Coordinating Committees

Progress Report to CUWL – July 22, 2008
User Services Coordinating Committee

April to July 2008
Submitted by Steve Frye, USCC Chair

The USCC meets once a month via teleconference. These meetings are generally used for announcements and updates from the working groups. Each working group meets as needed to accomplish their charge. In addition to the work described below, a number of USCC and USCC working group members participated as presenters and facilitators during the CUWL conference in June. 

Information Literacy Working Group – This working group is charged with investigating information literacy/library instruction assessment tools and then making a recommendation. They are in the process of finishing their final report, which examines three standardized testing instruments:

  • Project Sails: Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills
  • ILT: Information Literacy Test
  • iSkills: Standardized Assessment of Information and Communication Technology Literacy

Metalib Assessment Working Group – This working group is charged with assessing user response to the usefulness of MetaLib as a research tool. They have completed their literature review and have selected an assessment methodology. The initial focus of this group is assessing MetaLib QuickSearch sets. Members of the group are now getting ready to conduct one-on-one usability sessions with students. Once the group has examined the results of these sessions, they will distribute their findings.    

Future of Reference Working Group – This working group is charged with investigating new models of reference services. They started by devising and then distributing a survey to all UW campus libraries that asked the following questions:

  • Does your library provide traditional reference desk service? What changes in providing traditional service have you observed at your library?
  • Describe methods of providing reference service at your library that are different from the traditional reference desk model.
  • Describe staffing arrangements for your library's reference service. Address staffing levels (librarian, staff, student) and their respective responsibilities or limitations.
  • How have the roles and responsibilities of reference librarians changed?
  • How do you see library research changing at your institution? (Please address how/when/where)
  • How have technological developments affected access, resources, and interaction between library users and reference staff?
  • To what extent have static or dwindling budgets affected reference service at your library?
  • Please describe if/how staff turnover has affected your library's reference service.
  • What are the biggest challenges you currently face in providing reference service?
  • Describe changes you are contemplating for your reference service. What are you considering doing differently? What will you stop doing?

This group also has been investigating the literature that highlights new models of reference service. They are in the process of finishing their final report.

Web 2.0 Tools Working Group – This working group is charged with exploring the use of Web 2.0 tools in the provision of user services. They have surveyed UW System Libraries to discover which Web 2.0 tools are being used across the system. They have also created several bibliographies covering various types of Web 2.0 tools. They are in the process of finishing their final report.  

Distance Library Services Standing Committee – This standing committee has met twice since being formed. They are charged with discussing the system-wide issues concerning distance library services and to troubleshoot problems as they arise. The are currently finalizing their key expectations, which currently include:

  • Investigate the coordination of services for course/degree programs involving multiple campuses.
  • Share ideas and tactics regarding outreach to DE students/faculty and the marketing of library services.
  • Address information literacy for DE and explore methods in which to inform users (packets, tutorials, live sessions via internet/phone).
  • Investigate new delivery options across the state.
  • Discuss the difficulty of gathering statistics about DE students, faculty, courses and programs and examine solutions to more uniformly report data for comparison system-wide.
  • Develop a ‘DE Map’ for the purpose of sharing information about each campus in terms of their services and policies pertaining to distance education.
  • Revise the CUWL Policy on Library Support for Distance Learning.

CUWL Committee Structure, Feedback and Suggestions - The CUWL Wiki works well to facilitate group work, but better communication across the system (including people not on committees) is still needed; not much communication is happening with the discussion lists. There was a suggestion to form lists of campus functional group contacts, like reference and instruction, and use those in addition to the discussion lists to ensure feedback when system-wide proposals are being crafted. In order to facilitate feedback and properly vet proposals, all committees could organize system-wide presentations via web-conferencing (like WiLS Hours or Dave Dettman’s iSkills presentation in December).