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Faculty Survey on Library Space, Services, and Resources
Introduction
"The Library is so much more than a library for UCSF. It offers something for most everyone I know and I continue to be astonished at the range of resources available."
"All new faculty should receive an orientation to the library and its resources."
As part of the Library's strategic planning effort, in July 2006 the Library asked faculty at all sites to complete a survey to help us determine what resources to acquire, what services to develop, and how to reconfigure library space to meet current and future needs of faculty and students. View a summary of survey responses.
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Invited to complete survey:
Completed survey:
Percent responding:
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2,028
620
31%
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Breakdown by School:
| School |
Total Faculty per School |
Respondents |
Percent Responding |
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Dentistry
Medicine
Nursing
Pharmacy
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179
1,732
127
86
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43
464
71
33
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24%
27%
56%
38%
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A large majority -- 80% -- of respondents reported that the selection of online journals, databases, and other online resources made available by the library meets their research, teaching, and/or clinical needs. We received comments from 140 faculty, many of which identified specific resources or subject areas for which their needs are not met through the online collection.
Library Action:
The Library is identifying the individual titles and general subject areas mentioned in the survey and reviewing our coverage. This year the Library received $150,000 in temporary ongoing support that will allow us to add requested titles to the collection.
The Library will provide a list of the journals requested by survey respondents that are available online. We will also solicit feedback to help us identify specific titles in certain subject areas and, when necessary, contact faculty in the various departments.
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Overall, there is no consensus on whether print counterparts of all materials available online should be located offsite at the UC Regional Library Facility (RLF) in Richmond. Of the 611 faculty responding to this question, 55% agreed and 45% disagreed. Faculty in Dentistry and Nursing swung the other way with only 45% agreeing.
Library Action:
No plans are underway for large scale removal of print collections from the Library. Every year 5,000 volumes are moved to the RLF. This year, some of that allotment will consist of print journals published before 1990 that are also available online perpetually.
Any major relocation of print materials to off-site facilities will require additional data gathering. Such a decision must be based on the needs of UCSF and the accessibility of online collections at that point in time.
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When asked what facilities and services will be needed to support faculty and student work in the future, respondents expressed interest in many of the ideas we suggested.
| % Responding |
Needed Facility/Service |
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77%
76%
65%
64%
60%
35%
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Ready access to highly skilled staff
Group meeting rooms equipped with current technology
Informal meeting and collaboration space
Multimedia and course tools such as WebCT
Desktop communication tools such as videoconferencing
Cafe
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Faculty also addressed the importance of access to staff in the open-ended comments:
"Library staff have been very responsive to all of my email/web-based inquiries... thank you!"
"I have the impression many staff are hidden away behind locked doors, where we can't interrupt them with questions."
Library Action:
The Library has launched a Customer Service Initiative this year which will begin to address many issues related to the library customer experience.
We are also looking at ways to equip some of our current group study rooms with additional technology. The data from this survey will help us prioritize for longer term plans regarding Library space.
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Slightly more than half of the faculty specified a location other than Parnassus as their primary location. 316 of them responded to the question which asked what resources faculty needed in a temporary work space. Faculty are more interested in space to work alone, or a private area than in space to work with others. The resources receiving the most responses are listed here.
| % Responding |
Needed Resources |
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78%
66%
51%
47%
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Wireless access to network
Space to work alone
Private space to use cell phone
Computer
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Library Action:
The overwhelming request for wireless access indicates that the Library needs to revisit the outfitting of the existing faculty carrels. Currently, wireless access is not available in the Library faculty carrels because they are located on the quiet floor that prohibits laptops in the common areas. The Library is looking at other ways to meet the students' needs for quiet, laptop-free zones while also accommodating the demand for wireless.
The data from this survey will also be used to make recommendations to the campus committees working on plans for the use of space.
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When asked about new services the Library is considering offering, faculty expressed most interest in two services: preparing posters/papers and managing images/multimedia for teaching. Working with externally produced datasets was also of significant interest. The table below shows how faculty interest varies depending on the primary role of the respondent.
| Service |
All responses |
Educator |
Clinician |
Researcher |
Preparing posters/papers |
68% |
72% |
71% |
65% |
Managing images/multimedia |
66% |
82% |
78% |
52% |
Obtaining/manipulating datasets |
51% |
41% |
49% |
57% |
Library Action:
The Library has begun exploration in these areas. Needs assessment and planning are underway and we hope to be able to direct resources towards these activities in the current fiscal year.
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