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Assist the Monash community to discover and use resources for learning, teaching and research, and to support staff and students development of skills for independent and lifelong learning, through mediated, timely and flexible information services.
Provide co-ordinated, proactive services under the 'one library' banner while still meeting individual campus and faculty needs
ask.monash is an FAQ-based (Frequently Asked Questions) enquiry system which manages Monash and external queries. The Library joined this service in August 2006. During 2007, a total of 21,388 FAQs were viewed by Monash staff and students, 1,941 enquiries were submitted. 4,931 answers were viewed by enquirers external to the University, and 317 enquiries were subsequently submitted. The most heavily used FAQ for internal users was “Where can I find past exam papers?” and external users accessed the question “Can I borrow from Monash University Library?” most often.
The University undertook a post implementation review of the service which showed its availability has reduced the number of enquiries submitted to the Library Helpdesk and suggests that customers are using the FAQ self-service option before submitting an enquiry.
Advise and assist academic staff and students with the use of services and collections
Rare Books exhibitions
Ephemera
A display of Ephemera in the Library’s Rare Books Collection was opened in October 2006 and ran until March 2007. Ephemera is printed material that is used for various purposes and then discarded. These fragments of the past illuminate previous lives for future generations. Items displayed range from the 17th century to the present. The Library has been collecting ephemera since the early 1990s in support of research by social historians. Among the earliest examples were pieces concerned with an execution in 1678; tourist notices from the early 19th century; early greetings cards including valentines; a colour brochure for the first Holden car from 1950; the first Moomba programme from 1955 and current posters and fliers for music events and political campaigns. The exhibition was curated by Richard Overell, Rare Books Librarian and was opened by Dr Seamus O’Hanlon, School of Historical Studies, Monash University.
Australian women writers 1900-1950
This exhibition was curated by Associate Professor Maryanne Dever and Dr Ann Vickery of the Centre for Women’s Studies. It included works by over 100 novelists and poets, represented in first and early editions drawn from the rich collection held in the Monash University Library Rare Books Collection. As well as mainstream literature there were representative selections from such genres as romance and crime fiction. The exhibition was opened on 29 March by Dr Janine Burke.
The Pacific
This exhibition highlighted around 100 items ranging from the early eighteenth century to the early twentieth-century relating to European discovery and exploration of the Pacific, the activities of the missionaries, traders and blackbirders as well as accounts by those who visited for pleasure. The material forms part of Monash University Library’s extensive collection of travel literature. The exhibition was curated by Richard Overell, Rare Books Librarian, and was opened in September 2007 by Dr Matt Tomlinson, Lecturer in Anthropology, Monash University.
Engage and liaise with faculty members and students about the development of services and collections
Library and academic staff worked together to develop collections for a range of courses in 2007.
In collaboration with the Faculty of Information Technology the Berwick Library team developed a new collection of art, architecture and design materials on Art Deco buildings, furniture and fashion. The collection enables students to ‘drag reality back into the virtual world’ in creating virtual environments. A virtual town, in a collaborative environment, was built based on Art Deco architecture. Once complete, it was possible to ‘walk’ down the main street, visiting each building in turn, as in a Second Life environment. ‘Twenty’s Town’ together with the Library’s history and design collections, give the information technology students a broad range of ideas and an appreciation of history. In 2008 the Library will be acquiring material on Roman soldiers, 1920 gangsters and astronauts for another project.
Caulfield Library has traditionally collected architecture material for the Interior Architecture and Design courses. In 2006, with the announcement of a new architecture course in 2008, Library staff, in consultation with the program co-ordinator and foundation staff, began building a collection to support the new course. The collection’s theoretical and historical depth has been increased with 1,700 new items and a large number of monographs was transferred from the Sir Louis Matheson Library. Ecospecifier, Masters of Architecture and BDP environment design guide have recently been added to the major electronic resources acquired for Architecture, along with a package of 95 electronic books. Strategies have been established to continue to develop this collection.
A graduate entry Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program will commence in 2008 at the Gippsland campus. Gippsland Library staff have been working with the faculty and medical librarians at Clayton to develop a collection to support the program. Reading lists, reserve and reference collections have been established to support the initial year’s intake to the course and the collection will continue to be developed as research programs are established and as the first cohort of students progress through the MBBS program.
Library staff with knowledge of Hargrave-Andrew Library, Sir Louis Matheson Store, special collections and Rare Books worked with academic staff in Geography and Environmental Science to incorporate a large donation of material from the Rural Water Corporation (now part of the Department of Sustainability and Environment) into the Library. The collection spans 1907 to 1995 and includes unpublished reports, background papers, including cartographic materials, and some loose notes. The collection provides a rare resource for researchers in water governance, a rapidly growing area of research, and "rates and magnitudes of change" studies where historical records can be compared with satellite imagery as part of undergraduate research training in some areas. Other materials from the commission are located at the Public Records Office of Victoria and the State Library.
Develop information literacy
There was a slight decline in the number of information literacy sessions and participants in this period, reflecting a concentration on integrating information literacy into coursework. Overall there were 20,747 participants, which is a decrease of 2.6%. Participants included a large number of undergraduates and a significant number of postgraduates and academic staff. Feedback from participants on the usefulness of the sessions was very positive.
Professional development for Library staff involved in information literacy centred on workshops on ‘Designing learning tasks around information literacy’. This had an immediate impact on the way sessions are developed. A librarian from the Hargrave-Andrew Library travelled to the Malaysia campus to assist with training staff in information literacy skills and delivery of information literacy sessions, as part of the Monash Staff Mobility Program. In the second half of the year two joint information sessions were held for staff involved in information literacy and the learning skills advisers.
Faculty specific information literacy programs included the development of new tutorials for first year Pharmacy students and, for the first time, an information literacy lecture for second year students in Medicine as a bridge between the first and third year programs. New interactive classes were developed for Art and Design students, and information literacy tutorials were developed for incorporation into Faculty units in MUSO using Captivate software.
With the establishment of the Learning Skills Unit within the Library in second semester, a range of programs were developed to incorporate both information literacy and learning skills. Integration and embedding both learning skills and information literacy into faculty curricula is a key plank in the Library’s approach to skills development. Under this model, learning skills advisers and librarians involved in information literacy work with faculty academic staff to ensure that students develop the suite of skills and understandings needed for lifelong learning.
A highlight of 2007 was the progress made towards establishing an integrated model in the Faculty of Business and Economics first year Bachelor of Business at Caulfield campus. Learning skills advisers, subject librarians and the Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT) staff have played a key role in the review of the Bachelor of Business first year program with the Faculty. The revised curriculum, in which learning skills and information literacy are fully embedded within the work requirements and assessment, will be implemented in 2008. Learning skills advisers and librarians will work in support of the six core units.
In the Faculty of Law, the Research and Writing Unit is a compulsory unit for first year Bachelor of Laws students. The unit has been developed collaboratively by Faculty academics, librarians and learning skills staff and will be delivered from semester 2, 2008 with teaching input and support from subject librarians and learning skills advisors.
Provide relevant guides to services and collections
In 2006 a consultant was engaged to study usability of the Library’s print and online guides to selecting and using resources. When the report was received early in 2007 the recommendations were prioritised, an action plan was developed and implementation commenced.
The study initially focused on self-help guides, but personal help services (information desks, email, telephone, etc) emerged as so important to users that they were also included. The report also highlighted a need for personal assistance for the significant numbers of users who visit the physical libraries infrequently.
Improving these services became a priority.
- Email help was transferred to ask.monash in August 2006; this enhanced service provides both self-help FAQs and personal responses.
- Telephone help hours were extended to 9.00 am to 10.00 pm on weekdays and from 1.00 pm to 5.00 pm on weekends from second semester. This was achieved by running the service from more than one branch.
- Online chat hours were altered to midday to 5.00 pm in response to a review of usage and feedback. Plans were also put in place to increase the hours into the evening and include loans staff in providing the service on a trial basis in first semester 2008.
These initiatives provide the basis for an integrated virtual service point, as a first step in responding to the report’s recommendation to increase the reach of the Library’s highly regarded person-to -person help services.
The study found a high level of satisfaction and appreciation of the services currently provided amongst those who were aware of them. Of concern was the observation that many users were not aware of their availability. Better marketing was a strong theme throughout the report.
The study also found that:
- ‘trial and error’ is the overwhelming preference in overcoming difficulties, when not in a library, compared with seeking help from a service point or publication;
- users consider themselves ‘time poor’ and need convincing to go beyond the ‘trial and error’ method, although they acknowledge the value of reading a guide, taking an online tutorial or attending a class;
- users are ‘outcome oriented’ even when they have time – if the help is not conveniently available at their point of need, they will not leave the current task to look for it. This point had particular implications for library produced database guides, where it is the vendor’s online help that is most readily available.
In response to the findings, a new suite of 70 database guides is being developed, concentrating on promoting key databases to assist users to choose where to start searching for information. These will replace over 200 step by step guides to using databases. The new guides will be available online and on paper in 2008 and will be evaluated during the year.
Implementing the report’s recommendations will continue in 2008, addressing the treatment of subject and topic based help, such as subject guides, resource guides and pathfinders.
Another key recommendation was to redesign the help gateways to better point users to the most appropriate information for their current need. Interestingly, this coincides with the findings of the Resource Discovery Project, and will be addressed accordingly.
Learning Skills was established in the Library after this study was completed, but an important future task will be to assess and integrate learning skills and related help material, using the principles laid down in the report.
Promote the research strengths of the collection
Launch of the Visual History Archive
Monash students and staff were provided access through the Library’s website to testimonies in the Visual History Archive of the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. Members of the public can access the Archive through public workstations in each branch library.
With nearly 52,000 video testimonies of Holocaust survivors and other witnesses, in 32 languages and from 56 countries, this collection is the largest visual history archive in the world. Since March 2007, more than 2,000 interviews recorded in Australia have been stored electronically at Monash University and are immediately available for teaching and research purposes. Users can access all other interviews within 48 hours of their request. Subject librarians are trained in searching the Archive in order to support its potential use by academics in a range of disciplines across the University. Students have already used the Archive for assignments. This access is made possible through the generous support of Lee Liberman and the Pratt Foundation.
Work with faculties to provide support for teaching and research activities
As previously noted, learning support services became the responsibility of the Library from second semester 2007, moving from the University’s Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT). The new Library-based model emphasises development of learning skills rather than remediation and builds on the concept of the learning commons. This concept seeks to provide a high quality, cost effective, centralised library precinct with services and resources that support students’ learning and enriches and inspires them to actively participate in the learning process.
Learning skills can be defined as the core skills and attributes that tertiary students need to learn within an academic environment and disciplinary context. These include effective study, reading and exam preparation skills, techniques for effective listening and note-taking in lectures and seminars, oral communication and presentation skills, and academic essay, report and thesis writing skills. Commensurate with the Library’s developmental model is an emphasis on the integration and embedding of learning skills within faculty curricula.
The Learning Skills Unit was established in early 2007. Fourteen learning skills advisers were appointed by August 2007. Three additional staff will commence in early 2008, including a learning skills adviser for Peninsula campus, where the Library assumes responsibility for learning support services from 2008. Learning skills advisers are based in libraries across the University's Australian campuses, to support students from undergraduate through to Higher Degree Research (HDR) levels. Recruitment of a Learning Skills Manager is scheduled for early 2008. It is anticipated that the Library service model will provide three more EFT staff positions than was the case under the previous CALT service model.
A range of programs was developed and implemented by learning skills advisers during second semester 2007. Noteworthy programs devised in collaboration with faculty academic staff included the Keys to Success program for Faculty of Information Technology coursework Masters students at the Caulfield and Clayton campuses, and a program of workshops developed for the BIO1022 biological sciences unit that also included diagnostic testing of students.
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