Holt Zaugg

Mendeley: Creating Communities of Scholarly Inquiry Through Research Collaboration

Mendeley is a free, web-based tool for organizing research citations and annotating their accompanying PDF articles. Adapting Web 2.0 principles for academic scholarship, Mendeley integrates the management of the research articles with features for collaborating with researchers locally and worldwide. In this article the features of Mendeley are discussed and critiqued in comparison to other, similar tools. These features include citation management, online synchronization and collaboration, PDF management and annotation, and integration with word processing software. The article concludes with a discussion of how a social networking tool such as Mendeley might impact the academic scholarship process.

Communication Skills to Develop Trusting Relationships on Global Virtual Engineering Capstone Teams

As universities seek to provide cost-effective, cross-cultural experiences using global virtual (GV) teams, the ‘soft’ communication skills typical of all teams, increases in importance for GV teams. Students need to be taught how to navigate through cultural issues and virtual tool issues to build strong trusting relationships with distant team members. Weekly team meetings provide an excellent opportunity to observe key team interactions that facilitate relationship and trust-building among team members. This study observed the weekly team meetings of engineering students attending two US universities and one Asian university as they collaborated as a single GV capstone GV team. In addition local team members were interviewed individually and collectively throughout the project to determine strategies that facilitated team relations and trust. Findings indicate the importance of student choice of virtual communication tools, the refining of communication practices, and specific actions to build trusting relationships. As student developed these attributes, collaboration and success was experienced on this GV team.

Identification and development of patron personas for an academic library

Purpose – Ranganathan’s Laws of Library Science and continued refinements place identification of patron’s needs and connection of those needs to library services of primary importance in libraries. Identifying and developing personas or user group descriptions helps to identify the unique nature of library patrons. Personas help librarians identify or create specific services for each patron persona. Understanding each library persona allows the library faculty and staff to prepare and to plan service delivery. The purpose of this paper is to develop personas for undergraduate students followed by the identification and development of personas for graduate students and faculty. Design/methodology/approach – The identification and development of undergraduate patron personas engaged communications students, as part of their course work, to use a review of previous studies to develop theories of library patron personas. Each of the three groups within the communications class verified their initial persona...

Design and Development of a Cross-Cultural Disposition Inventory.

Advances in technology have increased the likelihood that engineers will have to work in a global, culturally diverse setting. Many schools of engineering are currently revising their curricula to help students to develop cultural competence. However, our ability to measure cultural dispositions can be a challenge. The purpose of this project was to develop and test an instrument that measures the various aspects of cultural disposition. The results of the validation process verified that the hypothesised model adequately represented the data. The refined instrument produced a four-factor model for the overall construct. The validation process for the instrument verified the existence of specific subcomponents that form the overall cultural disposition construct. There also seems to be a hierarchical relationship within the subcomponents of cultural disposition. Additional research is needed to explore which aspects of cultural disposition affect an individuals ability to work effectively in a culturally diverse engineering team.

Comparing library wayfinding among novices and experts

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate similar and different wayfinding strategies used by novice and expert patrons at an academic library. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a usability study approach. In total, 12 people, places, or things were identified as important for students to be able to locate within an academic library. Students from one of three groups (high school, freshmen, and seniors) were randomly assigned a scenario requiring them to find the indicated person, place, or thing. Student researchers video recorded participants and took field notes during the wayfinding activity and conducted an interview about participant’s experience following the exercise. Findings – Total and average time needed to locate the person, place, or thing indicated in the scenario were determined for each group. In addition, wayfinding tools (signs, maps, help desks, technology, and experience) used by participants were identified. Originality/value – The research compares novice ...

Collaborating with Nonlibrary Faculty for Assessment and Improved Instruction

ABSTRACT Collaboration with other entities and individuals has long been a standard practice of libraries. Typically, these collaborations seek to reduce redundancies, save money, and support educational and research efforts. However, a new model of collaboration exists that both assists discipline-specific research practices and informs library procedures. This article reviews two collaborations between an assessment librarian and a sociology class. The collaborations are unique because the library is the focus of the collaboration, with sociology students being able to apply classroom learning in a real-world setting. Several suggestions are provided for best practices when endeavoring to use this type of collaboration to inform library practice and engage students in hands-on learning.

Evaluation of an Academic Library’s Liquid Designed Website

Abstract Objective – When the Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) at Brigham Young University released a new website with same-look capabilities for computers, tablets, and smartphones, we undertook a summative assessment to review website features and to determine baseline measures of website access via device and patron group. Methods – The study used a mixed methods approach using three levels of assessment (focus groups, an online survey, and a usability test), with each level informing the subsequent level. Results – The website changes were well-received by the overwhelming majority of patrons. Device usage was associated with the type of task for which patrons were accessing the website. Computers were used primarily for research-related tasks (e.g., accessing journals, databases, and the main search bar). Smartphones were used primarily for on-the-go tasks (e.g., accessing personal accounts, finding library hours, and reserving group study rooms). Tablets fell between these two. Several website services were identified as being underused. Study results were moderated by time of release (i.e., only half of survey participants had viewed the new website) and access to device (i.e., many patrons did not have access to a tablet or a smartphone). Conclusions – The summative assessment of the HBLL’s new website was well-received and viewed as a positive change. While most patrons were initially unaware of the same-look feature across devices, this was considered to be a positive change. As devices become more accessible for patrons, it is believed that website access by device will change. A follow-up study is planned to assess any changes in use patterns or use of access devices.

Conducting and Using an Academic Library Data Inventory

This article describes the need for and the processes used to create an inventory of data collected by an academic library. The study uses a survey augmented by multiple interviews to create and populate an inventory of data. The study was able to identify and sort sources of data generated by library personnel based on type of data (demographic, location, log, qualitative, and quantitative) and library division. It indicated the frequency of data collection and use, as well as where the data was stored. Finally, the inventory also identified types of data not currently collected but librarians would like to collect. The article indicates how the data inventory may be used to support planning and improve library operations.

Integrating a creativity, innovation, and design studio within an academic library

Purpose This presentation describes the efforts to set up a Creativity, Innovation, and Design (CID) studio within an academic library. The presentation will describe the reasons for creating a CID studio, assessment of the pilot study, and next steps. Design/methodology/approach The assessment used surveys, interviews, focus groups and observations of students and faculty to determine how well the CID fits into the library. Findings Initial findings indicate that the CID studio is a good fit within the library space as learning activities in it support collaboration, discovery, and integration of library services. However, noise issues, equipment needs, and expansion of space are key future needs. Research limitations/implications As libraries move from simple repositories of information to places of learning and collaboration, a CID studio space provides an opportunity to integrate learning opportunities with library services. Originality/value Through the first iteration, the CID has a unique and purpo...