Users’ Impressions of LibGuides: Feedback from a Student Focus Group
Rebecca Payne, University of Wisconsin Madison
LOEX Conference, 5/9/14
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Overview• Context & Background • Methods• Findings & Recommendations• Outcomes• Sharing & Questions
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Context & Background
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
UW-Madison Academic Programs
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Program Type Number of Programs
Undergraduate Majors
132
Master’s Degree
Programs149
Doctoral Programs 120
UW-Madison Students
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Enrollment, Fall 2013
Undergraduate Students
29,504
Graduate Students
9,430
Professional Students
2,526
Special Students
1,815
Total 43,275
UW-Madison Libraries• 40 libraries including
subject, professional , and special purpose
• 202 FTE librarians & professional staff
• 11th largest research library collection in North America (ARL survey)
• Collections developed & managed by subject specialists/bibliographers
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
LibGuides• Available from Springshare since early 2007 http://www.springshare.com/libguides • Web-publishing platform for libraries• Content management system used by
academic, public, school, and special libraries • Types of guides: course, topic, subject, & how-
to guides; library Web sites; etc.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
LibGuides @ UW-Madison• Subscription since 2008• Administered by LibGuides Team• Use for subject and topic guides• Branded as “Research Guides”• 421 published guides as of April
2014
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Research Guides Homepage
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Background• Project of LibGuides Team and Romance
Languages Bibliographer
• “Library Usability Funding Pilot” program to provide incentives and compensation for participants in library focus groups and usability studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Purpose• Gain feedback on
French and Italian literature guides in particular, and research guides in general, concerning: – usefulness– content– usability– discoverability – marketing
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Study Timeline – Spring 2013
Date ActivityEarly February Submitted funding proposalFebruary to mid-March Study planningMid-March Recruitment via “interest form” surveyLate March Online questionnaire distributedMarch 23-31 Spring RecessEarly April Online questionnaire responses due
Preparation for focus groupFocus group meeting
April-May Data analysis, report writingJune-July Reporting to library staff
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Study Team• Paloma Celis Carbajal, Bibliographer• Erin Carrillo, LibGuides Team member• Rebecca Payne, LibGuides Team chair
with assistance from: • Giso Broman, Bibliographer's student assistant• Phyllis Holman Weisbard, LibGuides Team member• Steve Frye, Web Services Management Team Liaison • Nola Walker, Assessment Librarian
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Study Team
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Recruitment8 graduate students via Graduate Association of French and Italian Students’ Listserv and Qualtrics survey
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Methods
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Two-Part Study1. Online questionnaire
2. One-hour focus group
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Online Questionnaire1. View three
research guides of other libraries
2. Rank research guides in order of preference
3. Explain ranking of research guides
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Focus Group Preparation• Consulted Assessment Librarian– Simplify questions– Use space to facilitate exchange– Develop rapport – Listen, paraphrase, and summarize
• Conducted practice run– Get feedback on questions– Test recording devices
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
One-Hour Focus Group• Examine French &
Italian Literature guides and provide feedback as a group
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Facilitation
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Space
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Recording
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Analysis• Transcribed audio and compared to
notes• Identified emerging themes• Developed codes for themes• Independently coded, then
compared and came to consensus
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Findings and Recommendations
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Findings: Lack of Awareness• None of the participants familiar
with research guides
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Findings: Usefulness• Good starting point for beginning
graduate students
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Findings: Content• Especially useful: search boxes,
electronic resources, reading lists, reference works
• Additional content suggested: academic career information; subject areas
• Appropriate amount of contentUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706
Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Findings: Usability• Easy to navigate• Clear naming of
tabs and boxes • Limited page
length and content
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Findings: Discoverability
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Findings: Marketing• Tell faculty and ask them to add to
syllabi and course sites• Introduce in library orientations and
instruction sessions• Use library news and marketing
resources such as social media and posters
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Study Limitations• Based on small group of students• From one department• Group self-selective• Possible influence of group and
presence of bibliographer
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Recommendations
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Recommendations• When creating a guide for novices to the
subject area, include such content as search boxes, electronic resources, program reading lists, and reference works.
• When creating a guide for advanced graduate students, add writing and career advice.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Recommendations• To prevent the guide from becoming
overwhelming, limit the number of resources included and minimize the explanatory text.
• Use tab and section headings that clearly and accurately reflect content.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Recommendations• To aid in discoverability, add a link for research
guides to the Library homepage and department Web sites.
• To promote research guides, advertise through faculty, encouraging them to add research guides to syllabi and course sites, and highlight guides in orientations and instruction sessions. Also, use existing library marketing resources such as social media and posters in the library.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Outcomes• Introduced
research guides as a resource
• Changes to specific guides
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Outcomes• Stronger relationship with the
Department • Recommendations for best practices
• Developed a model for future user studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Next Steps• LibGuides Team will continue
assessment efforts to include feedback about research guides from undergraduate students.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Sharing & Questions
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Your Turn!Discuss with your neighbor:• What are you doing at your institution?• How do you get feedback from your users?• What would you like to learn from your users?• How might you apply the methods we used?
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Questions?
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
Contact Information
Rebecca PayneReference & Instruction LibrarianUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries • Madison, WI 53706Phone: (608) 262-3193 • www.library.wisc.edu
