Swinburne Library News

Swinburne library in semester two, 2008

We are now close to the end of semester, with only two full weeks to go, followed by three weeks of exams. At Hawthorn library we have extended library opening hours to 3:00am each day, and we have opened the library until midnight every day throughout semester. So it is time for a newsletter.

Library rovers service to continue

In late 2007, the library and ITS piloted a trial 'rover' service at Hawthorn campus library. The rovers provided students with assistance both using the library, and using computers or wireless connections. The trial was successful and it continued at Hawthorn for the whole of first semester of 2008.

Due to the success of the rovers service in first semester, we have now extended the service to Lilydale and Prahran libraries, and increased its operating hours at Hawthorn, for second semester.

The rovers assisted in designing a bright red uniform so that they can be easily spotted as they move around the library. In their new uniforms they cannot be missed.

Live chat service online

The library has added a new live chat service to its Questions, Comments, Research help contact service. Now, in addition to email, phone or SMS, you can also talk in real time with a librarian through the library website.

The live chat service is currently operating between the hours of 11am and 3pm Monday to Friday, which were found to be peak times for library use, and allows the library to provide real-time help from a cross-campus team of librarians. The service has been operating for just over a month and at 11.05 am on the first day, the service started with a query from an astronomy student based in Canada!

As with the email, phone and SMS services, the live chat service can answer questions about the library, provide technical help accessing resources, provide help with research, and take feedback. The co-browse and push features of the software allow the library to guide users through a search, whether it is searching the library catalogue, using databases or even Google. Live chat is a service innovation that enables people who aren't physically in the library to access the library's excellent reference service.

Swinburne on YouTube

In recognition of Swinburne's centenary in 2008, the Library is digitising archival footage from Swinburne's history to help preserve it for the future and reach new audiences on the Web.

The Swinburne Videos project started when SBS approached the Library for archival footage of playwright and former Swinburne staff member David Williamson. The right door, a comical film promoting Swinburne, was produced in 1972 by Film and Television students and features a young David Williamson touring each faculty at the then Swinburne College of Technology.

While searching for the footage, the Library uncovered a series of other fascinating recordings, such as a video of Malcolm Fraser opening the Hawthorn Campus Library in 1972, and audio recordings of Ethel Swinburne's message to students in the future (not yet available). At a time of change at Swinburne, the ability to bring these old recordings into digital formats and make use of emerging technologies means the Library can reveal these forgotten artefacts to a wider audience, and bring Swinburne's history to life.

The Library archives also hold video recordings of more recent events in our history, including the opening of the Mooroolbark campus in 1992 when the announcement of university status was made, and the installation ceremony for our Foundation Chancellor, Richard Pratt, in 1993. These films will also be available in the YouTube series in the near future.

'The right door' and other Swinburne-related videos are now available from the Library's YouTube profile or by searching YouTube for 'swinvideos'

Library welcomes new senior staff

Ben Conyers, Logistics and Customer Services Manager

Ben started at the Hawthorn library in August 2008. He has had a variety of experience having worked at the Australian Institute of Management, the Bayside and City of Greater Dandenong public library services and most recently at the Monash University, Caulfield campus. Ben has held a variety of roles:Lending Services Coordinator, Information Literacy Librarian and Branch Manager. He joins the library team in the newly created role of Logistics and Customer Services Manager. In his new role he will be looking at ways to better utilise the Hawthorn library space and improve the student experience.

Helen Reid, Manager, TAFE Library and Information Services

We are also pleased that Helen Reid has joined the Library as the Manager, TAFE Library and Information Services. She replaces Clare Carlsson who took up a role at Monash University. Helen has a breadth of experience in TAFE and special libraries. She worked at Box Hill TAFE, becoming deputy institute librarian and left the Departments of Premier and Cabinet, and Treasury and Finance to join us. She has masters degrees in library and information management and in HR management, and will be the fourth Aurora graduate to join the Swinburne library staff.

New recharge lockers for laptops

We have recently installed a number of powered laptop lockers at the Hawthorn campus library. The lockers are fitted with a power point, and can be loaned for up to four hours. These safe and secure lockers allow students to go off and do something else while their laptop is charging, whether it be having lunch or going to a lecture. Keys for the lockers can be borrowed at the Hawthorn Service Desk.

During 2008, we have also installed a large number of power points in all our libraries as more and more students are bringing their laptops in to library or borrowing one from us.

Milestone for Swinburne Research Bank

The Library is pleased to announce that Swinburne Research Bank recently surpassed the impressive milestone of 8000 records.

Swinburne Research Bank is an online open access collection of research by Swinburne researchers. It aims to showcase Swinburne research and maximise its impact through increased exposure online. The collection is designed to provide a complete picture of research at Swinburne, from peer-reviewed journal articles to PhD theses, working papers and radio broadcasts.

Since the Library launched the service in May, it has received over 21,000 visits from 142 countries across all continents. This means that people outside Australia are discovering, reading and linking to Swinburne research. Wherever copyright permits, a version of the full text is made available to help the work reach an audience beyond Swinburne's walls; currently we are able to provide full text access to 16 percent of the collection but this figure is rapidly growing.

Swinburne Research Bank is part of a range of services Swinburne Library provides to help manage, publish and increase access to research material produced at Swinburne. If you would like to contribute to Swinburne Research Bank, please visit our Contribute page or contact the Library's Online Services staff for more information.

New philanthropy collection

The Asia-Pacific Centre for Philanthropy and Social Investment (APCPSI) and the Library are thrilled to launch a new Eldon and Anne Foote Collection on Philanthropy. The generous support of the Eldon and Anne Foote Trust (Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation) has made the new collection possible. It will enable us to build the philanthropy collection to support APCPSI's postgraduate courses and students.

The Eldon and Anne Foote endowments and generosity have enriched the lives of many Australians. We hope that this collection in some way acknowledges their contribution to the welfare of others. John Emerson AM, senior partner at Freehills, will launch the collection. He has an extensive and illustrious career of over 20 years heading up the pro bono department and in the philanthropic and not for profit sector.

The launch event will be held Wednesday 12 November from 6:00pm to 7:30pm in the conference room, level 3 Hawthorn campus library.

Those interested in attending the event should contact Helen Imber on 9214 8384.

100,000th eBook title added

The eBook trend is gathering momentum. In August, the library added its 100,000th eBook to the catalog. Our 'loans' of eBooks are currently around 4000 per month. A recent study, eBooks: the end user experience, explores the usage by academic and research staff at 5 universities. It found that 'users overwhelmingly indicated that eBooks are useful to them and that they would like to use more eBooks. Almost all participants found eBooks useful, with between 85 percent and 96 percent rating them as either very or somewhat useful. Moreover, between 79 percent and 92 percent of users at each institution said that they would like to use more eBooks.'

Swinburne's 100,000th eBook is Television Truths by John Hartley: 'This engaging book, written by one of television's best known experts, invites us to explore television's most controversial coverage and fascinating formats: TV citizenship, live TV, "plebiscitary" shows, reality TV, synchronized sports and TV's own history. At a time of unprecedented change in technologies and business plans, Hartley explores television's evolving place and transforming role in our knowledge-based society.'

Currently, one in four titles in the library catalogue is an eBook.

Living Library goes Green

Following successful Living Library events at Wantirna, Croydon, Prahran and Lilydale in 2007, the Living Library is returning to Wartirna for a second time. The theme for this year's Wantirna Living Library is Sustainability.

The event will be held on Thursday, 30 October from 10:30am to 12:30pm.

The Living Library concept allows anyone to come into the Library and borrow a 'living book', that is, to spend time with a person, ask questions and learn about the person's life. Living books for Wantirna 2008 will include a range of experts on sustainability issues. There will be 10 to 12 'living books' available for loan. It is a way for students or the public to learn about topics in an interactive and fun way.

Croydon library redevelopment

The Croydon campus library has commenced a $2 million redevelopment which is scheduled for completion in February 2009. The refurbishment will take place in three stages spanning the next four months. We are currently involved in stage one, which constitutes the preparation of the left side of the library. When stage one is complete we will move into the new space that has been created. Stage two is the most significant aspect of the refurbishment which involves creating a new service desk, ceiling, computer pods and casual setting areas. During stage three a new computer lab will be created.

During the refurbishment the library will continue offer a limited service. The end result will be worth waiting for. It will be light, spacious and an asset to the campus and will definitely enhance the student experience.

Closing remarks

During Semester 1 we ran several surveys of library use. We conducted an Insync customer satisfaction survey, which we do every year or two, and we also conducted an occupancy count - how many people and how many seats? We found that at peak times, there were more people than seats at Hawthorn library.

What else did we find out? We achieved a very high level of satisfaction again, especially with the level of service. At the same time, there was some shift in user responses and comments, reflecting the increased level of overcrowding at most campuses, but especially Hawthorn. In 2008 to date, we have experienced a 28% increase in ordinary traffic at Hawthorn campus library, and a 107% in traffic through the LateLab - a 33% increase in traffic overall.

We analysed responses to find out what was most important to library users, and what areas least met their expectations; the top five areas where our users think we need to improve are

1. Computers and printing
2. Inadequate book collection
3. Library catalogue is hard to use
4. Crowding and noise
5. Difficult to access electronic databases and journals

On the other hand, we have improved in a number of areas - opening hours, the library web site, and the service provided by our staff, which gets top marks. In the meantime, we are putting together a report for our users on where we are heading in 2009.

Best wishes,

Derek Whitehead
Director, Information Resources