Springshare's LibGuides has inspired significant buzz in the library blogosphere. Touted for its "Web 2.0" functions, attractive interface, and ease of use for librarians, Libguides has transformed the way many libraries build web-based research guides. Cornell and Princeton Universities decided to collaborate on an assessment initiative to discover how these guides are valued on each campus. This study goes beyond the "2.0" dogma to empirically determine if LibGuides lives up to its publicity.
Presented By:
Steven Adams
Princeton University
Angela Horne
Director, Management Library, Cornell University
Do the Outcomes Justify the Buzz?: An Assessment of LibGuides at Cornell University and Princeton University
1. Do the Outcomes Justify the Buzz?: An Assessment of LibGuides at Cornell University and Princeton University Presented by Angela Horne, Cornell University and Steve Adams, Princeton University
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12. Do the Outcomes Justify the Buzz? An Assessment of LibGuides at Cornell University and Princeton University Springshare Data We would like to acknowledge Slaven Zivkovic and Marc Bertone for the custom dataset that they provided.
13. Guide Type Frequency Do the Outcomes Justify the Buzz? An Assessment of LibGuides at Cornell University and Princeton University The content of each guide was evaluated to determine the guide type. Guide Type Cornell Princeton Course Guides 168 (63.40%) 92 (63.45%) Subject Guides 81 (30.57%) 38 (26.21%) Technology Guides 9 (3.40%) 8 (5.52%) Custom Guides 7 (2.64%) 7 (4.83) Total 265 (100%) 145 (100%) Key: Frequency (Percentage)
14. Use Data By Guide Type Do the Outcomes Justify the Buzz? An Assessment of LibGuides at Cornell University and Princeton University All data ranges from the beginning of each institution's LibGuides subscription to March 1, 2009. Cornell Princeton Guide Type Mean Hits/Guide Mean Guide Hits/Day Mean Hits/Guide Mean Guide Hits/Day Course 428.09 4.51* 316.67 1.52 Subject 396 2.24 935.74 3.73 Custom 619.86* 3.23 1102.43* 6.463* Technology 599.44 2.88 583.50 4.30 All 429 3.73 532 2.49
15. Do the Outcomes Justify the Buzz? An Assessment of LibGuides at Cornell University and Princeton University So Some of the Buzz is Justified… Overall we are satisfied with the product and recommend it.
16. Are LibGuides Subscribers Tapping the Potential of the “2.0" Features? Do the Outcomes Justify the Buzz? An Assessment of LibGuides at Cornell University and Princeton University But there are more issues to explore…
17. Participatory Culture? Do the Outcomes Justify the Buzz? An Assessment of LibGuides at Cornell University and Princeton University All data ranges from the beginning of each institution's LibGuides subscription to March 1, 2009. Institution Mean Comments/Guide Guides With Comments Tags Assigned per guide Guides with tags Cornell 3.75 47 of 265 (17.8%) 1.96 162 of 265 (61%) Princeton 0.12 11 of 145 (7.6%) 0.75 28 of 145 (19%)
18. Number of Guides that Use Each Box Type Do the Outcomes Justify the Buzz? An Assessment of LibGuides at Cornell University and Princeton University Institution Linked Boxes (Reuse) Del.ico.us Tag Cloud Books From Catalog User Submitted Links Remote Script Google Search Feedback Google Books Search Google Scholar Search Cornell 49 1 68 81 1 4 8 4 8 Princeton 45 1 7 1 2 1 2 8 10 Institution Total # of Guides Rich Text Simple Links Links & Lists Files And Documents RSS Events Videos Podcasts Poll Cornell 265 259 91 144 11 47 3 107 146 119 Princeton 145 140 34 75 12 19 0 5 0 0