Strategic Actions, Goals and Accomplishments

Learning & Research Services: Key Activities and Accomplishments

Owned by Nancy Turner
Last updated: Dec 04, 2020
6 min read

FY 19-20

  • Creation and maintenance of online learning materials, including videos and interactive tutorials
    • English 802/812/902 Analytical Reading & Writing self-paced module completed and pilot project launched
  • Launched Zoom video/screensharing integration for chat reference and research consultations
  • Development of workplace norms for LRS open office space
  • Established drop-in workshop series at Charles Library
  • Established Library link as a permanent addition to the default Canvas shell, promoted its use in courses
  • Established partnership with the Free Library of Philadelphia North Philly branches cluster
    • Fall 2019 Library card sign up event
    • Spring 2020 TUL presentation at North Philly cluster meeting
    • Co-recipient of an ARL grant with FLP cluster leader
  • Published report on the data management practices of Temple researchers in the health sciences
  • Successfully transformed research support and instruction services for Charles Library
    • 2 single-serve desk design/UX team members, 4 OSAD team members 
    • Assisted with design and implementation of new 
      • Schedulable consultation spaces
      • Instruction rooms
      • Walk-up consultation space, and service desk referral guidelines
  • Successfully transformed research support and instruction services for the sudden move to online-only
    • Launch and maintenance of new “Get help finding a digital copy service”
    • Moved drop-in workshops online
  • Created Charles Library scavenger hunt game

FY18-19

  • Completed the full transition from the Reference and Instruction Department to the new Learning and Research Services structure composed of three disciplinary focused Units, Arts, Humanities and Media; Business, Social Science and Education; Science, Technology, Engineering and Bioscience;
  • Completed 8th cohort of the Textbook Affordability Project with nine faculty projects that brought our number of faculty participants to 76 and an estimated $1 million saved by students; For the 9th cohort assembled in May 2019 there were substantial revisions to the Project, including the introduction of a required open education workshop, a new project evaluation rubric and a new award structure;
  • Completely revised the existing Library Code of Conduct to create a new Library Community Standards in order to bring our rules of conduct more standardized with other Temple facilities with public visitors;
  • Added an Instruction Designer position to our staff, assigned to our newly launched Learning and Student Success Unit, in order to advance our ability to improve student learning and librarian's use of educational technologies;
  • Successful collaboration with GEAR UP that resulted in a team of 5 high school students who held summer positions at Temple Libraries during July and August 2018 ;
  • Collaborated with PALCI to further develop the Affordable Learning Pennsylvania project that resulted in a second LSTA grant and the expansion of the project to include over 60 Pennsylvania colleges and universities;
  • Worked with the Office of Academic Affairs to assist the Provost in creating and charging a new Textbook Affordability Task Force at Temple to advance faculty adoption of no and low cost learning materials with the Associate University Librarian as co-chair of this new University-wide Task Force.

Arts, Humanities and Media 

  • Despite being a year of transition with a new unit head, AHM continued its successful track record of providing excellent service to Temple University’s students, faculty, and staff. In addition to a heavy workload of instruction (373 sessions) and consultations (550), AHM staff contributed to the success of TUL in a variety of ways.
  • AHM members expanded their reach as subject specialists, including embedding in Canvas courses, working with faculty to design a research methods course from the ground up, participated in departmental recruitment, serving on departmental curriculum committees, conducting research on departmental history, and being invited as guest speakers for departmental events.
  • All AHM members committed to achieve at least one scholarly communications competency, and their successful work in this area involved such efforts as leading workshops on scholarly communications topics, volunteering to staff tables for scholarly communications events, and taking webinars to expand knowledge.
  • AHM staff also contributed to various Strategic Steering Teams including Learning and Student Success, Outreach & Communications, Research Data Services, and Scholarly Communication, as well as the Public Programming Advisory Committee.
  • During the second half of the year, one staff member was on maternity leave. The unit successfully hired a part time reference and instruction library to help cover some basic reference and instruction duties and other staff contributed to cover more advanced classes, outreach, and collection development.

Business, Education and Social Sciences

Key Activities

  • Ask a Librarian reference service via Ask Here desk, email, and chat; Research consultations on a drop-in or by-appointment basis, either in-person and via video conference
  • Course-embedded information literacy instruction in GenEd, higher level undergraduate, and graduate classes; Drop-in extracurricular workshops on a variety of topics
  • Research Guides that recommend subject-specific resources for subjects taught at Temple, and for particular courses
  • Collection development in the form of e-resource reviewing and decision-making, firm order spending, responding to patron purchase requests, and maintaining the Paley Reference, Leisure Reading, and Juvenile Collections
  • Excellent feedback ratings in every place we track: Perfect (100) net promoter score on research consultations, Perfect (4/4) chat reference rating, Excellent (>4.5/5) average student confidence and customer service ratings in research consultations, Excellent (>4.5/5) average clarity and relevance ratings in GenEd:AR&W faculty feedback, Excellent (3.55/4) average student confidence ratings in GenEd: AR&W student feedback

Key Accomplishments 

  • Each librarian updated their Libguides to comply with our LibGuides Accessibility and Usability standards
  • Each librarian pursued professional development in one or more Scholarly Communication Skill Areas
  • Each librarian developed competency in supporting and teaching about citation management, and at least one specific citation manager
  • Created a repository of shared instructional materials for our unit with a submission and review process, and document accessibility requirements
  • Hired and onboarded a new Education and Community Engagement Librarian; supported College of Education requests during an interim period
  • Moved to a team-based approach to librarian support for Business and related fields by developing a new Business Librarian job description and supporting Tourism/Hospitality requests during an interim period
  • Established a cross-departmental College of Public Health liaisons group composed of BSSE unit members and HSL librarians; collaborated on multiple points of librarian support for CPH departments and the School of Social Work; created, and improved student-facing embedding of, library instructional videos for CPH
  • Completed a de-selection project on the Paley Reference collection, and a weeding project on the Juvenile collection

Science, Technology, Engineering and Biomedicine

  • The STEB unit continues to work on Data Management skills building. This year we finished the report on the data management practices of researchers in the health sciences, developed education on open science tools, worked on data consultation with researcher across campuses and represented the libraries in conversations about data management practice with ITS. 
  • Librarians selected and completed competencies from the Scholarly Communication Competencies. 
  • In collaboration librarians developed and taught a Literature Review workshop as part of the Graduate Student education series at Paley.
  • As the Faculty Profile Builder moved to new colleges, liaisons for those colleges worked with the Research Information Management/SE team and college administration to compete quality assurance work.

FY 17-18

Arts, Humanities & Media

N/A - AHM was not a separate unit during this period. 

Business, Education and Social Sciences

The BSSE unit did not come into existence until mid-year, but during Spring semester they provided learning and research support services to the Temple University community and the public, primarily via:

- Ask a Librarian reference service via Ask Here desk, email, and chat - Research consultations on a drop-in or by-appointment basis, either in-person and via video conference

- Course-embedded information literacy instruction in GenEd, higher level undergraduate, and graduate classes

- Research Guides that recommend subject-specific resources for subjects taught at Temple, and for particular courses

- Collection development in the form of e-resource reviewing and decision-making, firm order spending, responding to patron purchase requests, and maintaining the Leisure Reading Collection Other notable projects undertaken by BSSE unit members during 2017-2018:

- Worked with ITS, CAT and others in TUL, to enable automatic embedding of Research Guides in Canvas courses

- Production of instructional videos on Canvas guide content embedding and, with Access Services staff, on Ares course reserves embedding

- Set up systematic collection of patron feedback for one-on-one research consultations - With the Coordinator of Learning and Student Success, set up regular distribution schedule for ENG 802/812/902 student and faculty feedback; conducted ENG 802 instruction observations and reviewed feedback to date

- Transitioned to a co-liaison librarian model for the School of Social Work (SSW); in consultation with the lead liaison librarian for College of Public Health, revised outreach and instruction plan for SSW

- Conducted a campus-wide department scan, and a business-school comparison between Fox and other public university business schools; began ‘Accidental Business Librarian’ professional development series and planning for a 2018-2019 transition from a sole liaison librarian to a team model for supporting Fox School of Business

- Took on ICPSR Designated Representative role and began outreach planning for 2018-2019 with Temple’s Official Representative and an ICPSR board member; Launched the Finding and Using ICPSR Data guide

- Established liaison librarian relationships with new Temple academic programs: Global Studies, and Public Policy; Launched Global Studies subject guide - Conducted Research Guide edit-a-thons and other efforts to remediate existing guides, and implemented new Guide review process, leading up to the launch of new LibGuides Accessibility and Usability Standards (Sept 2018)

- With Resident Librarian, conducted assessment project on experiences and attitudes of Textbook Affordability Project (TAP) participants; presented to OE Global conference

- Facilitated new Textbook Listening Tour meetings with School of Social Work, Psychology and Political Science department; Consulted with TAP grantee on open education options to replace an Intro to Psychology textbook

- BSSE unit members also assisted with: Blacklight/Website Strategic Partners user testing, Chat in the Stacks public programming, Temple Analytics Challenge planning and presentation, GIS Day 2017 planning, Writing Intensive Course Committee syllabus review


Science, Technology, Engineering & Biomedicine

This unit not established until FY 18-19