Tiny Studies

Many employees in the University Library at the University of Michigan are enthusiastic about using data to inform their work, and have used assessment methods to gather and analyze data. The library has an assessment strategy that is designed to guide this type of distributed assessment activity, so that people feel supported and successful in gathering, analyzing, and making sense of data. One critical piece of the assessment strategy is the Assessment Special Interest Group (SIG). The Assessment SIG provides the library’s assessment practitioners with regular opportunities to gather -- in person and online -- to share assessment projects in all phases, and to get peer support and feedback on assessment work. This blog piece provides more information about the role of the Assessment SIG in supporting solid, connected assessment in the library.

What are the main characteristics of search queries submitted from the “What can we help you find” search in the lib.umich.edu homepage, and how relevant are results in our U-M Library Search “Everything” results? Learn how our small team gathered, categorized, and analyzed queries, and their results to reveal trends and insights from search query behaviors that will help us improve people’s experience finding promising materials in the Library.

In April 2023, the U-M Library opened a newly renovated floor, the Clark Commons, on the 3rd floor of the Shapiro Library. During the first year the Clark Commons was open (April 2023-May 2024), we collected a number of data points to assess whether the design goals for the public spaces on the floor were being met and to try to capture use trends. Throughout this initiative, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods were used to capture both attitudinal and behavioral data in order to document lessons learned from this renovation that could be applied during future renovations.

This blog post explores the challenges faced by novice users of the University of Michigan's Library Search interface, drawing on user research conducted with undergraduate students and librarians. The research aimed to understand how students approach library searches, to identify their pain points, and learn how they navigate the Everything results page. By gaining insights into these areas, the research aimed to identify opportunities for improvement and inform the design of more user-friendly library search tools.

This blog post summarizes a quick, low-tech, and timely way to assess your instruction. I write about my version of a “one minute essay” adapted as a feedback form on slips of paper, and how I use the responses to circle back with the students and faculty after the class. I reflect on how this approach, which I’ve used over the past ten years, has changed my instruction and allowed me to be more receptive to all kinds of feedback.

The University of Michigan Press sought to better understand what its monograph authors care about when choosing a publisher and their experiences in being published. A survey completed in Fall 2024 reveals insight into scholarly publishing trends and what authors value in working with a university press.

As we approach five years since the drastic shutdown and isolation techniques due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems appropriate to reflect on an assessment project conducted during 2020-2021. As librarians and students attempted to pivot to an all online learning and teaching experience, research service providers quickly needed to know more about our research consultation service. Struggling with a crisis, we also learned how to conduct assessment work in sensitive and empathetic ways.

Working with large-scale datasets to understand the effect of library resources on student success raises a number of concerns around individual privacy, data security, and analysis. This blog post, summarizing a recent article in College & Research Libraries, describes a recent grant-funded project at the University of Michigan, discusses the steps we took to address those concerns, and some of the lessons we learned.

The findings from a qualitative study on users of open access (OA) books reveal a wide range of needs and impacts. The data comes from two collections: one of OA books published by Lever Press (https://www.leverpress.org/) and the other of backlist books turned OA by the Big Ten Open Books project (https://bigtenopenbooks.org/). While the samples are small, the findings highlight the importance of qualitative approaches to capturing the variety of reader and, more broadly, user experiences.

This blog post reflects on the learning experience I had as a novice user research (UX) intern at the U-M Library. Through this nurturing and eye-opening experience, I enhanced my understanding of research operation, the activities which support the user research conducted by library employees in the Design & Discovery unit of the library.