The 2007 LibQUAL survey, conducted at UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan, provided UBC Library with a better understanding of its users and their needs. The keyword was “findability”: making it easier to find resources, information, people and places.
While much of the feedback was encouraging, respondents also identified areas for improvement, including the Library website, collection gaps, customer services and Library space/equipment.
To address gaps in the collections and allow 24/7 access, the Library boosted collections of electronic journals, books and documents. For example, the Library has added:
- 2,500 e-books from Cambridge University Press
- 5,000 e-books from Oxford University Press
- 8,000 e-books in the Canadian Publishers Collection (including works from small and University presses)
- Theatre in Video, which contains 250 definitive performances of the world’s leading plays and 100 film documentaries, online in streaming video format
- Mass Observation Online, a collection of primary source materials for the study of everyday life in the 1930s and 1940s
- 728 e-journals from learned and society publishers covering archaeology to technology
- 500 e-journals in the Periodicals Archive Online collection of humanities and social sciences journals from 1802 to 1995, containing more than 1.7 million articles
- 199 backfiles of e-journals in the Elsevier Social Science and Psychology collections, including top titles Behaviour Research and Therapy and Personality and Individual Differences
To improve findability, the Library has:
- interfiled books and journals in Koerner Library and integrated humanities and social sciences materials from the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre (IKBLC) with those from Koerner Library
- added a “Where is This?” button to the catalogue record to show a map of the Library holding the item
- linked the catalogue record to “More Information” – for example, reviews, citation formatting, etc.
- developed a process for cleaning up catalogue records for materials that may be misplaced or may no longer exist in the collection
- started inventories of materials in storage locations
To improve the website, the Library has:
- developed a new Web page for e-books to make it easier to find multiple collections with a single access point
- planned a usability study to ask students how we can improve the Library’s subject guides
- developed 10 short interactive audio tutorials to help new users navigate the Library website, search the catalogue and find journal articles
- improved visibility of Library resources and services in the Learning Enhancement Academic Partnership Program (LEAP)
- developed an online interactive tutorial (Academic Integrity Tutorial) for learning about issues such as plagiarism
To improve customer services, including teaching and learning improvements, the Library has:
- developed staff knowledge with cross-unit training activities – such as forums on social software tools and a journal club to discuss pertinent library topics
- cross-trained staff on information service desks
- added Office of Learning Technology staff to the Chapman Learning Commons service
located AMS Tutoring, Math Resource Centre tutoring, the Writing Centre and Term Paper Research Clinics to the Chapman Learning Commons for easier access
To improve space and equipment needs, the Library has:
- extended building hours in the IKBLC to 1 a.m., seven days a week
added computers, furniture and printers in the IKBLC - created an online booking system for Library group study rooms
- included information about study spaces and equipment in various branches in the Student Guide
- designated new silent study areas in Koerner Library, the IKBLC and UBC Okanagan Library.
Significant improvements are also planned for:
- identifying and replacing missing books
- replacing aging equipment
- installing a usability lab
- implementing a research commons in Koerner Library and a computing commons in the Education Librar
