RESOURCE DISCOVERY

UNIT UPDATES

In This Update:

Report on Planning and Transi-

tion Activities, Pg. 1-2

Update: OneSearch New UI,

pg. 2

Guest Column from Libraries

Communications, Pg. 3

Transition Timeline and Details

Background: At the Library Council meeting on Wednesday, March 14th, Associate Dean Andrea Peter-

son announced a reorganization within the Central Services Division of Western Libraries. During this dis-

cussion, she shared that the Libraries would partner with Academic Technology and User Services (ATUS)

to identify and meet personnel hardware, networking, and other computing needs. Furthermore, she

stated that Rebecca Marrall would take on a new role within Western Libraries: Director of Library Tech-

nology Services (Note: This is a tentative title).

Timeline: This organizational change will require significant planning and communication efforts from

the Resource Discovery Unit. Over the next two months, our colleagues throughout the Libraries can ex-

pect the following activities.

Update the Libraries Ticket System (April 2018): ATUS uses a different ticket system (KACE); fur-

thermore, they have asked that Libraries personnel submit tickets through this system. Rebecca

will update the current ticket system with new information and workflows. You can view that new

web presence here: https://library.wwu.edu/LTS-Help.

ATUS Meet & Greet (April 2018): Rick Nichols, George Liu, and Sean Stockburger joined the Li-

braries at a General Staff Meeting on Tuesday, April 3rd at 3:00 p.m. for a brief introduction and

overview of hardware and desktop support services. After this introduction, Rebecca will coordi-

nate with Directors and unit heads to schedule in-person introductions between Libraries person-

nel and our ATUS colleagues, and arrange a tour of all Library spaces (i.e., Wilson, Haggard, and the

Archives Building).

Listening Sessions (April 2018): Rebecca will work with Directors to conduct Listening Sessions in

each Division within the Libraries. The purpose of these Listening Sessions is to gather information

about existing information technology needs; desired practices and/or changes to existing practic-

es; and any questions you may have. These sessions are a facilitated activity; Rebecca and the re-

spective Director will send out instructions and details when ready. The information gathered in

these Listening Sessions will inform both the development of the Memorandum of Understanding

between Western Libraries and ATUS and the development of the Libraries’ new information tech-

nology program.

Transition Timeline, Continued

Internal Planning within the RDU (April 2018): Thomas McNeely has already joined the RDU, and

works within our space. During April, members of the RDU and the former unit of Hardware & Desk-

top Support will engage in a series of planning meetings in order to revise our charge; decide upon

our name; and to integrate information gathered from the Listening Sessions into our new program.

Memorandum of Understanding between ATUS and Western Libraries (April — May 2018): The

Memorandum of Understanding between ATUS and Western Libraries is an agreement about sup-

port and customer service expectations. Upon the completion of the Listening Sessions and in part-

nership with ATUS, Rebecca will draft the MOU and invite feedback from leadership bodies (i.e., Li-

braries Administration, the Directors, and Library Council) at regular intervals.

Report (May 2018): Informed by the Listening Sessions; the planning sessions within the Resource

Discovery Unit, and the State of Libraries Survey conducted in January 2018, this brief report will de-

tail the projects, documentation, practices, and other tools that are necessary for guiding the Librar-

ies through this transition (and beyond), and will serve a blueprint of sorts for the new information

technology program.

Questions about anything? Please contact Rebecca at x4493.

OneSearch: Migration to the New Catalog UI

Background: OneSearch is a shared catalog that searches library holdings at Western Washington Univer-

sity and at 38 neighboring academic libraries in the Pacific Northwest. Students, staff, and faculty affiliated

with any of these institutions may borrow a wide variety of materials. In order to provide the Western com-

munity with the best possible research experience, Western Libraries' OneSearch Management Team (a

working group of library professionals with expertise in discovery, resource sharing, and delivery services)

will upgrade the catalog interface during the Summer 2018 Quarter (specifically, during August). This up-

grade will enhance the overall functionality and user-friendliness of the catalog.

Timeline: This migration will require significant planning and communication efforts from the OneSearch

Management Team. Over the next five months, our colleagues throughout the Libraries can expect the fol-

lowing activities (much of which is captured by the migration overview page: https://library.wwu.edu/

about/catalog-migration#/).

Access to the Beta UI: You may access the beta UI here. The link to the new catalog UI will be

made available to the University community in early Spring 2018.

Communications & Migration Updates: The migration will require outreach to many stakeholders

across campus. You can see an overview of the communication plan here.

Educational Materials Updates: In preparation for the migration in August, the OMT will update

the various web presences that contain information about the catalog (including LibGuides, Li-

bAnswers, LIT, and other webpages).

Continued User Testing: During Spring 2018, the Usability & Design Working Group will engage in

continued user testing to ensure that the new UI is as user-centric as possible.

Guest Column from Libraries Communications

Authored by Clarissa Mansfield, Libraries Communications Manager

Towards the end of January 2018, the RDU and Library Communications began developing a plan de-

tailing the project prioritization and onboarding of the new Western Libraries Visual Communications

Media Specialist. Izaac Post joined Library Communications in this new position on February 1, 2018.

Since that time, Library Communications and RDU have been working together to begin implementing

the project and training plan detailed in January, and we look forward to making even more progress

in the coming quarters.

February and March were a bit of a whirl-

wind with a backlog of time-sensitive needs

to address, but Izaac was able to hit the

ground running creating posters, temporary

signage, digital signage, photographs, and

other images that we used in our emails, in

our physical spaces, and on our website and

social media platforms. Izaac also joined the

Communications Working Group and is

getting up to speed on the collective gen-

eral and recurring needs of the Libraries.

We have a long list of goals we hope to

meet during Spring Quarter and will contin-

ue to update you as we make progress.

Questions? Please contact Clarissa at x3052

Spring 2018 Priorities

TUEx Tuesdays: Starting in Spring 2018 Quarter, the Usability & Working Group (also known as

UDWG, and composed of Jon Dillon, Kim Marsicek, and Rebecca Marrall) will host a routine user

testing presence on the outskirts of the Hacherl Research & Writing Studio. Branded as TUEx (Tuesday

User Experience), this UDWG program will occur every Tuesday from noon to 2:00 p.m. from the

second to the eighth weeks of each academic quarter. During Spring 2018 Quarter, UDWG will engage

in user testing activities dedicated to the new OneSearch UI and the front end of MABEL. More infor-

mation coming soon!

Islandora / MABEL: David, Jon, and Rebecca continue to partner closely with WebTech and with Her-

itage Resources to support the implementation of the University’s new digital assets system, MABEL.

Search Committees: The Resource Discovery Unit will conduct searches for the following positions:

Learning Technologist and ITS 3 (Lesley’s replacement).