Information Literacy Assessment Piloting – Fall 2010

Every year, the Library conducts over 200 instruction sessions for students to help them find, evaluate, and use information effectively. As HKUST moves towards more outcome-based teaching and learning, we seek evidence that students are mastering information literacy competencies by piloting different assessments on selected classes this fall.

One of the classes was a 60 minute Library Orientation for First Year Students. After the class, students were given an assessment exercise to see if they achieved the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs). 208 students completed this anonymous 13-question online survey.

ILOs	Achived Competency
Find a record for an item in the Library Catalog	97%
Look at a Catalog record and know where to go and get the item	97%
Log-in to my account and know the basic functions of making holds and renewals	91%
Know how and what to request via HKALL	83%
Locate an item on Course Reserve	76%

 

Furthermore, 86% successfully identified at least two things they learned during Library Orientation.

This session focused on using the Library Catalog. The evidences gathered show that the students who attended now have a good mastery at a basic level of Library use. We will need to conduct more pilot assessments to target specific learning outcomes in different areas and disciplines. As a step in this direction, the Library is working in partnership with SBM faculty members in three courses. We hope to assess whether students in these courses achieved certain Information Literacy ILOs after attending the course-specific library sessions in September.

Interested faculty members in all Schools may contact their subject librarians for instructional classes, information assistance and collaboration. For more details visit http://library.hkust.edu.hk/services/teaching-support/outcome-based-library-instruction/

---

Having Your Say on Your Learning Commons

“What will the Learning Commons be like?”
“When will it open?”
“What kind of facilities will be there?”
“Will eating be allowed in the Learning Commons?”

From questions regarding the timeline to curiosities of what it will be like, our students, faculty and staff attended the Open Forum on 27 September in the Library Gallery to find out more about the HKUST Learning Commons (LC), a new campus initiative led by the Library.

This is the second such Open Forum organized by the Library to inform the University community of where we stand on the building projects, as well as to consult users for opinions.

“The Learning Commons at HKUST will be a state-of-the-art facility where students can find services provided by ITSC, LANG, PTC, Library, SAO, etc. After working with FMO and the design firm for months, we are here to propose a plan for user consultation. We need feedback to refine the plan and to ensure the LC truly meets our students’ needs” said Dr Samson Soong, our University Librarian. Dr Soong thanked participants for attending while explaining the LC timeline.

Mr Edward Spodick, the Library’s IT and Services Infrastructure Manager, then gave an overview on the building plan of the LC. He was followed by Goudie Associates’ presentation on the proposed LC design and a briefing by Mr Thomas Ng, Director of PTC, on the Media Production Zone which will be one of the highlights at the LC.

It was time for Q&A. Participants were excited about this new learning hub and raised various questions ranging from the proposed layout and facility design to the actual implementation of the LC. We wish to thank them for their feedback and comments which will be very useful for our future planning.

If you missed the Open Forum and would like to contribute your ideas, visit the Library Website where you can find the Forum presentation (http://library.hkust.edu.hk/blog/2010/09/27/commons-forum/) and online Building Forums (http://library.hkust.edu.hk/blog/forum/). Have your say on your Learning Commons!

---

Why is the Library so Cold?

The Library strives to maintain a physical environment which balances optimum conditions for people with those needed for preservation of the Library collection. An ideal preservation climate for books (15-18 degrees celsius at 40% humidity) would be much too cold for a reasonable study temperature, which in addition to being wasteful would be counter to the Library’s mission.

As such, the Library and the Facilities Management Office (FMO) work closely together to maintain a much more acceptable temperature between 22-24 degrees celsius, with a humidity level of 55-60%, for the majority of our Library users.

Unfortunately, it is very hard to keep the temperature constant, given the variant outdoor conditions – especially in term of humidity, which can quickly enhance the growth of mold in the collection. In addition, we have found that the existing air handling system requires frequent adjustments to maintain these levels in all areas of the building.

Library staff periodically measure the temperature and humidity in different areas of the building, and whenever a library user informs us of a particularly cold area we work with FMO to get conditions re-balanced as soon as possible.

---

Information Commons Learning Activities Study

Supporting student learning is among the highest priorities of the Library. The Information Commons (IC) is the service hub at the Library where students get involved in a wide range of learning activities. In Fall 2011, we expect to see the Learning Commons as a more varied learning space in a much larger scale than the IC. If we have a good understanding of how students enjoy the services and facilities at the IC for their learning, we will be more confident in planning the operation at the Learning Commons.

It is in this context that the Library conducts this exploratory study in 2010/2011, to learn how you interact with the space, technology, facility and services at the IC; and how these interactions support your learning. This study is fully supported by the Teaching Development Grant and help from CELT.

The study comprises different components:

 

Your participation is crucial to the success of this study. Take our survey, and join the focus groups!

---

Wifi Printing in the Library – From Your Laptop!

You can print to the networked copier in the Information Commons from any Windows or Macintosh computer, including your laptop or netbook. All you have to do is download and install the software driver for the printer.

Visit the Wireless Printing section of the IC’s Printing page for the driver download links and other details: http://library.hkust.edu.hk/services/facilities/copying-scanning-printing/#wireless.

---

Book Talks – This Month and the Past

Do you love a puzzles? Do you thrill to action and adventure? Often times, these genres are not given much attention on university campuses. However, on November 18th things will be different. David Mole, HKUST’s Associate Provost (Teaching and Learning) will give a talk on some of his favorite reading – murder mysteries and adventures like Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series. He will share what he enjoys about these books, how they have deepened and widened his love of reading. Whether you are a long-time fan of mysteries and adventure stories, or new to these fun and exciting genres, there will be something for you to enjoy.

This is the sixth in an occasional series of BookTalks (http://lbcone.ust.hk/booktalk/) given at the Library. At each BookTalk, we invite an author to share with us on the book he or she has written, or someone in the HKUST or broader Hong Kong community to share their experiences and beliefs about books and reading in general.

The fifth BookTalk, given by Mr Philip Yeung of the OUDPA on September 16th was a rousing success. Over 100 people filled the Library Gallery to listen to him discuss writing in English which he covers in his forthcoming book, The DNA of English and the Art of Writing. If you missed it, a streaming video will be available on that BookTalk’s page (http://lbcone.ust.hk/booktalk/?p=26)

Given the large turn-out for September’s Book Talk, make sure you arrive in time to get a good seat.

Murder on the High Seas: The Joy of Reading
Thursday, November 18, 6pm – 7pm
Library Gallery (G/F Library)

---

Popular New Library Classes

Two new Library classes were offered in the beginning of this new semester, they are: Beyond What We Have – Getting Materials from Other Libraries and Finding Theses and Dissertations.

We noticed that quite a number of our users did not know that they could get materials from external sources via the Library. Through various channels, postgraduates from different departments also have expressed to us their needs for theses and the difficulties in obtaining them. Based on these observations and users’ feedback, we came up with these two new topics when planning for this year’s Library instruction program.

Beyond What We Have covered three Library services, namely HKALL, Interlibrary Loan (ILL) and JULAC Card.Though differing in scope and operation, these services all aim to help our users to get or access resources they need for their research and study from elsewhere in Hong Kong and overseas.

Finding Theses and Dissertations was a short information sharing session. Users were introduced to the digital libraryHKUST E-Theses created by the Library, the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database, plus more than ten open access E-theses repositories and discovery tools. Attendees also learned about the full-text dissertation databases available in other libraries, which they can visit by using their JULAC cards.

Responses to these two classes were encouraging as reflected by the number of registrants and the after-class evaluation. Attendees found that the classes were useful and well-delivered. The instructor also received several requests for the class materials from users who could not come.

In view of such positive feedback, it is likely that we will offer the classes again in the future. The Library will also continue to offer new classes and workshops based on our users’ needs, supporting students’ development of information literacy as part of their life-long learning.

---

Facilities: Noisy Construction

The Library will soon become a very noisy place, as the existing building and the new extension get joined together.

Basically, the contractor needs to demolish the concrete walls at the far end of all 3 lower ground floors of the Library. They will then need to do some work to join the ceiling grids and extend some other infrastructure.

In accordance with government regulation, the noisiest works should stop in the evenings and on Sundays (construction hours are 8am-6pm Monday-Saturday).

We apologize for the extreme inconvenience caused by this construction, but it is necessary as part of our efforts to improve the Library and prepare it for the 3-3-4 changes. Please be understanding during this difficult period.

While they may not be adequate for all users, the Library does provide a supply of disposable foam earplugs at the G/F Circulation Counter – feel free to take some, or to ask for more if the bowl is empty.

---

Library Catalog on Android

If you have an Android-powered smartphone, you can now download our recently released App to search the million books and other items in the Library.

The HKUST Library Catalog Android App is the result of a student course project, with the Library providing feedback and eventually publishing it for free download (http://library.hkust.edu.hk/info/mobile.html#android) from the Android Market.

This application was developed by a group of Computer Engineering students (Alan Si, Ian Chan, Sheung On Tsai and Vincent Chan) during the Academic Year of 2009-2010, for their Year 2 course on Embedded System Software. The Library thanks them for developing this wonderful app and will continue to work with them for future enhancement.

The Library Catalog app is based on SmartCAT’s RSS syndication technology and is similar in design to the Library’s previously released Library Catalog module on the m.HKUST App for Apple iPhone devices.

 

---

Collection Spotlight: MyiLibrary is Growing Strong

Print books are undergoing the same revolution as print journals. E-journals have now become the staples for researchers. E-books are not quite there yet but are fast becoming ready substitutes for their print equivalents. There is no denying that the acceptance of e-books is growing. This is evidenced by feedback from users and climbing usage statistics of our e-books.

The Library added over 4,400 e-book titles to the collection via the MyiLibrary platform last year. This addition was made possible via a cost-sharing agreement among 15 libraries in Hong Kong and Mainland China. Each participating library took part in title selection and at the end, all the libraries enjoyed reciprocal access to one another’s titles on a permanent basis. This consortial purchase model worked well and had translated to substantial savings. In our case, the cost per title was just US$9.

The Library recently decided to go for a second round of MyiLibrary e-book purchase using exactly the same cost-sharing approach. In the very near future, the no. of e-books via MyiLibrary will grow by another few thousand. Although the strength of MyiLibrary is humanities and social sciences, 20% of new titles will be in science and technology. As in the previous round, titles added this time will be current imprints by reputable publishers. They will be individually catalogued and easily discovered via keyword searching. Do watch for our announcement or attend a library workshop on e-books.

---