L&LR staff blog

I’m in this week’s issue of student newspaper The Linc, talking about (predictably) e-resources and the library. Page 8 of the print edition (next to Vito Cataffo!):

And in their online edition. I was really pleased to be asked to do this – gratifying that the student newspaper wants to hear about the library.

I’m pleased to be able to announce the existence of a new, temporary virtual team within L&LR, made up of people lucky enough to be working with me on various e-resource-related projects over the coming months.

First, Jayne, whom many of you will already know from her work in reader services, is back to support digitisation work, for c.15 hours a week.

Elif and Phil from the Brayford reader services team will be dedicating several hours a week each to “e” projects including the constant battle to improve the quality of data on the Electronic Journals A-to-Z, the drive toward online reading lists, and work addressing the changing role of the Core Collection.

And finally, cataloguers Bev and Jill are working with me, one day a week apiece, as ‘Cataloguer – Institutional Repository‘. As the job title suggests, they will be working to improve item records on the University’s Institutional Repository, checking publishers’ licence terms, and generally optimising the University’s intellectual outputs for discovery by Google, etc.

The Athens stats for the first quarter of 2009 are in, and they’re on the Portal now for L&LR colleagues to view.

No great surprises in store – though the graph [below] does suggest a sharper-than-usual fall from 2008/4 to 2009/1. Perhaps we should expect this as a feature of higher usage at peak periods: that the drop-off in use of e-resources during quieter periods will be more pronounced.

We’re still up 18% on the same quarter last year.

Click the graph for bigger.

The following details outline the organisation of an event in June.  If anyone else is interested in helping with organisation or on the day please let Oonagh Monaghan know at omonaghan@lincoln.ac.uk

Steering group:

Helen Farrall (CERD), Pat Hughes, Oonagh Monaghan, Lesley Thompson

Publisher/supplier communications:

Di Walker, Vicki Winchester-Fraser

Helpers on the day:

Alice Frear, Marie Nicholson, Daren Mansfield, Cheryl Cliffe

Event: Supporting the learning experience: a joint event by Library and Learning Resources and CERD

Location: EMMTEC building (foyer and lecture theatre)

Date: 23^rd June 12noon-2pm (starting with buffet lunch)

Format:  Exhibition style in foyer and 10 minute presentation programme in the lecture theatre

Participants:

Exhibitors to include: publishers, suppliers, CERD,  Library and LR (ASLs – Paul, Alison, Acquisitions), Computing Services, Student Services, LiSN group)

Presentations to include: CERD (Helen for LD@L and possible others), ASLs with topics to include e-resources (Paul?), RefWorks (Alison?), Student Services?, CS?, publishers/suppliers

Funding:

Joint funding for refreshments from LLR and CERD budgets

Potential sponsorship funding from publishers/suppliers for event publicity

Timescale:

Publisher/supplier contact emails (emailed by Di and Vicki and recorded on spreadsheet)

1^st Week beginning 30^th March

2^nd Week beginning 20^th April

3^rd Week beginning  4^th May

Week beginning 18^th May – start publicity campaign and organise refreshments and logistics

The following email is/has been sent to suppliers/publishers:

The Library and Learning Resources department (http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/home/lr/index.htm)  and the Learning Development Co-ordinator from the Centre for Educational Research and Development (CERD) (http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/cerd/) at the University of Lincoln are hosting an internal event for academic staff from the University with the aim of promoting various resources, services and projects.  We would like to invite database suppliers and publishers who would be able to set up stands in an exhibition style format and/or demonstrate their databases etc.  We also have the facilities in a lecture room for a programme of 10 minute presentations.

The event is scheduled for the 23^rd June starting at 12 noon for lunch and ending at 2pm.  It will be held in the EMMTEC building on the main campus at the University in Lincoln.  Details of the space are at http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/home/businessservices/index.htm

Participants will be able to arrive before 12 noon to set up displays in the foyer area.

The event would offer you the opportunity to promote your services and materials to academic and library staff here at the University of Lincoln.

We would also like to ask participants if they are interested in sponsoring the event in return for promotion in all the marketing materials we produce running up to the day.

These are my specific objectives for the year ahead – this is where I’m going to take my priorities next.

• Complete, and document, the launch of Find it @ Lincoln
• Write a draft collection development policy to inform the shift from print to ‘e’
• Pilot digital-to-digital copying under the CLA extended licence
• Develop advocacy programme for Institutional Repository
• Investigate and make recommendations re: implementation of innovative discovery tools, e.g. OPAC wrapper
• Write a proposal for the full implementation of online reading lists across all Bb modules

After a bit of discussion with SMT, we think that this is a good-as-any list of topics on which to concentrate in my first few months as Electronic Resources Librarian.

In no particular order:

1. Development of new public Web presence
2. Copyright and licencing guidance
3. Launch of ebrary (with Acquisitions Team; Chris L.)
4. A new approach to digitisation, including digital-to-digital copying (with the ASLs)
5. Staff training
6. The Institutional Repository (with C.E.R.D.; ICT services; University Research Office)
7. Management and development of e-journals (with Acquisitions Team)

I’m pleased because these seem to cover all the main themes from my presentation. They also meet Michelle’s three overall objectives for e-res. management, of compliance, development, and VfM.

My next step is going to be to arrange meetings with some key groups of people: the Acquisitions Team (hello!), other L&LR teams, ICT services, C.E.R.D., and external bodies: the CLA, EBSCO, Eduserv.

I’ll let you know how I get on!

Paul

(I’ve changed the title of this posting after a much better suggestion from Alison…)

(ERL = Electronic Resources Librarian!)

Thanks, Lys Ann.

I’m going to use the staff blog to let everyone in L&LR know about the projects attached to this new role, and how they’re going… also to ask for help(!) and to test out new ideas. In the meantime, here’s a word-cloud overview of the themes which were in the interview presentation I gave on Monday, which should give you a pretty good idea of (what I think are) the priorities for the job.

I’m looking forward to working with everyone in a different capacity, and to helping to develop the e-resources over the next few years.

If anyone’s got any questions about the new role (that they don’t mind being made public) please post them here…

Paul

Congratulations to Paul Stainthorp, who was appointed to the post of E-Resources Librarian on the 13th October. This is a three year secondment, and Paul will be working with key staff within L+LR and the wider University, to manage this significant resource to best effect.

I delivered this short presentation today (twice…) to staff from Riseholme College at their annual away day, covering a selection of our new resources / services. Please feel free to use or adapt.

Paul

• Developing Library Resources and Services in 2008/9
  (MS PowerPoint show)