Excellence Gateway
Published: 19 April 2010
This case study was produced by JISC Regional Support Centre for Yorkshire & Humber on behalf of the Excellence Gateway.
Sector relevance: Further education and Sixth Form colleges
Keywords: Improving teaching and learning, improving institutional effectiveness, management of learning resources, learning resources centre, creating and adapting e-learning materials, e-books, independent learning, support for learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, support for remote learners; equality and diversity, access to education, assistive technology, management of ICT infrastructure, staff development, staff communication
Hull College has increased library usage through the promotion of e-resources. The College is now able to cater to an increased number of learners and also tailor services to different types of learner, such as distance or part-time students, or learners with disabilities. e-Resources have made the library service more responsive to the needs of both learners and staff within College.
Hull College teaches over 25,500 learners on more than 1,000 courses from Foundation Level to BA Hons Degrees and via work-based learning and community programmes. There are five libraries in Hull College Group.
The challenge for Emily Armstrong, Libraries Manager, and Chris Skerrow, e-Resources Librarian, was to increase use of e-resources and the responsiveness of libraries within Hull College Group.
There are many approaches to promoting e-resources within the College:
Image 1: Screenshot of the Hull College virtual learning environment
Increased usage of e-resources
Hull College LRC has exceeded targets of use of e-books. Instead of one in 30 students using e-books per month, the actual figure is one in 17. e-Books have been used every day of the year, except Boxing Day and when the library has been closed. The statistics demonstrate that e-resources are providing an additional method for using the LRC, and not replacing the traditional walk-in use.
"For particular courses, the fact that you can get to the resources from outside the College is a huge factor. We have a lot of courses where they're doing part-time Foundation Degrees and they're only in once a week and we know are using these online resources heavily from home or workplace. Over half of people using these resources aren't in College at the time. That is the big selling point. These are people who wouldn't be using the library. It's additional usage. It's not just doing things a different way. It's about reaching people who aren't physically in the area." Emily Armstrong, Libraries Manager
Emily Armstrong, Libraries Manager
Chris agrees that e-resources are providing additional services to students, not replacing existing services:
"It's an extra option for students if we're closed or we can never have one copy of a textbook for every student. There are all kinds of reasons for tutors to give e-books a plug." Chris Skerrow, e-Resources Librarian
Chris Skerrow, e-Resources Librarian
This is reflected in the types of subjects most popular amongst e-books users.
"Partly, it reflects the number of e-books available, but also matches levels of interest. Business and Management students are naturally e-book users. They have access to computers at home or work. They're busy people. This appeals to them, being able to access textbooks at any time." Chris Skerrow, e-Resources Librarian
Statistics show that learners are using the e-books mainly to find specific items of information. The average duration of use is two minutes, though this can range from one minute to three hours. Emily and Chris find that this reflects how students use books offline.
“The introduction of e-books created a spike in usage. There are over 750 titles and they're on reading lists. Students can see what we haven't bought so we're able to buy student requests and it only takes 48 hours to get access to an e-book, whereas getting a printed copy takes a lot longer."
Emily agrees how “staff development is key. We can show the students but unless the staff have an expectation that they're doing this sort of thing, then it's going to be of limited amount if interest”.
Hull College was shortlisted for a Beacon Award in 2009 for this initiative in providing off-site access to resources.
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Disclaimer: The Regional Support Centres (RSC) and the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) support the development of educational e-learning. In the case study, we may refer to specific products, processes or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer or otherwise, or link to websites or supporting material. Such references are not endorsements or recommendations and should not be used for product endorsement purposes.
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