communication.

Derek Rowlands
Library Systems
Phone: 6226 2228

Email: Derek.Rowlands@utas.edu.au

Lynn Davies
Digital Archives
Phone: 6226 1895

Email: Lynn.Davies@utas.edu.au

Wanting to upgrade to EndNote 9?

Wanting to upgrade to EndNote 9?
CD-ROMs with EndNote 9 software are now available for loan from your nearest University of Tasmania Library. These CD-ROMs contain any improved styles, connection files or filters that University of Tasmania Library staff have located or modified.

Please check with library staff to see if EndNote 9 is now available on your library’s computers.
Before upgrading to EndNote 9 please see these essential tips:

http://www.utas.edu.au/library/assist/apps/endnote/index.html#upgrading

The Library offers Introductory EndNote Workshops. For details on upcoming workshops see:
http://www.utas.edu.au/library/assist/tours_workshops.html

Opening Hours – Long Vacation

Please note the change in opening hours over the long vacation. The Library will close for Christmas from Saturday 23 rd December and reopen on Tuesday 2 nd January. To see what hours the libraries will be open check the following link:

http://www.utas.edu.au/library/about/openhours.html

News from Sections

Clinical Library

Farewell to Helen Millar

Helen Millar will retire on the 21 st of December this year.

Helen was seconded to the Clinical School Library in August 2002 as a result of the merger of the Royal Hobart Hospital’s Lade Library into the University Clinical Library. The contractual agreement of the merger required a support service be provided to the nursing and allied health professional staff in the hospital.

Although Helen became part of the UTAS support team she retained the role of nursing support not only for the hospital but gradually also for the School of Nursing and Midwifery staff and students in the south. In this role she worked closely and effectively with Ian Bollard in the north, a partnership which has enriched both the understanding and service delivery to the nursing discipline in both areas.

Helen’s background in librarianship began in the early 1980s when she embarked upon an Arts degree at UTAS and subsequently a postgraduate qualification in librarianship.

Following an initial five years with the State Offices Library as a cataloguer, Helen gained a position at the Lade Library in 1992 as the start of a fourteen year association with the hospital. During this period she had responsibility for Repatriation General Hospital Library until its demise in 1996.

Helen’s time at the Clinical Library has been marked by significant change in both the working environment and the means of service delivery and throughout she adapted positively and constructively to all that has emerged. Her subject knowledge of the nursing discipline and her personal standing with the hospital’s nursing staff will be qualities hard to replace as will her role as part of the Clinical Library team and the special relationships she has established with the library’s client group.

Retirement will present a new chapter in her life but one she is well prepared for. Lazy days at her holiday home in Orford, books to read, exciting craft project to tackle and overseas trips with her beloved Bill all suggest Helen is going to be very busy in her new adventure.

Ian Barton
Clinical Librarian

Phone: 03 6226 4812 or x4813
E-mail: Clin.Reference@utas.edu.au

Document Delivery

New Document Delivery system goes live!

During the first week in November we had a visit from an OCLC PICA consultant who ran a number of training sessions on our new DD/ILL management system. The Document Delivery staff attended a course which gave us a functional overview of the VDX Web Client. This web based interface allows us to perform tasks such as the routine processing of incoming and outgoing requests as well as managing our UTAS client records at the Hobart and Launceston locations.

OCLC PICA has finalized the configuration of our UTAS VDX system. System testing is now being conducted. We hope to go ‘live’ around the middle of this month.

Introductory sessions about using the new system will be announced shortly. Liaison Librarians or Document Delivery staff would be happy to introduce you to VDX’s ZPortal on a ‘one to one’ basis.

Chris Halloran

Phone: 03 6226 2230 ( Hobart)
E-mail: docdel.hbt@lib.utas.edu.au

Phone: 03 6324 3571 (Launceston)

E-mail: docdel.ltn@lib.utas.edu.au

Launceston Campus Library

Happy retirement – Alison Johnston

Alison has been working in the Liaison area at Launceston since 1995 with the School of Visual and Performing Arts, Philosophy, English, Journalism and European Languages/Literatures, Asian Languages and Studies and Riawunna. The staff in those areas would be aware of being kept up to date by Alison. When the Academy of the Arts was opened at Inveresk she visited the staff and students there once a week working from a shared office space. The Library has a book returns facility and provides catalogue access near the Gallery.

Alison is pictured here with some of the people at the Academy

Malcom Bywaters, Penny Mason, Vincent McGrath, Alison Johnston, Deborah Malor, Robert Lewis, and David Hamilton

Prior to that Alison was the Circulation Officer taking her staff through the first automation of Mini-Circ (written by Di Worth, computer programmer and now Associate Librarian) and Urica – the predecessor of Horizon. She commenced work in Launceston in July, 1979.

We wish her well in her retirement. “Saradee”

EFTPOS Usage for CAPS
The self service EFTPOS machines have become very popular in the library, and the Launceston students especially have taken to using them like ducks to water. This is probably because of the effort made by desk staff to encourage clients to use the self-service machines. The take up of the Self Serve EFTPOS machine by staff and students at the Launceston Campus Library has increased this year from approx 80% of all EFTPOS transactions to a huge 87.9%.

The figures for Launceston and Morris Miller so far for 2006 are as follows:

Launceston Campus library
Type                                 Amount         % of Total
=============================================================
SSEFTPOS                YTD                   87.9%
Client Services Desks   YTD                   12.1%

All CAPS monies Deposited in the Launceston Campus Library
Type                                 Amount         % of Total
=============================================================
SSEFTPOS                                      53.9%
CSD                                                  7.4%
Coin Machine                                  38.7%

This means that 92.6% of all money deposited into CAPS in the Launceston Campus Library is done via Self Service.

Morris Miller library
Type                                 Amount        Approx % of Total
=============================================================
SSEFTPOS                    YTD                   40.9%
Client Services Desks   YTD                   59.1%

All CAPS monies Deposited in the Morris Miller library
Type                                 Amount        Approx % of Total
=============================================================
SSEFTPOS                                    23.0%
CSD                                                33.2%
Coin Machine                                43.8%

This means 66.8% of all CAPS transactions are via Self Service at Morris Miller.

Figures supplied by Mark Byrne, Service Desk Manager.

Launceston Master Plan
There is a copy of the draft master plan for the Launceston Campus on the ground floor of the library. Come in and have a look and see what you think of it. Asset Management welcomes your feedback on the draft campus masterplans.

The feedback form is at:

http://www.utas.edu.au/ams/master_planning/feedback/

The information about the master plans is at: http://www.utas.edu.au/ams/master_planning/index.htm

Phone: 03 6324 3276
E-mail: Ltn.Reference@utas.edu.au

Morris Miller Library

Over half a million through the Morris Miller doors

The number of people through the Morris Miller doors this year has hit another record, as well as breaking through the 500,000 mark. The graph below shows figures of the last 10 years.

The Learning Hub is highly used and we are responding to requests for further quiet study areas by identifying journal titles held electronically and moving these to store. This will free-up space for silent lap-top spaces on Level 4.

This anticipates the Library’s master plan to gradually develop more spaces throughout the library for a variety of individual and group study needs over the next few years.

Phone: 03 6226 7816

Email: MML.Reference@utas.edu.au

New Electronic Services

Arts

Index Islamicus

The Index Islamicus database indexes literature on Islam, the Middle East and the Muslim world. It is produced by an editorial team working at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Material cited in the Index Islamicus includes not only work written about the Middle East, but also about the other main Muslim areas of Asia and Africa, plus Muslim minorities elsewhere. Over 3,000 journals are monitored for inclusion in the database, together with conference proceedings, monographs, multi-authored works and book reviews. Journals and books are indexed down to the article and chapter level. Coverage is from 1906.

http://www.utas.edu.au/library/info/dbase/dbases3.html#i

Health Sciences

CINAHL with Full Text – Change of platform for 2007

CINAHL with Full Text is the world's most comprehensive source of full text for nursing & allied health journals, providing full text for more than 550 journals. Previously available via ProQuest, CINAHL will now be available via the EBSCO platform. User limits on the new EBSCO CINAHL will be 12.

http://www.utas.edu.au/library/info/dbase/dbases2.html#c

Science

Institute of Physics (IOP) Journal Archive

The IOP Journal Archive is a comprehensive digital collection of all the work published by the Institute between 1876 and 1996. The archive represents over 1000 volume years and 125,000 articles of high-quality science from the best authors and some of the most significant journals in the physical sciences. The archive contains fully searchable PDFs with linked references and high resolution scanning has ensured that the text, data and tables of articles are easy to read.

Access to the IOP Journal Archive is via the Library’s Database pages:

http://www.utas.edu.au/library/info/dbase/dbases3.html#i

PsycARTICLES

We are pleased to announce that the PsycArticles historical backfile 1894-1984 will soon be included in our existing PsycArticles subscription. Currently our coverage starts from 1985.

PsycARTICLES is a database of full-text articles from journals published by the American Psychological Association, the APA Educational Publishing Foundation, the Canadian Psychological Association, and Hogrefe & Huber.

http://www.utas.edu.au/library/info/dbase/dbases3.html#p

Multidiscipline

Latest Scopus Enhancements

1.Source Browse
The Source Browse feature now displays more information about each source’s coverage in Scopus. Users can now see the status of all indexed titles including the following information:

active versus inactive titles
title history, such as title changes
latest issues covered by Scopus

Source Browse can be found on the ‘Sources’ navigation button at the top of each screen. The following sources are included in the source browse list:

All active titles (i.e. all sources to which articles have been added since 2003)
All active titles’ predecessors. Meaning that the entire history for an active journal can be traced back on the proviso that Scopus has records from the previous title.

2. WebCites
Scopus is now offering WebCites enabling users to track the influence of peer reviewed research on web literature. Through WebCites, users will be able to track citations of Scopus articles that appear in selected web sources.

The initial selection of web documents comes from the following web sources with more quality sources will be included over time, in line with Scopus user feedback:

MIT – Open Courseware from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
NDLTD – Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
DiVA – a collection of Institutional repositories from Scandinavian universities
University of Toronto – the institutional repository
CalTech – the institutional repository from the California Institute of Technology.

WebCites appear in a new box on the Scopus Abstract and References page. In this box, titled ‘Cited By – Web Sources’, the user finds the number of times an article in Scopus has been cited by web documents from selected scientific web sources.

http://www.utas.edu.au/library/info/dbase/dbases4.html#s

Teaching and Help

A Framework for Information Literacy: Teaching Matters 2006 workshop

In Teachers Matters 2006, Librarians presented a workshop that discussed a draft Framework for developing students’ information literacy skills throughout their degree.

The Framework articulates learning outcomes from an elementary level - where students investigate a set topic, finding and using information in a guided way - to an advanced skill level where students engage in an open inquiry with self-determined guidelines. The Framework aims to assist the collaboration between academics and librarians to embed information literacy into the context of the discipline.

Ideas from discussion groups included using the Framework:

as a way of mapping and auditing information literacy skills through a course
in context of a student ePortfolio of generic skills
to grasp what is actually involved in developing information literacy in students (and ourselves).

With feedback received, we intend to develop the Framework and publish on the Library website in 2007. The Framework will link to teaching and assessment case studies from across all faculties.
Participants included over 30 academics, librarians and catalysts representing a range of faculties and CALT.
The Framework is based on an information literacy skills continuum for primary school to university graduation by University of Adelaide learning developers John Willison and Kerry O’Regan: http://conference.herdsa.org.au/2005/pdf/refereed/paper_288.pdf.
John has adapted the original continuum to a Research Skills Development framework that has been applied in Human Biology and Electronic Engineering at Adelaide:
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/clpd/materia/projects/rsd/

Access the workshop presentation and case studies of information literacy programs embedded in the discipline:

Reserve & eReserve

Staff are reminded to submit their Reserve and eReserve requests as early as possible before the beginning of Summer Schools and Semester 1, 2007. This ensures items are available for students before the start of a unit.

For more information about placing items on Reserve:

Contact your Liaison Librarian: http://www.utas.edu.au/library/about/liais.html
Check out the webpage “Reserve and eReserve for Staff”: http://www.utas.edu.au/library/cat/staffres.html
Fill in a “Reserve Request Form”: http://www.utas.edu.au/library/forstaff/reserve_request.html

2007 Library & Information Literacy Needs

We’ve reached the end of 2006 so now it’s time to start thinking about your library and information needs for 2007.

Perhaps you’ve been inspired by Teaching Matters, have heard of activities run by your colleagues in conjunction with the library, or just want to try something new next Semester. Whatever the reason, don’t miss the opportunity to help develop your student’s lifelong learning skills.

Liaison Librarians deliver tailored library information sessions and workshops to meet the information needs of your students as well as providing assistance in embedding information literacy into the curriculum.

Please contact your Liaison Librarian to discuss your information training needs. To find out who your Liaison Librarian is follow the link: http://www.utas.edu.au/library/about/liais.html

The Library would like to wish all staff and students of the University a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for a safe and happy New Year!!

For any enquiries/comments please contact:
Sarah.Crosswell@utas.edu.au

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