The Trecker Library undertook a formal, written survey process during the early weeks of the 2009 fall semester to determine the satisfaction of students who attended our First Year Experience classes. As presently designed, the classes include a tour, an online/PowerPoint overview of services, and a PowerPoint history of the library & campus (which dates to 1939).

Questions which required responses on a 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) point scale covered both presentation and content.

The mean score for this set of questions for the 129 respondents was 4.4.

A second set of  questions, open ended in nature,  sought specific information useful for the improvement of the design and content of the classes.

Analysis Trends.

A review of the  comments accompanying each session revealed some interesting trends:

*Respondents in the earlier sessions valued each of the sessions reasonably equally with a slight edge given to the library/campus history.

*Respondents in the later sessions showed increasing interest in the tour and the library services parts of the presentation, especially where to find books and articles in the library and online.

*Scores and comments for the library services presentation improved when it was moved from an internet based offering to a more structured, hyperlinked PowerPoint presentation.

*The history part of the presentation received generally very high marks for its content but not as much support for its relevance to the overall presentation, especially for the later groups.

Conclusions.

*The high mean score for satisfaction, 4.4. overall, suggests that students value and like the library’s FYE tour and presentations.

*The survey was a useful methodology to gather suggestions for improvement.

*The survey, when analyzed following each session, allowed us to respond effectively to issues and concerns and to make improvements in an ongoing manner.

*Similarities in the responses of each group suggest that is may be possible to do this survey with a subset rather than all of the FYE classes.

*If the FYE sessions are to be truly introductory sessions they need to occur very early in the semester.  Questions and comments received from FYE classes conducted later in September were often more suitable for answering in the upcoming, more detailed and focused, instructional classes.

*All three parts of the presentation — tour, overview and history – were valued by attendees but the history might do just as well, or better, being made part of a general campus introduction session for all new students (including transfers and others beyond the freshman year).

Appendix:  Sample Comments.

A.  Some things students liked as reported in the  open ended questions:

“Finding out where the books were located was the most useful part.”

“I enjoyed it.”

“I look forward to now using the library as a good source.”

“Seeing how to navigate the internet portion of the library.”

“The tour showed me where everything was.”

“I want to read even more after this session!  I want to become a History teacher and this session gave me more motivation to learn.  I loved the history of the campus.”

“I enjoyed how the instructor explained how virtually any book can be obtained from the majority of the UConn campuses.”

“Where she showed how to access books that are complementary to a class that we are taking.”

“Seeing where the private study area was.”

B.  Some suggestions as reported in the open ended questions:

“Some type of pamphlet about library searching or a map.”

“An online example of the web pages we saw so we know how to use them.”

“More walking around”

“Longer tour”

“Food.”

C.  And some comments that defied categorization:

“It was all legit”

“Well performed”

Our thanks go to the students and their instructors for a marvelous response to our survey.

–  William Uricchio, Library Director

As part of International Education Week activities on the Greater Hartford Campus, the Harleigh B. Trecker Library has opened an exhibit of international dolls and handicrafts. The exhibit will end just before Thanksgiving.

The dolls are from the collection of Professor Tatiana Serebriakova, World Club faculty advisor,  and are representative of the many countries she has visited. The needlework display is focused on handicrafts from countries in Asia, North America, Central America and South America.

The following photos provide a  sampling of our very colorful Trecker Library exhibit:

– Jan Lambert, Social Work Librarian

The calendar creates a number of challenges this time of year with our break and holiday schedule adjustments, the arrival of extra hours for finals, and also intersession.  Add to  those the possibility of inclement weather and, to paraphrase an old saying, we become doomed to live in interesting calendar times.

Information about our late fall and winter hours follows.  You will note that, as usual, we have added hours during finals — this time, based on our doorcounts of recent years, an hour in the morning from Monday to Thursday.

Be sure to call ahead, 860-570-9024, if you have any questions about whether or not we are open due to inclement weather or for other reasons.  Related information is often also included on the Greater Hartford Campus weather line: 860-570-9327.

Our hours beginning in January may be found at this web link:

http://www.lib.uconn.edu/libraries/hartford/hbtweb/hours.htm

We also have an “Hoursline” which provides regular schedule information and offers updates related to schedule changes:  860-570-9099.

See you at the Library!

— William Uricchio, Library Director

During the summer, virtually all of the Trecker Library’s public furniture, and much of its signage, was replaced.  Many of the worn items, which were sent to University Surplus in Storrs, can be seen in photographs of Trecker’s predecessor libraries dating as far back as the 1940’s making this event an important one in the history of our operations.  That the “old stuff”  lasted so long is a tribute to its manufacturers, our thrifty Yankee ways and, of course, the patience and forbearance of the Library’s users.  That the high-quality replacements  arrived on the scene is to the credit of University and University Libraries funders to whom we are deeply grateful.

Working with professional designers supplied at no cost to the University by the vendor, we explored a number of ways to make the Library more functional and more comfortable.  Visitors will find new colors, seating of different types, tables of varied heights, and advanced capabilities in our spaces.  Signage, designed and installed by UConn Libraries experts, now clearly identifies our group and quiet study rooms, delineates our policies and services, and points the way to our collections.  A hanging lobby sign, the first in our 24 years at this location, helps new clients find our front door.

Judging by the number of visitors who linger at the library, instead of quickly leaving as in the past, our soft seating, revised and updated “parlor”, and other welcoming areas seem to be meeting needs which were once left unfilled.

For the many who are visiting, or will visit,  the Trecker Library for the first time, some “now and then” photographs are illustrative:

A redesigned lobby area with new seating of different types and more open space:

Now

Then

Colorful tables and seating of various heights where ancient study carrels once were located:

Now

Then

State of the art computer tables at a central place which once housed file cabinets:

Now

Then

A “parlor” for relaxation, fellowship and study where reference librarians once worked:

Now

Then

New signs, greeting visitors arriving from either direction, near an updated service desk:

Now

Then

These, and many other, newly redesigned and refurnished library areas await your arrival — please come and enjoy them.

– William Uricchio, Library Director

The University of Connecticut has five regional campuses (not including the Health Center and Law School):  Avery Point (Groton), Greater Hartford (West Hartford), Stamford, Torrington and Waterbury.  Campus sizes range from around 2,000 students to less than 500 students and each campus has a library managed under the umbrella of the University Libraries, based at the “mothership” in Storrs.

The academic programs at each regional campus are also quite different with Avery Point serving as the University’s federal “Sea Grant” campus, Greater Hartford being home to the prestigious School of Social Work with its doctoral program and the Department of Public Policy, Torrington serving primarily undergraduates and Stamford and Waterbury working with their mixed undergraduate and graduate offerings.  To a very large extent, the academic programs drive the nature of, and differences between, the five regional campus libraries.

The Greater Hartford Campus traces its roots back to 1939 when it became the first significant teaching location beyond the main campus.  Through the years, it has maintained its role as the largest of the five regional campuses and so, in keeping with that status, its library — “our” library — is one of the busiest of the UConn libraries according to many important service statistics.

2008-2009 statistics showing the active state of the Trecker Library include:

Nearly 35,000 visitors
Just under 4,000 book circulations/renewals
Over 2,000 filled interlibrary loan requests
Almost 2,000 information questions responded to
Some 1,300 reference questions answered
Over 60 instruction & orientation sessions presented

Each new year brings difficult challenges but , “looking @ the numbers”, we take heart that our clientele continue to value the work that we do.

– William Uricchio, Library Director

Our thanks go to the 156 members of the Greater Hartford Campus community who participated in our Spring online satisfaction survey.  To quickly summarize:

1.  Responses came mostly from master’s degree students and undergrads.  The School of Social Work provided the largest group of respondents at 43% followed by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with 24%.

2.  Most of our surveyed users (41%) visit once per week when compared to monthly (21%) or other frequencies.

3.  Speaking overall, 95% were satisfied, very satisfied or extremely statisfied  with the largest group, 50%, being very satisfied.

4.  97% were satisfied, very satisfied or extremely satisfied with the library’s in-house services with the largest group, 46%, being very satisfied.

5.  94% were satisfied, very satisfied or extremely satisfied with the library’s collections with the largest group, 51%, being very satisfied.

6.  93% of respondents were satisfied, very satisfied or extremely satisfied with the library’s staff assistance with the largest group, 40%, being extremely satisfied.

7.  88% were satisfied, very satisfied or extremely satisfied with the library’s hours with the largest group, 46%, being very satisfied.

8.  84% were satisfied, very satisfied or extremely satisfied with the library’s equipment with the largest group, 40%, being very satisfied.

9.  81% were satisfied, very satisfied or extremely satisfied with the library’s interiors with the largest group, 42%, being very satisfied.

In addition to completing the quantitative portions of the survey, roughly half of the respondents accepted an invitation to provide comments.  The largest number of comments (30) were  praise for the staff.  Other significant numbers of comments, in descending order, expressed concerns about the physical condition of the library (20), the library’s hours (10), and its equipment (8).  General praise appeared in 9 comments.

The spring online survey was the first of its type to be conducted by the Greater Hartford Campus Trecker Library for its clientele.  The  University Libraries will be conducting another of its series of  Libraries-wide user surveys in 2010.  One reason for this survey, which was done prior to the arrival of a significant number of new furnishings, was to establish a baseline to see if facility satisfaction will improve in the 2010 survey.  The importance of the surveys cannot be understated because results have been used to support improvements ranging from the furnishings just mentioned to better public computers and photocopiers.

– Bill Uricchio, Library Director

Spring is goal setting time for the Trecker Library and its staff and we would like to know how we’re doing and if you have any ideas to improve the library and its services.   The link at the end of this message will take you to a brief  (12 questions) online survey.  Only 4 questions (marked in red) are required but we hope you will also consider answering the others. 

We will put your responses to good use.  Past surveys have led to our creating more group and quiet study space, a soft-seating parlor where visitors can relax, New Books shelves, and automatic front doors to make access easier among other improvements.

 The survey ENDS ON APRIL 15, 2009.  Thanks in advance for your help!

http://tinyurl.com/cjyd63

ps—The survey can be taken only once on each computer.

A wonderful set of print resources are now available online! 

Cambridge Histories Online (http://rdl.lib.uconn.edu/databases/1571) includes: American and world history; economic history and the history of science; together with historical treatments of literature; linguistics; music & theatre studies; philosophy; religion; anthropology and political thought.

Full-text of 60 works of narrative synthesis by major scholars published in over 250 volumes by Cambridge since 1960. see a full title list http://histories.cambridge.org/uid=3711/browse?all=1.

We have just received word of an upgrade to Science.gov, the federal government’s internet based research resource.  Information about it follows:

“Access to Science Information Expands with Science.gov 5.0 Launch

200 Million Pages of U.S. Government Science Resources Now Available on the Internet

The latest version of Science.gov <http://www.science.gov/> -Science.gov 5.0-was launched Sept. 15th, allowing users to search additional collections of valuable science resources; more easily target their searches; and readily find links to information on a variety of science topics. Science.gov is a free, integrated single-search gateway to reliable science and technology information from 17 organizations within

13 federal science agencies.

Science.gov 5.0 improves upon the previous version, Science.gov 4.0, by offering seven new databases and portals which allow researchers access to over 200 million pages of scientific information. New information available includes thousands of patents resulting from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) research and development(DOepatents <http://www.osti.gov/doepatents> ); documents and bibliographic citations of DOE accomplishments (DOE R&D Accomplishments Database <http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments> ); millions of electronic scientific documents from around the world known as e-prints (Eprint Network <http://www.osti.gov/eprints> ); and comprehensive and peer-reviewed toxicology data for thousands of chemicals (HSDB Hazardous Substances Databank <http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?HSDB>

) as well as more than 3 million references to worldwide literature on the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms (TOXLINE Toxicology Bibliographic Information <http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?TOXLINE> ).  New information also includes a digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature (PubMed Central <http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/> ) and cancer-related information of all kinds for all audiences (Cancer.gov <http://www.cancer.gov/> ), including support and treatment resources for patients, comprehensive descriptions of research programs and clinical trials for healthcare professionals and the general public, and funding opportunities for researchers.

Another key feature of Science.gov 5.0 is a “clustering” tool which helps target searches by grouping results by subtopics or dates. This technology was recently developed through a DOE Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program award.

In addition to quadrupling the amount of searchable content and enhancing the search technology, Science.gov 5.0 now provides links to related EurekAlert! Science News <http://www.eurekalert.org/>  and Wikipedia, and provides the capability to easily download research results into personal files or citation software.

Science.gov is hosted by DOE’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI), within DOE’s Office of Science.  In addition to DOE, Science.gov is supported by contributing members of the Science.gov Alliance, including the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, and the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation, with support from the National Archives and Records Administration.

Tim Byrne

Information International Associates, Inc.

DOE/Office of Scientific and Technical Information P.O. Box 62 Oak Ridge,TN 37831

Phone: 865-241-2358

E-mail:  byrnet@osti.gov “

-          William Uricchio, Library Director

Stephanie Willen Brown, the University Libraries’ Electronic Resources Librarian, reports that a database which may be of interest to faculty and students is on trial until October 17^th.  If this looks to be useful for your curricular or research pursuits please let me know and I will pass the word on to Stephanie.  If there is enough interest in the UConn community the Libraries will consider it for purchase later this year.  Stephanie writes:

“Hi all,

You might be interested in this trial of Cambridge Histories Online (find it at http://rdl.lib.uconn.edu/databases/1540).

About Cambridge Histories Online:

The Cambridge Histories have become an established and essential component of the academic research library, and now, for the first time, over 250 of these well-known, used and trusted volumes published since the 1960’s are available online, adding immense value to the texts and enhancing any aspect of historical research. Cambridge Histories Online (CHO) will be an indispensable research tool for undergraduates and academics alike. It offers impressive functionality, enabling quick and easy access to content and the tools to make the content usable in a time effective way, including extensive bibliographic reference linking, personal archives, citation export, remote access and user control display features.  CHO covers 14 subject areas, including General History, Regional History, Literary Studies, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. And an average of 5 new titles will be added each year!

Note that this is good for areas beyond simply history, including many in humanities & social science.”

Regards,

Bill Uricchio, Library Director (William.uricchio@uconn.edu)