Laura Williams (University of Huddersfield)

How do we know which parts of our library collections students are using and how they are seeking information in the library? I will discuss ongoing research investigating engagement with print library collections by art and design students at the University of Huddersfield. The aim of this research is to develop evidence-based insights into how this group of students actually use the library, and to use this evidence to inform collection management of art and design resources.

​

Understanding art and design student library usage is a problem for the library service. Traditional quantitative library metrics such as circulation statistics and e-resources usage can’t tell us the full story about use of library collections by art and design students. Reviewing the literature about art students’ information-seeking habits confirms that circulation statistics are an unreliable measure of engagement. Research carried out at the University of Huddersfield for the Library Impact Data Project found that art and design students had low library usage. These findings were based on quantitative metrics which can’t provide a full picture of how students might be using print collections without borrowing from the library. This research aims to find out if art and design students are actually a low usage group by collecting evidence about how and why students engage with the library collections.

​

Many assumptions are made about the information-seeking practices of art and design students; for example, art students browse rather than search; they are only interested in visual resources, and they do not like electronic resources. Are these assumptions true, and as a library do we base our collection management practice on these assumptions when selecting and organising library resources?  In an attempt to move beyond assumption, my research is using ethnographic and UX methods to develop understanding of art and design students’ use of library collections. This paper will discuss this research, consider the methods used and explore the findings so far. The paper will ask why it is important to conduct this research focused on the stories and experiences of students, and look at the impact on collection management of uncovering these experiences.

​

Laura Williams has been Subject Librarian for Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Huddersfield since 2015. She previously worked for BBC Archives and ITV Archives as an archive librarian between 2011 and 2015.