LRC Report 2014-15

Prepared by Mark T. Gallagher Director of Learning Resources

For the attention of;PSm (Principal), CALS, VKa (Literacy Leader), WMSF Website, LRC WordPress, File.

Contents

Abstract

LRC staffing

Information literacy

Wider literacy

Facilities

LRC Collections

Additions to the collection

Online subscriptions

Circulation

Circulation 2013-14

Circulation 2014-15

Withdrawn stock

CIRQA library catalogue

Use of OpenAthens authenticated databases

Marketing

WordPress LRC site

Moodle

Display

Abstract

This year has seen a very welcome 26% increase in lending of non-fiction resources and a 13% rise in fiction lending, with 32% of the latter attributable to readers taking part in the12 for 12 literacy promotion scheme. There has also been an increase in referrals to our OpenAthens range of proprietary journal and reference databases, although it is recommendedthat more needs to be done this coming year to inculcate the use of these resources especially by teaching staff. Information literacy support has continued to grow and developwith over 100 lesson based activities, 55 interviews with EPQ students and hundreds of daily reference interactions taking place over the course of the year.

LRC staffing

The LRC continues to have a compliment of 2 professional librarians and 2 well qualified assistants. MGA, the Director of Learning Resources is term-time only plus two weeks, while the other team members are part-time, four days per week.

External CPD

LAL

Reading for Pleasure, IOE. Using Moodle in FE.UKSG.

MGa

Educational Video Production. British Universities Video Council

HJS.

Web Design Course. Online

Information literacy

This year the LRC has conducted approximately 100 information literacy sessions delivered either in the ICT Suite or peripatetically. MG and LAL continue to provide extensive support to the EPQ, through group seminars and one to one reference interviews. Additionally, the text matching software Turnitin continues to be used toscan student’s written products, not principally to detect plagiarism, but rather to provide students with clear examples of how to improve their citation and referencing skills. Students have also been encouraged to self-submit via Moodle throughout the course to self-test their referencing accuracy.

Herring’s PLUS model of information literacy has been applied to our work with both individual students and classes and is still in the process of being reviewed by the Literacy Group for possible adaptation by all Curriculum Area’s. Herring’s model provides studentswith a mercifully simple method for structuring their interaction with information, with self-reflection critically at its core.

The most important aspect of building our students information and digital literacy skills and aptitudes remains the forging of close collaborativerelationshipsbetween teaching staff and the LRC team. The evidence from teachers continues to suggest that when, for example in the case of the EPQ, History, Government and Politics and Philosophy, LRC support is embedded into the SOW’s and the librarians are engaged as expert practioners,student’s benefit. For example, forHistory A-level,many students initially struggle with how to identify, extract and interpret the different historiographical interpretations of events contained in texts. The LRC has supported students to develop a more critical approach to texts through;

  • The compilation of Moodle hosted reading lists and bibliographic essays
  • Whole class instruction in using a variety of primary and secondary sources in traditional and electronic formats
  • One to one support to extend comprehension and argumentation analysis

Wider literacy

The LRC has continued to work closely with VKa in the promotion of literacy, assisting in marketing and collection development for the 12 for 12 reading initiative and wider collection development of the fiction stock to better reflect the needs of our diverse student body. These efforts have been reflected in 12 for 12 readers accounting for 30% of total fiction loans and posting a fantastic range of reflective, mature reviews to the LRC catalogue where they can be viewed by other students and contribute to the develop of a self-sustaining group conversation about reading and wider literacy issues.

Facilities

The LRC has not been able to increase seating above the 65 study and 34 PC places. It is anticipated that with the Clinic redevelopment the LRC will reclaim the former Careers library area and office in the South Room and order to further progress the LRC’slearning commons agenda.

LRC Collections

Total available accessions (copies) 19,268. Total value £232,491.20.

Additions to the collection

629 books and DVD’s to a value of £13,120.64. Please note that this includes donations to the value of £19.98.

Online subscriptions

Reference and Journal Databases, Library Management Systemand Security System £6859.84

Circulation

Circulation 2013-14

Reservations placed / 13.00
Issues / 5713.00
Issues (curriculum-related) / 4717.00
Issues (fiction) / 747.00
Issues (audio-visual) / 1171.00
Issues to Foundation & GCSE students / 859.00
Issues to Intermediate students / 761.00
Issues to A1 & AVCE1 students / 2288.00
Issues to A2 & AVCE2 students / 2872.00
Number of Heritage Online Searches / 4386.00

Circulation 2014-15

Reservations placed / 14
Issues / 7203
Issues (curriculum-related) / 5936
Issues (fiction) / 1022
Issues (audio-visual) / 1134
Issues to Foundation & GCSE students / 1278
Issues to Intermediate students / 1200
Issues to A1 & AVCE1 students / 3165
Issues to A2 & AVCE2 students / 3968
Number of Heritage Online Searches / 9479

There has been a very welcome increase in the total loans this year, from 5,713 in 2013-14 to 7,203 this year, a 26% rise. Much of this increase is attributable to loans to the A2 and V2 cohorts. Mining into the data indicates that those subjects where there is a history of liaison and integration of LRC services, especially History, Philosophy, Sciences and the EPQ account for the meteoric rise in non-fiction loans. There has also been a very welcome rise in fiction lending from 747 last year to 1022 this year a 13% increase. Again, mining into the data uncovers that this increase in lending is substantially due to the efforts of the Literacy Coordinator and LRC in promoting reading for pleasure and augmenting subject knowledge via the 12 for 12reading scheme.

Withdrawn stock

103 monographs were withdrawn from the collection this year, worth a total value of £1,233.60.

Reason for Withdrawal

The majority of withdrawals have been made from stock that is considered to be out of date. Given the linear changes to A-level it is anticipated that in the coming year there will be the need to replace much of the textbook stock.

Publication dates by decade

Although, the LRC has not seen a rise in the stock budget for the past decade, 58% of titlesin the collection have been published over the past 15 years. This has been achieved through an increasing focus on efficiencies by buying remaindered and second hand titles, although this form of economising cannot be readily maintained in the light of steeply rising textbook costs.

Withdrawals by class range

CIRQA library catalogue

Students and staff can search the catalogue from the two standalone PC’s in the LRC or via any internet connected device. There were 4,386 searches this year compared to 5,168 in 2013-14 a 15% drop. This drop seems initially odd, given the increase in total lending. However, it may be explicable if it is noted that students will be referring to Moodle hosted reading lists and pathfinders, as well as to the catalogue, in order to locate relevant resources. This is especially the case with History, Government and Politics and Philosophy students, as their teachers have a long established practice of referring students to the pathfinders, rather than the catalogue.

As part of the 12 for 12literacy scheme literacy team members have encouraged students to, after they have completedreading a text,to write a brief review and submit this to the catalogue. These have also been used in the literacy coordinators and LRC’s marketing of reading for pleasure and subject knowledge. In total there have been 61 reviews submitted, with 60 being made by 12 for 12 participants.

Use of OpenAthens authenticated databases

There were a total of 732 logins to Athens databases compared to 346 total logins last year, a very welcome 111% increase in total referrals. However, these figures should be read with the caveat that statistical tools are not available for a variety of the database portfolio, most significantly the 14 A-level and GCSE titles compromising the Philip Allan package. The majority of student logins this year were for ProQuest News and JSTOR. The latter is a welcome development as the LRC team have been heavily marketing JSTOR to the EPQ and other A-level cohorts.

This year it is recommended that the marketing activities are stepped up. In particular;

  • Marketing of pathfinder guides (Reading lists), with a focus onproviding guides to Business, Economics, Psychology, Sociology and H&Sc.
  • To Market ProQuest News and Issues Online to subjects with a high content of topical reference i.e.H&Sc.
  • To market the value of the database collection in inspiring students to evidence any claims to wider reading and subject knowledge in theirUCAS personal statements.

Marketing

The LRC has a dedicated page on the WMSF corporate site. This features key information about the service and a link to an animated Prezzi presentation that focuses on the support the LRC provides for teaching and learning, as well as the support of wider literacy.

WordPress LRC site

The LRC WordPress site has been ably redesigned by the LRC team, with particular thanks to HJS for his work on improving the clarity of the interface and choice of WordPress template.

Moodle

The LRC has increased its visibility on Moodle through the inclusion of a side bar on the homepage, in addition to the dropdown menu at the head of the page.

Display

The LRC has a permanent display marketing the 12 for 12 literacy scheme. The four other display boards are used for a changing selection of thematic displays suggested by teaching and LRC staff.

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