scholarly journals Does Interface Design Influence Catalog Use? A Case Study

2009 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 446-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Knievel ◽  
Jina Choi Wakimoto ◽  
Sara Holladay
Keyword(s):  
Interface Design ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Log Data ◽  
University Of Colorado ◽  
Call Number ◽  
The University ◽  
Keyword Searches

A recent OPAC redesign and implementation of a link resolver at the University of Colorado at Boulder prompted the researchers to question whether the redesign influenced catalog use. Authors evaluated transactional log data between fall of 2005 and spring of 2008. Searches for keyword, title, author, subject, LC call number, and ISSN/ISBN were tracked for each semester during weeks two and three of the semester, a mid-semester sampling period, and finals week. The data show that keyword searches increased slightly following the redesign, and ISSN/ ISBN searches increased dramatically following implementation of the link resolver. Total searches held steady over the course of the study.

scholarly journals Usability Testing of a Metasearch Interface: A Case Study

2007 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 292-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Wrubel ◽  
Kari Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Interface Design ◽  
Usability Testing ◽  
Internet Search ◽  
Federated Search ◽  
Design Problems ◽  
University System ◽  
Descriptive Information ◽  
The University

This study evaluated the usability of a metasearch, or federated search, interface used by the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions. The authors conducted usability testing of the metasearch system to understand student perceptions of metasearch’s usefulness and to learn if students could effectively complete research tasks using metasearch. Students determined when they had successfully completed the task. The study found that students perceived metasearch to be a useful tool but that they had low rates of success in completing some tasks. Technical limitations and interface design problems contributed to their difficulties. Students expected to be able to construct searches as they do in Internet search engines and, for example, expected results lists to have relevancy ranking and more descriptive information.

scholarly journals Estimating Salary Compression in an ARL Institution: A University of Colorado at Boulder Case Study

2007 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 388-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Seaman
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Multiple Regression Analysis ◽  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Anecdotal Evidence ◽  
Job Market ◽  
Statistical Tools ◽  
University Of Colorado ◽  
The University ◽  
New Hires

Salary compression is the narrowing of the pay differentials between people in the same job but with widely varying years of experience. Within academics, the most commonly asserted cause for salary compression is that of a labor shortage. When institutions compete in a job market with more vacancies than candidates, salaries for vacant positions increase faster than salaries for filled positions. As resources are directed at recruiting new hires rather than annual merit increases, productive senior staff find themselves earning similar salaries as new hires. While this has been common in disciplines such as business, nursing, and engineering, there is also anecdotal evidence that the conditions may have existed for this to happen in librarianship during the late 1990s. This case study defines salary compression, reviews the context in which it may arise, and discusses those conditions in which compression may be beneficial or may be detrimental, and examines the statistical tools used to detect evidence of compression within an organization. Multiple regression analysis is used to determine if there is evidence of salary compression among the librarians at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The University of Colorado Protocol Project: A Case Study

1974 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 314-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celeste P. Woodley ◽  
Laura A. Driscoll
Keyword(s):  
University Of Colorado ◽  
The University

scholarly journals Interface Design For Open Systems Building

2011 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochem C. Nijs ◽  
Elma Durmisevic ◽  
Johannes I.M. Halman
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Interface Design ◽  
Open Systems ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Building Process ◽  
The Social ◽  
Building Components ◽  
The University

Open Building and IFD (Industrial Flexible Demountable) building are philosophies that aim to create high quality buildings with increased flexibility and better environmental characteristics. However, a successful adoption of IFD principles has not yet occurred because of concerns for the types of connections that are needed between building components. Therefore, this paper describes PhD research at the University of Twente that has the objective of designing a typology of flexible interfaces for IFD building that can be widely applied in the construction industry and aims to standardize connections, at the various levels of technical composition of a building, to create compatibility between building products from different suppliers. Such a typology of interfaces will increase the re-use and recycling of building parts, resulting in the increased sustainability of the building process. Furthermore, it will help accelerate the industrialization of the housing industry and mass customization of housing. A preliminary case study, in which a sustainable, flexible bathroom is designed, illustrates the various types of interfaces that can be applied, based on existing research. The paper illustrates the importance of interfaces, and aims to increase environmental benefits of buildings (less construction waste), improve the social aspects (higher user satisfaction in buildings) and achieve economical advantages (lower overall costs) by designing new interfaces.

scholarly journals Alignment of Citation Behaviors of Philosophy Graduate Students and Faculty

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Knievel
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
English Language ◽  
Academic Rank ◽  
Master's Students ◽  
Citation Behavior ◽  
University Of Colorado ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Call Number ◽  
The University

Objective – This study analyzes sources cited by graduate students in philosophy at the University of Colorado Boulder (UCB) in 55 PhD dissertations and master’s theses submitted between 2005 and 2010, to discover their language, age, format, discipline, whether or not they were held by the library, and how they were acquired. Results were compared to data previously collected about sources cited by philosophy faculty at UCB, in books published between 2004 and 2009, to identify how closely citation behaviors aligned between the two groups. Methods – Citations were counted in the PhD dissertations and master’s theses. Citations to monographs were searched against the local catalog to determine ownership and call number. Comparison numbers for faculty research were collected from a previous study. Results were grouped according to academic rank and analyzed by format, language, age, call number, ownership, and method of purchase. Results – Graduate students cited mostly books, though fewer than commonly found in other studies. Citations were almost entirely of English language sources. Master’s students cited slightly newer materials than doctoral students, who in turn cited newer materials than faculty. The library owned most cited books, and most of those were purchased on an approval plan. Doctoral students most frequently cited resources outside the discipline of philosophy, in contrast to master’s students and faculty. Conclusions – The citation behavior of graduate students in philosophy largely, but not entirely, mirrors that of the faculty. Further study of citation behavior in humanities disciplines would be useful. Understanding the behavior of philosophers can help philosophy librarians make informed choices about how to spend library funds.

scholarly journals Digital Collections Are a Sprint, Not a Marathon: Adapting Scrum Project Management Techniques to Library Digital Initiatives

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Dulock ◽  
Holley Long
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Digital Collections ◽  
Management Framework ◽  
University Of Colorado ◽  
Digital Collection ◽  
Digital Objects ◽  
Management Techniques ◽  
The University ◽  
Small Team

<p>This article describes a case study in which a small team from the digital initiatives group and metadata services department at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) Libraries conducted a pilot of the Scrum project management framework. The pilot team organized digital initiatives work into short, fixed intervals called sprints—a key component of Scrum. Over a year of working in the modified framework yielded significant improvements to digital collection work, including increased production of digital objects and surrogate records, accelerated publication of digital collections, and an increase in the number of concurrent projects. Adoption of sprints has improved communication and cooperation among participants, reinforced teamwork, and enhanced their ability to adapt to shifting priorities<strong>.</strong></p>

Building bridges: outreach to international students via vernacular language videos

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Li ◽  
Kevin McDowell ◽  
Xiaotong Wang
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Outreach Programs ◽  
Vernacular Language ◽  
University Of Colorado ◽  
Library Resources ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The University

Purpose This paper aims to describe librarians’ efforts in reaching out to international students through vernacular language videos at both the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Oregon. The videos were created to help international students familiarize themselves with the new library environment and to stimulate their interest in the future exploration of library resources and services. Design/methodology/approach This paper discusses the challenges of providing effective support to international students in the early stages of their academic life in the USA, explains the rationale for using vernacular language videos as a means of outreach to international students, outlines the factors considered in designing the videos that helped achieve the outreach goals and reviews promotion needs and assessment methods for evaluating the effectiveness of the videos. Findings Using online videos in native languages as a means to extend the reach of the libraries to international students is seen as useful and practical. Feedback from students and library colleagues shows positive reaction to the videos and provides encouragement for further outreach efforts to international students. Practical implications The strategies and experiences detailed here are easily adaptable to other institutions of higher education committed to developing outreach programs for international students. Originality/value The novelty of this case study is the librarians’ sophisticated thinking in developing vernacular language videos as a means of outreach to international students. The video project presented in the paper can function as an inspiring example for institutions preparing for the expected large influx of international students.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document