Course Views A Scalable Project to Connect Students to Library Resources

1. Course ViewsA Scalable Project to Connect Students to Library Resources Kim Duckett and Tito SierraNCSU LibrariesEducause 2007 ConferenceOctober 26, 2007

2. Outline • Challenges for Libraries Reaching Out to Students Online • Library Content for Courses • Course Views at NCSU • Future Work

3. Challenges

4. Challenges • Library websites are overwhelming

5. Challenges • Library websites are overwhelming • Information resources are often unfamiliar

6. Challenges • Library websites are overwhelming • Information resources are often unfamiliar • Librarians tend to focus on: • Disciplines / subjects • Resource types

7. Challenges • Library websites are overwhelming • Information resources are often unfamiliar • Librarians tend to focus on: • Disciplines / subjects • Resource types • Integration into learning management systems is difficult

8. Library Content for Courses

9. Course Pages / Guides • Tailored to specific courses • Student experience is course-centric • “I’m taking X, Y, Z courses” • Offers a scaled-down entry to the library • Can be linked into course websites

10. Example 1

11. Example 2

12. Example 3

13. Example 4

14. Benefit: Assignment-centric

15. Problem: Not Holistic

16. Benefit: Highly Customized

17. Benefit: Highly Customized

18. Problem: High Production Costs

19. Problem: Limited Reach

20. Problem: Inconsistent Design

21. Problem: Inconsistent Design

22. Course Pages Summary • Course-centric pages have potential • Scalability is a challenge • Course pages need to be more multifaceted

23. Course Views at NCSU

24. Project Overview • Collaborative effort between Research and Information Services, and Digital Library Initiatives departments at NCSU • Homegrown system in development • Initial release slated for Summer 2008

25. Course View Definition “A course-centric portal composed of student-centric widgets designed to connect students to library resources”

31. Project Goals

32. Project Goals • A Course View for every course

33. Project Goals • A Course View for every course • A scalable and sustainable system for library course content delivery

34. Project Goals • A Course View for every course • A scalable and sustainable system for library course content delivery • Library content customized as much as possible to the course

35. Example Course View 1

36. Example Course View 1

37. Static Ubersearch Find Books Citation Tools Project Tools Ask a Librarian Dynamic Course Reserves Find Articles (subject database recommendations) Librarian Recommended Widgets

38. Widget Selection Process • Content inventory of existing library course pages

39. Widget Selection Process • Content inventory of existing library course pages • Brainstorm new content

40. Widget Selection Process • Content inventory of existing library course pages • Brainstorm new content • Fifteen candidate widgets

41. Widget Selection Process • Content inventory of existing library course pages • Brainstorm new content • Fifteen candidate widgets • Three focus groups with students

42. Widget Selection Process • Content inventory of existing library course pages • Brainstorm new content • Fifteen candidate widgets • Three focus groups with students • Eight finalists for pilot launch

43. Example Course View 2

44. Static Widgets

45. Static Widget Example

46. Dynamic Widgets Customized content based on existing institutional course identifiers. NC State example: ENG 221 • ‘ENG’ = curriculum code • ‘221’ = course number • ‘ENG 221’ = full course identifier

47. http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/course/ENG/221

48. http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/course/ENG/221

49. Curriculum level Customized content is shared across all courses in the same department Easier to manage but less customized Approximately 150 curriculums at NC State Course level Customized content is tailored to a specific course More customized but more work to create and maintain Approximately 5000 courses at NC State Customization Options

50. Dynamic Widgets - Curriculum