Poster Board Number: 48
Title: Library Savvy: Incorporating New Access Points to Increase Tutorial Usage
Objective: An academic health sciences library offered a variety of online tutorials on database searching and using library resources. These tutorials were directly embedded to a tutorial page on the library’s website. Librarians wanted to create more online tutorials to allow library users to access more information about using library resources and databases online and to increase tutorial usage.
Methods: A tutorial planning committee formed in 2008 to streamline the process of creating tutorials. Faculty librarians and public services staff who served on the committee were given specific tasks including creating and editing scripts, recording and editing tutorials, and working with information technology (IT) staff to launch tutorials online. The committee created a YouTube channel for the library’s tutorials. In addition, a faculty librarian member of the committee worked with campus computing to including tutorials on the campus iTunes U site. Tutorials were also embedded in subject appropriate LibGuides. Users can now access tutorials from the library’s tutorial web page, the library’s YouTube channel, from subject specific LibGuides, or iTunes U.
Results: The campus iTunes U site was launched June 2009, and the library’s YouTube channel was launched October 2009. Tutorial views increased 96%, from 2,287 views between October 2008 and September 2009 to 4,483 views between October 2009 and September 2010. Over the past year 78.5% of total tutorial views came from YouTube and 21.5% came from iTunes U. Tutorial offerings have increased by 83%. Tutorials will continue to be developed using these processes and placed online both on YouTube, iTunes U, and the library web page, and will be included in appropriate LibGuides.
Authors: Ryan Harris, AHIP, Reference and Research Services Librarian; Anna Tatro, Liaison and Outreach Services Librarian; Health Sciences and Human Services Library; University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
