Saw this tweet recently. Inspired to know how UX / User Experience can be put into practice to help us in distributing workloads and tasks. Visualizations can help us see things better compared to listing it all in text format. Have you thought of something similar at your workplace?
Library
Mobile Libraries – More than Brick and Mortar
Mobile libraries are an advantageous addition to libraries and a library’s services. It is something that, if feasible, should be implemented. Globally, there are libraries facing challenges like activating non-users of the library as well as extending the “reach” of the library in effort to allow the resources therein to be obtainable by
Academic Libraries Most Trusted, but Hardest to Use
Source: https://go.iii.com/2019-academic-trends.html
Key Takeaways include:
1. Researchers struggle between ease of use and authoritative information.
2. Researchers highly mistrust online resources due to prolific misinformation.
3. The full breadth and depth of library resources are not easy to see.
(Excerpt from article)
The war to free science
How librarians, pirates, and funders are liberating the world’s academic research from paywalls.By Brian Resnick and Julia Belluz  Updated Jul 10, 2019, 3:58pm EDT
Using Twitter to connect with faculty
Following a library’s evaluation of their social media efforts, data revealed an interested fact about their Twitter platform. The students weren’t engaging as they expected, but faculty were! Armed with this information, they shifted gears and started making faculty their new target audience.
Get a head start by attending the Library Orientation
- Get to know the library’s resources (books, journals, articles, research papers, final year project reports, etc.) and how you can search for them via OneSearch (NTU Library’s discovery layer powered by Primo and Alma). Don’t just limit yourself to using Google Scholar / Google Search. Try out the features of the library’s web discovery layer, and you’ll be surprised by the results that you get. Some of the features include: filtering by format type, limiting to a specific period, emailing, exporting your results to a citation management software such as Endnote and many more.
- Join the library tour, and explore the library facilities and services. Be inquisitive and ask questions, lots of them. There are spaces for you to study or even get a cat-nap also exercise on the Eco-Bike while charging your mobile phone. Get to know the library’s resources (books, journals, articles, research papers, final year project reports, etc.) and how you can search for them via OneSearch (NTU Library’s discovery layer powered by Primo and Alma). Don’t just limit yourself to using Google Scholar / Google Search. Try out the features of the library’s web discovery layer, and you’ll be surprised by the results that you get. Some of the features include: filtering by format type, limiting to a specific period, emailing, exporting your results to a citation management software such as Endnote and many more.
- If you missed the library orientation, don’t fret. Simple approach the friendly librarians at the Desk and request for one. You can also learn more by scheduling a 1-on-1 session with the librarian. You will get to know the available resources relevant to your area of study, assignments, and projects.
- Last but not least, all the best in your education journey.
Episode 5: Digital Development In Libraries with Pamela Tulloch And Lindsey Henderson
Listen in your favourite player Do libraries play a major role in facilitating digital skill development for the public? What makes the library the place to
Source: Episode 5: Digital Development In Libraries with Pamela Tulloch And Lindsey Henderson
What Do Researchers Expect from the Library?
Source: Ex Libris Blog
Webinar recording: Staying visible, relevant and connected with your research community
Reference, subject, liaison, research support, outreach … these are librarian roles that are constantly evolving. In this recorded webinar, three librarians discuss their research into and experience of learning new skills and launching new services for today’s research community.
Source: Webinar recording: Staying visible, relevant and connected with your research community
Give me 5 minutes and I’ll share with you some Project Management Tools
As a librarian, I had managed numerous projects in my line of work. One of the most challenging aspects of project management is juggling project tasks. I had to ensure that these tasks are completed on time within the allocated budget and manpower; especially the critical ones.
I tried out a few project management tools to help me better manage, monitor and track the project tasks. Among them are:
Some are offered for free while you may need to get a few days/weeks of trial period for others. There are a few things to consider when you are choosing the “right” tool. Some of them include:
- Pricing
- Number of users in the project team
- Collaborative features
- Reporting features
- Alerts/Reminders
- Export/Archival features
- Integration with other cloud tools
- Mobile devices integration
- User Friendliness
- Easy to learn
I am using Trello for my stuff that is to track life/family events and To-Dos and use Basecamp for my office work. Both work well, and there are pros and cons. An important thing to note is that you need to be comfortable in using them and it suits your needs. This criterion may vary from person to person. There’s not a one size fits all solution. Check out these tools, and I’m sure you’ll find one that fulfills your needs.
Rain D Librarian 