Bringing Special Collections to Students: A Case Study from Samford University

We collaborated with Samford University and AM on a poster case study exploring how Samford are using Lean Library and Quartex together to seamlessly integrate digital and physical resources into student workflows, maximizing engagement of library-subscribed resources.

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Contributors:

• Carla Waddell, Chair of Reference and Research Services, Samford Library
• Jennifer Taylor, MLIS, DAS, Chair of University Archives and Special Collection, University Archivist, Samford Library
• Jacob Mellady, Development Manager, Technology from Sage
• Jessica Kowalski, Senior Sales Manager, North America, Quartex, AM

• Samford University has uncovered a bigger need to promote their rich special collections and drive more students to the library.

• Libraries put in a considerable amount of time, money and effort developing special collections, but in today’s digital landscape, they can struggle to increase visibility and usage.

• Patrons don’t always start their research at the library, and often must step outside their workflows to access library content.

• Special collections are still very much viewed as physical collections, and as a result, patrons aren’t aware they can find them in the online digital library space.

“Samford University’s archives hold a distinctive collection of materials that document the history of Alabama with a particular focus on the state’s religious heritage. Significant time, effort, and financial support has been dedicated to the preservation and digitization of these materials by the university. These collections serve not only Samford students and faculty, but also attract researchers globally who are engaged in the study of the American South. The proactive efforts of archivist and digitizing these resources serve as a form of pre-emptive research assistance, which is only successful if materials are discoverable and accessible.”

Carla Waddell, M.L.I.S., Chair, Reference and Research Services, Government Documents Librarian

 

Solution

 

 

Quartex

• Samford implemented Quartex in November 2022. They went with Quartex for the new opportunities to showcase Samford’s resources and collections and its user-friendly interface for their patrons.
• They liked the ability it offered to connect Samford’s other online content in one location on the library site, and accessibility tools for handwriting recognition and audio transcription.
• In the first year of using Quartex, digital collections were accessed 4,509 times. Using Quartex has helped to surface collections to students online, making them more accessible for students of all learning styles.

“Quartex provided us an opportunity to bring all our digital collections to one location online and at the same time, highlight unique and important materials found in Samford’s Special Collection.”

Jennifer Taylor, MLIS, DAS, Chair of University Archives and Special Collection, University Archivist, Samford Library

 

Accessibility

With Quartex’s platform, Samford ensure that the wide scope of resources available at the library are accessible to students by:

• Having accessible and responsive websites to comply with WCAG.
• Using transcriptions for audio and for some handwritten documents.
• Using automated Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) for manuscript documents.

 

Lean Library

• Samford began marketing Lean Library to campus in August 2024. They chose Lean Library to make their resources more discoverable and had heard positive testimonials from other libraries’ experiences.
• Lean Library directs Samford students to the university’s rich digital collections with content integration capabilities and personalized notifications. Samford will be able to set up keywords that link directly from webpages such as Wikipedia and Google Scholar, directly to their special collections, driving discovery and usage.
• Since August, they have seen an 196% increase in engaged users, and 441 hours have been saved for students whilst searching for resources.

Impact

• Using both Quartex and Lean Library in collaboration, Samford has increased discoverability of all their resources, ensuring that students are able to view special collections in the digital library space.
• Samford are using these library technologies to share their collections with AlabamaMosaic.org and the Atla Digital Library.

Usage of features that lead students to library-owned resources:

Conclusion

Using Lean Library and Quartex together has helped Samford library in two ways:

1. Using Quartex to present Samford’s digitized collections has meant that Samford is making rare or fragile materials freely available online to provide equal opportunities to users regardless of location or ability.

Using Lean Library has enabled Samford students to more easily access library resources and digital collections (Quartex), making them even more discoverable in student workflows. This has been via personalized Assist messages, content features and enhanced Google Scholar search which directs students to library-subscribed materials and collections even when they begin their search outside of the library.

2. By using learning technology, Samford has been able to share resources with other institutions via AlabamaMosaic.org and the Atla Digital Library. This shows how technology can contribute to longer-term strategies to promote cross-institutional collaboration and increased availability of primary sources to a wider pool of students.

“Lean Library and Quartex provide opportunities for more discoverability and accessibility in a digital research heavy environment for patrons. The unique resources held within Samford University’s Special Collection are highlighted demonstrating Samford’s place as a source for Baptist, Alabama, religion, and local history resources.”

Jennifer Taylor, MLIS, DAS, Chair of University Archives and Special Collection, University Archivist, Samford Library