Library Services – Review of the Year 2014-15
Introduction
The Library service in Queen’s has continued to go through a period of very rapid and
significant change in the period since the move to the McClay Library in 2009. This Review of
2014-15 provides an update on service provision and development during the last academic
year. It is structured to reflect developments across the three areas of strategic priority where
our contribution is most significant:
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Exceptional student experience
Enhanced research
Efficient, effective and sustainable enterprise
Exceptional Student Experience
Opening Hours & Service Availability:
During the year:
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24-hour opening was extended by several weeks around each examination period
with access to all floors of the McClay Library from 8.00am on Sunday mornings
Extended opening for study was provided in the McClay Library on both Good Friday
and Easter Tuesday
The McClay Library was open on May Day 2015 (third May Day opening)
Extended late opening for Medical students was provided in the McClay library during
June 2015
Simpler and more professional presentation of opening hours display via the Library
website was introduced greatly reducing the number of enquiries received in this
area
Disability Support:
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Recommendations from a survey in February 2014 were implemented including
improved access to safety ladders and a pilot to provide dedicated study space to
students with Asperger’s Syndrome.
Training sessions were provided for Library staff in assistive technology, cultural
awareness and mental health awareness.
Individual training sessions tailored to the needs of disabled students were provided.
Induction and Training:
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856 training sessions (with a total of 11,071 attendees) took place during 2014-15.
Almost 3,801 new students participated in induction talks and library tours in
September 2014 (very slightly down on the 2013 figure)
Recommendations from the induction survey carried out in November 2013 were
implemented including offering additional ad hoc tours of the library to meet demand.
New induction videos were launched in September 2014.
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Student Ambassadors:
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6 Student Library Ambassadors were successfully involved in the McClay Library
Welcome Week and induction programme in September 2014
4 Ambassadors are being recruited to assist with the 2015 induction period
Student Satisfaction with Library Services:
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The Library seeks to make continuous improvements to our services and we welcome
the feedback we receive from students. There are several annual student surveys
which assess student satisfaction with the Library; the 2014 results are summarised
below.
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In the National Student Survey 2014 (all graduating students), Learning
Resources received an overall satisfaction score of 92% (90% in 2013). We
believe that this high score was due to our ongoing efforts to improve services
to students in libraries and other learning spaces
Surveys of current students also measure satisfaction with the Library service.
In the First Year Experience Survey 2014 library resources and services
received an overall satisfaction score of 91% (93% in 2013); the equivalent
score in the 2014 Second Year Experience Survey was 88% (89% in 2013)
Library resources and services are also highly rated by postgraduate students
at Queen’s. In the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2014 an overall
satisfaction rating of 85.8% was achieved (81% in 2013). The overall
satisfaction rating in the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey 2013
was 83%.
Support for International Students:
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A survey of international student support needs was carried out in May 2015
Enhance Research
Library Resources:
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A third Patron Driven Acquisition (PDA) exercise (whereby students initiate purchase
of a particular e-book title by accessing it via the Library catalogue) resulted in 261
items being purchased by students. A new (evidence-based) purchasing model
involving e-books from Elsevier and OUP books was used.
2015 journal subscriptions were maintained despite ongoing inflationary pressures on
the budget in this area.
A further Book Availability Survey was carried out in April 2015 and confirmed 2014
findings that over 80% of students responding almost always found the book they
were looking for.
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Open Access:
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An Action Plan, Communications Strategy and revised Open Access Policy were
approved and additional staff were recruited in preparation for the implementation of
the HEFCE Policy on Open Access in April 2016.
The Library Open Access Team managed the RCUK Block Grant and COAF funding
to Queen’s to meet the cost of Article Processing Charges (APCs)
The Library Open Access Team managed Article Processing Charge (APC)
application and payment processes and management of publisher membership
schemes and offsetting schemes
Since April 2014, Open Access sessions have been delivered to over 900 academic
staff, postgraduate researchers and Library staff.
Institutional Repository:
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The Library Open Access Team managed the Institutional Repository via the Queen’s
Research Portal
Activity increased steadily throughout the academic year and approximately 500 new
records are now being created each month and approximately 700 records being
validated.
Discovery Tool:
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Ebsco EDS was implemented successfully for Queen’s, HSC and AFBI
Special Collections:
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Ongoing use of ContentDM software to develop digital collections continues and
records are now harvested by WorldCat to improve worldwide visibility of our
collections
A range of collaborative projects were advanced (Field Day, Ulster Scots Percy Online)
A World War 1 resource (an online register of Queen’s staff and students with
biography and photo) was launched on the WW1 centenary.
The Library provided support for the Northern Bridge collaborative programme
including successful Winter and Summer schools
The Library supported an ongoing programme of Digital Humanities workshops and
events
Efficient, Effective & Sustainable Enterprise
AFBI:
 2014-15 was the second year of successful service delivery under the new ten-year
contract to deliver Library Services to AFBI and in line with the new Strategic Plan
 Recommendations from the survey to establish user needs carried out March 2014
were implemented and reflect an increased emphasis on bibliometrics and measuring
the impact of research
 A major CABI e-book package purchased
 AFBI Library Online was re-designed to incorporate Search@AFBILIB
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HSC:
 A new Strategic Plan for 2014-16 was developed
 A detailed submission was produced in preparation for the DHSSPS review of the
Service Level Agreement relating to delivery of Library services
 The ongoing move to e-delivery of resources and services in tandem with ongoing
centralization and closure of a number of small libraries continued; six “honni hubs”
are now in place where small hospital libraries have been closed
 Ongoing progress has been made on centralized procurement and we hope to move
forward on regional procurement of a Point-of-Care tool
Major Service Enhancements & Achievements
Customer Service Excellence Accreditation:
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Library Services achieved ‘compliance’ against 49 (out of 57) elements included in the
CSE standard and ‘compliance plus’ against 7 elements
We produced a comprehensive ‘Communication Strategy’ addressing all forms of
interaction with our customers.
We formalised our feedback and complaints procedures and made them more
accessible in order to encourage customers to tell us what they think of Library
Services.
We created a CSE website to handle feedback from both customers and library staff
and as a vehicle for managing the relevant policy documents and making them
available to everyone.
We created an electronic staff handbook to make sure that staff have ready access to
all of the support and policy documents we have produced.
We produced new Standards of Service in consultation with our customers, set up
procedures to measure our performance against each of these on a regular basis and
published the outcomes on our website for the first time.
We carried out a customer satisfaction survey which we plan to repeat annually to
monitor ongoing performance.
RFID:
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The transition to an RFID infrastructure was completed with a move to RFID book
security on all sites
While already offering an improved student experience (fewer errors, missed
reservations, etc.) and efficiency gains, as of autumn 2014, we saw additional service
benefits as students were be able to borrow multiple books simultaneously without
opening each to scan the barcode
Facts & Figures
Total Library Visits
Total Book Loans
Downloads from
Major E-Resources
Total Enquiries
Answered
2014-15
1,351,167
489,974
1,621,615
2013-14
1,338,554
521,504
1,392,420
34,378
35,155
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Analysis of User Feedback 2014-15
Library staff acknowledge direct feedback via any medium promptly and an early reply from
an appropriate member of Library staff follows where necessary.
Feedback areas and specific action taken:
All significant service feedback for the period 1 August 2014 - 31 July 2015 has now been
analysed and categorised as follows:
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Building related
Study environment
Availability of services/opening hours
Library policies and procedures
Library staff
109 elements of feedback were received during the period and almost 90% of these were
received via e-mail. 39 elements of feedback (almost 36%) were positive.
32% of the feedback related to library staff and of this the overwhelming majority (94%) was
positive
30% of the feedback related to service availability issues (e.g. problems with access to
resources, things not working as expected, etc.)
20% of the feedback related to building management issues such as temperature, cleaning
issues, etc.
9% of the feedback related to study environment issues such as noise or access to study
seats/PCs
8% of the feedback related to issues with library policies and procedures such as fines
The following actions have been agreed/implemented as a direct result of the feedback
received from Library users:
Library staff:
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Positive feedback was passed to the individual/team concerned
Library staff were reminded of the need to keep noise to a minimum at service desks
Specific feedback resulted in a member of security staff no longer working in the
Library
Availability of services/opening hours:
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The group study rooms were made bookable throughout library service hours from
September 2014
Opening hours were extended beyond the end of the summer term to cover the
period of Medical student exams in June 2015
Opening hours were extended in 2014-15: the period of 24 hour opening was
extended by several weeks; the Library opened on May Day and early on Sunday
mornings during exams
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Information on PC and study seat availability was provided via plasma screens and
the web
Building related:
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We respond immediately to requests to open/close windows and blinds; to improve
our ability to respond quickly, control of both systems has been granted to staff in the
library office
Acoustic treatment of the book sorter room was carried out to reduce noise spillage
Study environment:
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As a result of feedback on maintenance of the study environment outside library
staffed hours, we provide regular feedback to the security firm who provide this
service, carry out compulsory training for all new security guards and have
implemented a Service Level Agreement
The Noise Alert service was extended to the full academic year as of September
2014
Library Policies and Procedures:
All the feedback received in this area was resolved by offering further clarification of our
policies.
Surveys
During 2014-15, Library Services carried out the following surveys and in each case
analysed the feedback received and brought forward a series of recommendations for future
action as a result.
The key points or agreed actions are summarised below
Book Availability Survey March 2015
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We learned that 83% of undergraduate students usually or almost always found the
book they required as did 86% of postgraduate students. This compares very closely
with the 85% who reported that they usually or almost always found the book they
required last year.
The survey also found that a significant minority of students have difficulty finding
the books they need – around 15%.
We will now seek formal or informal feedback to isolate the elements of using the
library catalogue and finding books on the shelves that cause the greatest problems
Short Loan survey 2015
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We are now abolishing set return times so students will be able to return short loan books,
on the due back date, at any time of the day
We are making fines clearer and simpler to understand – abolishing hourly 50p increments
and fines will accumulate on a daily basis (excluding the weekend).
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All 1-Night Loan books will be changed to 2-Night Loans. Only DVDs and videos will
remain in the 1-Night category.
First Annual Satisfaction Survey
Library Services carried out a User Satisfaction Survey during November 2014 to gather data
for our Standards of Service monitoring. The focus of the survey was on overall satisfaction,
speed of service delivery, quality of staff interactions, etc.
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Over 95% of respondents were either “Satisfied” or “Very satisfied” with the service.
Customer Journey Maps
Three customer journey maps were carried out during the year. These looked at the process
of finding and borrowing an item in the McClay Library and were conducted with 3 different
types of user:
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an inexperienced library user
an experienced library user
a user with disabilities
Areas for discussion and concern were highlighted as part of the customer journey map and
have resulted in the following specific actions:
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A suspended sign was obtained to identify where the catalogue terminals are on the
ground floor in the McClay Library
The QCat terminals in the McClay Library have been labelled ‘QCat – the Library
Catalogue’.
Additional chairs have been obtained for the ground floor in the McClay Library as
the chairs at the catalogue terminals are sometimes moved and not replaced
The angle of the keyboard at the PCs on the ground floor cannot be adjusted easily
due to the short cable so longer cables have been made available where possible
It was not obvious that steps or kick stools are available to use in order to reach the
higher shelves in the McClay Library so additional safety steps have been purchased
to ensure that they are available on every floor.
A sign has been added to the door to remind readers of the mechanism required to
release the door when exiting the Special Collections & Archives Reading Room
August 2015
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