New Developments

New library website launched
Library Services has recently launched its new library website www.open.ac.uk/library; with a more modern design and a host of new features, the improved library website focuses on providing a better student experience.  We’ve been listening to feedback from students and have used polls and surveys to encourage students to tell us what they want from a library website.  As a result, there are a number of new features:

•    ‘Getting Started’ is a section which explains how to get the best out of the world-class collection of library resources
•    The online training sessions are now featured prominently on the homepage to make it easier for students to find
•    We’ve introduced a new ‘How do I?’ help feature on the screen listing help that’s related to the page you are looking at and which provides advice and guidance where it’s needed

Evaluation of the new website will form part of our Student Survey 2012 which was launched in January.  

Mobilising library services
Library Services is continuing to explore and develop services for use on mobile devices.
We have just released a new version of the mobile website that will enable students and staff to connect with library resources and services using a range of different mobile devices. For more information go to  www.open.ac.uk/library/mobile/.

The fourth international M-libraries conference, "From margin to mainstream: mobile technologies transforming lives and libraries" chaired by Nicky Whitsed, Director of OU Library Services is taking place at the Open University between 24th and 26th September 2012.  Since the first successful m-libraries conference in 2007, libraries around the world have made huge advances in harnessing the technology to improve and enhance their services.  The conference will bring together researchers, technical developers, managers, educators, and library practitioners to review achievements to date and consider the creative challenges and opportunities ahead.
The conference is currently seeking lively contributions on the following broad themes:
•    Transformation – of services, learners or providers
•    Inspiration – innovative projects which challenge current thinking and practice
•    Implementation – the experience of implementing new mobile technologies
Papers will be short – 15 minutes for the presentation plus time for discussion/questions and you will need to submit your abstracts (up to 300 words) by 15th of March 2012 to
  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .  These will be subject to peer review and authors will be notified by 26th of April 2012.

For further information and for a list of keynote and invited speakers, visit the website at http://www.m-libraries.org/node/26.

Lexis Library now available for tutors of OU students in partner institutions
After some extensive negotiating on the part of Library Services’ Content and Licensing Team we are pleased to be able to announce the addition of Lexis Library to the Locally Employed Tutors’ service (LETS).  LETS is a library service created to provide access to licensed library content for tutors of OU students who are not themselves employed by the OU, such as tutors in some partner institutions. These tutors would not otherwise have access to resources that their students have available through OU Library Services.

Projects
Library Services has launched two new JISC-funded projects.

MACON (Mobilising Academic Content Online) will address the challenges faced when delivering quality academic content to students and staff when using mobile devices. This will include investigating issues around authentication, how to provide users with seamless access to the right content and how to include access to OU multimedia materials.
 
During the project Library Services will be working  with EBSCO  in order to prototype a mobile and user friendly search interface which will enable students and staff to discover quality academic content from a range of library resource collections.

You can find more information about MACON on the project blog at http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/macon/

STELLAR, (Semantic Technologies Enhancing the Lifecycle of Learning Resources), will explore the perceived value of the OU’s archived learning materials, and examine whether linked data can enhance that value by improving its discoverability, visibility and re-usability.

As one of the earliest digital learning providers the OU has a rich heritage of archived learning materials. Whilst interest in the reuse of these learning materials is growing, there has been no systematic research into understanding their value. The STELLAR project will research the extent to which academic staff and stakeholders at the OU value these materials. It will also explore whether that value is based on pedagogic or other reasons and determine what staff see as the barriers to realising that value.

In phase two the project will investigate whether collecting this material into a digital library that makes use of linked data will enhance the value of these materials. The project will focus on whether these technologies can improve the materials’ discoverability, visibility and re-use potential.