Lost in L Space....

Musings and mumblings of an E-Resources Librarian

Proposed Service

The purpose of this document is to outline the proposed introduction of a self-guided induction to the Health Library via a podcast.

Target audience

This is aimed initially at students from the Health faculty of Keele University. It will predominately target undergraduates in nursing, medicine and physiotherapy. It is hoped that the service could later be expanded to include all users of the joint Health Library covering Keele students, staff and members of the NHS staff from the local acute trust, combined health trust and two primary care trusts.

Technology to be used

Initially this will be delivered through Keele University’s virtual learning environment (VLE), using WebCT. A walk-round video will be used to film the library and highlight key areas of interest. This will later be edited with web recordings, sound track and captions using the Camtasia Studio 4 package. Students will be able to access this as a podcast for their i-pods.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• User friendly software
• Already purchased by the University
• Allows induction at a user’s on pace and flexible time
• Frees up library staff time
• Reduction in the number of general queries
• Acts as a refresher for infrequent users

Weakness

• Initially would only be accessible by Keele students
• Not all students will possess an i-Pod

• May cause excessive noise in the Library
• Multiple versions would need to be made available for different user groups
• May decrease interaction with library staff

Opportunities

• Promotion of Web2.0 services within the Library
• Project an image of innovation
• Act as a test bed for future projects

Threats

• Provides an inequality of service which may cause tension
• May prove disruptive to regular users of the library service

Risks, Benefits and Possible Solutions summarised

The diversity of the user groups covered by the library’s remit raises a number of serious issues when developing new initiatives.

• Imbalance of skills – Many of the students are comfortable with an online environment. They have extensive experience with the VLE and social networking sites e.g. Facebook which promote a degree of information and computing technology (ICT) that may be superior to many of the skills held by NHS employees

• Licensing and finance – Although the university has spent the money to develop resources for their students and staff, it is still unclear as to whether the product licensing would cover staff of the NHS. This would make many of the resources restricted to the VLE rather than freely available from the Library’s website. The service level agreement would place the financing of any joint effort in dispute.

• Equity of service – When developing a service it is easier to start by developing resources for students, which might not necessarily be accessible for the use of the NHS population. There needs to be an equity of provision so that the NHS does not suffer from a loss of service.

• Access- All students have access to facilities when in halls and on campus, but access may be restricted when out on placement. Many own their own i-pods but different formats may be required to suit the different mobile devices available. There will probably be a greater issue when rolling the project out to NHS staff. Relatively few will own the technology required to access the service.

• Marketing – Once projects have been developed then they need to be effectively promoted and training provided to ensure their success.

• Disabled access – certain formats may not be advisory for certain users e.g. screen size and colours.

To overcome these issues there would be a requirement to form a working group on e-learning to discuss issues relating to licensing and funding. The group would require representatives from all the Trusts and core users from the University as well as the working party from both the Health Library and Keele University. This would help promote awareness and help to tackle marketing issues. Alternate formats of the presentation would need to be made available for access on any MP3 player, mobile phone, or i-pod. Another static version would be required for use on the computers in the Library. As far as possible all versions should be W3C compliant. In order to minimise impact on other library users, the use of earphones would have to be made a requirement before embarking on the tour. Users would be advised to contact library staff for the loan of earphones for the computers or to resolve any problems and answer queries.

Stages of service development

Source and install relevant software from university	1 week
Attend training on packages and familiarise with package	1 month
Arrange meeting with library representatives from Keele University	2 weeks
Establish Library folder on WebCT	1 day
Library Training team design script and storyboard	2 weeks
Film, edit and convert files for static and walk round versions	2 days
Test period	1 week
Refine	1 day
Launch	1 day
Market (University induction, Library staff recommendations, library posters, launch day event)	On-going
Review with possibility of rolling out to larger Library populus	3 months

How the service meets 3Cs

This service is designed primarily to fit with the customer-focused aspect of the 3Cs (Customer-focused, Collaboration, Communities). It prevents the user from being tied-down to a specific time frame for visiting the library. It will also act as a refresher for those users that visit infrequently.

It provides optional methods of access in a user-friendly manner. For static inductions it provides the opportunity to interact with the package with questions to test the impact of the method. It provides an adaptive service which my suit different learning styles. This allows users to have more control over the service they are offered and be proactive. It provides a service with added value and enriches the user’s experience of the library.

As part of the marketing strategy the service will be launched via the VLE and therefore will include a discussion board, in which students will have the opportunity to provide feedback on content, delivery and future projects. Downloads would also be available through the library website and advertised via the library blog for an additional channel of comment. Advertising the service via the Facebook social networking site may also be a feasible option to maximise community awareness of library developments.