Members:
Steve Frye, UW-Madison (Co-chair) - frye@wisc.edu
Valerie Malzacher, UW-River Falls (Co-chair) - valerie.i.malzacher@uwrf.edu
Ronna Hoeper, UW-Whitewater - hoeperr@uww.edu
Scott Silet, UW-Waukesha - scott.silet@uwc.edu
Terri Muraski, UW-Stevens Point - tmuraski@uwsp.edu
Maureen Olle-LaJoie, UW-River Falls - maureen.olle-lajoie@uwrf.edu
Joia O’Brien, UW-Madison - jkobrien@wisc.edu


Action Item: Investigate and recommend ways to assess our user services focusing on our shared resources and parallel services.

Drafts and Other Documents (Password Needed)

Metalib Assessment Bibliography

Protocol - Usability Testing

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CHARGE:

Justification

MetaLib is the software used by most libraries in the UW System to organize electronic resources and to provide a federated search tool for users. The purchase, implementation, and maintenance of MetaLib represents a sizable investment for UW libraries. While an effort has been made to adhere to a certain level of consistency in the MetaLib user interface in all UW System libraries, each library in the System has made independent decisions about how to configure and present MetaLib to their users. Some libraries have done some usability testing with users to guide decisions regarding interface design or have gathered basic user reaction to MetaLib following initial implementation, but the UW System has not systematically assessed user response to MetaLib in terms of overall usefulness as a library research tool. Librarian acceptance of MetaLib as a useful research tool has been inconsistent across the System. The MetaLib Assessment Working Group will assess user response to the usefulness of MetaLib as a research tool to inform future decisions regarding the configuration, presentation, and deployment of MetaLib in UW System libraries.

Charge

The MetaLib Assessment Working group is charged with assessing user response to MetaLib as a useful search tool. The working group will identify UW campuses that present MetaLib to users as a primary search tool. Students, faculty, and librarians at these campuses will be surveyed to determine their level of satisfaction with MetaLib as a research tool as compared to using databases’ native interfaces or popular sources like Google Scholar to conduct research.

The assessment will also include a review of current literature regarding user expectations regarding searching of library resources generally and usability and user response to federated search tools specifically.

Key Expectations

• Conduct a review of the literature and summarize the empirical research that 1) assesses usability of and user response to federated search tools and 2) analyzes user expectations about searching for information in general
• Develop a protocol for assessing the usefulness of MetaLib as a research tool as compared to other library research tools
• Deploy this protocol with selected groups of users in selected UW libraries
• Summarize and report key findings

Timeline

Final report of findings delivered to User Service Coordinating Committee by August 21, 2008.

Membership

Steve Frye, UW-Madison, Coordinator of Reference and Information Services (Co-chair)
Valerie Malzacher, UW-River Falls, Library Director (Co-chair)
Ronna Hoeper, UW-Whitewater, Reference & Instruction Librarian
Scott Silet, UW-Waukesha, Library Director
Terri Muraski, UW-Stevens Point, Automation, Reference, Instruction, and Distance Education

Role of Members
Members set the agenda, goals and feasible action plans required to accomplish the charge of the MetaLib Assessment Working Group. Responsibilities

• Accept and support the MetaLib Assessment Working Group’s charge
• Review all relevant materials prior to meetings
• Attend meetings
• Work toward fulfilling the working group’s objectives
• Carry out individual assignments in a timely fashion

Role of Co-Chairs

The co-chairs are responsible for the general leadership of the MetaLib Assessment Working Group and provide direction to members and library staff working in support of the charge.

Responsibilities of each co-chair:

• Accept and support the MetaLib Assessment Working Group’s charge
• Plan meetings and agenda in collaboration with their co-chair and other appropriate staff
• Attend all the working group meetings and stay abreast of work between meetings
• Maintain records of the working group’s work
• Facilitate active participation and decision-making
• Assume responsibility for the completion of the charge
• Meet with the User Service Coordinating Committee on a regular basis to review interim reports and to submit a final report