From innovative projects to an innovative university

The factors contributing to the transformation of a university into an innovative enterprise, which are seen as the introduction of innovations in education services, are discussed. Definitions are given for such innovation-related terms as process, project, potential, activities, system, policy, and development.     

Online anatomy and physiology: piloting the use of an anatomy and physiology e-book-VLE hybrid in pre-registration and post-qualifying nursing programmes at the University of Salford

BACKGROUND: Anatomy and physiology (A&P) teaching and learning in nursing curricula poses problems for educators because of the often varying levels of students' background knowledge. This study reports on a pilot project that attempted to normalize these differentials by delivering A&P teaching using an online interactive e-book-virtual learning environment (VLE) hybrid. OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the effectiveness of using an online interactive resource to deliver A&P teaching. METHODS: Data were collected from pre-registration and post-qualifying students by questionnaire and observation, and from lecturers by structured interviews. Scale-up issues were identified and documented as part of support for the ongoing pilot. RESULTS: The pre-registration group encountered problems accessing the resource and yielded evidence to suggest that inexperienced learners require a high level of direction to use the resource effectively. The post-qualifying group benefited from the resource's interactive elements and 24/7 availability. There was clear evidence that the group were able to relate knowledge gained from the resource to practice. CONCLUSIONS: This hybrid has great potential to add value to A&P learning on nursing programmes at post-qualifying level. The resource could replace its printed equivalent; however, negotiations need to take place between institutions and publishers in order to resolve scale-up issues.     

CAL Download – an innovative approach to making books more accessible

Key points

• The number of people who struggle to access the printed word is increasing exponentially.
• Calibre Audio Library worked with i‐Publishing Consultants to transform the way the blind, partially‐sighted, and those with reading difficulties access their audio library.
• Providing entirely audio prompts allows visually impaired users the independence to manage their own library.
• Calibre and i‐Publishing Consultants won the 2017 Stationers’ Company Innovation Excellence Award for Social Development.

     

Informationist programme in support of biomedical research: a programme description and preliminary findings of an evaluation

BACKGROUND: The informationist programme at the Library of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD, USA has grown to 14 informationists working with 40 clinical and basic science research teams. PURPOSE: This case report, intended to contribute to the literature on informationist programmes, describes the NIH informationist programme, including implementation experiences, the informationists' training programme, their job responsibilities and programme outcomes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The NIH informationist programme was designed to enhance the library's service capacity. Over time, the steps for introducing the service to new groups were formalized to ensure support by leadership, the team being served and the library. Job responsibilities also evolved from traditional library roles to a wide range of knowledge management activities. The commitment by the informationist, the team and the library to continuous learning is critical to the programme's success. RESULTS / OUTCOMES: NIH scientists reported that informationists saved them time and contributed to teamwork with expert searching and point-of-need instruction. Process evaluation helped refine the programme. EVALUATION METHOD: High-level, preliminary outcomes were identified from a survey of scientists receiving informationist services, along with key informant interviews. Process evaluation examined service implementation, informationists' training and service components. Anecdotal evidence has also indicated a favourable response to the programme.     

Combining history of medicine and library instruction: an innovative approach to teaching database searching to medical students

Library faculty members at the Health Sciences Library at the LSU Health Shreveport campus offer a database searching class for third-year medical students during their surgery rotation. For a number of years, students completed "ten-minute clinical challenges," but the instructors decided to replace the clinical challenges with innovative exercises using The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus to emphasize concepts learned. The Surgical Papyrus is an online resource that is part of the National Library of Medicine's "Turning the Pages" digital initiative. In addition, vintage surgical instruments and historic books are displayed in the classroom to enhance the learning experience.     

Weeding nursing e-books in an academic library

Libraries supporting health sciences programs must periodically weed collections to remove outdated materials. Both print and e-book collections should be weeded. This article outlines the process Auburn Montgomery librarians followed to weed the NetLibrary e-book collection supporting the School of Nursing curriculum. The nursing courses are taught primarily online or as hybrid courses, increasing reliance on remotely accessible electronic resources. While this e-book weeding project is focused on a specific subject area and the number of e-books weeded is small, the basic method can be applied to larger e-book weeding projects in subject areas other than nursing.     

Archiving — the full‐text solution: an innovative way to electronic archiving

Somerset Computing Limited has developed a unique search engine that allows publishers and societies to produce electronic archives with full‐text searching and the ability to carry out high‐level search requests without major rekeying or tagging, making it the most cost‐effective solution for full‐text searching available. This technology has relevance to many publishing areas including legal publishers, academic publishers, STM publishers, learned societies and professional typesetters. This article describes how Somerset Computing has utilized its expertise and this innovative in‐house software to provide the British Academy with an affordable, fully searchable solution to the electronic archiving of the Proceedings of the British Academy.     

JUSP in time: a partnership approach to developing a journal usage statistics portal

The Journal Usage Statistics Portal (JUSP) service is expanding rapidly, and aims to encompass all NESLi2‐participating publishers by the end of 2011, together with all UK higher‐education institutions subscribing to deals from those publishers. A key part of the success of JUSP will be the implementation of the Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative (SUSHI) protocol for automatic harvesting of usage statistics directly from publishers. This article outlines development of the service and describes how JUSP is working with Oxford University Press to deliver usage statistics to libraries. We also describe future developments at JUSP, including the creation of our own SUSHI server, and explain how new initiatives and enhancements are developed and rolled out in conjunction with our participating institutions.     

Working out the Bugs: Piloting Library Instruction in an Online Entomology Graduate Program

Like most of its peer institutions, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries faced the challenge of meeting the needs of a growing number of students taking online courses. The author, hired as the new Virtual Learning Librarian in January 2016, was charged with creating a new Virtual Learning Program. This tutorials-based program was first fully implemented in a fully online Entomology graduate program. This paper summarizes the development of the Virtual Learning Program, how it was adapted to the Entomology program, and the initial results from the first semester of implementation.     

高校图书馆读者服务工作创新途径探析

读者服务工作是图书馆的核心工作。随着网络技术在图书馆工作中的全面使用,图书馆服务的环境和要求都发生了很大改变,读者服务工作亟须创新。文章分别从导读服务、流通服务、咨询服务三个方面对读者服务工作的创新途径进行了探讨。     

高校图书馆工作人员积极性的驱动

进入21世纪,如何深化高校图书馆的改革工作是摆在高校图书馆领导面前的重要任务.结合高校图书馆职工政治思想工作的实际,扼要地介绍了当今调动高校图书馆工作人员积极性和创造性的七个方面的驱动作用.     

The Benefits and Challenges of Working in an Academic Library: A Study of Student Library Assistant Experience

Many college students choose or need to work, and academic libraries offer a potentially convenient on-campus location for employment. Students serving in these roles may benefit from the experience both academically and socially. By examining students' experience as workers in the library, academic libraries have the opportunity to understand the benefits that such work might provide and intentionally plan to enhance learning and demonstrate library value in a novel way. This basic qualitative study sought to explore the experiences of student assistants working in an academic library and identify the benefits and challenges they perceived as a result of enacting the role. Individual interviews were conducted with seven undergraduate student library assistants at a doctoral-granting institution to determine benefits and challenges they noted that resulted from their experiences in this student employment role, and findings reveal opportunities for academic librarians in training and supervising student employees.