Results of last year’s library survey

survey word cloud Last spring, almost 1,000 of you responded to the library’s survey evaluating the use and quality of the our collections, services, and facilities. That’s 584 WOU students, 143 faculty, 128 members of staff, and 100 graduate students. Thank you so much for your participation!

We’ve crunched the numbers and created an executive summary with the results and some info about what we’re going to do with your feedback. It’s available in WOU’s digital repository, Digital Commons@WOU.

Pages 1-3 summarize the survey itself, basic demographics, overall results, improvements made since the survey, and what’s next. Pages 4-7 are single-page reports of results from specific groups: undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff.

Welcome to Primo

What is Primo?

Primo is the new library search tool used to find items in Hamersly Library and our partner Summit libraries, as well as some articles and other electronic resources.

Primo scopes allow you to define where your search is performed. You can select a scope in the drop-down menu right of the search box, or by selecting your desired scope under the search box on the main library home page.[wpspoiler name=”More about Primo” ]

What is included in each scope?

WOU: Books, e-books, audio-visual recordings, maps, scores, microforms, government documents, special collections, journals, magazines, and newspapers available on-site at Hamersly Library.

WOU and Summit: Everything in the WOU list above, plus the holdings of academic libraries in the Pacific Northwest.

WOU, Summit, and Articles, etc.: Everything in the WOU and Summit lists above, as well as some full-text articles. This scope finds search terms in the full-article content.

Primo is one part of your complete search

Primo does not include all the content from the research databases to which WOU subscribes. For discipline-specific searching, use Hamersly Library’s Recommended Databases By Subject.

To search beyond the holdings of Summit libraries, use Worldcat. You can request materials from libraries around the world through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

Questions or Comments?

We’re happy to hear from you at our Primo feedback form.[/wpspoiler]

New library system coming in June

For the first time in over two decades, the library is transitioning to a new library management system. This system handles important library functions like circulation, ordering, and cataloging physical materials, as well as the many electronic materials that we own or license, such as databases, ebooks, and ejournals.

The system also includes Primo, the online search interface that you will use to locate library materials within Hamersly Library and at our Summit partner libraries. The new system is shared among the 37 academic libraries in the Orbis Cascade Alliance, the consortium behind the Summit borrowing system.

Why are we switching? [wpspoiler name=”More about new library system” ]The simplest answer is that we are required to as a member of the Alliance. The deeper answer is that the core technology we currently use has been appended and stretched to accommodate new needs over the last 22 years, and it’s now restricting our ability to serve library patrons’ evolving needs. The benefits of the switch include:

updated technology that supports more efficient library operations;
collaborative purchasing of library collections among Alliance members;
lower software maintenance costs;
more efficient Summit borrowing;
enhanced search and discovery of library resources;
collaborative workflows between libraries;
shared preservation initiatives.

The library staff is currently in the thick of migration activities, and we expect to switch over to the new system June 23. Prior to and during Fall term, we will have tutorials and workshops to assist you in learning the conventions of the new interface. In the meantime, I encourage you to take a look at our Primo FAQ for more information; we’ll be adding to and updating the FAQ over the summer.

This is a large scale project, and there will be bumps in the road. We and our colleagues at other libraries are working hard at smoothing the path and will be doing so for some time. We need and appreciate your patience. Our top priority through the transition will be to maintain library services at the level that you expect and require. Please communicate with us if you have questions, concerns or issues as we move through this transition.[/wpspoiler]