LibFest 2015 event at University of West London. Update from the academic support team

1. Academic Support Team
Updates: April 2015
1
Date: 8 April 2015 ● Name: Beatrice Jamnezhad ● Venue: SMR, Savoy Suite
LibFest – 8 April 2015

2. Post September 2015
2
Academic Support Team will be present at:
• St Mary’s Road Mon – Thurs (9am – 8pm)
Friday (9am – 6pm)
• Brentford ASLs for CNMH,
SPSWHS & TCLBT will
each spend a day at their
respective schools
(days t.b.c by Schools)
• Reading Mon, Tues, Thurs

3. Academic Support
Projects
3

4. On-going projects from Summer 2014
4
Summer Project 2014 Purpose Outcome Summer Project 2015
To design a template
Information Literacy
Programme for the
September inductions
To familiarise students with
the print and electronic
resources available to them,
empower them to search
more efficiently, evaluate
information effectively and
reference correctly
ILP launched in September
2014
238 sessions delivered to
students in Sep 14
semester
83 sessions delivered since
start of Jan 15 semester
Build on the existing ILP into
a blended learning module
that can be used in parts or
as a whole unit to students
across the University
This includes collaborating
with IT and INSTIL to embed
new sessions into the
programme
To design a series of
electronic guides by
October
To offer academics and
students subject-specific
guides that can be accessed
remotely as well as within
UWL estate
The LibGuides series
launched in Oct 14 with 16
guides
Suggestions from
academics has increased
the number to 31
Launch our new Research
LibGuide
Create new LibGuides on:
Copyright
Referencing skills
Education?
To ensure we increase
number of academics
trained on creating
electronic reading lists
To make reading lists more
accessible by creating links to
electronic articles and e-books
on the module reading lists,
making it easier to check for
latest editions and monitor
copyright compliance on using
digitised items
Low uptake from
academics.
In October, the terms of
the project were changed.
ASLs began creating
electronic reading lists for
all modules where lists
could be obtained/found
The Academic Support Team
has representation on a new
Reading Lists Working Group,
chaired by Prof Braisby, that
seeks to review existing
practices

5. New Projects for Summer 2015
5
Project Purpose Action taken Action to follow
Referencing
software
To review our fee-based referencing system,
RefWorks, in order to determine whether:
• It offers value for money
• Current issues with students not being able
to access the Write-n-Cite feature on shared
PCs can be resolved
• Free or fee-based alternatives used by other
HEIs are suitable at UWL
Academics in all Schools were
contacted regarding RefWorks.
Deadline was 20th March
32 responses received in total:
• 7 voted to renew
• 23 voted to cancel
• 7 were undecided
Subscription to RefWorks will be
renewed for another year (until
April 2016) to support existing
users
Thorough investigation will be
carried out on alternative systems
and results shared with Schools
Support current users of RefWorks
during transfer of saved
references onto another system
UWL Harvard
Referencing
Style
To determine whether we should update the
current UWL Harvard or remove it altogether in
favour of the general Harvard style
• Business case previously
submitted to LTAC in early
2014 has been updated
• Trial of Cite Them Right set up
and publicised to the Schools
The updated business case to be
submitted to LTAC for
consideration and decision
LibApps • Make communication between the Library
and students/academics easier
• Create FAQ page for general library services
as well as more specific help on use of e-
resources
• Make it easier for students to book one-to-
one sessions with their ASLs
• Help Library with usage data analysis
Academic Support Librarians are
currently testing LibAnswers
(FAQs), LibAnalytics (statistics),
and LibCal (information surgery
bookings)
New services to be launched in
September 2015
Copyright To ensure ASLs provide consistent information
on copyright compliance across the Schools
Presentation on copyright
regulations and compliance given
by an external speaker in March
’15, with ASLs, and
representatives from other Library
teams, TEL team and UWL legal
department in attendance
• Brand new copyright guide
• Promotion of new Digitisation
Service, currently being set up
as part of a shared project, led
by the Head of Resources &
Technology