Recent Submissions
Item Growing Beyond A Loss: Reassigning Tasks, Reassessing Workflows, and Carrying on after an Employee Death or Growing Beyond A Loss: Carrying on and Reevaluating Library Procedures and Services after an Employee Death
Withers, Rob O'BrienOne library recently experienced the deaths of several staff members in a short period of time. This program will share our experiences in piecing together our response to these deaths. Issues we have addressed have included: communicating with family, disposition of personal property at work, processing timecards, and identifying / tracking / handing off work in process at the time of the staff member’s passing.Item Nurturing collaboration while weeding collections: A new interdepartmental workflow
Calabrese, Cara; Adams, Kristen; Withers, Rob O'BrienReviewing, transferring, and withdrawing materials is normally a hands-on and collaborative interdepartmental process. Last spring, our institution decided to expedite a closure of a branch library and consolidate holdings to the central location. These changes necessitated a rapid review of collections in both buildings so that a timely consolidation of materials could take place. This coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many library staff were working from home. In this session, staff from collection management, technical services and circulation will share their experiences in establishing and piloting a new workflow that included standardized weeding lists created by technical services, a sharing method to deliver the lists to selectors, maintaining list uniformity when further passing lists to circulation, and back to selectors. Other aspects of the project included, providing facilities access, and adding circulation staff to assist pulling materials from the shelves. Presenters will share progress on the project and identify which new practices we envision retaining or not for future reviews of the collection.Item Creating Order from Chaos and Fostering Collaboration: Documentation, Cross-training, and Continuous Operations in Multi-service Point Libraries
Withers, Rob; Henle, Alea; Weaver, EricIn 2018, a library reorganization consolidated several previously separate units into a single department. The newly-created unit sought out a method for documenting and disseminating existing practices, with a goal of ultimately standardizing them across different service points, due in part to (a) varying practices and levels of documentation among the predecessor units, (b) the loss of institutional memory due to staff turnover, and (c) rapidly-changing practices. This session will address the development of central documentation and continuous operations plans for a library system operating multiple service points spread across campus. Key questions to be discussed with the audience include: What types of resources are suitable for compiling practices (blog, wiki, print binder)? How to generate buy-in from staff? Or facilitate regular cross-training, particularly for tasks where repetition is key to familiarity? Presenters will incorporate brainstorming activities exploring pros/cons for different documentation methods and local applications, as well as strategies for negotiating a single, uniform practice where there had previously been more than one standard.Item DECIDING, DOCUMENTING, AND DISSEMINATING LIBRARY POLICIES AND PRACTICES: A CASE STUDY FROM A NEWLY-CREATED LIBRARY UNIT
Withers, Rob; Henle, AleaStaff turnover, varying practices across service points, and consolidation of previously independent units are three starter reasons to document common practices. This session will address the development of central documentation and continuous operations plans for a library system operating five campus locations. What types of resources are suitable for managing and providing access to documentation? How can buy-in be obtained from staff? How can documentation facilitate regular cross-training, particularly for tasks where repetition is key to familiarity? The presenter will incorporate brainstorming activities exploring pros/cons for different documentation methods and local applications. Attendees will be encouraged to share their challenges and successes with similar processes.Item Deciding, Documenting, and Disseminating Library Policies: A Case Study from a Newly Created Library Unit
Withers, Robtaff turnover, varying practices across service points, and consolidation of previously independent units are three starter reasons to document common practices. This session will address the development of central documentation and continuous operations plans for a library system operating five campus locations. What types of resources are suitable for managing and providing access to documentation? How can buy-in be obtained from staff? How can documentation facilitate regular cross-training, particularly for tasks where repetition is key to familiarity? The presenter will incorporate brainstorming activities exploring pros/cons for different documentation methods and local applications. Attendees will be encouraged to share their challenges and successes with similar processes.Item Recasting ILL Processing Rules: Adoption of STARS Award Practices among an Academic Library Consortium
Withers, RobThe RUSA-STARS Rethinking Resource Sharing Committee has developed a STAR checklist contains a detailed list of over 60 ways in which libraries and cultural institutions can act consistently in the broad goals outlined in the Rethinking Resource Sharing Manifesto. This session will explore the progress towards implementation among libraries in a statewide consortium of academic libraries. Based upon survey results, this paper will explore what institutional barriers libraries face, what list items interlibrary loan practitioners themselves are reluctant to embrace, and how institution size and type correlates to adoption of these practices.Item Taking Action to Contain COllege Expenses: Cultivating a Collection of Textbooks for High-Use Classes
Withers, RobThe cost of tuition and related expenses has become a hot topic. The College Board estimated that the cost of textbooks per student per year was nearly $1,200. One institution has created and maintained a collection of textbooks for high-enrollment classes for the past decade. This session will provide an overview of how this project began and has evolved over time to respond to challenges (anticipated and otherwise). Those viewing this poster should be able to identify possible financial resources for starting a service, potential issues which must be anticipated, and possible responses to these issues; or, if they have a similar service, they may gain an understanding of different choices that have been made at another institution and how they have played out. Topics addressed in this session will include: Creative strategies for obtaining funding, publicizing availability of textbooks, usage patterns, strategies dealing with un-returned items.Item Lights! Camera! Action! Creating a First Tier Information Service Point (with less than 30 days' notice)
Withers, RobLibraries are moving towards consolidating service points and cross-training staff. Due to staffing changes, one university library recently decided to consolidate first-tier information service with the circulation desk. Over a month-long period before classes started, library staff worked to cross-train existing staff, integrate student employees from the previously-separate service point into circulation desk operations, and work out a system for referring advanced questions to research librarians. This session will include information about training sessions and training materials, adjustments made during the first semester of this staffing configuration, and lessons learned during the transition. Learning Outcomes: Session participants will learn how to: Identify core competencies for fielding questions in order to rapidly prepare classified staff to effectively take on new duties as information providers; Understand and counteract cultural differences between people who previously worked in separate units; Develop tools to assess performance and identify future training needs.Item Assessment of a Broad-Based CCC “Get It Now” Program Implementation
Messner, Kevin; Hurst, Susan; Bazeley, Jennifer; Withers, RobWe conducted a year-long pilot of the Copyright Clearance Center’s “Get It Now” rapid document delivery program. Get It Now is intended to supplement traditional library journal collections by providing rapid on-request electronic access to a deep body of journal literature, for a per article charge which is absorbed by the library. Our pilot project provided the service to all constituencies within our university community: undergraduate, graduate student, staff and faculty. This differs from many implementations which are limited to certain populations e.g. faculty-only. With a full year of data, we assess whether this broad availability of service is sustainable financially with current resources; whether it makes sense from a collections development standpoint; who the major users are when the service is available to all; and what subject areas the requested articles predominate. Our general experience in setting up and managing the service is discussed.Item Are You Ready to Re-think Resource Sharing?
Withers, RoItem Implementing an Open Source Room Reservation System
Withers, RobMiami University opted to implement an open source solution for its heavily used study rooms. This session will outline the evaluation criteria used to select a product, the wish-list of features, technical skills and resources needed to implement this service, unforeseen challenges, and tweaks and adjustments made to the product.Item Perpetual Motion: Running a 24/7 Library in a 9 to 5 World
Withers, RobThe 24/7 availability of information has led to the demand for 24/7 library services. Miami University increased operations of its central facility, King Library, incrementally, until it began 24/7 operations in 2000. Demand for 24/7 access among students remained so strong that the University reinstated 24/7 hours after an attempt to scale back hours during the recent recession. Issues have included identifying essential services, staffing / scheduling, maintaining two-way communication between overnight and weekday staff, obtaining IT Support, responding to security and safety issues, and relations with other entities at the University. Despite these challenges, the availability of overnight hours continues to be valued and used by our student body.Item Information Architecture: Information for Web Developers
Withers, Rob; Casson, Robert D; Shrimplin, Aaron; Adams, KatherineItem Campus-wide partnerships to improve students’ academic integrity iQ
Resnis, Eric; Miller, Lindsay; Withers, RobertMiami University’s iQ (short for integrity Quickstart) is a newly created online tutorial that guides students through different scenarios about academic integrity and research issues. Each scenario introduces the student to a new topic with animated Flash video, additional resources and short quizzes to assess their understanding. iQ was created through a partnership between the Libraries, University IT and Student Affairs. Instructional designers from IT helped us to transform the content into short video-based snippets. The presentation tools from Prezi.com give iQ its visually appealing, non-linear structure. Additionally, staff from Student Affairs help us to tailor the content on academic integrity and consequences for violation. Numerous challenges were encountered to ensure that the end product was something exemplary of Miami’s commitment to these topics. This poster will cover the creation and implementation of iQ at Miami University. We will discuss how iQ works as both a standalone learning tool and as part of a bibliographic information session and how campus partnerships can help foster institutional buy-in for academic integrity and information literacy.Item Creating and Supporting a Borrowable Collection of Portable Digital Technology
(HighEdWeb Conference, 2012-10-08) WIthers, RobOne University offers a collection of digital equipment, including iPads, laptops, digital cameras, digital audio recorders, microphones, networking cables, projectors and financial/graphing calculators. These items were acquired through a Student Technology Fee process overseen by the University’s IT Services. This application based process provides one-time money for technology resources, particularly those which have the greatest impact to on students. Items which the Libraries have acquired through this fund are available at three of the four main campus libraries for loan periods of between three hours and one day. This session will discuss the scope of the collection, usage patterns, technical support needed to maintain the collection, and proposed changes to the size of the collection and the rules governing its use. Participants in this discussion should gain a sense of the budgetary and human resources needed to maintain a working collection of digital items for loan, challenges to maintaining and growing the collection, and ideas for developing a collection that meets the needs of their primary users.Item Spanning the University to Improve Information Literacy e-Instruction
(2010) Miller, LIndsay; Resnis, Eric; Withers, RobIn Fall 2009, the interactive information literacy module "integrity Quickstart"(iQ) was introduced to first and second-year students at Miami University. iQ, which teaches information literacy and academic integrity concepts using the dynamic Flash-based presentation tool Prezi, is a companion to the existing eScholar, a more passive, in-depth tutorial. iQ was created through a unique campus collaboration between the Libraries, University IT and Student Affairs. This session will recount the creation and implementation of iQ, everything from scripting and storyboarding to grant support and dealing with differences of opinion involved with any collaboration. We will discuss how iQ and eScholar work together as part of a bibliographic information session and how campus partnerships can help foster institutional buy-in for academic integrity and information literacy.