1. W.E.B. Du Bois Library Assessing the Learning Commons Rachel Lewellen, Assessment Librarian University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA 5th AMICAL Conference May 25-28, 2008

2. 2 W.E.B. Du Bois Library About the Learning Commons  Facilities Located in the Library, 25,000+ square feet, 17 group study rooms, 250+ seats, 200+ computers, quiet study spaces  Services Reference, Writing Center, Advising, Career Services, Technology Assistance, Peer Tutoring, Coffee/Snack Café  Access to Software, hardware, library print and electronic resources, wired and wireless network access, multimedia tools, etc.

3. 3 W.E.B. Du Bois Library The Tower and the Courtyard

4. 4 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Lounge Seating

5. 5 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Public Computer Area

6. 6 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Study Pod Area

7. 7 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Group Study Room

8. 8 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Tall Café Style Table with View of Courtyard

9. 9 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Study Tables each with a Computer

10. 10 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Quiet Study

11. 11 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Quiet Study

12. 12 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Procrastination Station Cafe

13. 13 W.E.B. Du Bois Library

14. 14 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Assessment Approaches  Needs Assessment Focus groups Placemat exercise Site visits  Early Assessment Surveys  Ongoing Assessment Observational Study Focus Group LibQUAL+ Comments  Future Assessment

15. 15 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Focus Group Questions and Procedure  Introduce the Learning Commons Concept  Brainstorm about what services and technologies you want in a learning commons space ? Assign a priority - Important, Somewhat Important, or Not Very Important.  Which of these services and technologies would you actually visit the Learning Commons to use?  Comment on desired social environment Assign apriority - Important, Somewhat Important, or Not Very Important.  Have you visited a student learning commons space at another institution? Describe what was desirable or memorable about the space, social environment, services, and/or technology provided there.

16. 16 SERVICES, TECHNOLOGIES, ENVIRONMENTImportant Somewhat Important Not Very Important Worth a visit to the LC? Multiple Sessions Human Kiosk (financial aid, registration, barsars, etc.)-circularX XX Open PCs & MACs; WirelessX XX Food, Student lounge--snacks, coffee, room with vending machines; study and eat at tables; room could be set aside; Ucard1700XXX Quiet, comfortable study space (includes single person seating)1700 Group meeting and study rooms1700 Comfortable chairs, desks, tables with outlets and ethernet1700 Computer labs: scanners, cd, dvd burners, headphones1610XXX Printing: inexpensive, include some free prints per semester, dedicated stations; color; transparencies1501XXX Hours: as long as possible, 24/7 room for computers, food, librarian, printers, technology help1420XXX OIT help: PC repair; software support; access to Internet after virus (combine with SPIRE)1151XXX Student artwork and plants900 TV for announcements, events, campus news900 Improved signage (particularly entrance floor)900 Textbooks from courses on reserve; on this floor; reserves needs more space for materials; more copies of materials; check-out for longer periods800XX Place to relax and take a break; take a short nap (doesn't have to be on this floor)800 Help with SPIRE; representative on site; never open when you need them; evenings and weekends; special dedicated area during registration773XXX Someone to assist with finding books720 Writing Center support (would use it here and don't while it is in Bartlett)674 X Reference and information assistance; one stop desk530 X 16 W.E.B. Du Bois Library

17. 17 SERVICES, TECHNOLOGIES, ENVIRONMENT Important Somewhat Important Not Very Important Worth a visit to the LC? Multiple Sessions Multimedia production/service point (advice and support)521 Periodical reading room: most recent month's magazines5X3 Media Viewing rooms: DVDs, VHS on Reserve (Amherst College has nice set-up); editing (Open all the hours of the library); lectures on tape, cassette, DVD440XXX Check out laptops with wireless cards440XXX Tas and faculty--spaces to interact with them; offices; office hours440 X Someone to retrieve books from the stacks for us (email call numbers to library, they would pull them, and we would pick them up at Circ)431 Mini campus store: paper, zip disks, presentation materials351 Microfiche reader/printer341 Faxing, scanning, copying260X Statistical software: SAS, SPSS; MathCAD260 Help desk for all levels of computer literacy242 Getting notes from a class: put notes on web or in hard copy (reserves?)117 Projectors to view finished work; projection room080XX Review sessions for exams with Tas026 More online databasesX Improved lighting 17 W.E.B. Du Bois Library

18. 18 W.E.B. Du Bois Library

19. 19 W.E.B. Du Bois Library

20. 20 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Site Visits  Site Visits to University of Arizona Indiana University Bloomington  Questions: Structure Organization and Management Staff Services and Policies Spaces and Furnishings Technology  Questions identified by Library Staff

21. 21 W.E.B. Du Bois Library

22. 22 W.E.B. Du Bois Library DEFINED SPACES (Functional) - REVISED 061704 PRIORITYTOPIC A-1Flexible, open spaces with computers on tables, student computer and library research space; no doors; low noise A-1Electronic computer classrooms with computers on tables with teacher's station & projector; door; noisy A-1Quiet, individual study space A-1Disability services (adaptive technology) A-2 Projection/practice spaces for collaboration, breakout rooms, portable classrooms, supplemental instruction spaces, schedulable subject-specific pods, spaces for students, TA's, and faculty to interact, group work spaces; mix of door/open spaces for groups of 1-10; 11-25; and 25-50; quiet if 1 & noisy if more than 1 person; flexible A-2Lecture rooms (50-100 people) with chairs and teacher's station & projector; door; noisy A-2Media viewing rooms / Multimedia for film viewing or music listening A-2Improved newspaper / magazine / journal display and browsing area A-2Mini campus store (sells headphones, diskettes, CD-R, etc.) (pay with UCard) A-3Portable classrooms with laptops and projectors A-3Human kiosk: one-stop service desk (for seasonal/satellite services) A-3Break area / lounge A-3Coffee bar A-3Vending machines A-3Caf é

23. 23 W.E.B. Du Bois Library

24. 24 W.E.B. Du Bois Library November 2005 Survey  Demographics including ALANA - ALANA at UMass Amherst includes those students who are: American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, African American, Cape Verdean, and Hispanic/Latino  What part of the LC are you using?  Where are you sitting today?  Are you alone or with others?  Computer ownership  10 questions plus comments

25. 25 W.E.B. Du Bois Library March 2006 Survey  23 questions on a paper survey  Mix of open-ended and forced choice  Demographic questions  Time, location and frequency of use  Preferred forms of interaction (face-to-face, chat, email, instant messaging, phone etc.)

26. 26 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Observational Study  Revision of a similar counting survey done in 2001  For each survey period Once every hour that the LC was open a staff member walked around counting the individuals and activities in each of the predefined locations. 61 locations, service points or activities were defined and counted (group study rooms, tables, reference desk, computers used, cell phone users, sleepers etc.). Data was entered into Excel from tally sheets and analyzed.  Six one-week surveys were completed Oct 05 - May 06 Sept 06 – April 07 Sept 07 – April 08

27. 27 W.E.B. Du Bois Library The Observational Study Questions  What services are being used?  When are services being used?  Under what conditions are services used?  Do we have enough workstations during peak periods of use?  How does use of the same space compare before and after the implementation of the Learning Commons?

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30. 30 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Observational Study Results  Building traffic increased 53% between 2001 and 2006.  Use of the main floor (Learning Commons floor) increased 190% between 2001 and 2006.  Overnight hours are popular all semester and especially so at exam time.  Students use of a variety of seating configurations and locations.  High-use times across a day and throughout the week were identified with implications for staffing service points.  Laptop use is substantial.  Cell phone use is ubiquitous but not overwhelming. 1.2% of LC clientele were using cell phones. Use was distributed proportionally during the open hours.

31. 31 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Use Increased

32. 32 W.E.B. Du Bois Library New Questions Raised  We wanted to know more about the areas that were most heavily used  Were the areas that were used at equal levels liked equally?  What attributes made areas heavily/lightly used? Was noise a factor?  We wanted to know if users cared about the requirement to log in to some of the computers  We wanted information about future development What changes would students like to see? What would users like in a separate quiet study area?

33. 33 W.E.B. Du Bois Library About the Focus Group Study  Follow-up to observational study  Times and locations for invitations to participate were randomly generated  LC staff members/assessment librarian issued invitations  Free beverage coupons offered as incentive  Three focus group meetings and an individual interview – April 2006  Diverse mix of students

34. 34 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Discussion Topics  Favorite and least favorite areas of the LC and their attributes  Discussion of specific areas including: study pods, study rooms, public stations, tables, and lounge chairs  Development of quiet areas  Development of the courtyard

35. 35 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Focus Group Results  Students liked the study pods area best  They liked the public station area least  They want more electrical and wired Ethernet connectivity  Additional feedback about remaining locations

36. 36 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Study Pod Area

37. 37 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Another Study Pod Picture

38. 38 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Public Station Area

39. 39 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Findings from Combined Data  The public stations and study pod areas were used equally but the public stations were the least favorite of all LC locations and the study pods were the favorite location for students.  Students wanted more computers with larger work surfaces.  Choice of seating location was at times driven by proximity to electrical or wired Ethernet access.  Cell phone use is common and fairly steady but students generally feel that individuals are attuned to noise and courtesy issues themselves  One set of lounge chairs had extremely low use - the location was too sunny and/or chairs were too close to computer stations –some students didn’t even know lounge chairs were there at all.

40. 40 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Web Comment Form

41. 41 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Learning Commons Blog  Responses to “Why do YOU use the Learning Commons?”  Andrea Says: I use the tables because I often use the wireless printing to the LC B/W printer, and if I have to be there to pick it up, I might as well spend the 20 minutes prior (during which I am frantically finishing my paper) there too. I would actually like if the wifi printing were available elsewhere on campus, too, tbh…sometimes the LC is really out of the way. :-\

42. 42 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Learning Commons Blog  Michel Says: As a commuter student, having available computers on campus makes it easier to get any extra work done before and/or in between classes. Also, there is an atmosphere of being a part of a learning community that helps foster productivity.

43. 43 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Learning Commons Blog  Sarah Says: I use the LC mostly for printing, and I have to admit how frustrating it is to stand in line for a computer just so I can print something out. I don’t live on campus, though, so the Remote Printing isn’t an option. It would be really cool if the library could start up something like a few “printing only” computers, so people could just log on, print something, and get out.

44. 44 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Learning Commons Blog Responses  Thanks for all the great comments. Just to respond to a few…  Andrea, I’ll pass on your comment about making remote printing available elsewhere on campus to OIT.  Sarah, you’ll be glad to hear that we are actively discussing creating some express workstations just for people to use for printing. Stay tuned…hope to have more news on that soon.  Thank you again to everyone who has commented! Keep ‘em coming…

45. 45 W.E.B. Du Bois Library LibQUAL+Comparing 2004 and 2007 Desired Perceived Minimum

46. 46 W.E.B. Du Bois Library LibQUAL+ Comments  595 Comments  Undergraduates comments focused primarily on the Learning Commons High traffic and noise More resources – especially computers More group study rooms  “I absolutely LOVE the learning commons. The only problem is that everyone else loves it too” -Quote from an undergraduate -

47. 47 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Concrete Outcomes of Assessment  Quick print stations  Copiers on upper stack floors – contract negotiations  Furniture decisions  Quiet study areas  Cell zones  More circulating laptops  Increased hours for reserves  User policies  Campus commitment to the Learning Commons

48. 48 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Need for Future Assessment  How does the space contribute to learning?  Does the LC foster a sense of community and support diversity?  What are students doing in the space - is it many different things?  Are the right services provided? Are more/others needed?  Do the students feel their needs and/or expectations are being met? What is lacking?  Are faculty teaching differently or seeing changes they attribute to the LC – what impact has this had on teaching and faculty perception of the impact on student learning?  What kind of innovation is born here? How do we know?

49. 49 W.E.B. Du Bois Library UMass Assessment Information  Learning Commons Assessment http://www.library.umass.edu/assessment/learningcommons.html http://www.library.umass.edu/assessment/learningcommons.html Observational Study Data Summary data Raw data by week Comparative charts Focus Group Report Survey presentation and results Other LC assessment activities and data Reference transactions, Café sales, Writing Center consultations, LC survey etc.  LibQUAL+ Data http://www.library.umass.edu/assessment/libqual.html http://www.library.umass.edu/assessment/libqual.html

50. 50 W.E.B. Du Bois Library Contact  Rachel Lewellen Assessment Librarian University of Massachusetts Amherst 413 545-3343 rlewellen@library.umass.edu rlewellen@library.umass.edu