2002 was an active year in assessing user needs; their library and information use patterns; and in gaining a better understanding of how online information resources and services impact their work. During Spring Quarter, assessment information was drawn from four initiatives:
In general, results from these assessment efforts show that our community of faculty and students are moving rapidly to remote use of online information resources – indeed, it is the preferred method for finding and using information needed for work Self-reliance and the ability to perform library-related work without library staff mediation are of high importance to users. Undergraduates continue to use libraries as a place to do work but faculty and graduate student use of physical facilities continues to fall, most notably in those units that have large serial collections. Libraries total circulation statistics, including in-house use, continue to show steady decline. During the 2001-02 year, there were a million fewer items used in-house compared to 1995-96.
Survey data and focus group transcriptions are currently available in the Assessment shared-docs file on Tahoma and will soon be available on Staff Web. Tabular data shown below is selective.
The Spring 2002 Undergraduate Library Survey was a rerun of the 2001 survey due to a faulty sample used by the Office of Educational Assessment. Several questions dealing with information literacy were changed from 2001, otherwise the survey was the same. The 497 surveys returned represent 24.9% of the 2000 surveys distributed. Key results are summarized below. All data shown in tables is in percent with 1998 results in parenthesis.
Importance of Libraries
Libraries remain important for the work of undergraduate students. Indeed, the importance of libraries increased between 1998 and 2002 while the importance of the World Wide Web declined. The table below shows changes between 1998 and 2002 (1998 in parenthesis) with the percentage marking importance on a 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) scale.
|
Source
of information |
5 ( % ) |
4 (%) |
MEAN |
|
UW
Libraries |
49.7
(44.0) |
29.2
(29.7) |
4.20
(4.06) |
|
Other
libraries |
8.2 (8.9) |
13.9
(14.9) |
2.44
(2.59) |
|
World
Wide Web |
34.8
(41.2) |
33.0
(31.8) |
3.84
(3.98) |
|
Departmental
resources |
24.3
(28.1) |
28.8
(30.7) |
3.51
(3.65) |
|
Other
students/faculty |
31.2
(28.6) |
32.0
(27.8) |
3.68
(3.52) |
Frequency and Type of Use
Results showed a decline in the frequency of in-person library visits from about 70% of respondents who visited at least weekly in 1998 to 60% in 2002. However, the frequency of use from a residence computer nearly doubled from 21% at least weekly in 1998 to 40% in 2002.
|
Method
of using libraries |
More
than once per week |
Weekly
|
|
Visit
in person |
32.8
(38.8) |
27.6
(31.5) |
|
Use
campus computer (not in library) |
18.1
(13.0) |
17.9
(21.1) |
|
Use
residence computer |
18.7
(8.8) |
21.3
(12.1) |
Among those who visit the Libraries at least weekly, there was a steep decline in the frequency of those looking for journals and books. Use of library computers rose substantially compared to 1998 (large computer lab in OUGL opened after the 1998 survey).
|
Activity |
More
than once per week |
Weekly |
|
Look
for a journal |
4.0 (6.5) |
6.2 (12.3) |
|
Look
for a book |
6.2 (8.4) |
6.6 (12.3) |
|
Look
for other material |
3.4 (4.1) |
6.2 (5.7) |
|
Consult
library staff |
1.4 (2.5) |
3.6 (5.3) |
|
Photocopy |
6.6 (10.3) |
14.1
(24.1) |
|
Use
library computers |
34.8
(19.4) |
22.5
(23.9) |
|
Print
from library computer |
17.9 |
13.7 |
|
Work
individually |
30.4
(34.9) |
25.6
(29.7) |
|
Work
in groups |
11.1
(8.1) |
14.1
(15.2) |
When asked what library services were needed weekday evenings and weekends, nearly 75% needed a place to work, 67% a computer to use, while access to the collection was marked by only 15% and reference assistance by 20%. While the frequency of in-person visits dropped, satisfaction with library hours of opening rose with 87% of respondents very satisfied with hours on weekday evenings.
Computer Use
OUGL Commons is the preferred campus location for student computer. The frequency of use was highest from residences – 21% daily from campus residences and 43% from off-campus residences.
|
SITE |
Daily
|
Weekly
|
|
OUGL
Computing Commons |
19.1
(14.1) |
29.4
(24.7) |
|
Mary
Gates (Suzzallo CRC) |
7.8 (9.5) |
22.7
(22.1) |
|
Microlab
- Health Sciences |
0.6 (1.3) |
2.6 (3.6) |
|
Other
UW Libraries |
9.9 (4.3) |
15.9
(13.2) |
|
Department
computing lab |
15.1
(18.6) |
12.9
(14.2) |
|
Campus
residence |
20.5
(10.4) |
2.8 (1.9) |
|
Off
campus residence |
43.1
(45.5) |
8.0 (11.1) |
The ubiquity of undergraduate computing use is shown in the data below, especially in the use of email and the Web.
Activity
|
Daily % |
Weekly
% |
Monthly
% |
|
Read
or send email |
87.3
(80.7) |
8.7 (12.7) |
1.0 (1.8) |
|
Search
UW Libraries catalog* |
4.0 (4.3) |
30.6
(30.1) |
46.3
(40.3) |
|
Search
lib provided bib database |
0.8 |
18.1 |
39.0 |
|
Find
library full-text sources |
2.4 (1.0) |
20.3
(11.8) |
41.0
(29.5) |
|
Do
course assignments on Web |
27.2
(14.1) |
43.7
(37.1) |
16.3
(26.8) |
|
Look
for information on the Web |
50.1
(25.8) |
34.8
(42.6) |
8.7 (22.5) |
|
Surf
the Web |
47.7
(22.4) |
28.4
(33.0) |
12.7
(23.1) |
|
Use
application software |
38.2
(34.2) |
38.6
(34.3) |
10.1
(14.0) |
|
Listen
to sound/view images |
34.2 |
21.1 |
14.9 |
*1998 combined library
catalog and bibliographic database into one question
37% of undergraduates report that they dial directly into the modem pool or use UWICK, while 28% use another Internet Service Provider. 28% also use high speed cable modem or DSL.
Information Literacy
Students ranked finding information needed for their work as most essential toward successful completion of course work this year. Comparing these results to those of faculty responses to a similar question in the 2001 survey, agreement between the two groups was closest in defining research topics and finding information resources and furthest apart in the importance of evaluating and using information effectively.
Relevance to topic and usefulness for supporting their argument were most often considered when evaluating information sources for course-related work. Availability of electronic full-text was also seen as important. Author’s credentials and recommendations by instructors and librarians ranked lowest.
How often do you consider the following when |
Most
often |
|
Least
often |
No
Reply |
|
||
|
evaluating
information sources: |
5
|
4 |
3
|
2
|
1
|
% |
MEAN |
|
Relevance
to your topic |
71.8 |
18.5 |
4.6 |
1.4 |
0.6 |
3.0 |
4.54 |
|
Author’s
credentials |
9.9 |
22.3 |
33.2 |
20.9 |
10.5 |
3.2 |
2.94 |
|
Instructor
or librarian recommendations |
16.9 |
29.0 |
30.2 |
11.7 |
8.5 |
3.8 |
3.27 |
|
Publication
date of source |
21.5 |
35.4 |
24.1 |
12.1 |
3.4 |
3.4 |
3.53 |
|
Usefulness
for supporting your argument |
55.1 |
26.6 |
11.9 |
1.4 |
1.6 |
3.4 |
4.25 |
|
Availability
of electronic full-text |
31.4 |
29.2 |
21.5 |
9.7 |
4.6 |
3.6 |
3.66 |
|
Source
is scholarly |
22.9 |
33.0 |
24.5 |
10.3 |
5.2 |
4.0 |
3.50 |
Satisfaction with specific services increased from 1998 with the largest increase in library computer access.
|
SERVICE |
High Satisfaction
|
|
|
|
Not
Satisfied |
No
Reply % Don’t
Use |
Mean |
|
|
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
Reshelving |
36.7
(19.0) |
35.9(34.6) |
23.0(35.8) |
3.4
(8.1) |
1.0 (2.4) |
22.1
(21.9) |
4.04
(3.60) |
|
Course
reserves |
29.6
(22.5) |
42.0(36.2) |
23.5(30.4) |
2.0
(7.5) |
3.0 (3.4) |
18.5
(19.4) |
3.93
(3.67) |
|
Library
instruction |
24.0
(11.3) |
40.2(27.5) |
26.3(41.6) |
6.5 (12.9) |
3.0 (6.8) |
32.0
(28.8) |
3.76
(3.24) |
|
Staff
assist in library |
27.8
(25.0) |
42.0(35.2) |
24.9(27.6) |
3.2
(8.8) |
2.2 (3.3) |
17.5
(15.3) |
3.90
(3.70) |
|
Staff
assistance remote |
23.2 |
34.3 |
31.5 |
7.9 |
3.1 |
48.9 |
3.67 |
|
Photocopy |
24.6
(17.7) |
37.7(38.0) |
23.9(30.0) |
8.6 (11.1) |
5.2 (7.7) |
18.3
(10.2) |