Creating Closer Connections: Elevating Librarian Expertise and Support at the Point of Need

Sponsored by Lean Library

Posted in Reference Works and Research

How can libraries support digital patron workflows to better meet student needs?

Summary:

Lean Library’s Librarian Futures report, charting patron-librarian relationships, discovered that 79% of faculty and 74% of students begin their research on websites such as Google Scholar and Wikipedia. As online consumers, students are accustomed to content at the point of need, rather than leaving their workflow and looking elsewhere. Although patrons still value librarian expertise, with 55% of students and 60% of faculty in favor of receiving library communication as and when they need it, the report found that patrons used Wikipedia the same amount as their librarian. As librarian roles constantly evolve to meet user needs, this highlights an opportunity for the curation of online information as well as bringing librarian support directly into the patron workflow.

In this session we’ll hear from Derek Malone at the University of North Alabama Library about how they’ve faced these communication barriers, by embracing the use of various solutions. We’ll hear about how the tools they use offer opportunities to amplify the library in patron workflows, alongside valuable insights from Springshare and Lean Library. The discussion will focus on the use of Lean Library, LibGuides and Wikipedia-based keywords to elevate library value and improve user experience.

All Choice webinars offer Zoom’s auto-generated AI captioning. If you have any questions, please contact: scofer@ala-choice.org.

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