YOUR LIBRARY – YOUR SAY!
LIBRARY SERVICES QUALITY SURVEY 2011
Have your say on your Library! Give us your feedback on our services!
The Library is presently conducting an online Survey to find out how our users view and perceive library services. All students, faculty and staff are cordially invited to participate. Please go to http://library.hkust.edu.hk/libqual/Services-Survey-2011.html to complete the Survey. At the end of the Survey you may enter your ITSC e-mail account to join a lucky draw for 50 prizes, including 3 grand prizes of an iPad 2 (64GB) and HKUST Library USB thumb drives (2 GB).
The survey uses LibQUAL+®, a survey instrument developed by the Association of Research Libraries and widely adopted by academic libraries worldwide. This is the second time the HKUST library has conducted such a Survey. Similar to the last time in 2007, we are joining hands with 6 other UGC-funded libraries to conduct the Survey for comparable assessment information. The Survey will benefit the HKUST community by giving you a chance to tell us where our services need improvement. This will help us develop better services to meet your expectations.
The Survey uses 22 core questions to measure users’ expectations of service quality, and to identify the gaps between desired, perceived, and minimum expectations in three dimensions:
- Affect of Service: How you feel about the service quality of library staff (courteous, knowledgeable, willingness to help users, etc.)
- Information Control: How well the Library organizes and provides information resources (making e-resources accessible, have the materials needed, easy-to-use access tools, etc.)
- Library as Place: How friendly you find the Library as a place for learning, research and self-study (quiet space for individual work, comfortable and inviting location, space for group learning and group study, etc.)
Your answers to the Survey questions will go directly to the LibQUAL+® organization which will analyze the data and send the Library
a detailed report of responses to questions. We will share our results, along with the comparisons with libraries at other UGC-funded institutions, with the University community through the Library website.
The Survey runs until 8 December 2011. For further information or questions, please contact Ms Alice Ho, Administrative Services Manager (Phone: 2358-6707, E-mail:lbalice@ust.hk).
Act NOW to have your say and win an iPad 2! Good Luck!
Your Learning Commons – Coming Soon!
The Learning Commons construction is progressing at full speed towards completion by the end of 2011. Different teams are working very hard on four fronts:
The interior – The workers are very busy transforming the physical space on LG1. We cannot see them, but we can often hear them. Such a technology-rich space requires a vast network of cables for data, electricity and air conditioning. Most of the network is hidden in conduits under the floor and in the wall; that contributes to a good part of the drilling we can hear. The construction noise can be annoying sometimes. The Library provides disposable earplugs for you if you need them.
The furniture – The furniture list of the LC consists of an interesting variety of study chairs, task chairs (chairs with wheels), sofa, study tables and coffee tables. During the selection process, a samples area was set up for you to give your feedback.
The equipment – At the LC, you will find an assortment of technologies for your learning needs: computers (Windows and Macintosh PCs), multifunction printers, interactive projectors, LCD displays for collaborative study, and more. The ordering process is in good progress.
The service – While the physical space and items are coming in place, we have started planning the services at the LC. The LC is designed to be able to open independently from the Library; that implies the LC is capable of offering longer service hours. However, to make the best use of university resources, the LC will follow the Library hours when it first opens. The Library will proactively study the needs and the resources available in order to optimize the LC service hours.
The opening is just a few weeks away – join us in welcoming this new addition!
On Call Collection on the Move
Last January, Library staff and student workers moved ~83,000 volumes of low-use items from Library shelves to a temporary location in the LG5 Extension. These low-use items became what is known as “The On Call Collection” so named because all the items in it are available on the request (“call”) of Library users, within one working day.
This move was part of the plan to empty out the old LG1, to make room for the new Learning Commons (which has been under construction since summer 2011). It also helped to create more room in the book collections on LG3 and LG4. Whereas before this move the shelves on LG3 and LG4 were over 90% full, now they are only 81% full, leaving capacity for several years of collection growth.
In the meantime, the University has been constructing a storage facility just outside the Library, on LG3. The new LG3 storage facility was ready for occupancy at the end of October. Thus began the final stage of the Library’s Big Move of 2011, with the On Call Collection moving to its new home.
October 24th – November 23rd are the approximate dates for the move. During this time, you may see some book trucks loaded with volumes being pushed through LG3. We will work to minimize the noise and distraction. In addition, there may be more disruption in Lift services, due to the On Call Collection move, as well as the continuing Learning Commons construction.
The move is planned to be finished before final exams. Please bear with us, it is just a couple more months until construction is over and moving throughout the Library will become easier.
Do You Want More Outdoor Tables?
The remaining six outdoor study tables have been delivered and installed, including one wheelchair-accessible table on LG3. The furniture order for the six outdoor terraces on LG1, LG3 and LG4 is now complete.
We have also added one outdoor table to the decking area in the Library Garden on the ground floor. Now we need to know what you think about having more tables there. We need to balance the amount of open space with the number of tables.
Do you think we should add 2 more, 5 more, or even 10 more? Or would you like to see us do something else here? Tell us what you prefer, and we will see what can be done. Send comments to library@ust.hk. Thanks!
Information Literacy Test
With funding support from the Provost Office, and in collaboration with CELT, the Library recently administered a web-based standardized test to assess the information literacy skills of our 1st year undergraduates. Developed by James Madison University in the United States, the test consists of 60 multiple choice questions and requires about 75 minutes to complete. It is designed based on the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. These standards state that an information literate student should be able to:
- determine the nature and extent of the information needed.
- access needed information effectively and efficiently.
- evaluate information and its sources critically and incorporate selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.
- use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
- understand many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and access and use information ethically and legally.
The test measures standards 1, 2, 3, and 5. It does not address standard 4, as this competency is not easily measured by a multiple choice test.
In early September, the Library sent emails to 700 1st year undergraduates randomly sampled by CELT, inviting them to participate. Around half registered for the 14 test sessions, which were scheduled for 24-30 September. Due to the hoisting of typhoon signal no. 8 on 29 September, the three sessions on that day were postponed to 13 October. All sessions were conducted in the Library Multi-Function Room on LG4, which has 38 workstations. Students were given a maximum of 90 minutes to complete the test. They were required to try their best to answer the questions and stay in the room in the first 60 minutes. A total of 266 students showed up to take the test. After receiving the students’ scores from James Madison University, the Library and CELT together will analyze the data and report the results.
Looking at the Past
– Preserving our Memory
When you walk through the 20th Anniversary Exhibition in the Library gallery, do the old photos showing the construction of the campus, or the young look of our faculty, catch your eyes? The University Archives not only preserves documents and publications, but also posters, videos and photos, etc.
There are more than 20,000 slides and 700 rolls of negative films kept in our storage. 
These are the records of University’s past events held between 1988 and 1999. They were transferred from the Public Affairs Office and the Publishing Technology Center.
Before the prevalence of digital cameras, our images were stored on prints, slides or negative films. These materials will deteriorate over time. With support from the Office of the Provost, we are converting these images into digital formats. This reformatting project not only preserves the images but also allows convenient access to the contents. While you could search documents and publications via theDigital University Archives (http://archives.ust.hk/), now you can also look for photos of the old days via the Digital Images Database (http://digitalimages.ust.hk/). More than 9,000 images of 600 events have been uploaded to the database so far. The images cover a wide range of activities held on the campus, including ceremonies, congregations, distinguished lectures, outreach days, exhibitions, as well as student and staff activities.
As we have only brief information about these events, we would like to invite the entire HKUST community, including students, faculty, staff and alumni, to be involved in this project and provide more information. If you recognize the face or remember the date or any details of the event, please help us to tag it or add comments to the event. You are also welcome to “like” it or share with your friends.
This is the first phase of the project. More images will be added 
in coming months and higher resolution images will be available in the next phase.
Collection Spotlight: Replacing LDs and VHS with DVDs
Laser Disc is a dead format. From being hot and exciting in the early to late 90s, they quickly descended into irrelevance by the early 2000s. For the past several years it has become impossible to buy an LD player in a store, and the discs themselves have also disappeared. The heyday of the LD was also an important time in building the HKUST Library’s video collection. As recently as 2006-07, the Library held over 1,000 titles on LD. Seeing LD players disappearing from the shops, Library staff proactively bought several machines, so as the present ones broke down, the collection could continue to be used.
In the past several years, the Library refused any donations in LD format, and began to replace them, usually as they broke. This state of affairs was repeated with the VHS collection, but on a much grander scale, as the Library has over 15,000 titles on VHS. None of the Lecture theaters support LD or VHS any more, and only 20 classrooms are equipped with VHS players. ITSC will, of course, set up to play those formats on request.
Legally, the Library cannot copy the LDs and VHS in the collection onto DVD discs or streaming servers. At the same time, it did not seem proper to use the majority of limited budget funds to replace older material that was still usable (at least within the Library), when there was demand to buy more recent titles and formats. So, for the past several years we have replaced non-damaged LDs and VHS very slowly.
Recently, the HKUST Administration has provided some extra funding for VHS and LD replacement. The first line of attack is feature films, which are usually the easiest titles to find for sale. The Library has ear-marked ~1,370 titles in VHS and LD and is in the process of replacing them. This creates a large amount of work behind the scenes for our Acquisitions and Cataloging staff. As of the end of September the first 370 titles have been replaced.
After the Library finishes replacing as many feature films as possible, staff will focus on 
replacing highly used documentaries, as well as LD and VHS titles in the performing arts (concerts, ballets, operas, etc.). The Library will continue to explore the use of streaming videos provided by vendors such as the Naxos Video Library, and others.
So, in the coming months look for these old friends to appear in a new format on the display shelves at the Media Counter or online, via RSS feed http://lbxml.ust.hk/na/media.xml
Primo Central
– Enhanced PowerSearch
The Library has currently upgrading the HKUST PowerSearch to a new version. In addition to having a smarter and cleaner user interface, it will soon incorporate a fast single-index searching capability for finding scholarly content. On top of its original federated search option of sending queries simultaneously to several databases, you will be able to search on its huge central index known as Primo Central to discover scholarly materials such as journal articles and e-books indexed in many of the Library subscribed databases.
Try out this new scholarly information searching tool at http://library.hkust.edu.hk/primo. You’ll love it! And remember to sign in with your HKUST account to enjoy the full system capability as most subscription resources there are not available to Guest users.
last modified 21 December 2016