The libraries will remain open continuously from 9 a.m. Sunday, April 26, until 8 p.m. Friday, May 1, and from 9 a.m.-6 pm. Saturday, May 2. For Finals Week, they will open at 9 a.m. Sunday, May 3, and remain open continuously until 8 p.m. Friday, May 8. They will be open from 1-5 p.m. Saturday, May 9.

For more info, check out the Libraries’ calendar: www.libraries.wvu.edu/hours

Doors will close after finals week on May 10 and reopen before the start of the fall semester. In the interim, the WVU Libraries will work with users in retrieving needed materials housed at Evansdale.

Students and faculty will be able to request books through the Libraries’ Book Express service. Items will be retrieved within 24 hours and will be available for pick up on the lower level of the library. Users will be able to obtain journal articles by requesting them through ILLiad, the Libraries’ Interlibrary Loan service. Materials will be digitized and delivered via email.

“We expect the end result of this renovation to outweigh the temporary inconvenience,” said Mary Strife, Director of the Evansdale Library. “Students will have a library for the 21st century that is aesthetically pleasing, equipped with the latest technology, and more conducive to studying, doing research, and working on group projects.”

Plans call for reconfiguring the first floor to create a space that is bright and open.

Clusters of study and computer carrels will replace a large block of shelves on the right of the floor. Near the rear windows, a flexible study area will allow students to easily move tables, chairs, and whiteboards to fit a group project or tutoring session. A leisure reading area with lounge seating will offer a quiet corner to study or read for pleasure.

The microfilm room will make way for a lounge with upscale vending machines, café seating, and a video screen possibly showing CNN. New computer stations, with carrel walls for privacy, will replace the current arrangement.

And there’s no need to fear if you have any questions. Finding help will be quicker and easier for library users thanks to a new desk that centralizes circulation, reference, and technical services in one location.
New carpeting, wallpaper, a fresh coat of paint, and a Flying WV tile inlay near the entrance will tie together the floor.

“Students played a big part in our planning of this makeover. We listened to their recommendations,” Strife said. “I’m eager to see them filling the new space once we’re done.”

We have the class for you.

Film and Media Literacy (ULIB300 CRN53044) is taught online. The course is an eCampus course and does not meet in a classroom. Students watch films independently in the private viewing rooms in the Media Services Department of the Downtown Campus Library. These rooms have 42” plasma screens and high quality sound systems to deliver an optimal atmosphere for viewing films. Students also have the option to watch films at home if they rent them.

Here are some quotes from students that took the course:

“This was also one of my first web classes and I felt it was better than other web classes I have taken this semester.”

“I really enjoyed this course and would like to take more classes like this.”

“This was my favorite class throughout all of college.”

In this class, you will choose four of eight genres to study. The choices are: Blaxploitation, Slasher, Gangster, Westerns, Dark Comedy, the Films of Quentin Tarantino, Graphic Novel Adaptations, and World Cinema. You will then select two of the fours genres to focus further on and watch five more films that capture the development of those genres. Finally, you will research and choose a film from lists in your selected genres to critique for your final assignment. You will also study media literacy, film criticism and vocabulary, and film databases.

For more information and a complete film list visit the course web page at http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/instruction/film/.

Study hard.

Good luck and best wishes from librarians and library staff.

The WVU Libraries’ Information Literacy Course Enhancement Program, a collaborative effort between the Libraries and the Provost’s Office, is focused on fulfilling the University’s 2010 Plan, www.wvu.edu/~2010plan, for information literacy to become a curriculum component across all disciplines by 2010.

“We needed a way to show WVU what more can happen when librarians and faculty work together in the 21st century information environment,” said Carroll Wilkinson, WVU Libraries’ Director of Instruction and Information Literacy. “I am grateful to Dr. Martin and Dean O’Brien for making this project possible.”

Stepping up for this pioneer effort are Assistant Professor Gonzalo Bravo, Sport Sciences Department, School of Physical Activity and Sport; Assistant Professor Lisa Hardman, School of Nursing, Health Sciences Center; Professor Fred Jacoby, Arts and Humanities Division, Potomac State College; Assistant Professor Rhonda Reymond, Art Department, College of Creative Arts; and Professor Tim Warner, Geology and Geography Department, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.

They were chosen from among 23 applicants who submitted detailed proposals for integrating information literacy into their classrooms.

Faculty will work with Wilkinson and their library liaisons (Linda Blake, Virginia Bender, Barbara LaGodna, and Beth Royall) to create discipline-specific active learning assignments that address information literacy concepts. For example, there may be research assignments in the course already which can be reworked to include practice in resource evaluation or ethical application of the information found. Participants will learn together as a group, and they will work in smaller collaborations with their library liaison and the program coordinator. They will also each earn a $3,000 stipend.

“This project will help us learn from each other for the students’ benefit,” Wilkinson said. “Following completion of the enhanced courses, I am hopeful that the students will have new power to analyze, synthesize, and present information in multiple contexts for many different audiences.”

Expectations are for the faculty to begin teaching the revised courses during the fall 2009 or spring 2010 semester and to take part in a Showcase of Information Literacy Learning Progress Forum during the academic year.

Courses to be enhanced include intermediate, discipline-specific, and graduate courses in the WVU curriculum. They are: Effective Public Speaking SPA 270 (Potomac State); Sport in the Global Market SM 375; Introduction to Remote Sensing Geol/Geog 455; Great Universal Expositions of the 19th and Early 20th Centuries ARHS 494; and Scientific Underpinnings, Nursing 715.

The course enhancement grants will be offered again in the spring of 2010.

The WVU Libraries want input from students, faculty, and staff on the services and resources they currently provide and what offerings they should add. The survey, consisting of 45 multiple-choice questions and has room for comments, enables library users to share their frank opinions about all aspects of the Libraries.

The Libraries appreciate your opinion and understand that your time is valuable. All participants will be entered in a drawing for an iPod Nano; three winners will be drawn.

If you have been selected to participate in the survey, you will receive an email in your MIX or Groupwise account by April 13. You will be able to complete the survey from April 13-24.

“If you receive an invitation to participate in LibQual, please complete the survey,” WVU Libraries Dean Frances O’Brien said. “Your responses and comments will help us to better understand your needs and to provide you with the best services and resources.”

Responses from previous surveys led to the Libraries making several changes, including extending library hours to 2 a.m. and adding Eliza’s coffee shop to the Downtown Campus Library.

Frequently asked questions

What is LibQual?
LibQual is a nationwide research project undertaken to define and measure library service quality across institutions and to create useful quality-assessment tools to aid each participating library in planning for the future. The LibQual project uses an instrument designed to measure how library users perceive the quality of service they receive. This tool identifies gaps between the perceived, desired and minimally acceptable levels of library service in a number of categories. The LibQual project is sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL).

Why are the survey questions so redundant? They keep asking the same question over and over. Who designed this survey?
This is the most asked WVU LibQual question. The survey examines a variety of dimensions of library services, each represented by a number of questions. Repetition or redundancy in questions allows the survey designers to analyze the validity of each service quality dimension through statistical methods.
The LibQUAL survey evolved from a conceptual model based on the SERVQUAL instrument, a popular tool for assessing service quality in the private sector grounded in the “Gap Theory of Service Quality.” It was developed by Leonard L. Berry (Distinguished Professor, Texas A&M University), A. Parasuraman, and Valarie A. Zeithaml. In 1999, ARL, representing the largest research libraries in North America, partnered with Texas A&M University Libraries to develop, test, and refine LibQUAL.

Can I skip questions?
If you do not wish to answer a question, select NA (not applicable). You must give a response to each question; either answer the question or mark NA.

My major or my area of research is not listed on the survey. What do I pick?
Because this is a nationwide multi-institution survey, discipline categories have been standardized for ease of comparison. They do not always match WVU discipline names. Make your best choice, and if you are still in doubt as to what discipline you should select from the drop-down list on the survey, select “Other.”

Why was LibQual developed?
In conjunction with other research libraries, we want to assess our performance based on our users’ perceptions of the quality of service we deliver instead of simple metrics such as user counts, number of books circulated, number of computer workstations provided and collection size.

How many libraries are involved in LibQual?
More than 500 libraries nationwide have participated in LibQual. This is the fourth time the WVU Libraries have participated. Previous LibQual surveys were done at WVU in 2003, 2005, and 2007.

How will I benefit from completing the survey?
Your input will be used to focus our attention on specific service areas that are most in need of improvement. Your honest opinions will guide us in our ongoing efforts to improve our service to everyone. Eliza’s coffee shop in the Downtown Campus Library is one example of a service provided in response to LibQual comments.

How did you come to choose me?
We randomly selected a number of e-mail addresses of WVU faculty and students from MIX and Groupwise. We then sent e-mail messages to that group encouraging each recipient to complete the survey on the Web.

What kinds of questions are you asking?
There are three types of questions in the survey: General statements asking you to rate a series of library services by clicking radio buttons to indicate; an open-ended question (text box) where you can write in specific comments or complaints in your own words (In past surveys, almost half of the respondents wrote comments. These are very helpful to the Libraries.); and questions about age, sex, discipline and position at the University (This will enable us to analyze the results by category and to make sure that the replies are representative of the university population as a whole).

How long will this survey take?
The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete.

How many messages will a person receive?
Participants will receive a total of three e-mail messages: A general message announcing the survey and explaining its purpose and two brief reminder messages asking participants to complete the survey if they have not already done so.

If I reply to the survey, will I still receive reminder messages?
Sorry, but yes you will. Since replies to the survey are anonymous, we have no way of knowing who has completed the survey and who has not, so we are sending these brief reminders to everyone.

Are the survey responses confidential?
Yes, absolutely. We are taking every measure possible to protect the privacy of participants. Survey data are stored on a secure server, which is located behind a secure firewall. Everything possible is done to separate personal information from survey responses. Email addresses are not saved with the responses, and once they are saved there is no way to link an individual’s survey responses to their email address — assuring confidentiality when entering the incentive drawing. After the drawing for the iPods, which is conducted by ARL, email addresses are discarded. The WVU Libraries received approval from the IRB (Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects) for the LibQual survey.

Will the survey store “cookies” on my computer?
Cookies were once used with the LibQual survey (2002 survey and earlier), but are no longer used. For the current survey, the behind-the-scenes programming has been written for maximum efficiency, stability, and compatibility, and the survey does not rely on features such as JavaScript or cookies.

What if I cannot open the survey link URL from my email message?
If you cannot open the URL from within your email message by clicking, try copying the URL text and pasting it into your Web browser’s address box.

What if my browser has problems opening the survey?
You may be using a browser that is too old for the survey to function properly. You may have better luck doing the survey from a library computer.

What if I receive an error message stating that a variable is undefined?
This is a timeout problem. If the survey is left incomplete for more than an hour, it will timeout. Start over and complete the survey without taking a break.

What happens to the data collected in the survey?
Survey data are transmitted directly from the central LibQual server to a secure database. The data are then analyzed and reports generated for the individual libraries. These reports will provide the WVU Libraries with detailed information on how our users perceive the quality of their library service.

Where can I find more information online?
The official home page of LibQual is located at http://www.libqual.org. Click on the About LibQual link to find information about the origins of LibQual, the people involved, how the project is funded, and a bibliography.

Is there a person I can talk to about the survey?
If you are having trouble with the survey or have questions, please contact the Associate Dean of Libraries, Myra Lowe at 304-293-0305 or Myra.Lowe@mail.wvu.edu.

What do I get for doing the survey?
If you choose, your name will be entered in a drawing from all WVU responses for an iPod Nano. We will be giving iPods to three survey participants. Please follow the instructions on the survey form to enter. The Association of Research Libraries will conduct the drawing and notify the WVU Libraries.

The recently launched research repository, a joint effort by the West Virginia University Libraries, the Office of Information Technology, and the Office of Academic Affairs and Research, brings together scholarly research from students and faculty and makes them accessible through one search engine.

“WvuScholar is a much better interface than we had before,” said John Hagen, Program Coordinator for the Institutional Repository. “It’s easier to search. You can search full-text, not just keywords.”

Migration of the old WVU eIDR system to the new Ex Libris “DigiTool” repository (IR) system began last fall. The collections include Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs), Electronic undergraduate Honors Theses (EHTs) and the Electronic Scholarly Research Archives (ESRA), a faculty research portal.

Student-driven research has been an important part of the open access initiative. WVU became a pioneer in the field in 1998 when it required electronic submission of all master’s theses and doctoral dissertations. Undergraduate Honors College theses are now a graduation requirement as well.

The enhanced access to research posted online translates into many more eyes reading one’s work than would otherwise happen. An ETD is read thousands of times more than their printed counterparts. Over the past decade, the Libraries have recorded more than 10 million ETD downloads.

“The ETD initiative is a way for WVU to participate in discovering new methods of scholarly communication – how our faculty and student research is made available in today’s changing research environment,” said Frances O’Brien, Dean of the WVU Libraries. “Active communication among scholars and the public is an important part of our mission as a land grant university.”

To search the wvuScholar collections, go to http://wvuscholar.wvu.edu:8881