Volume 6

12 pages 564 K bytes

Back to the Maxwell Library’s Future Student Library and Information Resource Usage Timothy Hebert Bridgewater State College Bridgewater, MA 02325 USA Robert M. Wolk Bridgewater State College Bridgewater, MA 02325 USA

Abstract: College libraries face numerous challenges to survive and thrive as integral parts of campus environments. The library’s traditional role of central information resource has been seemingly changed, as a raft of information is available via the Internet. It is available any time, so long as a computer with an Internet connection is available. This research looks into which students are visiting the library, and how they are using it while there. This includes their use of the library as an information resource along with its value as a place to meet and study individually or to conduct group work. A survey was designed using Likert-type scales to measure students’ interests in social and academic uses of the library, including electronic information searches at the library and in the public domain. It was administered to a statistically significant sample of the College’s undergraduate student body. This research provides an opportunity to evaluate future new services or enhancements to current services based on student feedback on their usage of various technologies as the library progresses through a major renovation.

Keywords: library marketing, service customization, information commons, information literacy, MyLibrary

Download this issue:   ISEDJ.6(56).Hebert.pdf   (Adobe PDF, 12 pages, 564 K bytes)

Preview the contents:   Hebert.c.txt   (ASCII txt, 30 K bytes)

Recommended Citation: Hebert and Wolk (2008). Back to the Maxwell Library’s Future Student Library and Information Resource Usage. Information Systems Education Journal, 6 (56). http://isedj.org/6/56/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2006: §3532. ISSN: 1542-7382.)