Oregon State University Libraries Research Articles

We're Listening: Using Patron Feedback to Assess and Enhance Purchase on Demand

Oregon State University Libraries piloted a one-year interlibrary loan purchase on demand service beginning in February 2009. An online survey was used to measure patron satisfaction and determine future borrowing and recommendation behavior. These results, along with patron comments, were used to explore future success of the service and ways to enhance the permanent service. Results provide context for the success of purchase-on-demand programs and support the development of innovative tools that increase the efficiency of purchase-on-demand workflow. Oregon State University Libraries permanently adopted the successful service and is working to incorporate patron input on purchase decisions.

Assessing Library Scholarship: Experience at a Land Grant University

Library faculty are often tenure track, requiring a record of significant publishing and service before achieving tenure. However, meaningful tools and methods for evaluating the scholarship of librarianship frequently fall short of providing an accurate picture of the scholarship of any particular candidate. The authors conducted a case study analyzing the research output of Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries’ faculty using the Boyer Classifications1 and Blake’s research methodologies.2 Broadening our view of acceptable formats and outlets and learning how to communicate and assess our scholarship within the academy are key issues that require continued exploration.

Rights Well: An Authors’ Rights Workshop for Librarians

This article seeks to make a compelling case for authors’ rights training through emphasis on academic librarians’ dual roles as both authors and as liaisons to research and teaching faculty. Using the example of the Rights Well Workshop developed at Oregon State University Libraries, the article demonstrates the value of training librarians as authors in order to further develop their own understanding of copyright transfer and negotiation. The workshop provides a customizable model that librarians can use when educating faculty in other disciplines about author rights, with emphasis on the practices of the publishers relevant to the targeted discipline.

The Library as Learning Commons: Rethink, Reuse, Recycle

At Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries, librarians are evaluating the decade-old information commons in the transition to a learning commons. Visits to commons spaces at libraries across the country provided perspective on this transition. This paper describes the development of the OSU Libraries Information Commons, identifies themes from our trips to other commons, and discusses the idea that we need to incorporate the concepts of the commons throughout the library in recognition that wherever our students are in the library becomes their learning commons.

The U.S. Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest: a history

The Northwest has been at the forefront of forest management and research in the United States for more than one hundred years. In The U.S. Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest, Gerald Williams provides an historical overview of the part the Forest Service has played in managing the Northwest's forests. Emphasizing changes in management policy over the years, Williams discusses the establishment of the national forests in Oregon and Washington, grazing on public land, the Great Depression, World War II, and the rise of multiple-use management policies. He draws on extensive documentation of the post-war development boom to explore its effects on forests and Forest Service workers. Discussing such controversial issues as roadless areas and wilderness designation; timber harvesting; forest planning; ecosystems; and spotted owls, Williams demonstrates the impact of 1970s environmental laws on national forest management. The book is rich in photographs, many drawn from the Gerald W. Williams Collection, housed in University Archives at Oregon State University Libraries. Extensive appendices provide detailed data about Pacific Northwest forests. Chronicling a century of the agency's management of almost 25 million acres of national forests and grasslands for the people of the United States, The U.S. Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest is a welcome and overdue resource.

Services for Graduate Students: A Review of Academic Library Web Sites

A library's Web site is well recognized as the gateway to the library for the vast majority of users. Choosing the most user-friendly Web architecture to reflect the many services libraries offer is a complex process, and librarians are still experimenting to find what works best for their users. As part of a redesign of the Oregon State University Libraries’ Web site, entry points for specific user groups were created. One of these user groups was graduate students. The purpose of this study was to explore the ways other academic libraries design their Web sites for particular user groups, specifically graduate students, in order to determine how the Oregon State University Libraries Web site compared to peer institutions. This study analyzed 112 Association of Research Libraries’ Web sites and 26 Oregon academic libraries’ Web sites to determine the availability of resources and services specifically promoted to graduate students. Since graduate students may view the library Web site through the lens of new student, researcher, or instructor, Web sites were also examined to see if sites were created with any or all of these roles in mind. Nearly a quarter of Association of Research Libraries' Web sites that were examined contained a link on the homepage for graduate students, and another 20 percent provided graduate-student information at a lower level in their site hierarchy. A majority of sites had events, subject guides, or course guides for graduate students. Information for graduate students was typically framed in the context of graduate students as researchers. Ideas and examples are given for ways to improve Web site design to better serve this user group. In order to provide improved services to these students, future studies will explore what graduate students need from academic libraries and the ways these students conduct themselves in their various roles of researchers, instructors, and new students.

By the people, for the people: The Oregon State University Libraries annual In-Service Day

On September 10, 2008, the Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries shut its doors . . . for the annual In-Service Day event. Eighty employees from all three OSU libraries gathered at the Valley Library on the OSU main campus. Karyle Butcher, university librarian, strongly supports this annual event planned by library staff for library staff and states that “the goal is to learn, to have fun and to develop better relationships and understanding of the departments and units with the OSU Libraries. My belief is that in doing so, we all work better and have a shared view of what . . .

Customized mapping and metadata transfer from DSpace to OCLC to improve ETD work flow

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present methods for customized mapping and metadata transfer from DSpace to Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), which aims to improve Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) work flow at libraries using DSpace to store theses and dissertations by automating the process of generating MARC records from Dublin Core (DC) metadata in DSpace and exporting them to OCLC.Design/methodology/approachThis paper discusses how the Shocker Open Access Repository (SOAR) at Wichita State University (WSU) Libraries and ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries harvest theses data from the DSpace platform using the Metadata Harvester in MarcEdit developed by Terry Reese at OSU Libraries. It analyzes certain challenges in transformation of harvested data including handling of authorized data, dealing with data ambiguity and string processing. It addresses how these two institutions customize Library of Congress's XSLT (eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations) mapping to transfer DC metadata to MarcXML metadata and how they export MARC data to OCLC and Voyager.FindingsThe customized mapping and data transformation for ETD data can be standardized while also requiring a case‐by‐case analysis. By offering two institutions' experiences, it provides information on the benefits and limitations for those institutions that are interested in using MarcEdit and customized XSLT to transform their ETDs from DSpace to OCLC and Voyager.Originality/valueThe new method described in the paper can eliminate the need for double entry in DSpace and OCLC, meet local needs and significantly improve ETD work flow. It offers perspectives on repurposing and managing metadata in a standard and customizable way.

Series Authority Control at Oregon State University after the Library of Congress’s Series Policy Change

The Library of Congress (LC) decided to suspend creating series authority records on May 1, 2006 and to transcribe all future series statements as untraced. To evaluate the effect on cataloging workload at Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries, bibliographic records were examined for untraced series statements from June 1, 2006 to December 31, 2007. Series titles were then searched in the Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) and corrected to match the authority record, if necessary. Series titles not found in the LCNAF were evaluated according to current cataloging rules and corrected if necessary. Of the 53,911 records added to OSU Libraries’ catalog during the study, 977 (2 percent) had an untraced series statement. Only 60 (6 percent) of the 977 were records created by the LC after the 2006 decision. The majority of records (64 percent) with untraced series statements were records created by the Government Printing Office. Many untraced series were also found in records for materials with publication dates before 2000, most resulting from a serials retrospective conversion project. The data suggest that the LC’s policy change has not created a large cataloging burden and, with relatively little effort, OSU Libraries catalogers are able to continue to provide users with authorized series title access.

LibraryFind(TM) : The Development of a Shared Library Platform at Oregon State University Libraries

LibraryFind(TM) : The Development of a Shared Library Platform at Oregon State University Libraries

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Metadata Workflow at Oregon State University Libraries

In July 2005, the Oregon State University Libraries began accepting electronic versions of student theses and dissertations into ScholarsArchive@OSU, the library's institutional repository. By January 2007, all Oregon State University graduate students were required to deposit their final research. This article compares past processes and workflows for print theses and dissertations with the present workflow for electronic. We provide the rationale for changes and review the cost- and time-savings produced. We describe the changing roles of students, technicians, and librarians in the metadata process as well as the value of students describing their own work.

Using Courseware Discussion Boards to Engage Graduate Students in Online Library Workshops

ABSTRACT Librarians at Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries used the discussion board features of Blackboard courseware to create an interactive experience for graduate students at a distance who could not attend the on-campus “Literature Review Workshops.” These recently developed workshops have been extremely popular with graduate students across the disciplines and have generated a growing demand from distance education graduate students and faculty to offer similar information online. Reluctant to simply deliver content via an online tutorial, librarians sought to duplicate the workshop atmosphere by making the sessions available for a short time-period online, asking participants to respond to discussion questions at specific points in the workshop, and offering audio-mediated online demonstrations of tools and resources. Student feedback and follow-up requests for more workshops support the perception that this approach offered a rewarding learning experience that addressed their specific adult learning needs.

Organizing for Digitization at Oregon State University: a Case Study and Comparison with ARL Libraries

This article presents a case study of how Oregon State University Libraries (OSUL) organized to accomplish digitization activities. Digitization activities are broken down into six major categories: management, copyright, digital imaging, metadata, hardware/software/web design, and selection. The OSUL departments responsible for tasks within each of these sets of responsibilities are identified. The OSUL experience of incorporating digitization responsibilities within the existing organizational structure is compared with the results of a previously conducted survey of ARL libraries.

The Bibliotherapy Education Project: Alive and Well—and Perpetually “Under Construction”

ABSTRACT The Bibliotherapy Education Project began as a teaching collaboration between faculty at Oregon State University's Libraries and School of Education. The project's evolution from 1999 to 2004 was previously described in this journal (McMillen 2005). The core of the project is a book evaluation tool, which builds counselor skill and knowledge in selection of books; since 2004, book evaluations created with the tool populate a searchable database. The accompanying Web site supports emerging counseling professionals in learning to competently use books in therapy. This article will describe recent developments and future directions for the overall project, including a usability study targeted to refining the Web site.

LibraryFind: System design and usability testing of academic metasearch system

AbstractUsing off‐the‐shelf search technology provides a single point of access into library resources, but we found that such commercial systems are not entirely satisfactory for the academic library setting. In response to this, Oregon State University (OSU) Libraries designed and deployed LibraryFind, a metasearch system. We conducted a usability experiment comparing LibraryFind, the OSU Libraries Web site, and Google Scholar. Each participant used all three search systems in a controlled setting, and we recorded their behavior to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of each search system. In this article, we focus on understanding what factors are important to undergraduates in choosing their primary academic search system for class assignments. Based on a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the results, we found that mimicking commercial Web search engines is an important factor to attract undergradu‐ates; however, when undergraduates use these kinds of search engines, they expect similar performance to Web search engines, including factors such as relevance, speed, and the availability of a spell checker. They also expected to be able to find out what kinds of content and materials are available in a system. Participants' prior experience using academic search systems also affected their expectations of a new system.

Comfort and Convenience? Why Students Choose Alternatives to the Library

Oregon State University (OSU) researchers surveyed 3,227 undergraduate students to identify how many students use or do not use the physical and virtual OSU libraries. Most importantly, we wanted to determine the alternatives to the library that students choose for typical library activities, such as studying, research, and research assistance, and why they prefer those alternatives. Two hundred seventy five (29 percent) of the 949 respondents identified themselves as infrequent or non-users of the physical and/or virtual library. The researchers conducted focus groups with both library users and non-users, and surveyed 95 (35 percent) of the infrequent and non-users. The results suggest that students seek comfort, convenience, and quiet in extra-library and library environments; rely on knowledgeable individuals for research assistance; and conduct the majority of their research online from home.

Continuing the Quest for the Quick Search Holy Grail

ABSTRACT This article describes the selection, implementation, configuration, and assessment of a proprietary federated search product. The decisions made and processes used to facilitate the implementation are outlined. Users' perception of the product based on a usability study and survey responses are presented. Also described are unique and innovative implementations of the software within Oregon State University libraries and the application of this experience to the creation of a homegrown open source federated search tool.

Moving Back to Campus

ABSTRACT At a time when many libraries have decided that the creation and maintenance of individual virtual reference service requires too great an investment of time and effort for too small a return, Oregon State University Libraries recently deepened their commitment to virtual reference. Since 2003, OSU has participated in L-Net, Oregon's statewide virtual reference service. As a participant, OSU is eligible to use the http://www.Tutor.com software to create a local virtual reference service for the OSU community and has been encouraged by the state to do so. In this paper we share OSU libraries' reasons for creating a separate queue for our community, our experiences with it so far, and our plans for the future of L-Net OSU.

Capturing a Graying Literature: The U.S. Forest Service Research Legacy.

Among the "natural resource" collections in the ScholarsArchive@OSU is the "U.S. Forest Service Research Legacy." Research findings from the U.S. Forest Service make up a significant portion of the core of any U.S. forest research library collection. Oregon State University Libraries began considering how it might contribute to preserving this research legacy in late 2004. An informal assessment of digitization plans within the U.S. Forest Service was undertaken in 2005. In February 200: this project was added to the Registry of U.S. Government Publication Digitization Projects. This article relates the history and current scope of this collection, told from a subject librarian's perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COLLABORATIVE FILTERING: A NEW APPROACH TO SEARCHING DIGITAL LIBRARIES

At Oregon State University (OSU), the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and the OSU Libraries are working together on a project to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of digital information created and collected by academic libraries. This project focuses on making digital resources more accessible through an innovative search interface that incorporates collaborative filtering. New approaches to search interfaces will help make the growing wealth of online content more accessible and useful. This paper discusses the problem, explains how collaborative filtering works, describes the System for Electronic Recommendation Filtering (SERF), and then presents initial results from an installation in the OSU Libraries. The productive collaboration at OSU between the Libraries and EECS portends the future of development of search systems; by working together, we can harness the expertise of librarians, computer scientists, and information users to develop more useful search interfaces and increase access to the libraries’ resources and services.