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Lean Library Case Study: University of Manchester November 14, 2024 Text reads "Case study" with Lean Library and University of Manchester logo. Illustrations shows female student with research icons e.g. arrows, search bar, lightbulb, reports

Product: Lean Library Access

Bringing students to the library

The Challenge

The library puts in a considerable amount of time and effort to develop its collections and provide support for users. However, do they always start at the library when doing research?

“Students and researchers often bypass library systems and either go straight to publisher websites or find content in Google and other search engines. When they are off campus, they will not be authenticated based on their IP address or provided with an immediate authentication route. The only way to access library-licensed content they need is to follow publishers’ often cumbersome login procedure:

• Certain e-resource vendors have special browser or software requirements which they may not display on their web pages
• Some e-resources have license restrictions (e.g. a limit to the number of concurrent users) which may not be visible on vendor web pages
• Sometimes e-resource vendors have downtime where licensed content is unavailable for a certain time period; this isn’t always made visible on vendor web pages.”

 

“Students and researchers often bypass library systems and either go straight to publisher websites or find content in Google and other search engines.”

 

The Solution

Lean Library, a powerful browser plug-in, solves access issues and provides patrons with content as and when they need it, all while protecting their privacy and promoting your library’s brand.

“The extension detects when a user opens a website with material licensed by the library (such as a publisher’s website) and automatically notifies them of this, providing a link that will bypass the need to login to the website. It integrates with EZproxy authentication. The extension allows the library to provide a specific message when visiting a website (for example, that a service is temporarily unavailable or that the Library recommends an alternative site).”

 

Matching Expectations

Lean Library strives to deliver a product that continues to bring value to the library. Does it match your expectations?

“The take-up of the product has exceeded our expectations – as of January, we have exceeded 2500 engaged users in a month. Usage has been growing month-on-month. I am also impressed by the developments that have been made to the product (e.g. the e-books alternatives function) and I am looking forward to future developments.”

Promoting Lean Library

Lean Library requires users to download the plug-in. So, how do you get patrons to download it?

The library promoted Lean Library’s Library Access browser extension through many different channels:

• Face-to-face by our Academic Engagement Librarians at school committee meetings
• Social media: a co-ordinated Twitter campaign led by the Electronic Resources Co-ordinator which involved staff in the library’s Academic Engagement team
• A news item on the library’s website, recommended by the library’s Electronic Resources Helpdesk to students and researchers who have problems accessing library-licensed e-resources
• The University’s IT Service Desk recommend Library Access as one of the go-to methods to use to access library content.

User Feedback

At the end of the day, users need to see the value, and their feedback is important.

The University of Manchester Library received anecdotal feedback from academics and students who say how useful it is:

 

“Thank you for sharing the link to the browser extension. I just tested it and now I get proper access to APS journals. I will keep this extension active from now on.”

 

University of Manchester

  • Public Research University
  • Total Enrolment: About 40,500
  • The University of Manchester is a truly global institution, with a reputation for education and innovation that resonates across the world.

 

Find out more about Lean Library.

If you’d like to hear more or receive a product demo, get in touch.

Lean Library Case Study: University of Melbourne November 14, 2024 Text reads "Case study" with Lean Library and University of Melbourne logo. Illustrations shows female student with research icons e.g. arrows, search bar, lightbulb, reports

Product: Lean Library Access

Increasing the impact and value of library collections

The Challenge

The library puts in a considerable amount of time and effort to develop its collections and provide support for users. However, do they always start at the library when doing research?

“Most of our staff and students access the library’s online resources and systems from off-campus with less than 30% of use coming from on-campus or within a physical library. This means communication must happen online, but our users are scattered across many systems, websites, databases, LibGuides and apps.”

Our student experience research has shown us that there are hundreds of pathways to our content and our users don’t all use our library’s website or search tools to start their search. Communicating with, and guiding, users who are using Google or going directly to subscription resources is a real challenge.

We are also in the process of implementing OpenAthens to replace our EZproxy system. Our existing, and very popular, EZproxy browser bookmarklet that gives users direct access on subscription pages will no longer work with OpenAthens so we are looking for alternatives.

 

The Solution

Lean Library, a powerful browser plug-in, solves access issues and provides patrons with content as and when they need it, all while protecting their privacy and promoting your library’s brand.

Lean Library has allowed us to effectively replace our EZproxy bookmarklet with a browser extension that will make the access and authentication process seamless and easy for our users. The ability to communicate with our users on specific websites is a marvellous additional functionality, especially for those vendors with multiple websites or complicated access processes.

The Lean Library team have helped us reduce the steps involved in some of our more difficult access pathways too. For example, we have over 80 websites that provide us with a single username and password for access. Lean Library popup messages on these websites now link users directly to the username and access instructions instead of hiding this information in a range of LibGuides, Catalogues and systems.”

 

Matching Expectations

Lean Library strives to deliver a product that continues to bring value to the library. Does it match your expectations?

“Yes, Lean Library has matched our expectations, and the support team have exceeded them. We have been very pleased with the help and advice we have received during the setup process and now that we are live.”

 

“We have found the Lean Library setup process really easy to work through and the support team has been amazing…Lean Library’s biggest benefit is that it makes the discovery and access process easier for our students and staff.”

Promoting Lean Library

Lean Library requires users to download the plug-in. So, how do you get patrons to download it?

“We initially just promoted Lean Library to the librarians and student support staff so they could become familiar with and support students and staff using it. To assist them, I ran a number of workshops where I demonstrated the installation process and main features with our subscriptions. I put together a worksheet for those who couldn’t attend, which walked through examples of the features. Once we had a good number of librarians using Lean Library, we started promoting it via our social media and regular faculty communications.

However, the most effective promotions have been the ads we embedded in our Discovery system, Library Catalogue, eJournal Search and on the EZproxy menu page. These ads bring Lean Library to the user’s attention right at the time they are looking for resources and then links them directly to the download page. The ads initially helped us grow the user base from 250 in that August to over 4,500 by October with hundreds of new users downloading and installing it each day once advertising started. We have over 62,000 students and over 10,000 staff so an install base of more than 4,500 people was a very successful start.”

User Feedback

At the end of the day, users need to see the value, and their feedback is important.

“Initially we have had a few library staff contact us concerned that Lean Library would not work as well as the EZproxy bookmarklet, but when we walked them through access to their favourite sites/resources they quickly changed their minds and decided it was great.

In the month after we launched, we had only a few direct queries, and they were all staff or students asking if the ads were legitimate! Direct feedback has been very positive with a few academic staff telling us they love it, or it is amazing. Even our library systems administrators have been impressed by Lean Library suggesting eBook alternatives on one of our shared print Catalogues, BONUS+. But the best feedback was from the statistics: having over 4,500 users with no reported faults from thousands of successful access and assist messages.”

 

University of Melbourne

  • Public Research University
  • Student population: Over 60,000
  • The University of Melbourne is a public-spirited institution that makes distinct contributions to society in research, learning, teaching and engagement.

 

Find out more about Lean Library.

If you’d like to hear more or receive a product demo, get in touch.

Lean Library Case Study: KHSB Berlin November 14, 2024 Text reads "Case study" with Lean Library and KHSB Berlin logo. Illustrations shows female student with research icons e.g. arrows, search bar, lightbulb, reports

Product: Lean Library Access

Case Study: Katholische Hochschule für Sozialwesen Berlin (KHSB) und Lean Library

Institution and Library Overview

The Katholische Hochschule für Sozialwesen Berlin (KHSB), established in 1991, is a university that welcomes students from diverse backgrounds. It currently has about 1,400 students and approximately 90 teaching staff, offering a range of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs in both full-time and part-time options.

The university’s library, founded at the same time as KHSB, serves as a central resource for faculty and students, providing support for literature research and access to a wide range of resources. In May 2024, KHSB implemented Lean Library to enhance its library services, making resources more accessible and increasing the library’s visibility by integrating library services into the students’ workflow. This has improved the relationship between the library and the student body by making the library more prominent and accessible.

 

“1. Der große Vorteil an Lean Library ist, dass die Literaturrecherche nicht im OPAC beginnen muss. Auch über eine Suche in Google wird angezeigt, ob die Bibliothek das Buch im Bestand hat.
2. Die Bibliothek bekommt durch Lean Library eine deutlich höhere Sichtbarkeit, da sie bei jeder Literaturrecherche mit einbezogen wird, egal wo die Suche beginnt.
3. Wir haben Lean Library in unsere Schulungen integriert, so dass alle Studierenden es kennenlernen. Außerdem hat unsere junge Kollegin einen Comic zu Funktion und Installation von LL gezeichnet – der kommt bei den Studierenden richtig gut an.
4. Super ist auch die Möglichkeit einen Begriff in einem Text zu markieren. Mit einem Klick der rechten Maustaste gelangt man in den OPAC und sieht, welche Literatur zu diesem Begriff im Bestand der Bibliothek zur Verfügung steht.”

Margarete Roßmann, Leiterin der Bibliothek

Challenges before Lean Library

Before Lean Library was introduced, KHSB library faced significant challenges with visibility and student awareness of the library’s resources. Many students were not familiar with the library’s offerings or how to access them effectively.

Lean Library addressed these issues by improving the library’s visibility and accessibility. It enhanced the library’s branding and facilitated easier access to both library and open-access resources, allowing students to locate digital content anytime and anywhere with internet access. As a result, Lean Library has greatly enhanced students’ research experiences by providing quick and seamless access to resources.

Success Metrics

August 2024 figures (3 months after full deployment): 

Lean Library helped students access resources over 3,000 times 

Library Assist Messages were viewed over 3,000 times 

 

Lean Library macht unseren Bestand außerhalb des Bibliothekskatalog viel transparenter. Egal wo unsere Studierenden im Internet unterwegs sind, sobald sie auf einen Titel stoßen, den wir lizensiert haben, öffnet sich ein Hinweisfenster. Dadurch sind unsere digitalen Inhalte überall zu finden.”

Nicole Thomas, Bibliothekarin

Future Plans

The Library will offer induction and training sessions at the start of the new academic year, and is planning to use Lean Library to help advertise these. Other possible uses which will be explored include the ability to integrate library guides into certain target webpages, and the integration of a new discovery layer into Lean Library, so that search results from the library appear directly on Google and Google Scholar pages.

 

Ich finde es unglaublich praktisch, bei meinen Internetrecherchen zu fachlichen Themen immer wieder auf Literatur aus unserer Bibliothek hingewiesen zu werden. Die Installation war schnell gemacht, die Arbeitserleichterung ist aufgrund der direkten Verlinkungen immens.

1. Lean Library ist ein toller Assistent, der für mich die Augen aufhält, während ich im Netz nach Literatur suche.
2. Mein Weg zur Hochschulbibliothek ist mit Lean Library deutlich kürzer geworden.”

Andreas Richter, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter

For more information

Find out more details HERE

Find out more about Lean Library.

If you’d like to hear more or receive a product demo, get in touch.

7 Ways Academic Libraries Can Support the Needs of International Students November 13, 2024

Both Canada and the United States experienced an increase in the number of international students during the period of 2022 and 2023. In 2023, each country hosted approximately one million international students, with the majority originating from developing nations.

We recently hosted a webinar with information specialist, Janina Van Der Westhuizen, who has over 20 years experience within academic settings, and Eva, currently an international student at University College London (UCL). Janina and Eva were joined by our Director of Development, Jessica Clemons, to discuss how libraries can enhance support for international students by understanding their unique information needs from a global perspective.

In case you missed the webinar, you can catch up below:

 

WATCH THE RECORDING

 

Read on to discover our 7 ways that academic libraries can support the needs of international students:


1. Provide orientation and mentorship

Libraries can offer tailored orientation sessions for international students to introduce them to library resources, services, and staff.

Implementing mentorship programs where senior students guide newcomers can help international students navigate the library system and feel more welcomed.

“Students may find it more helpful to have personal guidance from someone who’s a student mentor and more approachable by saying it in a very conversational way. This can be conducted weekly or in the from group chats, et cetera, to make it just feel more approachable and warm, welcoming.” – Eva

2. Address language barriers

Libraries can provide access to language learning tools, software, and apps which can help international students improve their language skills. Hosting conversation clubs and guided reading groups can enhance students’ confidence in speaking and understanding academic English. This can build international students’ confidence in academic communication.

In some education systems, students may not have been encouraged to communicate or present in a second language such as English. If students haven’t had strong training in the new language of instruction, it can be hard for them to understand lectures, write papers, and join discussions, especially in subjects that with complex vocabulary expectations around academic accuracy, plagiarism and research methods can differ significantly.” – Janina

3. Offer cultural and social engagement

International students can feel more integrated into the university environment via organized social events, cultural celebrations, and study groups to help international students feel connected to the community. Events like library tours, book clubs, or cultural exchange sessions can create a supportive environment, and libraries can create a welcoming environment by organizing cultural exchange events to celebrate diversity and foster a sense of belonging.

4. Increase awareness of library services

Many international students may be unfamiliar with library resources in the country where they’re studying. Multilingual guides, library ambassadors, and workshops on using databases and citation tools can make library services more approachable. Offering library workshops on academic skills such as research methods, citation management, and avoiding plagiarism can help international students succeed academically.

“As a librarian myself, it’s easy to try to train students or educate students to be little librarians. A colleague of mine loves to use that phrase, but I think we all know that that’s, that’s not the case. They’re not little librarians. They have their own experiences; they have their own needs and there’s a lot of work that librarians can do to connect along those dots.” – Jessica

5. Create flexible study spaces

Designing library spaces that cater to different study needs, such as quiet areas, group study rooms, and individual study pods, can enhance the study experience.

Ensuring the library is a welcoming space with comfortable seating, good lighting, and a calm atmosphere can help students focus and feel at ease.

“I think on top of that is if the library itself has its dedicated area for like group work or individual study parts. Instead of a quiet conventional setting of the library where you just have rows of tables and chairs, you can also have separate certain areas into different functional uses. Maybe a more cross-functional area of the library would welcome students to come in more often.” – Eva

6. Provide financial support

Libraries can assist students facing financial barriers by providing access to essential academic resources like textbooks and study materials.

Offering part-time job opportunities within the library can help international students manage their finances while gaining valuable work experience.

“For international students issues such as high tuition fees, hardship, currency fluctuations, and limited access to financial aid add to their financial worries. And this risk can make it difficult for them to focus their studies and it also impacts on their mental health.” – Janina

7. Leveraging technology and online resources

Utilizing online platforms and virtual libraries to provide resources and support to students who may be studying remotely or in hybrid learning environments. Digital tools, such as Lean Library, streamline access to library-subscribed resources and Open Access papers, boosting patrons’ productivity and saving them money.

“I’ve been using Lean Library for like half a year and it’s really helping me to find accessible readings, papers or reports which I can just press download … I think it helps me to save a lot of time.” – Eva

 

Collaborating with faculty to integrate library resources into online courses and learning management systems can ensure students have easy access to necessary materials.


In summary:

Our discussion highlighted how essential it is for academic librarians to understand how to support the needs of international students and understand the diverse groups within academic environments. We hope our webinar has been useful in understanding a few of the ways academic libraries can support their international students.

“Turning our focus back to international students. Every path is new. Getting to know your new environment takes time and effort. Many students face significant challenges when they arrive, often related to everyday tasks that we might take for granted. Simple things like figuring out the local transport system.” – Janina

Find out more:

If you’d like to find out more about how Lean Library can help your institution better support international students. Request a demo now!

Congratulations to our Library of the Month, University of Hertfordshire! November 12, 2024

Each month we select a Library of the Month to honour libraries who have been using our library technologies in interesting and innovative ways, from creating well-curated reading lists with Talis Aspire to encouraging uptake of the Lean Library browser extension amongst their students. We’re also appreciating the intensive work of librarians in curating these technologies and improving learning outcomes for their students.

The winning library will be awarded a prize to share amongst their team or a donation to a charity of their choice as a way for us to say thank you.


This month’s winner is: The University of Hertfordshire

The University of Hertfordshire is an innovative, vocation-first university situated in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. They began as a leading educator within Britain’s aeronautical industry and now have a thriving community of more than 36,000 students from over 140 countries, and students have access to more than 550 career-focused degrees.

We’ve awarded them our Library of the Month Award for November, as since rolling out Lean Library to students in September, they’ve had fantastic uptake from students, and their usage of features such as Access, Alternatives, and Assist messages has been outstanding. This means that their patrons have had streamlined access to library-subscribed resources and has boosted discovery and usage of library collections.

Black and white photo of University of Hertfordshire library with Library of the Month logo in the top left-hand corner

We asked Rebecca Scott, Project Manager at the University of Hertfordshire to tell us more about the university library and what winning Library of the Month meant to them:

“At the University of Hertfordshire, we have two vibrant and welcoming Learning Resource Centres, which are the beating heart of our urban campus. Our academic and research collections are digital-first and complemented by a growing collection of fiction and well-being print titles to cosy up with in our Reading for Pleasure area. Our LRCs feature cafes, group study areas, high-tech suites, silent study and quiet reflection areas meaning there is something for everyone.

This semester we’ve been excited to introduce our students and staff to Lean Library. We’re delighted to be awarded Library of the Month in recognition of our successful roll out of this browser extension. We want our students to find our collections wherever they choose to search and Lean Library is helping make that possible!” – Rebecca Scott, the University of Hertfordshire.

Photo of University of Hertfordshire's Learning Resource Centre

Congratulations to Rebecca and the team at the University of Hertfordshire Library!

 

Discover our previous winners below:

Could your library be next?

Join us next month to see who’s won.

Lean Library Case Study: Salford University October 30, 2024 Text reads "Case study" with Lean Library and University of Salford logo. Illustrations shows female student with research icons e.g. arrows, search bar, lightbulb, reports

Product: Lean Library Futures

Bringing patrons to library collections

The Challenge

The library puts in a considerable amount of time and effort to develop its collections and provide support for users. But are patrons always gaining easy access to these resources?

“We understand that users don’t necessarily go via library systems to access our resources and can then struggle to access the online resources we subscribe to. It can also be difficult to provide effective support to off-campus users when they have problems accessing resources.”

 

“It can be difficult to provide effective support to off-campus users.”

The Solution

Lean Library, a powerful browser plug-in, solves access issues and provides patrons with content as and when they need it, all while protecting their privacy and promoting your library’s brand.

“Library staff are finding it useful in supporting off-campus users to access resources. The Library Assist feature is also useful for providing extra support when accessing resources – we plan to investigate using this across the library. Uptake has been good with nearly 4,000 engaged users each month and we’re pleased with the amount.”

 

Matching Expectations

Lean Library strives to deliver a product that continues to bring value to the library.

“The functionality delivers what was promised, it continues to be developed, it is easy for users to install and from the statistics we can see it is being used and helping users access resources.”

Promoting Lean Library

Lean Library requires users to download the plug-in. So, how do you get patrons to download it?

“We started with a soft launch over the summer with announcements on the library’s social media and did a full launch in October. We promoted it via social media, flyers on library service points, screensavers, a web page and information on library staff email signatures. We’re continuing to promote it particularly to coincide with new intakes of students. We are finding the statistics useful to be able to monitor usage and see where users’ research has been supported with the plug-in.”

User Feedback

At the end of the day, users need to see the value, and their feedback is important.

“We’ve had positive feedback from users via Twitter and also from our Academic Support Librarians. We’ll be focusing on gathering more qualitative feedback from users going forward.”

 

University of Salford, Manchester

 

  • Public Research University
  • Total Enrolment: 25,000
  • Staff: 7,000 over 100 sites
  • Salford has a rich heritage and international reputation for working closely with both industry and the public sector in enterprise and research.

 

Find out more about Lean Library.

If you’d like to hear more or receive a product demo, get in touch.

Lean Library Case Study: Erasmus University Rotterdam October 24, 2024 Text reads "Case study" with Lean Library and Erasmus University Rotterdam logo. Illustrations shows female student with research icons e.g. arrows, search bar, lightbulb, reports

Product: Lean Library Access

Bringing value to the library

The Challenge

The library puts in a considerable amount of time and effort to develop its collections and provide support for users. But are patrons always gaining easy access to these resources?

 

“We use EZproxy but it is difficult to explain how to use it. Even student support staff don’t understand.”

The Solution

Lean Library solves access issues and provides patrons with content as and when they need it, all while protecting their privacy and promoting your library’s brand.

 

Matching Expectations

Lean Library strives to deliver a product that continues to bring value to the library.

 

The Lean Library tool really helps us. Due to issues around privacy, it’s important to have a good, trusting relationship. We have that with Lean Library. We are now going over the 6000 engaged users, which is great! This means we can contact these active searchers with scholarly information. We are able to prompt a message on each website that we want to talk about!”

Promoting Lean Library

Lean Library Lean Library requires users to download the plug-in. So, how do you get patrons to download it?

“At first, we used flyers and narrowcasting in our library. Now, we just promote by narrowcasting. The number of engaged users is going up every month.”

 

  • Erasmus University Rotterdam
  • Public University
  • Total Enrolment: 28,000
  • Erasmus University is known for its pragmatic approach, its entrepreneurial vibe, and a “make it happen” mentality that serves to help its students and researchers achieve their ambitions.

 

Find out more about Lean Library.

If you’d like to hear more or receive a product demo, get in touch.

Lean Library Case Study: Mersey Care October 24, 2024 Text reads "Case study" with Lean Library and NHS Mersey Care logo. Illustrations shows female student with research icons e.g. arrows, search bar, lightbulb, reports

Product: Lean Library Access

Accessing resources from home and a 45% increase in online journal usage

The Challenge

The library puts in a considerable amount of time and effort to develop its collections and provide support for users. But are patrons always gaining easy access to these resources?

 

“The installation and ongoing dialogue with Lean Library were exemplary; always consistently helpful and very responsive. I am not necessarily very technically minded but Daniel – our Lean Library contact – guided me through all the necessary steps at our end.”

The Solution

Lean Library, a powerful browser plug-in, solves access issues and provides patrons with content as and when they need it, all while protecting their privacy and promoting your library’s brand.

Matching Expectations

Lean Library strives to deliver a product that continually brings value to the library. Does it match your expectations?

 

“The product has exceeded our expectations in terms of increased user satisfaction and increases in OpenAthens sessions across the Trust.”

Promoting Lean Library

Lean Library requires users to download the plug-in. So, how do you get patrons to download it?

“Initially we directly emailed all registered OpenAthens users within the Trust about Lean Library – about a fifth of our user base – and we continue to do this with new software developments such as Highlight and Search. Beyond that, we ran a poster campaign across the organisation informing them of Lean Library and the arrival of the Chrome browser.

Lean Library also promotes itself and our service in an ambient manner as potential users in remote locations are now made aware of our service and the availability of online resources through our Lean Library popups. In our organization, our users wouldn’t necessarily identify as students – as they will have existing OpenAthens account registered under their professional group.”

Collection usage grows when access is simplified

Chart showing increase in journal usage with Lean Library

 

“The implementation of Lean Library in Mersey Care has contributed towards a 45% increase in online journal usage.”

 

User Feedback

At the end of the day, users need to see the value, and their feedback is important.

“The feedback is uniformly positive – and it is reassuring to know that if for any reason the user did not want to see the popups anymore, we can give them instructions on how to easily disable it.”

 

  • Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
  • Community and Mental Health Services
  • Staff: 7,000 over 100 sites

 

 

Find out more about Lean Library.

If you’d like to hear more or receive a product demo, get in touch.

Congratulations to our Library of the Month, University of East Anglia! October 4, 2024

Each month we select a Library of the Month to honour libraries who have been using our library technologies in interesting and innovative ways, from creating well-curated reading lists with Talis Aspire to encouraging uptake of the Lean Library browser extension amongst their students. We’re also appreciating the intensive work of librarians in curating these technologies and improving learning outcomes for their students.

The winning library will be awarded a prize to share amongst their team or a donation to a charity of their choice as a way for us to say thank you.


This month’s winner is: The University of East Anglia

The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a vibrant campus, based in Norwich, United Kingdom, and home to global community pursuing personal and professional success. We love working with the University of East Anglia; whether it’s collaborating on webinars to promote student engagement, or as development partners to improve the Technology from Sage product offering.

We’ve awarded them our Library of the Month Award for October, as they’re great advocates of Lean Library, and Talis Aspire, and put their students at the heart of everything they do.

Black and white image of University of East Anglia library with Library of the Month logo in the top left corner

We asked Alli Carroll, Electronic Services Manager at the University of East Anglia to tell us more about the university library and what winning Library of the Month meant to them:

“The University of East Anglia Library is at the heart of our beautiful Norfolk campus. With our digital-first approach to resource provision and collection development, our goal is to make content accessible and available to our users wherever they are, bringing the UEA Library to them. We strive to support our staff and students in pursuing their personal and professional success.

Talis Reading Lists and Lean Library play an important role, as part of our suite of digital tools, in supporting teaching, research and point-of-need guidance here at UEA.

The UEA Library is delighted to be awarded ‘Library of the Month’ by Technology from Sage. We are keen advocates of Lean Library and Talis Aspire, and look forward to our continued relationship as customers, users, development partners and the Technology from Sage Community.” – Alli Carroll, The University of East Anglia.

 


Congratulations to Alli and the team at the University of East Anglia Library!

Discover our previous winners below:

Could your library be next?

Join us next month to see who’s won.

Enhancing User Experience with Talis Aspire: 11 Updates for Improved Workflows October 1, 2024

One of our key values at Technology from Sage is librarians at the heart. This means ensuring that librarians have an optimal experience whilst using our learning technologies, including our resource list management system, Talis Aspire. We continually strive to accommodate and adapt to the diverse working styles of the librarians, teachers and students utilizing the Talis Aspire platform.

Read on to discover the 11 Talis Aspire updates we’ve been working to improve workflows and usability for both librarians and patrons.

1. Export from Archived and Draft lists

Librarians can now export from an archived or draft list to CSV, RIS, and PDF formats. This process follows the same principal as a Published list, allowing librarians to share entire lists and bibliographies as documents with faculty.

2. List Publisher Invitation Update

Users without a profile who receive an invite to become a list publisher are now first taken to the profile creation screen and immediately after redirected to accept the invite, removing the risk of leaving the invitation unaccepted.

3. Filtering Lists by Items with Library Notes

Users are now able to filter items within a list that include a note from the library. This streamlines checking items which require actions when preparing for the next time the course is offered.

4. Inclusion of Additional Metadata in CSV and PDF Exports

Articles and book chapters now include additional metadata as part of CSV and PDF exports. The title and volume authors or editors of articles and book chapters are now included, providing consistent bibliographic information with correct referencing and improved item discoverability.

CSV

PDF

5. Updates to Onboarding Guides

Talis Aspire onboarding guides for academics and librarians have been updated and expanded, appearing every 30 days on their reading list homepage. If you’re a Talis Aspire customer and want to make any changes to the frequency in which guides appear for your institution, please contact the support team.

6. Relocation of Google Preview Button

The Google Preview button has been relocated, now appearing within an item’s information, under the Alternative availability section.

7. Internal Messaging in Digitization Requests

Institutions using Talis Aspire Copyright Clearance or the DCS integration can now add internal messages in digitization requests. The free-text field allows notes to be added, providing context for the person receiving the request.

8. Redesign of Broken Link Reports 

The process of reporting broken links has been redesigned, making it much more intuitive for a broken link reporter to add as much information as possible, streamlining the whole process. The screen displayed will vary depending on whether the user reporting the broken link is logged into the system.

When a user is logged in:

Users have access to a free text box where they can provide detailed information to help resolve the issue. The system automatically captures the reporter’s email for librarians to reach out if additional details are required. Additionally, users have the option to submit their report anonymously.

When a user is not logged in:

When a user is not logged in, they can use a free text box to describe the issue in detail and have the option to provide their email address, allowing librarians to contact them for further information if necessary.

9. Make Lists Searchable by Multiple Instructor’s Names

Reading lists can now be searched by an instructor’s name, even if they aren’t the list owner. This enables students to find reading lists using their instructor’s name, without needing the precise course code or title.

10. Add Internal Notes to Lists

List creators can now leave internal notes for entire reading lists, facilitating communication with other faculty members and library staff without these notes being visible to students.

11. Updates to List Status and Button Redesign

List Status

List editors can now better understand the status of their list. We’ve added a status label and information text under the list’s title:

The status label and text changes immediately when a change to the status of the list is made.

Button Redesign

We’ve added a new feature which has long been requested by our Talis Aspire users. When editing a list, users will now always have a reminder on screen that they need to publish any edits that they’ve made, and access to a button to allow them to do so quickly. Examples of how this appears can be seen above. 

Keep an eye out as we’re about to add buttons for “Review and Publish” and “Review” to the list footer.

Want to experience Talis Aspire?

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