Volume 1 ■ Number 1 ■ April 2003

newsletterVolume 3 ■ Number 4 ■ October 2005 ■ ISSN: 1549-3725

newsletter

Library Connect Editorial Office ● 525 B Street, Suite 1900, San Diego, CA 92101, USA ● Phone: +1-619-699-6379 ● Fax +1-619-699-6380 ● libraryconnect@elsevier.com

In this Issuefeatures

2-3 New Technologies for Access: An Interviewwith Vijay Kumar

3-4 In Perpetuity: A Nation’s Well-Springof Knowledge

research watch

5-6 Can You Lead a Horse to Water?Teaching Users About Electronic Resources

behind the scenes

7 Elsevier’s “A Book in Your Name” Program:Helping Fill the Shelves of University LibrariesAcross the Developing World

center of attention

8-9 Librarians Speak Up: How is your libraryhelping users get the most benefit fromdigital resources?

on the road

10 On the Road in Australia, Japan, Malaysia,The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,Singapore and Thailand

community connections

11-12 Found @ Your Repository: IncreasingVisibility of IR Content

12-13 Outreach Program Puts Focus onNew Resources

14 Quick Questions with Academic Librarianof the Year, Dr. Sharma

14 ScienceDirect College Edition15 Ask UCD: What library terms do users understand?

What terms should I use when naming links onmy library website?

15 Full Moon: Full Moon Universitystaying connected

16 ScienceDirect and Scopus Accounts GoSelf-Service with New Admin Tool

16 Upcoming Events16 Editorial Team

Elsevier Alerts forLibarians and End Users

Check out our stayingconnected pull-out in thecenter of this issue forinformation on alerts andalerting services offeredby product and publishingteams at Elsevier.

A.A. Hodge (1823-1886) said, “He is wise who knows the sourcesof knowledge — where it is written and where it is to be found.”I believe Hodge was thinking about librarians when he said this.

In the 1800s, knowing where to find information was easy: it wasin a book in the library. A user simply had to go to a library andask a librarian for help. Today librarians face many new challengesand evolving roles. A librarian must be a hardcopy and databasecollections expert, a technical whiz, finance specialist, Web and usability expert, trainer,educator, marketer, and more.

“Libraries are not made; they grow,” said Augustine Birrell (1850-1933). Libraries have reallygrown with the addition of electronic resources. In this issue, librarians across the globe talkabout ways they are working to increase access to, and visibility and usage of, the resourcesoffered by their institutions, their libraries and beyond.

Like libraries, repositories also grow. In this issue, Eric Van de Velde, Director of LibraryInformation Technology at Caltech describes the development of their institutionalrepository, and Steve Knight from the National Library of New Zealand talks about hislibrary’s National Digital Heritage Archive program.

In his article “Can You Lead a Horse to Water?” Scott Walter, of the University of Kansas,addresses the importance of teaching users about electronic resources and of meeting userswhere they “live,” a message echoed by our Librarians Speak Up contributors and by RavindraSharma who talks about his experience with students at West Virginia State University.

New technologies have a big part to play both in growing new content and helping usersaccess the wide variety available. In his Library Connect interview, Vijay Kumar of MIT discussessome of the new technologies gaining ground in the student and academic community.

At Elsevier, we also play many different and changing roles. The User Centered Design team is thevoice of the user in our electronic development process. Team members, including Chris Jasek(see “Ask UCD”) ensure that the needs of librarians and their patrons are considered when we aredeveloping products. A recent example is the new Elsevier Admin Tool, described on page 16. Weare always interested in what you as users think about our products and ideas you have toimprove their usability.

Best regards,

Andrea Kravetz, Vice President, User Centered Design,

Elsevier, Dayton, OH, USA

Andrea Kravetz

1. What were you doing before joining Elsevier?

Andrea: I worked at LexisNexis in data development and enhancement,large law firm marketing and product management. I’m a licensedlawyer and practiced for several years before joining Reed Elsevier.

2. What industry trends are you watching?

Andrea: Customer behavior, especially searching and browsingdata; new techniques in data visualization; products fitting intocustomers’ workflows; changing delivery platforms, such as cellphones, PDAs and tablet PCs; evolving tools for user centereddesign teams.

3. What’s the best part of your job?

Andrea: Working with and supporting the members of my team — alltalented experts in the field of user centered and visual design. I alsoenjoy spending time with customers and seeing their input and advicehelp build better products.

4. What’s your favorite book?

Andrea: I love to read. I was an English literature major in college.I don’t have one favorite book. In no particular order, I’d say DoctorZhivago, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Gulliver’s Travels, TheAdventures of Huckleberry Finn and Moby Dick.

5. What are you reading now?

Andrea: I always have a few books on the go. I just finished TheShadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafan and started The Devil inthe White City by Erik Larson. My current work-related book is Cost-Justifying Usability edited by Randolph G. Bias and Deborah J. Mayhew.

Welcome

Q & A Snapshot wi th Andrea Krave tz

2

FEATURES

www.elsevier.com/libraryconnect

Dr. Vijay Kumar is Assistant Provost and Director of AcademicComputing at MIT, and is working on the interface betweentechnology and education. He is also a member of theApplications Strategy Council for Internet2 and PrincipalInvestigator of the Open Knowledge Initiative. Here he shareswith Library Connect readers his thoughts on what new initiativesand technologies are in the pipeline to help students, teachers,researchers and others take advantage of digital resources.

LC: In a very general sense, how easy will it be forpeople in future to have access to digital resources?

Vijay Kumar: All dimensions, from production anddelivery to access, suggest a world where it will beincreasingly easy to access digital resources. On thesupply side, more assets and resources are beingdigitized, meaning more content is available. If youlook at difficulties in making content available bethey technical, policy-related or intellectual propertyconsiderations you also see developments, such asthe Creative Commons initiative. From a deliveryperspective, extensive high-banded wireless networksand portable devices all point to easier access.

LC: How will this impact libraries?

Kumar: Libraries have always been important players in ensuringresources for educational scholarship are made available.Traditionally the library has organized these resources centrally.Now we are moving into a world where resources, in theform of digital media, are increasingly distributed, givingrise to new challenges and pressures. Providing access tothis information and preserving it for future generations is arapidly moving target. For libraries to continue to serve asstewards of information they must increasingly accommodatethis changing technological environment.

Sophisticated tools now perform some of the functions of atraditional reference librarian. But that does not diminish thevalue librarians bring through being expert in these tools,coordinating distributed information into meaningful forms,and ensuring users are equipped to access it.

LC: Can you say a bit about MIT’s Open Course Ware project?

Kumar: Open Course Ware is doing wonderfully, with 1,100 of1,800 courses available and the remaining 700 on track to bepublished between now and 2007. Worldwide access numbersfor OCW of more than five million users have exceeded ourexpectations and demonstrate MIT got it right in terms ofunfettered access to materials. The OCW model has taken root.More than one hundred universities around the world arecreating their own sites. The MIT community takes great pridein the fact that people are using OCW to strengthen their ownteaching materials. If you make resources widely available the

quality of educational discourse changes; thatthose kinds of impacts are also beginning tosurface is particularly pleasing.

LC: What are the main aims of the OpenKnowledge Initiative and what do you feel areits prospects?

Kumar: OKI’s vision is about choice, about creating anarchitecture to support interoperability and allow educational

software to integrate more easily with institutionalinfrastructures and enterprise systems. OKI helpsdepress the slope of the cost of integration.

OKI future-proofs applications against changingtechnologies by allowing them to take advantageof campus infrastructure technology but not be sotightly bound to it they may be rendered useless bya shift in technology.

As educators we want our applications to work withthe content we need. Traditionally it’s only possibleto inspect one system at a time. Our model makesit possible to build federated searches allowingeducational applications to take advantage of a

variety of repositories without being technologically boundto any one of them, and without having to care aboutparticular protocols or metadata. Uptake of OKI is terrificand it has been adopted by some wonderful tools includingVisual Understanding Editor, Search Party, Twin Peaks,Naravision, Lionshare and Fedora.

LC: We all know about the problems of information overloadand information of questionable quality. How do you seeeditorial oversight working in this environment; who willensure quality control? Will it be government, universitiesor commercial vendors like Elsevier?

Kumar: I am a great advocate of the free movement of ideas.I think it’s central to the mission of education. The issue ofquality control is a big challenge. Just because something isopen source doesn’t validate quality. When you talk abouteditorial quality there are, of course, multiple viewpoints. Onesays people will vote with their feet — a Darwinian approachto quality, if you will. Others believe quality comes with historyor from the community of people providing the content, manywho have spent their lives identifying good sources ofmaterial. It’s of course smart to leverage practices and processesthat have worked in the selection of good content, such asscreening and review, and to rely on a variety of agenciesto help ensure quality, be they educational or commercial.

LC: It’s impossible to talk about any truly global initiativethese days without considering China and India. Whatinput and impact are these areas having on the electronicinformation environment and will the entry of more big

New Technologies for Access: An Interview with Vijay Kumar

Vijay Kumar

October 2005 Library Connect newsletter 3 |

players into the field mean it is easier or harder to createunity, compatibility and accessibility?

Kumar: India and China are increasingly important producersand consumers of knowledge resources. Networks are notlimited by geographical boundaries. That’s an opportunity butalso a significant challenge. Creators of content have to be surethey are really interested in global access and global use. Tobe really valuable content must be maleable, amenable andadaptable to enable contextualization in different culturesand situations, by different students with different profiles,backgrounds and learning modalities.

LC: At MIT you’re working on interesting new tools to makeusing electronic resources easier. Can you tell us about someof the exciting new tools we may be seeing in the future?

Kumar: Over the last fewyears there has beendramatic investment ineducational resourcesat MIT and wonderfulapplications are advancingour educational valueproposition and increasingthe bandwidth of interactionbetween very good studentsand very good faculty.

One example is iLabs, which provides access to actual labs overthe Internet. Students from a variety of locations come togetherto control the parameters of experiments. The vision for iLabs isan architecture allowing anyone to set up a lab and make itavailable over the Internet, dramatically changing the economicsof a traditionally expensive experience.

MIT students in robotics use tablet PCs, along with softwaresuch as PRET that allows peer review on collaborative designprojects. Magic Paper, another software environment, allowsinitial design “sketches” to be interpreted and fed into moreformal CAD and computation programs making initial designprocesses more efficient.

We are seeing a trend towards very interactive learningenvironments, towards accommodating “adhocness” and usingcomputation to add value to things we do naturally. Sketches canbe drawn and animated using simulation programs. Laws of sciencecan be plugged into programs to help a user’s understanding.Technology is being applied to bring first-time experience in aflexible and non-location-specific way, giving anyone, anywhereaccess. The marriage of mobility and rich media makes all kindsof real-time collaborative activities possible, allowing the studentcommunity to participate more fully in campus education.

In this world of extensive networks and data, we’re able to studypatterns as we create new tools and pedagogies. These patternscan present opportunities to take traditional approaches, decidethat they may not be the way to go, and use technology tochange things. ■

FEATURES

Continued on page 4

The challenge of guarding against digitalmemory loss is international. Increasinglynations write and publish in electronic formatonly, a form which is no less precious, and noless fragile, than its print counterpart. TheNational Library of New Zealand has begun aproject to ensure the nation’s knowledge isaccessible for future generations in perpetuity.

Steve Knight, Manager Innovation Centre, Digital InnovationServices, National Library of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand

inety-three percent of information produced each year isstored in digital form while print production continues toincrease at approximately 36% per annum.* At the NationalLibrary of New Zealand the need for a trusted digital repositoryarose from both this exponential increase in the amount ofdigital production and from our legislative mandate to collectdigital materials via legal deposit. The sheer volume of digitalmaterial threatens to overwhelm libraries and we facesignificant changes to the way we approach the digitalrealm. Challenges range from ensuring staff have appropriatetechnical skills with digital material, to the development of atechnology infrastructure capable of ensuring the integrityof digital material “in perpetuity.” Other concerns includeproviding storage space and supporting systems forlarge volumes of digital information and the need forgeographic redundancy in the event of a catastrophicdisaster. At the same time we are confronted with changesin our user communities, many of whom are now “digitalnatives.” Libraries must develop new methods of accessto collections, including digitization and alternativedissemination mechanisms, e.g. cell phones.

The National Digital Heritage Archive

In May 2004, the National Library of New Zealand wasallocated NZ$24 million [US$16 million] by the governmentto fund a program to establish a trusted digital repository toprotect the nation’s digital documentary heritage for futuregenerations. The National Digital Heritage Archive (NDHA)will collect, preserve and make accessible digital objectsboth online and offline, including websites, published works,images and material contained on CDs and floppy disks.

The NDHA has a stringent governance process around it,including regular reporting to New Zealand’s State ServicesCommission and Treasury, external project managementand two separate sets of external advisers providingindependent quality assurance directly to the ChiefExecutive. On top of this, the project has Archives NewZealand representation, a cross-government advisory

Steve Knight

N

In Perpetuity: A Nation’sWell-Spring of Knowledge

Magic Paper lets computers capture ideasthat we usually scribble on paper.

4

FEATURES

www.elsevier.com/libraryconnect

group and an international peer review group, constituted toensure the interests of as many sectors as possible involvedin issues of digital preservation are taken into accountthrough the library’s development activity.

In early 2005, the library undertook a Request for Informationprocess which resulted in Endeavor Information Systems Inc.and IBM being selected to go forwards to a closed Request forProposal. The RFP process is currently underway and will delivera single vendor to work with the library on the NDHA project.

NDHA is based on the Open Archival Information System(OAIS) model and includes the usual range of functionaland non-functional components:

■ Ingest — quality assurance, object verification, formatidentification, metadata generation.

■ Archival storage — persistent identifiers, storagestructures, file directory, resolution layer, backup andrestore, file naming, security.

■ Administration — authenticity and integrity, security, systemKPIs (key performance indicators), business continuity.

■ Data management — metadata (preservation, discovery,rights, structural), database management.

■ Preservation planning — digital preservation strategies,digital preservation capability.

The Challenges of Digital Preservation

To ensure continued integrity, authenticity, usability and accessto a digital object’s informational content and essentialattributes, digital preservation activities must focus onthree essential components of digital objects:

■ Physical object — a binary language inscribed on somephysical medium.

■ Logical object — the binary data as interpreted byspecific application software.

■ Conceptual object — what humans (as opposed tocomputers) recognize as a meaningful pieceof information.

Objects must be stored on reliable and secure storage media,and uniquely and persistently named. Processes must be inplace to continually verify data integrity. We must be able toaccurately identify and document the hardware and softwareenvironment in which the object operates and identifyappropriate preservation strategies over the lifetime of the object.The end goal is the ability to continue to render and access anaccurate and authentic representation of the conceptual object.

Materials facing libraries these days vary in complexityfrom single format files, such as a TIFF image file, to objectscomprised of thousands of interlinked files requiring differentsoftware applications for rendering. An example of the latteris the old Television New Zealand website nzoom — morethan 80,000 files, ranging from HTML to real-time video andjava script. This variety and differing degree of complexitydemand a range of preservation strategies.

Digital preservationat the NationalLibrary of NewZealand will not be a once only activity. Our mandate and legalobligation is to preserve our heritage collections “in perpetuity,”i.e. a really long time. The systems we put in place to manageand preserve digital material now must be capable of evolvingover time without threatening the integrity of the digitalobjects. The program must deliver a robust, generic solution,through a system which is capable of sustaining continuousevolution, which aligns with international best practice andstandards, and which is both adoptable by other organizationslocally and internationally and flexible enough to accommodatenew formats and preservation strategies as they arise. Toachieve this, a range of activities, emerging standards andbest practice initiatives are informing development of theNDHA including:

■ Web archiving tools — IIPC, Nordic Web Archiveand PANDORA.

■ Preservation metadata — NLNZ and PREMIS.■ Structural metadata — METS/MPEG 21.■ Persistent identifiers — Handle/DOI.■ Rights management — INDECS.■ File format identification, metadata extraction —

NLNZ and JHOVE.■ Digital preservation R&D — CAMiLEON, Digitale

Duurzaamheid, NDIIPP, Xena and Variable Media Network.

It’s not a simple undertaking but what’s very clear is that if wedon’t establish digital heritage archives now, more and more ofour national heritage will disappear. Equally clear is that it is NewZealand’s responsibility to provide for the protection of itsown digital cultural heritage. By taking responsibility for providingappropriate solutions for the preservation of our digital culturalheritage, the National Library of New Zealand is adding to theglobal endeavor to preserve national cultural heritage andmake it available for future generations to explore and enjoy. ■

* Lyman, P., & Varian, H. (2000). How much information? University of California,Berkeley. www.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info/.Accessed September 20, 2005.

Continued from page 3

About the National Library of New Zealand

The National Library of New Zealand is a government departmentwhich serves, per the National Library of New Zealand(Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa) Act 2003, to “enrich thecultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchangeswith other nations.” The library’s roles include collecting,preserving and protecting documents, particularly those relatingto New Zealand, and making them accessible for all the peopleof New Zealand; supplementing and furthering the work ofother libraries in New Zealand; and working collaborativelywith other similar institutions in New Zealand and abroad.

The Maori name of the National Library means “well-springof knowledge.”

-

-

“ If we don't establish digital heritage

archives now, more and more of our

national heritage will disappear.

”

Scott Walter, a member of the editorial boardof Research Strategies, is Assistant Deanof Libraries for Information and InstructionalServices and Visiting Assistant Professorof Teaching and Leadership at the Universityof Kansas.

here do you go when you go online?More importantly, where do your studentsgo? Academic libraries dedicate anincreasingly significant percentage oftheir overall collections budget to theacquisition and networking of electronicresources — journals, books, data sets

and databases — and more staff time isdedicated each year to leading users tothese high-quality resources through thedevelopment of workshops, subjectguides, Web portals, online tutorials, and(most recently) Weblogs and RSS feeds.But, how effective are these programs inactually teaching users about the qualityand quantity of electronic resources madeavailable through their libraries andleading them to those resources whenthey need to complete assignments orconduct research?

Existing studies suggest we are fightingan uphill battle in teaching students toconsult electronic resources providedthrough the library prior to diving intothe sea of information that is the WorldWide Web. According to OCLC (2002),college students are far more likely tobegin their research using a search enginethan a library website. They are also morelikely to consult a friend or classmate forassistance in making effective use of theWeb for their assignments than they areto consult a librarian. Jones (2002) alsoconcludes that students use the openWeb more often to complete theirassignments than they do the library andthat search engines and Web portals aremore likely to be the starting point for theresearch process than library databasesor subject guides. Conclusions found in

these national studies have beenreplicated in local studies, including oneat Colorado State University (Kaminski,Seel, & Cullen, 2003) that showed first-yearstudents are more than twice as likely tobegin their research by using Google (oranother search engine) than by using alibrary database or article index, andanother at Washington State University(Walter, in press) that showed students ofcolor are twice as likely to ask a friend forassistance with their research than to aska librarian. Lippincott (2005) concludesthat these results suggest significant“disconnects” between academic librariesand the students to whom they makeavailable such rich electronic resources,but research also suggests that librariansare finding many ways to address theinformation habits of the Net Generationand to start the work of making connectionsbetween them and their library resources.

For example, we know both from thestudies cited above and from first-handaccounts (e.g. Windham, 2005) that

students recognize the limitations of theWeb as an information source. At thesame time, studies such as Bartsch andTyldacka (2003) and Perrett (2004) showthat even students experienced with theresearch process and with libraryresources may have inaccurateperceptions both of the quality ofresources available online and of theirown abilities to locate and use thoseresources. Studies by Beile and Boote(2002) and by Monoi, O’Hanlon and Diaz(2005) demonstrate how direct instructionin database searching skills and Internetsearching skills can both improve studentperformance in information retrievaland evaluation and enhance students’confidence in their ability to locate high-quality information resources through thelibrary and the Web. The emergence ofopenly available search engines focusedon locating scholarly material (e.g.

Google Scholar) andthe opportunity to linkfull-text electronicresources from searchengines to librarydatabases throughlink-resolvingtechnology provide new opportunitiesfor making connections between studentpreferences for search engines as astarting point for research and librarycommitments to leading students tohigh-quality electronic resources.

Libraries are making headway in meetingstudents “where they live” on the Web, forexample, through campus Web portalsand online course management systems.While library Web portals were neverwidely adopted by college students as astarting point for research (Zhou,2003), there is reason to believe that“library channels” in broadly-definedcampus Web portals (which students visitfor access to vital information such asfinancial aid) may hold more promise.Stoffel and Cunningham (2005) surveyedinformation technology staff at campusesparticipating in the uPortal softwaredevelopment project and found that themajority of respondents provided accessto library content such as patron records,electronic reserves and reference services,and links to electronic journals and otherdigital content through the campusportal. While this study was preliminary,it suggests that many campuses seelibrary resources and services asworthy of representation at a high levelin campus portal projects.

This is likewise the case in terms ofopportunities to lead students to electronicresources through online courseenvironments such as Blackboard andWebCT. National studies of studentbehavior such as OCLC (2002) suggestthat course websites are second only tosearch engines as starting points forstudent research. Many libraries wereslow to provide direct links to resourcesand services through course sites (Cohen,2002), but many others did provide thoselinks thanks to the work of proactivelibrarians (Shank & DeWald, 2003).

October 2005 Library Connect newsletter 5 |

RESEARCH WATCH

Can You Lead a Horse to Water?Teaching Users About Electronic Resources

W

Scott Walter

Continued on page 6

“We are fighting an uphill battle in

teaching students to consult electronic

resources provided through the library.

”

“Libraries are making headway in

meeting students ‘where they live’

on the Web.

”

6

RESEARCH WATCH

References

Bartsch, R. A., & Tyldacka, B. L. (2003). Student perceptions(and the reality) of percentage of journal articles found throughfull-text databases. Research Strategies,19 (2),128-134.

Beile, P. M., & Boote, D. N. (2002). Library instruction andgraduate professional development: Exploring the effect oflearning environments on self-efficacy and learning outcomes.Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 48 (4), 364-367.

Cohen, D. (2002). Course-management software: Where’sthe library? EDUCAUSE Review, 37 (3). Retrieved September2, 2005, from http://educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0239.pdf

Costello, B., Lenholt, R., & Stryker, J. (2004). Using Blackboardin library instruction: Addressing the learning styles ofGenerations X and Y. Journal of Academic Librarianship,30 (6), 452-460.

Jones, S. (2002). The Internet goes to college: Howstudents are living in the future with today’s technology.Retrieved September 2, 2005, fromwww.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_College_Report.pdf

Kaminski, K., Seel, P., & Cullen, K. (2003). Technologyliterate students? Results from a survey. EDUCAUSEQuarterly, 26 (3). Retrieved September 2, 2005, fromhttp://educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eqm0336.pdf

Lippincott, J. K. (2005). Net generation students andlibraries. In D. G. Oblinger & J. L. Oblinger (eds.), Educatingthe Net generation. Retrieved September 2, 2005, fromhttp://educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/pub7101m.pdf

Monoi, S., O’Hanlon, N., & Diaz, K. R. (2005). Online searchingskills: Development of an inventory to assess self-efficacy.Journal of Academic Librarianship, 31 (2), 98-105.

OCLC. (2002). OCLC white paper on the information habitsof college students. Retrieved September 2, 2005, fromwww5.oclc.org/downloads/community/informationhabits.pdf

Perrett, V. (2004). Graduate information literacy skills:The 2003 ANU skills audit. Australian Library Journal, 53(2), 161-171.

Reeb, B., & Gibbons, S. (2004). Students, librarians, andsubject guides: Improving a poor rate of return. portal:Libraries and the Academy, 4 (1), 123-130.

Shank, J., & DeWald, N. H. (2003). Establishing our presencein courseware: Adding library services to virtual classrooms.Information Technology & Libraries, 22 (1), 38-43.

Stoffel, B., & Cunningham, J. (2005). Libraryparticipation in campus Web portals: An initial survey.Reference Services Review, 33 (2), 144-160.

Ursin, L., Lindsay, E. B., & Johnson, C. M. (2004). Assessinglibrary instruction in the freshman seminar: A citationanalysis study. Reference Services Review, 32 (3), 284-292.

Walter, S. (in press). Moving beyond collections:Academic library outreach to multicultural studentcenters. Reference Services Review, 33 (4).

Windham, C. (2005). The student’s perspective.In D. G. Oblinger & J. L. Oblinger (eds.), Educating theNet generation. Retrieved September 2, 2005, fromhttp://educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/pub7101e.pdf

Zhou, J. (2003). A history of Web portals and theirdevelopment in libraries. Information Technology &Libraries, 22 (3), 119-128.

About Research Strategies

Research Strategies iscommitted to providingthe library professionwith the latest thinkingand research oninstructional servicesand the educationalmission of the library. This journalwelcomes submissions on teachingmethods, theories of learning, researchbehavior of library users, conceptualframeworks for teaching, the philosophyof instructional services and other topicsrelated to the field. ■

www.elsevier.com/locate/resstr

Library Connect PracticalAssistance Pamphlet

"How Libraries Are TrainingUsers on E-resources:Best Practices" offersinformation, insights andtips valuable for librarianshelping researchers getthe best from the digital world.

Librarians around the world — includingRachel Daniels in the UK, Gabriela Sonntagin the US, Elaine Fairey in Canada andTelma de Carvalho in Brazil — provide tipson subjects such as how to capitalize onthe “wow” factor while training users,how to integrate an information literacyprogram into campus-wide initiatives,and how to create an online tutorial ina local language. ■

www.elsevier.com/libraryconnect

Costello, Lenholt and Stryker (2004)studied student satisfaction withinformation literacy instructionsupplemented by Web resources anddocumentation made available throughtheir course websites and found thatstudents reported high levels ofsatisfaction with both the face-to-faceinstruction and with the links provided tohigh-quality electronic resources. Reeband Gibbons (2004) also found onlinecourse environments to be helpful inpromoting use of Web-based subjectguides. Even well-designed subjectguides made available as part of coursepages are not always the answer, though,as Ursin, Lindsay and Johnson (2004)discovered when they found littlecorrelation between the bibliographiesprepared by first-year students as part oftheir final projects for a Freshman Seminarprogram with a strong research focus andthe sources provided to those students bylibrarians during course-related instruction.While we may not yet know how best tolead students to high-quality electronicresources through course websites, we doknow that the online course environmentis rich with opportunities for analysis ofstudent behavior, e.g. by allowing forcontent analysis of discussion threadpostings related to the research processor by allowing for quantitative analysisof the use of librarian-selected links andresources by students through course sites.

Opportunities for studies of this sort willonly grow as libraries become increasinglyinvolved in the direct management ofonline course environments on campus.

Public services such as reference andinstruction (along with creative liaison withclassroom faculty) are among the mostpowerful tools through which librarianscan help to lead students to the widevariety of electronic resources now madeavailable through library websites andother digital repositories. As even thisbrief tour through recent literature shouldsuggest, there are ample opportunitiesfor research in this field. Much of thisresearch can be guided by theAssociation of College & ResearchLibraries’ “Research Agenda for LibraryInstruction and Information Literacy”(2005), which, like many of the studiescited above, identifies topics such asthe information-seeking behaviors ofstudents, effective methods of Web-basedinstruction, and relationships betweeninformation literacy instruction andbroader campus initiatives (e.g. onlinecourse environments, campus portalprojects), as critical subjects of study.Research Strategies has been one ofthe leading avenues for discussions ofresearch in this field for more than 20years and we look forward to continuingto help bring research and practicetogether for teaching librarians. ■

Continued from page 5

October 2005 Library Connect newsletter 7 |

BEHIND THE SCENES

Ylann Schemm, Communications Executive,Corporate Relations, Elsevier, Amsterdam,The Netherlands

lsevier’s anniversary book donationprogram is well underway. "A Book in yourName" has donated collections of some6,700 essential text and reference books toten university libraries in the developingworld. Each library has received a corecollection of 670 books in disciplines suchas medicine, nursing, allied health fields,life sciences, earth sciences andagriculture. Each Elsevier employee wasinvited to donate a book to one of theselibraries in celebration of global libraryrelationships and Elsevier’s own dualanniversary — the original House ofElzevir’s 425th anniversary and the 125thanniversary of the modern company.

After navigating an impressive journey,the first books are arriving at theirdestinations and stocking library shelvesin Africa, Asia and South America. TonyMcSeán, Elsevier Director of LibraryRelations and convener of the panel ofindependent librarian advisors said,“It’s the collaborative nature of thisproject which makes it so worthwhile.Books have been chosen by and forlibrarians. We wanted to be sure bookswent where they are most needed. Thefinal selection was extremely difficult.In the end, the ten libraries chosenrepresent the spectrum of challengesfaced by libraries in the developing world.”

Nance M’Jamtu-Sie, Medical Librarianfor the College of Medicine and AlliedHealth Sciences (COMAHS) at theUniversity of Sierra Leone shared herlibrary’s struggle, saying, “Our library isthe only medical library in Sierra Leone

and it serves ourentire healthcarecommunity. Wehave not beenable to order newbooks becausecivil war hasdevastated theeconomic baseof our country.The library

depends solely on donations. Thesebooks will make a positive impact onundergraduate studies and continuingprofessional development at COMAHS,truly enhancing our collection development.Elsevier has definitely contributed to thesaving of lives in my country.”

In Guatemala, GretePasch, Directorof AcademicInformationResources at theFrancisco MarroquinUniversity describeda differentchallenge: “Try toimagine a countrywithout public orschool libraries!That's Guatemala. Libraries are not apriority in our society. The governmenthas more urgent issues: health,security, basic education. The majorityof our population has never had thechance to use a library, exercisetheir critical skills and develop theirimagination through reading.

“Elsevier's gift will be housed in ouropen shelf library. Anyone, includingstudents from other universities,professors and practicing doctors willbe able to search our Web catalog fromwherever they are, visit the library andwalk up to the books they wish to use.During September and October, thebooks will be on display in a specialarea of the library’s lobby so users willhave immediate access to these newresources. A staff member will be onhand to answer users’ questions.

“One of our main challenges in acquiringbooks is the cost of transporting them toGuatemala — an average of $7 pervolume. We would not be able to affordthe many thousands of dollars thisdonation is worth. These books provideour users with access to information theycould not get in any other way.”

As books arrive across the globe, “ABook in Your Name” has truly been themost rewarding anniversary gift of all —engaging not only Elsevier employees buta community of librarians in our commoncommitment to provide access topeer-reviewed scientific research aroundthe world. For more information visitwww.elsevier.com/425-125 ■

Elsevier’s “A Book in Your Name” Program: Helping Fill the Shelvesof University Libraries Across the Developing World

Each book carries an anniversary bookplateserving as a lasting recognition of thedonation from Elsevier’s 6,700 employees.

COMAHS Library,University of Sierra Leone.

Staff at Elsevier’s book distribution center in Linn,Missouri work overtime to pick and pack 30,000pounds of books for shipping.

E

The Ten Library Beneficiaries

■ Muhimbili University College Libraryof Health Sciences of the Universityof Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

■ Library of the Sciences of theUniversity of Sierra Leone

■ The College of Medicine Libraryof the University of Malawi

■ University Library of Zambia

■ University Library of Mali

■ University Library Eduardo Mondlanein Mozambique

■ Makerere University Library in Uganda

■ Universidad San Francisco de Quitoin Ecuador

■ Universidad Francisco Marroquinin Guatemala

■ The National Centre for Scientific andTechnological Information (NACESTI)in Vietnam

Books arrive at FranciscoMarroquin UniversityLibrary, in Guatemala.

Helmut Hartmann, AustrianConsortia Management, GrazUniversity Library, Austria

To help our usersachieve maximumbenefit, our library

provides three, equally importantservices — information, end-usertrainings, and the latest linking andaccess technology.

To keep our users informed, our library’shomepage offers short descriptionsfor all kinds of resources. Foldersexplaining the basic functionalities ofvarious resources are available at ourreference and information desks.New products are announced in primeposition on the library’s homepage,and via posters, leaflets, manuals andpersonalized emails to users.

End-user trainings are particularlyimportant when new resources are beingintroduced. Inviting faculty as well asstudents to presentations and trainingsby vendors’ experts has proved extremelyefficient. General tutorials held byspecialist librarians throughout theyear help users develop skills. We alsoorganize customized trainings for staffof individual departments.

When it comes to technology, seamlesslinking from our OPAC to e-resourcesand between e-resources has been amajor incentive for science departmentsto go for e-only subscriptions. In termsof user acceptance, the importance oflinking is equaled only by anytime,anywhere remote access. ■

Ysabel R. Bertolucci, AHIP,Medical Center Manager,Library Services, KaiserPermanente Medical Center,Oakland, CA, USA

Hospital library usersrun the spectrum of computer literacy.They all want to find and use informationquickly. Digital resources are thepreferred format so my job is teachingtheir use. I spend the majority of my daytraining and explaining the range ofproducts available through our ClinicalLibrary website. I never imagined that atelephone headset would be part of mydaily attire, or that explaining toolbarswould be more important than subjectheadings. It’s easy to get users excitedabout digital resources; it’s challengingto get them comfortable using them. ■

88

CENTER OF ATTENTION

How is your library helping users

Chaweewan Swasdee, SerialsCollection Development Division,Library and Information Center,Mahidol University, Thailand

We have used our librarywebsite as well as offering

training as key means to help our usersget the most benefit from our services.

Since most of our users are graduatestudents and professors in life sciencesand health sciences, they tend to havefavorite journal titles. Through our librarywebsite, we provide an A-Z list of electronicjournals and a subject-area list, bothsearchable by journal titles as well aspublishers and both leading with minimumclicks to users’ preferred titles. In addition,we make use of online guides provided bypublishers and create our own customizedguides appropriate for all levels of users.

For groups of graduate students wefrequently deliver, upon request, trainingsessions on digital resources focusing onspecific subject areas. For undergraduatestudents at the beginning of eachsemester, we arrange training courseson topics such as “How to use onlinejournals and databases.” Our facultylibrarians also provide specialized helpto library users over the counter, byappointment or during classes. ■

October 2005 Library Connect newsletter 9 |

CENTER OF ATTENTION

Luiz Atilio Vicentini, Digital LibraryCoordinator, Central Library, SaoPaulo State University at Campinas(UNICAMP), Brazil

New forms of accessto information and

knowledge have arisen since theinvention of the Internet. Such innovationhas, especially in the last five years, spedup research processes and brought greatchanges related to internal procedures atacademic libraries. Researchers now needto be fully aware of available onlineresources and able to access thesee-products. At our library, we ensure weachieve integration of technologies soresearchers can easily take advantage of allavailable resources — such as electronicjournals and reference databases. Also atour library, librarians provide researcherswith guidance and training on the usageof digital resources. ■

Leslie Weir, University Librarian,University of Ottawa, Canada

About half of ourcollections budget isdedicated to digitalresources. With 32,000

students and a digital-focused collection,ensuring users get the most benefit fromdigital resources is critical. We do thisthrough Library Research Skills Clinicsincluding “Get Catalogued!” (providingsearch tips and tricks to find digital andprint materials) and “Article Finder”(providing an overview of key tools toidentify and locate articles). We alsoprovide a chat-based support service,classes given as part of academic courseswith library assignments linked to coursecontent, peer-to-peer interaction, and staffroaming to offer just-in-time support.

Promoting core digital resources, suchas our Elsevier e-journals collection andScopus, is also part of our strategy.For us, Scopus has become a key tool,bringing together this idea of coreproduct and peer support through ourtwo Scopus Student Ambassadors whoteach and mentor other students. ■

James Wiser, InformationServices Librarian, DrescherCampus Library, PepperdineUniversity, Malibu, CA, USA

Marketing initiatives andlibrary instruction sessions

are undoubtedly effective at increasingawareness of digital resources for specificgroups (classes, departments and so on).But I believe the best way to help users seethe direct benefits of digital resources isto sell the product to all members of yourlibrary's staff — not just outreach orinstructional services librarians — and lettheir enthusiasm flow to all library userswith whom they interact. For example, ifevery employee of your library knowswhat's out there, they can often relatethat information in casual conversations— which happen more frequently andhave greater impact than officialinstruction or marketing sessions. Whenyour student workers, for example, knowthere's much more to ScienceDirect thanjust the content that serves scientists andengineers, they can at times "make thesell" to their classmates more effectivelythan those of us who plan elaboratemarketing schemes. ■

get the most benefit from digital resources?

Librarians Speak Up questions for future issues:How is user behavior at your library changing?

How is your library adding value to content?

If you'd like to suggest questions or contribute, please drop a line tolibraryconnect@elsevier.com. Answers to past questions appear atwww.elsevier.com/libraryconnect

10

ON THE ROAD

www.elsevier.com/libraryconnect

OPEN ACCESS AND DEVELOPMENTS IN CHINA

AUSTRALIA AND NEWZEALAND, JULY — LibraryConnect reached 180 librariancustomers in nine cities acrossAustralia and New Zealand.Seminars covering topicsfrom industry concerns toproduct updates were hostedin Perth, Adelaide (pictured here), Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney,Canberra, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The “Publishingand Open Access” presentation by Tony McSeán, Elsevier’s LibraryRelations Director, and “Digital Library Projects in China and E-ResourcesDevelopment in Shanghai Jiaotong University Library” presentation byLin Haoming, SHJT’s Deputy Library Director, created the most interest. ■

USAGE AND USER TESTING

THE NETHERLANDS, JULY — Félix de Moya Anegón (pictured left),Vice-Rector at the Universidad de Granada,one of the first Scopus developmentpartners, visited Eugenio Garcia, ElsevierAccount Manager (pictured right) and theScopus team in Amsterdam. Granada isone of the largest universities in Spain anda leader in many subject areas, includingbibliometric analysis. As part of theAndalusia consortium, Granada was an early

adopter of Scopus. Their decision was based on positive feedbackfrom extensive user testing. “As a development partner,” Félixexplained, “we have seen Scopus usage rising tremendously andwould like to continue our cooperation with Elsevier and the Scopusteam in order to offer our end users even better functionality.” ■

CHALLENGES IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT,USAGE AND THE USER EXPERIENCE

MALAYSIA AND THAILAND, JULY — Library Connect Seminarsattracted around fiftylibrarians in eachcountry to share newinformation and discusschallenges in the digitalenvironment. Librariansappreciated hearingfrom Ho-Nam Choi ofthe Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology Library. In hispresentation “What We Korean Libraries Have Done with E-Content,”he shared his experiences in leading the successful Korean consortiumKESLI. Alex Lankester, Head of Account Development for ElsevierAsia Pacific shared insights from ScienceDirect usage analysis in herpresentation “The End-user Experience — Yesterday and Today.”

Awards presented for Highest ScienceDirect Usage and HighestGrowth in ScienceDirect Usage went respectively to Universiti PutraMalaysia and Universiti Teknologi MARA (for Malaysia) and to theChulalongkorn University and the National Institute of DevelopmentAdministration (for Thailand). ■

USER CENTERED DESIGN (UCD)

JAPAN, AUGUST — Andrea Kravetz,

Vice President of Elsevier’s User

Centered Design Group gave

presentations on the concept of UCD

and the development of Scopus at the

International Advanced Digital Library

Conference at Nagoya University, the

National Institute of Informatics (Tokyo) and Hiroshima University.

More than 300 librarians attended Andrea’s presentations and were

interested and impressed to learn how the UCD approach makes a

difference in the resulting user interface. One librarian stated, “The

presentation shows the importance of the UCD approach. Only

products that really understand users’ needs will be able to survive in

this competitive age.” Andrea concluded, “It was exciting to see the

interest and enthusiasm of attendees for the value a user centered

design team can bring to improve the usefulness of products.” ■

FUTURE OF LIBRARY SERVICES AND SPACES

NORWAY, AUGUST — King Harald V of Norway opened the 71st IFLAconference to a large crowd ofpress and librarians from acrossthe globe. The ceremony wasfollowed by a party in the exhibithall where many participantsvisited the Elsevier booth foranswers to our Scopus TrueBlue Quiz, to attend a productpresentation or to browse aselection of Elsevier’s publications

in library and information science. Scopus and Meridian (a librarymanagement solution from Endeavor) attracted much attention.

The conference buzz centered on the future of library services andspaces supporting undergraduate study. There was concensus thatradical change will occur but no consensus on the form changeswill take. ■

SINGAPORE, OCTOBER — 2005 sees the centenial celebrationsof the National University of Singapore(NUS), marking 100 years of tertiaryeducation in Singapore. Establishedin 1905, NUS is acknowledged as oneof the finest universities in the world.A series of celebratory events including a pictorial and electronic exhibition,"NUS Libraries: A Hundred Years ofTransformation," kicked off in June(www.nus.edu.sg/centennial/events/calendar.htm).

2005 also marks the 125th birthday of Elsevier and the 425thanniversary of the publishing house of Elzevir from which themodern company takes its name. Elsevier is proud to have donateda rare Elzevir imprint as a gift to the NUS Libraries. The rare book(pictured here) presented to the NUS Libraries is Adagiorum byErasmus, printed in 1650. ■

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

The number of institutional repositoriesworldwide has grown exponentially in thelast three years. Much progress hasbeen made on setting up and managinga repository but less on increasing thevisibility of an institute’s research output.Today, being found is as important, if notmore important, as being online. The morevisible the content, the more it will beused and shared. Library Connect talkedto Eric Van de Velde, Director of LibraryInformation Technology at Caltech, to findout more about their institutional repository,Caltech CODA (http://coda.library.caltech.edu).

LC: Can you tell us about Caltech’sinstitutional repository?

Eric Van de Velde: Our earliest repositorygoes back to 1998 when we put acollection of computer science technicalreports online. The real kick-start wasthe Santa Fe meeting in October 1999,which established the Open ArchivesInitiative (www.openarchives.org). Atthe meeting, I was introduced to theNetworked Digital Library of Thesesand Dissertations (www.ndltd.org).

Upon returning from Santa Fe, we startedexperimenting with the NDLTD software,and the library started working withProfessor Arden Albee, then our Dean ofGraduate Studies, on a pilot project forelectronic theses. In 2002, we introducedthe requirement for Caltech theses to besubmitted electronically. Currently ourrepository houses well over 2,000 thesesand is the largest repository collectionwe have. Caltech produces about 200theses per year. Our collection includesolder theses we scanned. When startingthis project, we didn’t intend to scan ourarchives, but after a flood damaged about200 circulating theses, we scannedarchival copies as a preventative measure.This project went so well that we startedscanning older material as time permits.

After the Santa Fe meeting, StevanHarnad started the EPrints initiative(www.eprints.org), and when theEPrints software became available abouta year later, we started using it almost

immediately. First,we moved thecomputer sciencetechnical reports.Then, we built a historical archive fromthe earthquake engineering researchlaboratory. As the service became morewell-known, some faculty becameinterested in making their researchpapers, technical reports, books andeven conference proceedings availableonline through the InstitutionalRepository. There’s also an interestingcollection of Caltech oral histories, consisting of the archive department’sinterviews with retiring professors andsenior administrators.

LC: What’s the take-up of repositoryservices at Caltech?

Van de Velde: We have to get to asituation where faculty consistentlysubmit content to the repository so thelibrary doesn’t have to do all the work.That’s a social change that still needsto happen.

LC: How are you increasing awarenessof the repository?

Van de Velde: Lots of informalconversations! The librarians do moreformal recruiting, but it’s at a low pitch atthe moment. We’re making the serviceavailable, mentioning it wherever possiblebut not hitting people over the head withit. We’re always looking for ways tomake the process as easy as possible.My guess is, students graduating nowwho have put their theses online and seenthe response will be faculty in a couple ofyears, here and across the country. Theywill want the same interactivity fortheir research papers. I see this as anevolutionary process, not a revolution. It’ssimple, but these changes take a while.

LC: What level of usage are you seeingon materials in the repository?

Van de Velde: Quite a bit actually. Viathe library website, we provide usagestatistics for all repository collections.I did some studies on thesis usage anddiscovered an average of six to sevenunique accesses per thesis per year. Itdoesn’t sound like a lot, but comparedto use in print or even microfilm, it’s atremendous increase in visibility.

LC: Can you tell us a bit about the workyou’ve been doing with Scirus toincrease visibility of your IR’s content?

Found @ Your Repository:Increasing Visibility of IR Content

Eric Van de Velde

Scirus and Institutional Repositories Institutional Repositories require serious and relevant searchfunctionality to make their content more accessible. Scirus hasdeveloped a unique indexing process matching a repository’smetadata with full text and allowing them to be indexed

together. This is achieved by considering the overall structure of the IR and determiningthe best method of indexing for optimal searching. By working with an instituteto index its repository, Scirus can also power the search of the repository’s siteto ensure more complete search results, relevant ranking of results based onin-depth classification and an interface optimized for the repository’s content.

“Search plays a critical role in increasing the visibility of a repository. Being onlinedoesn’t guarantee visibility. Ensuring Institutional Repositories are made visible withinWeb search engines and implementing a good search capability on a repository’ssite can be difficult to implement. Good search capability in particular requiresexpertise in search technology coupled with knowledge of the structure of scholarlymaterial. Partnerships such as those Scirus is exploring will help to make this asuccessful effort.” Sharon Mombrú, Senior Product Manager, Scirus, Elsevier,Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ■

www.scirus.com

Continued on page 12

October 2005 Library Connect newsletter 11 |

12

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

www.elsevier.com/libraryconnect

With today's libraries subscribing to manyelectronic resources, it can take time todraw attention to and build usage of newadditions. This year, Elsevier AccountDevelopment Managers introduced theStudent Ambassador Program (SAmP) tosupport customers in efforts to promote andraise awareness of Scopus. The programhas been adopted by more than 20customers in the Asia Pacific region alone.

At each participating institute,the programconsists of a series of on-campuspromotional activities organized and led bya graduate student — paid by Elsevier. Todevelop and implement the program, thestudent works closely with the institute'slibrary and an Elsevier Account DevelopmentManager. Involving students in conductingon-campus outreach to promote resourcesto library users and researchers can bringsubstantial results. Participating studentscan benefit from learning more about howlibraries and publishing processes operate,and libraries can benefit from supportprovided by participating students.

Alex Lankester, APAC Head of AccountDevelopment, and Hui Ling Goh, APACStudent Ambassador Manager, caught up withlibrarians and students at two universitiesparticipating in the SAm Program.

THE LIBRARIANS VIEW

arion Wilson, SeniorManager for Planningand Development atthe University ofNewcastle in Australiafirst heard about theScopus ambassadorprogram when shewas contacted by herElsevier Account Development Manager.“When we heard about SAmP we werevery keen,” she explained. “It seemeda good way to provide an additionalawareness-raising resource to thefaculties to encourage their use ofScopus. Given our investment in Scopuswe really want to maximize awarenessand usage. The SAm Program supportsthose goals.” Whui-chui Tsui, Librarianat the National Taipei University ofTechnology in Taiwan agreed, saying,“SAmP is a brand new approach we

have not taken before and I feel it’s aproactive and innovative way to reachout to our end users.”

Of course all libraries already undertakeregular promotional activities, sometimesemploying marketing professionals tohelp. “Employing students in this wayhad not come onto our radar before,”said Marion. “A lot of the time we don’thave the funding for such activity, so weall felt SAmP was quite a generous program and a good opportunity.”

In terms of SAmP’s success, mostparticipants feel it’s still early days tocomment definitely on the effect theprogram has on usage but initial responseis positive. “Feedback to date is morequalitative than quantitative,” explainedMarion. “With ScienceDirect, we knowwe’ve doubled our usage over the pastyear and we know Scopus is extremelywell received in the faculties. We’ve beengetting positive feedback about its linkingcapabilities and more. So, we’re prettysure Scopus already has a market withinour user community. Building on thisaudience is where we need to go next.”

To help do this Marion’s team has beenutlizing Scopus promotional materials suchas post-it notes and quick reference guides.“We use them at the front desk whengiving information to students to get themessage out and initiate more questionsfrom the student base,” she remarked.

Librarians and publishers alike are awareof the increasing importance of usage datain justifying subscriptions and renewals.Marion noted, “Usage data is the keyqualifier for our subscription products. Weof course balance this with other concernssuch as platform quality and generalaccessibility, but, at the end of the day,it all comes down to usage. That’s whywe’re so keen to promote our resources.We need to see a good return on investmentwith products like this. They are first-rateproducts but we want to ensure we arepaying best money to get best results forthem.” Whui-chui Tsui similarly noted,“When faced with budget cuts usage isthe deciding factor. If we are forced to

Outreach Program Puts Focus on New Resources

M

Marion Wilson

Van de Velde: The Open ArchivesInitiative is a three-layered system.First, you have the content providers,such as institutional and disciplinaryrepositories, but these could alsoinclude journals (open-access journalsas well as conventional journals).Second is an intermediary layer,provided by the OAI initiaitve, givinga standard interface to the disparaterepositories available. The visionof the Santa Fe meeting was thatservice providers would come alongand use this standard intermediatelayer to access data underneath.That’s what is starting to happen nowwith service providers like Scirus.

So, whenever a service providercomes along and wants to access ourdata we are happy to collaborate tomake our collection visible. We wantour content out there: the moreservice providers (i.e. the more entrypoints to our content), the better.

Our collaboration with Scirus has alsoprovided us with one search interfacefor the disparate Caltech repositories.Until now you had to search eachrespository individually.

LC: Would you recommend otherlibraries explore similar collaborations?

Van de Velde: Yes, my bigrecommendation for academiclibraries is to make their uniquematerials available through theOpen Archives Initiative. Serviceproviders can then make the materialvisible in a variety of contexts.

LC: What do you see coming downthe line for institutional repositories?

Van de Velde: Well, this is certainlyonly the beginning. Right now the vastmajority of theses are text files. TheNDLTD recently announced awardsfor innovative multi-media theses.Once we are truly in a multi-mediaage, that will open up the realm ofwhat a scientific publication reallycould be and what institutionalrepositories will really have to offer. ■

Continued from page 11

October 2005 Library Connect newsletter 13 |

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

make a choice between two similar products, we will makethe evaluation based on the usage of the product and howpopular it is with the end-user base.”

Programs such as SAmP are only one facet of the effortsrequired to raise awareness of library resources. At theNational Taipei University of Technology, Whui-chui Tsui’steam has also benefited from product training provided byvendors. Whui-chui additionally cited the library’s annualpromotion week as one of their key usage-driving activities.

All agree training is essential and it offers opportunities tofurther build relationships with a library’s diverse communities.“At the University of Newcastle,” explained Marion, “we employour faculty librarians in much of our end-user awarenesspromotion. The big bonus with these librarians is that theyall teach the faculty and take training on information literacy,citation referencing and library resources into lesson areas.Consequently, they have a good understanding and in-depthlevel of engagement with faculty.”

It’s important to engage with communities and reach out tothem via new means, such as the SAm Program. “We findas many opportunities as possible to interact with campusstudent associations,” Marion stated. “Our main focus is to beinvolved with different student groups. We can’t just expectthem to come along to the library to find the resources so wehave to seek them out and promote proactively.”

With so many key products to promote to library patrons it’ssometimes with “great difficulty,” according to Marion, “thatthe library ensures they all get adequate focus and attention.This is something we have been talking about managing moresuccessfully in the future. To date everything has been a little hitand miss. However, when we look at our usage stats across theproduct range we see a healthy balance with no particular datasets being neglected. That said, it’s a challenge to ensure we gethigh usage across the board and in future, with funding restrictions,we’ll have to be more careful about what we purchase.”

THE STUDENTS VIEW

hmad Khasawneh is a PhD student inInformation Technology and ComputerEngineering at the University of Newcastle,Australia. Shiuan Ching Lin is a graduatestudent in Mechanical and ElectricalEngineering at the National TaipeiUniversity of Technology in Taiwan.

LC: What attracted you to the idea of becoming a ScopusStudent Ambassador?

Ahmad Khasawneh: I’m at the end of my PhD so I have sometime and I thought this would be an interesting option. Inaddition, I find Scopus a very strong product and wish I hadhad access earlier in my research process. So far, Scopus hasenabled me to find 56 articles in my area of research that I

have not beenable to findanywhere else!

Shiuan Ching Lin:

I’m a graduateschool studentand often usesearch enginesto find journalsrelated to myfield of research.With Scopus, I’vediscovered some outstanding functions I haven’t used before.In a way I feel it’s my duty to promote such an excellent toolto other graduate students across the campus.

LC: Can you briefly explain the activities you have been running?

Khasawneh: I started by emailing friends and faculty but foundthis had little impact. So, I decided to adopt a “knock and talk”approach. This involves visiting faculty in their offices to talk tothem for 5 minutes about Scopus. The approach seems to bemuch more effective and, providing they are not in meetings orbusy, faculty don’t seem to mind. I think this is the only way toreally effectively reach them. I’ve also posted advertisements inthe office of the Postgraduate Student Association and everyweek I run one or two demos for postgraduate students. I ask myfellow postgraduate research students, who are running theirown tutorials, to give me 10 minutes to talk to their studentsbefore the tutorials. They are happy for me to do this.

Lin: I distribute leaflets and posters and provide hands-ondemos to our students. Sometimes I visit the labs in ouruniversity to give them further information and show themhow to use Scopus. Bulletins are also an effective way ofreaching people.

LC: Have you come up with new ideas to increase end-userawareness of Scopus and other resources as a result of beinginvolved in the program?

Khasawneh: Definitely. I think we should advertise hands-ondemos via the library website and load the online demo ontothe site. This would be an effective way to gain maximumoutreach across the different faculties. It would also helpensure campus-wide attendance at my in-person demos.

Lin: Yes. After the demos I’m now planning to provide a quizto confirm users have really learned all the functions availablein Scopus. I believe “just do it” is the only way to be fullyaware of the benefits! ■

For more information about the Scopus Student Ambassador Program (SAmP),please contact your Elsevier Account Manager or Account Development Manager.

A

Explore More■ www.newcastle.edu.au/services/library

■ wwwlib.ntut.edu.tw/english/english.htm

Ahmad Khasawneh

The Scopus Student Ambassador Team at the National

Taipei University of Technology, Taiwan. Left to right:

Shiuan Ching, Lin (Student Ambassador); Whui-chui,

Tsui (Librarian); Chuan Hao, Liu (Student Ambassador).

Ravindra Nath Sharma is Library Director at West Virginia StateUniversity and 2005 ACRL Academic/Research Librarian of the Year.

Library Connect: Congratulations on your selection as librarianof the year. Please, can you tell us what led to your selection?

Dr. Sharma: Mainly my contributions to international librarianshipand my research. I have published books and articles, editorialsand book reviews in European, Asian and US library journals.Also I’ve edited Library Times International since 1984.

And of course my work on ACRL and ALA committees, especiallymy chairing ACRL’s Asian, African and Middle Eastern Section(AAMES). During my AAMES chairmanship, I invited KayRaseroka to speak in Orlando in 2004. That was the first time inthe history of ACRL and ALA that a standing president of IFLAspoke at an ALA conference. Kay was the first black female everto be elected president of IFLA. Getting her here was an honor.

My aim is to continue to help the library profession andassociations to grow. As I am the first Asian American to receiveACRL’s highest honor, I've been invited to visit China for onemonth. I'll spend time at the Shanghai library, China’s secondlargest library, and provide advice on international librarianshipand staff development. It has been a great year, I must say.

LC: Recently WVSU received university status and wasapproved to offer graduate courses. Can you describe thecommunity your library serves?

Sharma: We serve undergraduates, graduates, studentsof community and technical colleges, and other communitymembers. Everyone is welcome. The focus of course is onthe curriculum and research needs of our students andfaculty. Our mission is to provide excellent service andlibrary resources. I think we've done a very good job,under difficult circumstances including budget cuts.

LC: A 2004 survey revealed 71.2% of your institute's studentsvisit the library regularly and it's the best used service of youruniversity. To what do you attribute your library's success?

Sharma: Excellent teamwork and emphasis on quality service.I have always emphasized the value of the library to allstudents and faculty, and reminded users the library offershelp throughout life. Ranganathan, the great Indian librarian,always said, I went to the library every day not to do myassignment but to see what material could enhance myknowledge. That message has sold well, helping us maintainour standards and bring students into our library.

Additionally, we have a special area where students can get helpfrom tutors in many subjects. This library study area, part ofSmart Stops offering walk-in tutoring at locations across campus,is open 8am to 9pm. This has become a popular place, offered

for the third year in a row. Getting free help fromqualified instructors brings students to the library.

LC: How does your library ensure users getthe greatest benefit from provided resources?

Sharma: We keep our students informedabout new resources through our libraryWeb page, library displays and bibliographicinstruction classes. Also during one-to-one conferences atthe reference desk. And, we have a Library Cyber Café in thestudent union. Three years ago we got a grant and openedthe café — open 7am to 11pm, seven days a week. Studentscan use café computers to access our library’s e-resources.

LC: What types of new tools would you like to offer your users?

Sharma: Only tools covering subjects thoroughly andfitting in our budget. I want to keep a balance betweenbooks and online resources. Technology is still changingand expensive. Students definitely want more onlineresources, but we need to avoid going overboard.

LC: During the past decade, what changes have you seen inuser behavior?

Sharma: As the library director, here for nine years now, Isee the introduction of technology has made all the difference.Users expect the library to offer resources in all subjects andformats but especially online. This younger generation ismore interested in doing research online. That is a bigchange in user behavior. ■

14 www.elsevier.com/libraryconnect

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

ScienceDirect College Edition“For several years we have reviewed and participated in trials ofthe ScienceDirect collections and found them to be of high quality,but the price structure was beyond our small college budget.The ScienceDirect College Edition, with its regrouping of titlesand specialties along with the new pricing structure, gave us theopportunity to support and enrich our resources with an economicaland academically rich collection that we have not been able toafford previously.” Henry Terrill, MSLS, Professor and SerialsLibrarian, Brackett Library, Harding University, Searcy, AK, USA.

ScienceDirect College Edition has been developed as a resultof direct demand and feedback from small colleges. It meetsspecific needs of teaching-based colleges by deliveringhigh-quality content at prices small colleges can afford.

ScienceDirect College Edition offers students online access tohigh-quality, peer-reviewed journal or authoritative referencework collections in social and behavioral sciences, healthand life sciences and physical sciences. It is available to alltwo- and four-year colleges that teach up to a master's level,are not involved with research, and do not have researchcenters or award at a doctoral level.

At present, this offer is only available within North America.For more information visit www.info.sciencedirect.com ■

Ravindra Nath Sharma

Quick Questions with AcademicLibrarian of the Year, Dr. Sharma

Readers of the first three Full Moons may not have realizedthat far from being free-standing froth about the mad behaviorand unreasonable demands of library users, this column is solidlygrounded in a prestigious academic library environment — theFull Moon University Library and Information Sector.

Tony McSeán, Elsevier's Director of Library Relations and erstwhilelibrarian, is advisor to the FMU.

he scholarly credentials of Full Moon University (FMU) needno introduction, being grounded on our founder’s vision thatno one should be exempt from higher education. At FMUtraditional barriers to academic life (literacy, numeracy, etc.) areswept away. The doors of scholarly life are flung wide to anyoneable to reply to our familiar OUTSTANDING OPPORTUNITY emailbroadcasts, correctly answering up to one of our 25 multiplechoice questions and attaching full details of someone’s bankaccount. Our recently endorsed Planned Sustained Progressinitiative has the target of moving FMU into the top 99% of allthe world’s universities within the next eight years.

So, as the northern hemisphere summer turns to ashes, FMULISstaff are putting aside the traditional summer diversions of theacademic librarian — restoring unbound pamphlets to randomorder in their boxes, tucking booklist material into offsite storage,taking down all the signage, locking down USB ports on terminalsand the rest. As the leaves turn brown and the new intake ofstudents turns eau-de-nil, library staff activities move on to thetraditional term-time tasks of making sure all the clocks runseven minutes fast,* starting large scale demolition and rebuildingwork, replacing the reserve collection management module andtaking all the reference specialists on week-long retreats.

It’s also the time when the good ideas emanating from last year’sbrainstorming sessions are tested in the grim light of reality. Inprevious years the university’s public liability insurance has beentested to the full by unexpected hitches with reshelving trolleysdesigned to return automatically to the paraprofessional messroom once full, and by the brave but ultimately tragic fiasco ofthe self-directed reshelving machine. We have, then, learnedhard lessons about the dangers of mixing amateur mechanicalengineering with the children of lawyers.

For the 2006 attempt to win the Nobel Prize for Librarianship,FMU has gone out to see if we can learn lessons from the wayyoung people study away from traditional disciplines andconstraints of the library environment. It has become clearfrom these scientific observations that most students only workat full effectiveness when enveloped in a sound system playingmusic at more than 110 decibels. So, slaves as we are toevidence-based practice, from the start of the new academicyear students using our study areas will find an environmentespecially tailored to their requirements. Most quick-referencebookshelves have been replaced by loudspeaker equipmentpurchased from the popular singing troupe Iron Maiden.Pre-acceptance tests (using volunteer system librarians in

their 50s) have shown that the necessarysound levels can be comfortably (sic) exceeded.The only problem remaining is what musicto play. It would be too easy, and of courseagainst all accepted principles of collectionmanagement, to simply give students whatthey want. So we are seeking a mixed repertoire of library-and study-related songs. We’ve made a start, but even FMU’scost-conscious schedule of 5 hours a day** leaves a lot of timeto fill, and even the whole output of the Stax label and LloydWeber’s much loved Don’t Cry For Me Ranganathan, JulietTurner’s On Short Loan Only, and Frank Zappa’s classicLibrary Card aren’t going to be enough for a whole term.

We are looking, then, for LC readers to please send insuggestions for study-enhancing melodies to rattle thewindows and shake the walls of FMU’s undergraduatelibrary. Small tokens of appreciation will be sent to all whosesuggestions we print, and even if your suggestion does notmake it into LC you will at least have the consolation ofknowing that you have contributed to a notable professionalinnovation and, just maybe, helped bring our undergraduatedrop-out rate down into the mid-to low 90 percents. ■

*For new entrants into the library profession: This may not seem a lot but overa 30-week academic year this can save you up to three and a half days' work.

**FMU thinks that user-centric planning has its place but ought not to becomean obsession.

October 2005 Library Connect newsletter 15 |

COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS

T

Chris Jasek of Elsevier’s User Centered DesignGroup answers your usability questions.

AA:: Using terminology familiar to users is very important for websiteusability — especially when it comes to labeling links or buttons. Multipleusability studies have shown users do not understand simple libraryterms and concepts like catalog, resources, online databases, citation,reserves, reference or special collections. To overcome this challengehere are some suggestions:

■ Avoid acronyms and internal jargon. Instead of OPAC or your owninvented name for your catalog, use the label “Find books and more.”

■ Offer short descriptions next to labels, e.g. “Electronic Journals —electronic full text of journal articles.” Descriptions can also beimplemented as "tool tips" by using the ALT or TITLE attributes in HTML.

■ Do a quick user test on your labels by asking users, “Where do youexpect to go when clicking on this label?" or "What does this mean toyou?“ This is simply the best way to see if your labels are working.

■ Check out John Kupersmith's webpage, “Library Terms ThatUsers Understand,”at www.jkup.net/terms.html

QQ:: What library terms do users understand? What terms should

I use when naming links on my library website?

Full Moon: Full Moon University

Tony McSeán is Elsevier's Director of Library Relations.Tony received his BA and Library Diploma from theUniversity College of Wales and went on to work in theuniversity libraries of Limerick, Ulster and Southampton.Prior to joining Elsevier, he served as chief librarian at theBritish Medical Association for 15 years.

Please send your suggestions for study-enhancing

melodies to Tony at full.moon@elsevier.comTony McSeán

Jonathan Atkinson, Senior Marketing Manager, Social & Behavioral Sciences, Oxford, UK;Dju-Lyn Chng, Channel Marketing Executive, Singapore; Daria DeCooman, AccountDevelopment & Channel Marketing Manager, San Diego, CA, USA; Randy Frink, Director ofMarketing, Endeavor, Des Plains, IL, USA; Ginny Hendricks, Marketing Manager, Amsterdam,The Netherlands; Tim Hoctor, Senior Product Manager, Morristown, NJ, USA; GertrudeHoogendoorn, Head of Marketing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Karen Hunter, Senior VP,New York, NY, USA; Chrysanne Lowe, VP Account Development & Channel Marketing, SanDiego, CA, USA; Tony McSeán, Director of Library Relations, Oxford, UK; Daviess Menefee,Director, Library Relations, Columbus, OH, USA; Chris Pringle, Publisher, Social & BehavioralSciences, Oxford, UK; Ingrid van de Stadt, Head of Account Development, Amsterdam, TheNetherlands; John Tagler, VP Account Development & Library Marketing, New York, NY, USA;Marike Westra, Manager, External Communications, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Managing

Editor: Charlotte Dewhurst, Senior Account Development & Channel Marketing Manager, SanDiego, CA, USA.

Special thanks go to Library Connect Marketing Intern Shaun Briley for his contributions to this issue.

Library Connect Editorial Team

STAYING CONNECTED

Juliette Goetzee, Marketing Manager, ScienceDirect, Elsevier,Amsterdam, The Netherlands

n response to customerfeedback and with the helpand advice of librariansinvolved in usability testingacross the globe, Elsevierhas developed the AdminTool — a self-service onlineinterface for managingScienceDirect and Scopusaccounts. This new servicegives librarians control overeveryday adminstrativetasks on their accounts andincorporates input fromcollection developmentlibrarians, cataloguers, electronic resources librarians and systemadministrators from Europe, Asia, America and Australasia.

"The new Elsevier Admin Tool is another tangible step in ourefforts to increase customer satisfaction," said Koen Petersen,Director of Global Sales Operations and E-Customer Care."With the Admin Tool our customers are better positioned toreview the settings of their accounts, and to proactively alertus with questions and issues. On top of this, customers cantake stronger ownership for administration of their accounts,something they have told my team they want. Of course,Elsevier E-Customer Service departments worldwide remainon hand to assist customers with queries on theirScienceDirect and Scopus accounts.”

Using the Admin Tool customers can:

■ Create groups and departments within an institute’s IP range.■ Access ScienceDirect e-holding reports.■ Create remote access accounts for end users. ■ Customize ScienceDirect and Scopus by setting up library

logos on the products.■ Access usage reports.■ Turn on and off transactional access, credit card purchasing

or document delivery for an account or groups, and viewbalances for the current year.

■ View content coverage and entitlements of aScienceDirect account.

■ View Scopus content coverage and activate or deactivateScopus search options.

The Elsevier Admin Tool is free of charge for ScienceDirect andScopus subscribers and can be entered via the Scopus andScienceDirect websites or directly via https://admintool.elsevier.com.Online tutorials, a Quick Reference Guide and context-sensitivehelp are available to help customers get started.

Additional information about the Admin Tool can be found at:www.info.sciencedirect.com/admintool

www.info.scopus.com/admintool

I

If you are interested in attending or organizing aLibrary Connect event contact libraryconnect@elsevier.com

Upcoming Events 2005-2006

NOVEMBER2-4 Knowledge Extended, Julich, Germany2-5 25th Annual Charleston Conference, Charleston, SC, USA9 Library Connect Seminar, Princeton, NJ, USA9-10 Informatio Medicata II, Budapest, Hungary10 Library Connect Seminar, Rabat, Morocco10-11 PLANNER 2005 (INFLIBNET) at Silchar, Assam, India11-12 Hawaii Library Association Conference, Island of Hawaii, HI, USA15 Library Association of Singapore 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner,

Singapore29-Dec 1 Online Information 2005, London, UK 30-Dec 2 Library Fair 2005, Yokohama, Japan

DECEMBER2 6th Annual Elsevier Corporate Customer Event, London, UK1-3 Greek Academic Libraries Conference, Athens, Greece11-14 ICIS (International Conference on Information Systems) 2005,

Las Vegas, NV, USA11-15 ICADL 2005, Bangkok, Thailand12-14 3rd Conference on Internet and Libraries, Wroclaw, Poland26-29 XXV All India Conference of IASLIC 2005 at IIT, Chennai, India

JANUARY 200616-19 ALISE, San Antonio, TX, USA20-25 ALA Midwinter, San Antonio, TX, USA21 8th Library Connect Digital Library Symposium, ALA Midwinter,

San Antonio, TX, USA22 Elsevier Dessert Reception, ALA Midwinter, San Antonio, TX, USA

The events listed here include:1. [In orange] Library Connect seminars.2. [In black] Industry events and conferences at which Elsevier will have a booth.3. [In gray] Other Elsevier organized events.

About Library Connect SeminarsLibrary Connect seminars, organized by Elsevier’s regional account development and channel marketing teams, offer librarians and Elsevier representatives opportunities tomeet and discuss issues of concern for all types of information professionals.Librarians play an active role in planning agendas for and giving presentations at LibraryConnect seminars. During these events, frank discussion and sharing of ideas and experiencesensure participants get the most out of attending.Elsevier’s Library Connect seminar program began in 2002. Since then almost 6,000 librarianshave attended events held across the world.

ScienceDirect and Scopus AccountsGo Self-Service with New Admin Tool