Information Services & Libraries A year in review

2010

Contents

Information Services & Libraries: an introduction Telling our story: student facing services IT Public Services: meeting the IT support needs of the University The scholarly environment: improving our spaces Supporting scholarship, knowledge transfer and research The online campus: delivering services through technology Systems and processes: quality, innovation and efficiency in University services Our culture: continual service improvement Library and IT services: use, value and impact

Looking ahead: responsive services in an economically challenging environment

Information Services & Libraries An introduction

It is with great pleasure that I share this inaugural Annual Review of the activities for the 2009-2010 academic year on behalf of Information Services and Libraries. The picture that emerges is one of high points; consistently good services, operating a lean and efficient service that punches above its weight in key areas, maintaining service levels in the face of snow and transport strikes, striving for continual service improvement and so on.

Our contribution to the Student Experience is fundamental, and as a service we understand the importance of listening to and acting upon feedback

from our students and staff in shaping and developing our services.

Highlights of the year include substantial investment by the University in physical library spaces. The Northampton Square library benefited from a £2.3 million investment in levels one and two; we now have contemporary and highly successful social and collaborative learning spaces. The techno booths, improved assistive technology suites and increased provision of PCs for students are practical examples of how we have made the space more flexible. Our library spaces and services are evolving, combining the traditional concept of the library as a silent study area with books and journals, with that of a modern learning resource centre, providing more off-site electronic access, more collaborative study space and more interactive technology.

The Cass Business School has also invested in re-designating areas within the Learning Resource Centre to provide a dedicated silent zone, and taking the library without walls concept one step further by having break-out study facilities, managed by the LRC but outside its traditional space. Related, smaller initiatives have also been implemented at the Health and Law libraries with similar success.

These developments point to the continuing importance to our students of the library as place. Usage figures show that students still want managed, physical environments as close to where they are taught as possible, in which they can study, have access to books and other resources and tap into services provided by professional library staff. The proximity of teaching and provision of silent study areas are particularly important for our working

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students and those on placements, with little study time and many commitments. Our focus in the year ahead is on delivering improvements to our silent study spaces, which many students have told us they would like to see.

Traditional library services occupy an area of 6,403m2

The improvement to our physical space is not to underplay the significance and impact of digital or e-resources – whether they be databases, journal articles, e-books or images. Electronic resources, which can be tapped into wherever a library user has access to the internet, are not only improving

access to library resources and services, enlarging our collections and the availability of titles without impacting on physical space, but are also changing study patterns, giving more autonomy to students as to when and how they use library resources. E-resources provide greater flexibility, allowing students to utilise resources and services on the move, in the workplace or at home. In libraries, we increasingly recognise that if we are to remain attractive spaces to students we need to develop new, flexible services to meet these needs – supporting students in their use of their own mobile devices on our network, for example. We have taken significant steps in this direction and will develop these services further in the year ahead.

The 2010 National Student Survey data shows that you can never have too many books, resources and computers. There remains some student

dissatisfaction with the provision of open access computing and as part of our commitment to continual service improvement we will, in the year ahead, pilot a loans service by which students can borrow mobile devices – initially laptops, but we will also look at e-book readers.

327,197 catalogued books 1,243 serial subscriptions 965 e-journals 138 print journals 107 database subscriptions

A particular highlight and success of the summer has been the introduction of online registration. Students can now complete the administration required to be fully registered on their programmes through an automated, online process, requiring minimal staff intervention. This delivers efficiencies in terms of

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staff time and promises great benefits to our students who experience a smarter University. It’s a far more seamless process but has required careful planning and dedication by our teams behind the scenes, to ensure that all goes smoothly.

Our IT Public Services teams have worked diligently throughout the year to ensure the full availability of open access computers in student labs and AV equipment in classrooms. There have been many successes – good fix times for many ICT problems for example – but we still have challenges, especially in regard to classroom technology, and these will be very much the focus of targeted improvements for the year ahead.

This Annual Review is one way through which the service is trying to reach out to you and we would welcome your

comments and feedback on the Review. In the meantime we are preparing for what will be a busy year ahead, in an economic climate that is more challenging than we have known for many years.

Máire Lanigan

Director of Information Services & Libraries

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Telling our story Student facing services

Providing a high quality learning experience for all City University London students is central to the University’s mission and is at the core of the delivery of library and IT services. Information services and Libraries (ISL) delivers a wide range of flexible services to staff and students through its five sites. Many of these services are also available via the internet for those studying remotely.

The libraries themselves offer innovative study spaces that allow for both quiet, individual study and for a more collaborative learning experience while service desks provide access to a wide range of library and IT services for visitors.

Service desks at all our libraries respond to a variety of enquiries whether it be assistance with searching a complex financial database, finding the most relevant resources for a

research project or simply helping with a straightforward technical query concerning the new wireless network. Student queries come in all forms and our work in responding to enquiries and assisting students enriches the student experience. The University libraries recorded over a million visitors in 2009-10, library staff responded to around 45,000 enquiries and the IT Response Centre recorded a further 55,000 support queries by ‘phone and email over the same period. In addition, the Service Centre offers IT support and advice for all those who visit its premises at Northampton Square. Clearly, the need for support, advice and assistance on a daily basis is absolutely essential to the student experience of the University.

Learning and research support is an equally important part of a student’s experience throughout their time at the University. Advice, training and support

is provided at all libraries by specialist and professional staff knowledgeable in specific subject areas. Students can attend training courses, presentations and workshops in both large and small groups and can view online tutorials and support materials through the website.

All support sessions can be tailored to individual requirements including those with special needs, such as visual impairment. One to one assistance is readily available on request and is provided as a matter of course for

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students with special needs. All support meets the requirements of individual Schools and specific subject areas.

In 2009-10, the library provided a combined 1,155 hours of teaching delivered as inductions, workshops and face to face appointments.

Feedback from students and staff about our services is central to our ethos of excellent customer service. Comments, ideas and suggestions help generate both student participation with the library and IT community and the continual improvement of our services. Annual surveys, including the National Student Survey (NSS), extract data from the student body about our facilities and services, while focus groups and invitations for comment elicit feedback from individuals. Liaison with programme directors and student representatives on course committees provides more formal feedback through working relationships, while working with student ambassadors and the NUS

fosters a culture of teamwork and cooperation between University institutions and the student body.

This year we analysed 1032 customer satisfaction surveys received following completion of IT jobs, of which 97% were positive. We collected 330 student responses to our Library Services survey held in Autumn 2009 and a similar number of comments. We also obtained feedback from individual teaching sessions, featured in several School surveys and the NSS, and responded to many suggestions made by individual students.

Accessible services - easy to access and quick to respond - are vitally important to the work of the University and ISL works hard to make its services easily accessible to staff and students alike. Those comfortable with the world of social networking expect library services to be delivered in innovative ways. During 2009-10 site libraries began to engage with a web 2.0-

knowledgeable clientele through Twitter and Facebook, while RSS feeds and news alerts keep our researchers informed of the latest books and resources for their subject area.

Web service ‘hits’ Business 24/7 e-library 11,407

Lawbore 114,619

Lawbore Professional 22,485

The electronic library in particular, has seen significant development this year with the benefits of increasing access to many of our services to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is clearly demonstrated by the 24/7 E-Library webpage service for business students and staff. Users can access a range of resources remotely via the web including business and financial databases, e-books, e-journals, dissertations and exam papers. Online help is available with users able to

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watch tutorials, access guides, find hints and tips on how to search effectively and test themselves on their referencing ability. The 24/7 E-library webpage recorded 11,407 ‘hits’ since Autumn 2009. Similar 24/7 e-services are available for other subject areas. Student lawyers can access the award-winning Lawbore and Lawbore Professional web services while many library resources and services including e-journal access, e-books and the catalogue are readily available through the library’s re-developed website.

Upgrade is one of the library’s distinctive innovations this year. An online resource conceived in 2009 by the Learning and Research Support (LRS) team, Upgrade builds on the

work of an information skills module devised for the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), CitySpace. It includes advice for students on how to study efficiently, get more out of their programme, revise properly and access the University’s support services effectively. Upgrade includes talking slideshows, downloadable guides, interactive tutorials and quizzes. Upgrade launches in Autumn 2010 and will be freely available to new students on the University’s website.

1,039,000 visits to our service desks

45,000 enquiries responded to

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IT Public Services Meeting the IT support needs of the University

IT Public Services provides access to IT and audio/visual facilities, expertise and support across the University. Specialist teams are based centrally at Northampton Square and locally within Schools, providing a quick, flexible and responsive service to staff and students at all locations through two key student facing services, the Response Centre and the Service Centre.

The Response Centre received over 55,000 support queries via phone and email in 2009/10. Hours of operation are 8am to 8pm term-time and 8am to 6pm during the Summer. In addition to providing first and second line support for all technical queries over the last year, IT Analysts and AV Technicians have been involved in:

producing films to publicise the Central Services’ Investors in People submission

a promotional film for the official opening of the Northampton Square library refurbishment

the recording and streaming of events such as the Vice Chancellor’s Forum and lectures by external speakers

assisting in setting up for clearing

and registration

supporting the Alumni telephone campaign

During the academic year, IT Public services staff have been involved in delivering the IT component for many of the projects that have taken place in the University including:

providing photography for Oyster cards and departmental pictures

assisting with office moves and open days

creating a MAC area in the Journalism department

assisting with the installation of

state of the art technology in support of the Library refurbishment

Staff work closely with colleagues throughout IS in co-ordinating support for other University systems including SITS, SAP, the library management system, Millennium, and the IT infrastructure. They have also taken on support for the University’s strategic learning environment, the alumni database, Raiser’s Edge, and BI Query.

The Service Centre offers drop-in, individual support to students and staff of the University between 8am and 8pm during term time. Advice is available on all hardware and software related queries and a computer upgrading service is available for operating

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systems, hard drives, RAM, graphics etc. The Centre also manages the University’s residential networking service (ResNet) for halls of residence. In addition to the 1400 University students who were registered and supported during their stay in the halls of residence, the Service Centre’s staff also registered and supported 280 Teach-First students and 170 part time students. The service generated revenue in excess of £116,000.

The Computer Shop offers technical advice and support for both departmental and student computing queries. Members of the University can purchase hardware, software, peripherals, consumables and audio visual equipment, taking advantage of discounted deals negotiated with the University’s preferred suppliers. Turnover for 2009/10 was just short of £2 million.

The Service Centre is also responsible for creating, installing and maintaining a “staff build” on all desktop and laptop

computers ensuring that all computing equipment purchased is fully operational and that any faulty item is repaired or replaced by the supplier within an agreed timescale.

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We answered 55,000 IT support calls

The scholarly environment Improving our spaces

The improvement of our physical space was identified as a key IS objective for 2009/10. As a service we understand the importance of addressing our customers’ current needs and anticipating their future requirements. This understanding has informed a number of significant library space developments which have taken place over the academic year.

Northampton Square library underwent a major refurbishment on levels 2 and 3 in summer 2009. This has created new collaborative learning spaces for students, encompassing state of the art technology for group study, project and presentation work. The area has full wireless access but also includes 100 fixed PCs. In addition there is a teaching room for information literacy training and an assistive

technology centre with software and equipment for those with special needs.

Plans for the refurbishment were informed by a survey of staff and students and interviews with representatives from all areas of the student body. The number of study spaces available in the library has increased by 200. An increase in use of the area was immediately noticeable and headcounts have increased by 30% with resoundingly positive feedback from the students.

The Cyril Kleinwort Learning Resource Centre at Cass Business School also underwent a major space development project during the summer of 2010. Here available library space was redesigned to accommodate student demand for a silent study area. Additional space was created by rationalising hard copy journal collections and erecting glass walls within the Centre to provide a new ‘silent study zone’. A ‘quiet study zone’ was then defined in the surrounding area. In response to student feedback more study spaces were provided as part of the initiative.

Developing available space to more effectively address the diverse needs of our customers was also the driver behind the development of the Thomson Reuters area on level 2 of the Cass building. Here the library service worked closely with Thomson Reuters and internal service providers at Cass

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to provide a state of the art group working area. In addition to providing access to key financial databases and study tables, the area houses collaborative desks where students can work in groups using large LCD screens with IT and AV facilities.

The West Smithfield Library saw the creation of a new group study area equipped with up to date collaborative IT technology. It has proved very popular with students as collaborative learning is an important part of many of their courses. In addition a ‘silent study room’ has been created. Both of these changes were made for little cost but in

response to the comments received from students. More PCs are being added to West Smithfield and Whitechapel and these will provide access to additional software with touch screen capability.

The libraries provide 1,136 study spaces

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Supporting scholarship, knowledge transfer and research

Each School has the support of a dedicated, professionally qualified, subject specialist librarian who supports both staff and students with their learning and research needs. The librarian offers subject support through various routes for learning, including inductions, workshops, one to one tutorials and online support.

In 2009-10, the library provided a combined 1,155 hours of teaching, a slight increase on the previous year. This reflects increased knowledge amongst academic staff about our curriculum support and a rising level of

demand for our services amongst the students themselves.

ISL library staff at SCHS taught 360 hours during 2009-10, a significant proportion of the teaching delivered at the beginning of the academic year. The team caters for an intensive programme of inductions and workshops, reflecting the School’s particular need for IT skills training for their students and making a valuable contribution towards supporting the School and its students in those crucial first few months of the student experience.

Information literacy-based training is gradually becoming more embedded within programmes. Schools have become much more receptive to the idea of integrating information skills work into their courses, usually on assessed, compulsory modules such as

Research Skills at the School of Engineering, Research Methods at Cass Business School and Legal Method at the Law School. Optional workshops are also offered and interest is similarly research-orientated; Researching your Dissertation, at the Law School, for example. These can often result in substantial, follow-up contact with students to support them with their project and dissertation proposals.

Upgrade, the new online information literacy resource, is one of the library’s distinctive innovations this year and an excellent example of a project we initiated and developed in collaboration with other parts of the University; the Learning Development Centre (LDC), Learning Success and the Career and Skills Development Service.

Until recently there was no resource to

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help students develop the information skills they need to accompany their academic studies and aid their transition into Higher Education. In 2009, the library’s LRS team began work on Upgrade, commissioning content from other student support services to complement their own materials. With no external funding available, the team made use of technologies already available within the University: the VLE was used as a hosting platform and video and screen recording software used to create eye-catching resources. With changes to the VLE imminent in 2010-11, the team redeveloped the material and site, restructuring it to suit alternative platforms. Upgrade launches in Autumn 2010 and will be freely available to new students on the University’s website. As the resource develops, it will include additional video and audio recordings, more ‘talking slide shows’ as well as Twitter feeds and embedded learning objects.

RefWorks bibliographic management software was introduced in 2009 as the preferred online tool for researchers at the University. In consultation with Research & Enterprise, we pushed for standardisation of software and bibliographic referencing practice. RefWorks fitted our needs - it was suitable for both undergraduates and researchers. Introductory sessions were offered to train academic staff and researchers in using the new tool and take-up was high. It is now a well-established service and there is a steady number of requests for individual appointments for training.

Knowledge transfer and collaboration with other parts of the University, featured strongly in our learning and research support this year. In 2009/10 ISL staff made significant contributions to many ventures in scholarship, research and learning. For StudyWell, a website set up by the LDC to promote good academic practice

within the University, we provided guidance on referencing and citation for students (see www.city.ac.uk/studywell). For the Learning Success study skills programme, we provided teaching sessions designed to help students develop a range of skills; conducting research and preparing for a dissertation amongst them.

ISL’s User Education Group was the author of several new initiatives this year:

The Research Support Series of seminars were established to provide additional support to researchers within the University. This year, we have hosted presentations on the research support available from the British library, how to identify and avoid plagiarism and using referencing software tools for your research. A further presentation this Autumn will

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cover how to get your research published.

New guides for academic staff and researchers were produced this year with a library services guide for academic staff, a similar guide for PhD students and a guide specifically covering library support for researchers, to follow this Autumn.

The online community, My

Research at City University on MyCity was set up this year, designed to keep researchers up to date with developments within the external community, as well as new services provided by ISL.

Staff training and development is an important part of our own learning. This year several ISL staff embarked on the MA Academic Practice course run by the LDC, demonstrating their commitment to supporting Schools and developing their teaching skills.

ISL teams are very active in sharing their experiences and knowledge with the profession at large, writing articles for academic and professional journals and presenting at conferences across the UK and occasionally overseas. Being part of the academic community is essential to our success in supporting scholarship, learning and research.

LRS staff provided 1,155 hours of support sessions, workshops & inductions

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The online campus Delivering services through technology

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We aim to stay at the cutting edge of technology, evaluating and assessing new technologies as they become available. This year has seen us utilise a wide range of tools and software that enhance the student learning experience:

Adobe Captivate is used as a platform for quickly developing training simulations and demonstrations that educate library users. It is specifically helpful for distance learners who do not get any face-to-face training.

Adobe Presenter allows us to narrate PowerPoint presentations and add quiz questions. It can help to enrich and personalise the material being taught. By choosing to include quiz questions we can test the knowledge of students as well as gain some feedback into how well the content was understood.

Clickers provide an entertaining way to encourage active participation and allow us to gather feedback and determine student understanding. They can be used as an ‘ice-breaker’ at the beginning of a session but also at the end to obtain feedback.

Digital collections have been significantly enhanced this year with theses, e-books and ‘course readings’ becoming more readily available in electronic format. The library has been a member of the British Library’s EThOS scheme since its launch in 2009. EThOS facilitates digital access to theses available at all 121 member institutions. To date, 223 of City University’s theses have been digitised and made available to registered users, and one of City’s theses has made it to the top ten requested theses.

The digitisation of materials for course readings appearing on CitySpace is out-sourced and this year the library began using the British Library’s scanning service. A change in supplier and procedures brought a 50% reduction in cost of the service. We also moved the digital course readings from CitySpace to the newly-implemented VLE, Moodle, finding innovative solutions to making them easily accessible.

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E-books have become more relevant to our collections this year with the added benefit of key texts being accessible offsite. Many students work or spend large amounts of time on placements away from their libraries and e-books are available 24/7 so the size of the collection can be expanded and availability increased without requiring more shelf space. Student expectations that resources should be available online led to the purchase of over 800 e-books in the last two years. We continually review their use and look to see if the number can be increased further in a way that is both cost effective and satisfies the need for high quality resources.

Encore introduced a new interface for the library catalogue that transforms the traditional library catalogue into a more interactive experience for users, making it easier to search and find relevant publications.

iPads appeared on the market late in the academic year and clearly have the potential to transform the way students study and learn. Next academic year we will be looking closely at how iPads might be used in Higher Education, in particular within clinical environments. Does the iPad overcome the usual barrier to accessing the academic network in a health environment? Can the technology be used in way that makes viewing library and other digital content feasible?

Upgrade utilises the University VLE and hosts resources from support services across the University to help students develop the skills they need to succeed in their studies and for life after University. Upgrade includes technologies such as videos, presentations and interactive quizzes.

Web 2.0 applications such as Facebook, Twitter and Delicious are increasingly being used across the

library service, usually by librarians. Social media plays an important part in engaging students on an informal level. It allows us to promote our services and resources as well as impart news and information.

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Systems and processes Quality, innovation and efficiency in University services

Academic and Professional Process Support (APPS) provide services to a wide range of internal and external customers including applicants, students, staff, alumni, the UK Border Agency, UCAS, HMRC and the Higher Education Statistics Agency amongst others.

We are committed to providing high quality systems and processes in support of the University’s functions and services. We also provide staff training, data quality and reporting mechanisms in support of these systems. We work closely with colleagues across the University to ensure that our systems, business processes and training meet the needs of users and our customers, and we continually seek to develop and enhance our services through regular review and consultation.

The APPS team supports all major systems and processes within the University: SITS, SAP, CitySpace,

Moodle, Millennium, the Prism programme and module database, Raiser’s Edge (alumni), BW and BI Query reporting tools to name a few. All systems are upgraded annually, offering new functionality and ensuring the University remains compliant with external requirements.

The team are also responsible for admissions, registration and student records management, examinations, graduation, data quality and reporting; and for supporting the staff and student HESA returns, UKBA reporting, and HMRC returns.

In 2009/10 we undertook a range of enhancements to systems, processes and services including:

An Online registration system for around 8,000 students expected to register in Autumn 2010. The system is fully integrated and allows for tuition fee payments and library and computing services registration

Graduation web forms were introduced, removing the need for paper forms and manual processing. Students can confirm their attendance at their graduation ceremony and request guest tickets online

Implementation of the new UKBA

Tier 4 visa and reporting requirements

New system functionality to

accommodate salary sacrifice

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schemes such as Pension Plus and Cycle to Work

SAP systems were developed by migrating NUS purchasing to SAP, extending HR functionality to allow internal course administration on SAP and enabling electronic remittance advice to all suppliers, replacing paper copies.

New SAP BW reports were

developed including new purchasing compliance reports and HR reports including absence, qualifications, leavers and promotions and staff age profiles

Data quality reporting was improved with student data quality reports for internal processes and external returns (such as HESA) improving significantly on previous years

The IT training team have reviewed all training modules and re-designed half with a new focus on blended learning, using new technologies for the delivery of courses and materials. The team worked on an online staff systems induction video alongside the introduction of Social Media 101 and Mycity collaboration tools into training courses. A generic learning community, IT Training, has been created as well as tool-specific learning communities on MyCity.

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Our culture Continual service improvement

Gathering feedback from students and staff about our services is central to our ethos of excellent customer service and we are always seeking to improve and develop our services. ISL actively encourages staff and students to contribute ideas and comments and we use a variety of methods to seek feedback from those who use our services:

We encourage students to take part in the annual NSS which contains questions about the library and its services.

We conduct our own annual surveys to elicit student ratings of our services which can then be compared with previous years to chart our progress. The Library Induction and Training Survey and the Library Services Student Survey were both new this academic year. They featured in the Autumn term

and elicited some useful feedback from new students.

Staff and students are routinely

asked to complete a satisfaction report on completion of a job raised with the IT Response Centre. Surveys conducted at School level include questions on IT provision and responsiveness which are monitored by IT Public Services staff.

We seek out suggestions and

comments from students. In 2009/10, campaigns such as the Have your say! and the Library Listens campaigns provided useful suggestions and directly contributed to developments throughout the University libraries.

Ad hoc focus groups are used to gauge student satisfaction with

aspects of our services - an example being the collation of feedback following the introduction of the new IT Pod.

Schools are assigned professional,

specialist library staff who attend student liaison committees and feedback meetings. They take a key role in developing relationships with students and staff within the Schools, supporting the School’s scholarship and research. This relationship also keeps us informed of changes within Schools that may affect our services.

Library and IT operational managers attend various committees and meetings on a departmental and School level to promote ISL services and to listen to and respond to feedback from students.

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Customer feedback has resulted in a number of service enhancements over the past year including:

Creation of new silent and group study areas; the introduction of innovative IT-rich collaborative learning spaces

Extension of library opening hours at some libraries due to demand

The introduction of self return of

library material

Extension of short loan periods from 7 hours to 24 hours for books at Northampton Square

A pilot scheme to remove the print cover sheet – report to be made in October 2010

An icon added to AV pods for ease of reporting technical problems to the Response Centre

Development of new library training

sessions in schools (a Research Methods module for business students and a Researching your Dissertation workshop for law students)

Launch of the Lawbore blog, Future

Lawyer

It is of course important to demonstrate to our customers just how their feedback has impacted on the improvement of the service. An example of this is the innovative response to the Library Listens campaign at Cass where positive messages concerning our response to feedback were scrolled on plasma screens.

Benchmarking is a key tool for us when ensuring service improvement. In the past year members of ISL have visited peer libraries and IT support services within the UK and Europe to obtain new ideas and ensure best practice in the service provided to our customers.

We also keep up to date with developments in our field by attending relevant training events and conferences. Some ISL staff gave presentations at conferences this year in locations as diverse as Limerick, Liverpool and Strathclyde while others wrote articles for specialist journals.

Task & Finish Groups have also proved a useful innovation this academic year. These were established to ensure that cross site issues affecting the whole service were dealt with effectively. A group will meet for a defined period with representatives from across ISL from all grades. Staff are invited to join rather than volunteer, so

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the maximum level of input is received from staff with the most relevant skills. This academic year, Task and Finish Groups have dealt with issues concerning the website, data management and quality, cross site initiatives and the student experience. The output of these groups has led to cultural changes, improved data quality, better information cascade and increased staff interaction with management. Some activities have led to articles for the profession.

The Enhancements Project, managed by APPS, has delivered a number of systems and process enhancements across the University, including software to support online student financial support applications, email best practice training and funding for the implementation of a contracts module in the I-grasp recruitment system.

64% of checkouts were done using new self-service facilities

We saw a 446% increase in group study room bookings at Main Library following the refurbishment

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Library and IT services Use, value and impact

The services that ISL provide clearly play a vital role in University life and the student experience, from developing information literacy skills in new students and supporting academic research to resolving problems and fielding queries that inevitably arise. But how is our impact and value measured?

582,940 catalogue searches 183,336 loans 579,284 web renewals

ISL is committed to collecting and analysing data about its performance, value and impact on the educational and research activities of the University. This helps us to:

identify strategic priorities and develop future services

plan service hours and staffing levels

compare our services with similar institutions in higher education

We also strive to continually improve the quality of management information, utilise new data collection techniques and actively seek feedback from our students and staff.

To measure the performance of our services a variety of methods are used to collect and analyse data:

Library visitors are counted daily and regular headcounts define seat occupancy rates. This helps us to plan staffing levels, service hours and closing times all of which are vitally important to students, particularly around exam time

Training sessions are recorded for time, type of session and audience

so we know who is being targeted with the most training and what is being delivered

Usage statistics from e-resources such as databases, e-journals and e-books are collated to determine how well they are being used. This helps us to make decisions regarding subscription renewals and to identify under-used resources where we might need to raise awareness or seek cancellation

Loan circulation statistics and book

reservations data are obtained from the library management system, Millennium. These assist with decisions regarding book purchases and loan periods and help us to manage our stock better so that the collections are worked hard and provide good value for money.

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Looking ahead Responsive services in an economically challenging environment

This report bears testimony to a very successful year in delivering high quality services for our students and staff, embodying a commitment to the University’s core values, contributing to a high quality student learning experience, the development of competent professional practitioners and lifelong learners and supporting high quality research and knowledge transfer.

Excellence: from the value-added services provided by our subject librarians to the video production skills

supporting IiP Accreditation (Central Services)

Relevance: from research skills training for students through to linking student owned equipment to our wireless networks.

Influence: from representation on the Executive Board of Sconul, the UK body for HE libraries through to influencing professional practice. By benchmarking with top UK and European Business Schools or using ‘sandpit technology’ demonstrations to show how technology can enhance learning, improve performance and glimpse the future of mobile computing.

Friendly yet professional: from striving for high and common standards in all our counter services (library, IT Response Centre and Service Centre) through to the provision of a range of specialist services – such as assistive

technology software and equipment for those with learning differences or accessibility needs.

As we plan for the year ahead we recognise the particular challenges posed by the economic climate. For us, it means continually improving our services, being innovative, proactive and integrated with the academic process – and all at a time when our budgets are under pressure.

A key factor in maintaining and building on our standards will be the contribution

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of our staff to ISL. They have proved adept at making the most of our existing technology and in designing solutions using their creative skills. In the challenging climate ahead, giving them the opportunity to be creative will be ever more important when ‘doing more with less’.

The introduction of Encore to enable the cross-search of resources is a good example of optimising our investment in technology by making the library catalogue smarter. We will use this kind of approach in the year ahead.

Staff are rightly proud of the home grown Upgrade product. Upgrade is an online resource conceived and developed by library staff and builds on the work of an information skills module in the VLE, CitySpace.

We will continue to develop the self-service infrastructure for routine transactions encompassing print credits, self-issue and return and so on.

We will review our service counters and see whether we can deliver greater benefits to students through further integration.

As part of an approach that ensures all study styles are supported (both collaborative and individual, private study), we will renew our internal signage so that silent study is clearly differentiated from areas where some level of noise is acceptable.

The greatest challenge will be in offering students sufficient resources in both printed and digital formats, as spending power shrinks with the

projected increase in journal and book prices. Making every penny we spend count, will be vital. Close consultation with Schools, academic staff and research will be our goal. We will work to ensure the collection meets the needs of our students and we will work with students to make sure they have the skills in place to make the most of our valuable resources.

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© City University London, 2010 Additional images sourced from the City University London Photo Library Photographers: Greyscale Photography, Marcus Lyom, Laura Mtungwazi, Duncan Phillips

Maire Lanigan Director of Information Services and Libraries +44 (0) 20 7040 8190 maire.lanigan@city.ac.uk Liz Harris Head of Library and IT Public Services +44 (0) 20 7040 8162 e.d.harris@city.ac.uk Jacqui Gaul Head of the Learning Resource Centre Cass Business School +44 (0) 20 7040 0204 j.r.gaul@city.ac.uk Sam Hutchinson Head of Library Services School of Community and Health Sciences +44 (0) 20 7040 5309 sam.hutchinson.1@city.ac.uk

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