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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities

Academic Library Seating: A Survey Of Usage, With Implications For Space Utilisation, Michael K. Organ, Margie H. Jantti Nov 2010

Academic Library Seating: A Survey Of Usage, With Implications For Space Utilisation, Michael K. Organ, Margie H. Jantti

Margie Jantti

Between June and October 1996 the University of Wollongong Library conducted a survey of patron seating usage with the aim of a) quantifying such use; and b) identifying areas where seats could be removed to accommodate the growth of the collection. The survey indicated that maximum usage of the 648 seats available for study was 66%. This supported a conservative reduction of seating numbers by 12%, resulting in minimal impact on patron usage. The removal of seats enabled the installation of additional shelving and a compactus. The findings have facilitated collection expansion for a further five year period.


Assessing The Service Needs And Expectations Of Customers – No Longer A Mystery, Margie H. Jantti Nov 2010

Assessing The Service Needs And Expectations Of Customers – No Longer A Mystery, Margie H. Jantti

Margie Jantti

Over the past decade, UWL has made extensive use of customer surveys and customer feedback systems as a means of evaluating satisfaction with services and resources. These approaches have provided critical data and information on how clients rate their perceptions of the importance and performance of various service and resource elements. They have been an important mechanism for planned change and an improvement agenda. While surveys and feedback systems provide data and information on a range of service elements, they are limited in their capacity to provide information and insight into the perceived value gained by engaging with the library …


Minding Your Own Business: Can A Business Excellence Framework Translate To The Education Sector? , Margie H. Jantti Nov 2010

Minding Your Own Business: Can A Business Excellence Framework Translate To The Education Sector? , Margie H. Jantti

Margie Jantti

As the first education and training organisation to be recognised with an Australian Business Excellence Award in the Award’s 14 year history, the University of Wollongong Library has demonstrated how the principles of excellence can readily be translated to the education and service sector. Many higher education institutions are planning or preparing for the audit process developed by the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA). The audit process, particularly the internal self assessment will be firmly focussed on practices and processes aligned with the stated vision and mission of the institution; how plans and objectives are translated into operational activities; how …


Developing A Culture That Values The Need For Assessment And Continuous Improvement: The Growth Of A Learning Organisation, Margie H. Jantti Nov 2010

Developing A Culture That Values The Need For Assessment And Continuous Improvement: The Growth Of A Learning Organisation, Margie H. Jantti

Margie Jantti

In a period of six years, the University of Wollongong (UOW) Library was transformed through a planned change management strategy. Prior to 1994 the Library was considered to be a conservative, hierarchically structured and risk-averse organisation using few and questionable performance indicators and measures to ascertain its success. The selection of the Australian Business Excellence Framework as the management framework to drive and support transformational change led to the development of a new cultural paradigm. Within a few years, the Library was positioned for external scrutiny and underwent assessment by third party evaluators using nationally and internationally recognised criteria of …


Measurement And Milestones - Sustaining Improvement, Margie H. Jantti, Felicity Mcgregor Nov 2010

Measurement And Milestones - Sustaining Improvement, Margie H. Jantti, Felicity Mcgregor

Margie Jantti

Collection and interpretation of information and data were key elements in a planned change management strategy which, over a period of six years, transformed the University of Wollongong (UOW) Library’s capacity to deliver sustained organisational improvement. Early initiatives in strategic planning, performance management and staff development had delivered a number of improvements to an essentially conservative organisation. Perceptions of Library services were mostly favourable. Success was difficult to measure and promote, however, due to the lack of robust performance indicators and measures. Performance measurement focussed on inputs and outputs, primarily those considered mandatory for reporting purposes, with little or no …


Far From Common: Innovative Approaches To Designing Information Rich Learning And Research Spaces, Helen E. Mandl, Margie H. Jantti Nov 2010

Far From Common: Innovative Approaches To Designing Information Rich Learning And Research Spaces, Helen E. Mandl, Margie H. Jantti

Margie Jantti

The University of Wollongong Library commenced the new academic year with a state of the art complex designed to attract and welcome students, staff and visitors to a new range of lightfilled study and social places. The Library in its current form, is a significant departure from the original three-storey building which was colloquially known as The Bunker. Built in the 1970’s it was typical of the brutalist architectural style. The reconstruction of the Library extension during 2007 enabled the deconstruction of traditional approaches to facilities design. Cognisant of the proliferation of group work within the curriculum and demand for …


Measuring The Value Of Library Resources And Student Academic Performance Through Relational Datasets, Margie H. Jantti, Brian Cox Nov 2010

Measuring The Value Of Library Resources And Student Academic Performance Through Relational Datasets, Margie H. Jantti, Brian Cox

Margie Jantti

In a period of economic turmoil, resource scarcity, and increased competitiveness in the attraction and retention of students, the ability to demonstrate the value gained by utilising library resources is becoming increasingly important. Students have unprecedented choice over where they will study, what they will study, and importantly the source, content and format of learning materials they use; and can effectively bypass the Library. These wide-ranging choices have in effect repositioned the student from being an active though still highly dependent learner, into a consumer of information. This shift in behaviour comes with a learning cost, and it has become …


Major Changes Lead To Customer Satisfaction At Wollongong Uni, Margie H. Jantti, Claire Collett Nov 2010

Major Changes Lead To Customer Satisfaction At Wollongong Uni, Margie H. Jantti, Claire Collett

Margie Jantti

Sustaining Satisfaction, a Quality and Service Excellence program (QSE), conceived in 1994, revitalised the University of Wollongong Library’s approach to the design and delivery of client service. Results of extensive ongoing market research reveal what our clients want and expect from their Library, namely friendly, knowledgeable and responsive staff, and seamless access to information resources. This has driven major change throughout all levels of the organisation, with dramatic and most importantly, sustained service improvements for clients.


Introduction To Benchmarking: Industrial Tourism Or A Tool For Continuuos Improvement, Lorraine Denny, Margie H. Jantti, Tracie Rice Nov 2010

Introduction To Benchmarking: Industrial Tourism Or A Tool For Continuuos Improvement, Lorraine Denny, Margie H. Jantti, Tracie Rice

Margie Jantti

The University of Wollongong library Acquisitions Team has established an ideal model for best practice in relation to the acquisition and provision of prescribed texts and recommended readings for library clients through benchmarking with three other Australian academic libraries. The approaches integral to our focus on texts and recommended readings were examined in detail, with opportunities for our own continuous improvement defined. Our major aim was improvement of collection relevance and development concerning acquisition of University of Wollongong curriculum texts and recommended readings through benchmarking. In practical terms this meant redesigning the texts and recommended readings process from selection to …


Investing In People To Develop The Ideal Culture, Margie H. Jantti Nov 2010

Investing In People To Develop The Ideal Culture, Margie H. Jantti

Margie Jantti

While technical skills and professional qualifications will continue to play an important role in the identification and selection of people to join our organisations, the development of life-long learning skills will be the corner-stone of an organisation’s ongoing success and capacity to develop and adapt in a constantly shifting market place. Change is the only constant is the catch phrase of the moment. In a climate of ever-accelerating, and often overwhelming change, the ability of individuals to develop suites of skills and knowledge that promote flexibility, innovation and creativity will be a key determinant of an organisation’s future success or …


Quality, Service, Excellence: A Decade Of Quality, Margie H. Jantti Nov 2010

Quality, Service, Excellence: A Decade Of Quality, Margie H. Jantti

Margie Jantti

As the first education and training organisation to be recognised with an Australian Business Excellence Award in the Award’s 16 year history, the University of Wollongong (UOW) Library has demonstrated how the principles of quality and excellence can readily be translated to the library and information sector. The Australian Quality Council’s (AQC) Framework was selected in 1994 as the Library’s change management framework. Now known as the Australian Business Excellence Framework (ABEF), it provides a structured and integrated management system describing the essential features, characteristics and approaches of organisational systems essential to sustainable and excellent performance. The ABEF criteria provide …