Promoting Unitec's research talent to the world

Latest developments

Unitec's Research Bank enables anyone in the world to access Unitec research. The Research Bank is an open access repository for Unitec research managed by the Library.  Below are some of our recent developments.

Names of authors and supervisors link to staff profiles

We recently added new functionality to link Research Bank authors to the author’s staff profile in the Unitec Staff Directory. For example see this record in Research Bank, if you click 'view profile' next to the authors name you will go to their profile in the Staff Directory. We also have have links to the research supervisor's profiles, for example see supervisor link in this record.

Google Scholar links to Unitec's Research Bank

Research Bank items are discoverable via Google Scholar. For example, see this google scholar search and note the 'researchbank.ac.nz' link to right of the 'Garden city' title in the list of results takes you to the full-text item within Research Bank, while the title links to the entry record. Research Bank items are also able to be accessed via NZResearch.org and other global Institutional Research Repository (IRR) aggregators such as OpenDOAR and Scirus.

Usage of Research Bank in 2012

Below is an update on the usage of Research Bank in 2012 with comparisons to past years. 

Top web browsers

There has been a notable increase in the use of Chrome which now outstrips Firefox! The top 5 web browsers used by Research Bank visitors* in 2012 were:
Internet Explorer - 34%
Chrome - 27%
Firefox - 25%
Safari - 12%
Opera Mini - 0.68%

 

Visits and downloads

We had 33,465 visits* to the Unitec Research Bank in 2012 (blue line) compared to 24,148 in 2011 (orange line), which is an increase of 30%. Only 19.74% were returning visitors*, which is substantially less than Unitec Library’s other web services. The institutional research repositories (IRR) of AUT, Otago and Waikato University also have a much higher percentage of visitors who are new compared to those who are returning.

As can be seen from the table below, from 2011 to 2012 the number of file downloads almost doubled and page views have also increased substantially. The 3 authors most downloaded were: Jenny Ritchie (20,691), Sven Damm (8,599) and Ken Blaiklock (7,673).

year	file downloads	item page views
2012	144,473	56,139
2011	73,339	40,178
2010	17,826	16,456
All dates	252,136	119,201

 

Top 3 items viewed		Top 3 items downloaded
Mobile phones and teenagers: Impact, consequences and concerns - parents/caregivers perspective...	2,143	Best practices in event management	8,629
Investigating factors influencing the retention of Maori students within secondary education in A...	1,567	Bicultural development within an early childhood teacher education programme	6,753
He taonga te reo: Honouring te reo me ona tikanga, the Māori language and culture, within early c...	1,015	The emerging role of HR practitioners: Expectations, challenges and trends	4,604

Search behaviour

Infographic of top 50 words entered into Research Bank search box

Items contributed to Research Bank

We now have a total of 803 items in Research Bank. We added 243 items in 2012, which is a slight increase on the 237 items added in 2011.

The top 10 contributors to Research Bank since its inception are:

•  Papoutsaki, Evangelia (22)         •  Blaiklock, Ken (12)
•  Ritchie, Jenny (20)                     •  Potangaroa, Regan (12)
•  Cass, Philip (18)                        •  Roy, Dianne (9)
•  Fernando, Achela (15)               •  Woodruffe, Paul (9)
•  Fitzgerald, Tanya (14)                •  Cardno, Carol (8)

More information

• For more information about Research Bank usage see the Research Bank statistics or contact the Library: libadmin@unitec.ac.nz. 
• To deposit your research into Research Bank contact the library at researchbank@unitec.ac.nz.

Please note:

* the information in this report is mainly from statistical data provided by the Research Bank system. However, some was sourced from Google Analytics and this has been marked with an asterisk .

** Research Bank is open to the public and is not the same system as ROMS which is an internal system for managing Unitec research outputs. Research Bank staff in the Library and ROMS staff in the Research Office work together to avoid duplication of effort.

Library and Computer Centre Update

An update on developments in the Library and Student Computer Centre over the past 6 months.

Te Noho Kotahitanga and Matauranga Maori

• Jade Peterson and Jeanne Reihana from the Library attended the 5am karakia (blessing) for the new Wharekai, Whare Manaaki on 30/11/12 and were kaimahi (workers) for the celebratory breakfast.
• Waitakere Campus Library hosted Mereana Taungapeau (Alexander Turnbull Library) who explained how to access Maori music material through the Turnbull archives. 
• Beautiful posters promote awareness of the five TNK principles in all our Libraries.
• Maori subject headings continue to be added to bibliographic records. 

Te Noho Kotahitanga posters at the Main Library

Innovation in Teaching and Learning

New Information Literacy framework and rubric
Information literacy (knowing how to deal with information in all its forms) is a vital academic literacy, a central part of the Living Curriculum and key to success in the workplace. Our new framework and information literacy rubric enables lecturers to easily map the information skills their students already have and develop a plan with their liaison librarian.

Making spaces for informal learning
We removed the tall tables outside the Student Computer Centre in the hub and created a small "wireless lounge" from "found furniture". This has been well used by students for conversation and informal learning and we hope to create more of these spaces.

Promoting Unitec's research talent
New functionality in Unitec's Research Bank now links the names of research authors and supervisors to their staff profile in the Unitec Staff Directory. From 2011 to 2012 the number of file downloads from Unitec's Research Bank almost doubled and page views have also increased substantially. The most downloaded authors were: Jenny Ritchie (20,691), Sven Damm (8,599) and Ken Blaiklock (7,673). More details.

YouTube
Unitec Library joined YouTube on 15 July 2009. We have had 15,511 views since inception. In 2012 usage almost doubled with a total of 7,809 views recorded compared to 4,163 views in 2011. We have uploaded 47 videos. Here is an example of  one:

 

Our top 10 videos for the past year:

We have been converting our Flash based tutorials into YouTube versions so they are more portable and accessible via a larger range of devices. 

 

Enhancing the student experience

More roving support
In addition to our student rovers at the Main Library we now have a rover at the Northern Campus Library and Learning Commons.

Website improvements
We redesigned our website homepage in response to user surveys and testing. We have also made the site more accessible via mobile devices. 

Quiet study area
In the Library Client Survey and Student Satisfaction Survey students mentioned they could not find a quiet place to study. As a first response to this we have more clearly defined the quiet and silent study areas within the Main Library with bright branded signage. We have also moved some shelves to create more quiet study areas

Supporting student success (by going outside the Library)

• As part of the 'first six weeks' project, a team of librarians maintained a presence in the Hub to promote the Library's 'Live help' online chat service, the Facebook page and library services in general. As a result of that our Facebook and Live help are buzzing.
• We regularly 'take the Library' to Maia and Pacific Centre, and make similar visits to international students and BBUS students. This is all about embedding ourselves into the student journey.
• Librarians have been collaborating with lecturers to teach students about such things as: creating a search strategy, evaluating what they find on the internet and how to be academically honest.

Students enjoying our 'Facebook friends' promotion in the Hub

 

Meeting the needs of the community

We presented at the following external events:

• LIANZA 'Ipukarea' Conference in Palmerston North (25/11/12) - Adrian Jenkins gave a 'lightning session' presentation on his Masters research into the value of verbal praise and recognition.
• AASWWE 2012 Symposium Celebrating Diversity in Adelaide (27/11/12) - Lydia and Te Pora gave an oral presentation about navigating the challenges to inclusivity.

Improving access to resources

• We enhanced access to the Pasifika material in the collection by retrospectively adding a local heading, 'Pasifika', to this material. 
• In the past 6 months another 77  print journal subscriptions were moved from print to online. This continues the move to electronic resources, giving greater access and flexibility for study for students and staff.

 

Being an excellent business

Records Management
The Library has improved its records management in line with Unitec policy and NZ law. We are now aware of which records we must retain and how to document records disposal. Last year we reduced our top tier of folders on the staff file server (H drive) from 101 to 6. We are happy to share our record management learnings with others.

Defibrillator in Main Library

Health and Safety
Our newest wall ornaments in both the Main Library and B1 Library are heartsaver defibrillators which can 'bring people back to life' in the event of a heart attack. Many staff have attended training. Waitakere Joint Library also has a defibrillator on level 1.

Supporting Environmental Sustainability Teaching
A new Library Guide for Sustainable Technologies was produced in response to a need expressed by faculty who are 'greening' our
curriculum in line with Unitec's Environmental Sustainability Strategy.

Professional Development
We held a 'Summer Festival of Professional Development' in December to stay up-to-date and equip us to better support our  customers. Session topics ranged from 'MS Office' and 'APA Referencing' insights to the 'Creative Commons' and 'Google's filter bubble'.

Communication and knowledge sharing
Library staff presented a number of sessions at Unitec symposiums and kick-offs including: Opening the Door to Open Access, Free your conscience: Finding and using images legally, Meet me in the Cloud (about Google Hangouts & Skype) and Weaving the web and the weft: Starting the research journey (a collaboration with Dr Jo Howse).

Library hours for Easter break

Over the Easter break the Unitec libraries will be open at times different from their regular hours. Check the details below or see the library hours page.

	Good   Friday  29 March	Easter  Saturday 30 March	Easter Sunday  31 March	Easter Monday 1 April	Easter Tuesday 2 April
Main Library Mt Albert	Closed	9am - 4.30pm	Closed	9am - 4.30pm	9am - 9pm
Student Computer Centre	Closed	9am - 4.30pm	Closed	Closed	9am - 9pm
Building 1 Library	Closed	9am - 4.30pm	Closed	Closed	Closed
Waitakere Library	Closed	10am - 4.00pm	Closed	Closed	8am - 8pm
Te Puna Ora  o Waitakere	Closed
North Shore Library and Learning Centre	Closed

Turnitin for Students

Turnitin is an online tool that you use to check your assignments for originality. Your teacher may ask you to use Turnitin with a class enrolment ID. To do this you must first get the class enrolment ID and password from your teacher, and then create a Turnitin account.

If you do not have a class enrolment ID and password from your teacher or you do have specific class access but wish to check a draft before final is submitted you can use the Library's draft dropbox on Turnitin to check your work prior to submission as follows:
1. Contact the Library (libinfo@unitec.ac.nz) and get the Library class ID and password,
2. Create an account at www.turnitin.com, or if you have an account with Turnitin already, enrol in the 'Draft Dropbox' class.

For more help with Turnitin, check out the student quick startguide or the Turnitin student tutorials online, or contact libinfo@unitec.ac.nz

Looking for journal articles? Try Articles-Express!

Unitec Library subscribes to thousands of high quality eJournals which contain useful articles for your assignments and research. Our new Articles-Express search tool makes it easy to access those articles. Articles-Express delivers search results VERY FAST and there is no need to login to do the search.

Search for and access articles  in 4 easy steps:

1. Select the Articles-Express search option
2. Enter your search terms eg "black and white ruffed lemurs"
3. Click search - and a list of relevant articles will display instantly
4. To access the full-text of an article just click on the title of the article (if you are off campus or using a mobile device you may be prompted to login with your Unitec login at this point).

Coverage

Articles-Express coverage includes these publishers and collections. You can use Articles-Express to search over 150 million articles, many available as full text. However, for commercial reasons Articles-Express does not include all the journals that we subscribe to especially some of the ones published in New Zealand. If you can't find what you're looking for try these other search options:

• Databases - multisearch - much slower to search but has broader coverage. 
• If you are looking for articles in New Zealand publications try searching Newztext Plus or some of the databases listed in our Aotearoa subject guide or our Maori Language and Culture subject guide.

Note about name

We have named this search tool "Articles-Express" but the supplier (Ex Libris) calls it the "Primo Central Index". Many academic libraries around the world use this tool but often call it different names. See more information from Ex Libris about the Primo Central Index.

Feedback

We are still fine-tuning the configuration of Articles-Express so please contact our systems admin team if you spot any bugs, or leave a comment below.

SFX system issues

On Friday 15/3/13 we were experiencing a problem with our SFX system which enables access to the full-text of journal articles via LibrarySearch, multi-search and Google Scholar. You may have encountered an error message like the one below:

SFX also enables our "Find eJournals A-Z" listing so that was also unavailable. We escalated this problem to our supplier who fixed the problem on Saturday morning - they are now investigating what the cause of the problem was so we can prevent it happening again. We apologise for the inconvenience.

If this problem happens again please contact us, and see other ways to access articles below. 

WORKAROUNDS IF THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS AGAIN

Some other ways to access ejournal articles are as follows:

• Try searching the databases directly (e.g. Ebsco, Science Direct) via the Databases A-Z
• Try Google Scholar as some scholarly articles are free to access from other places
• See our subject guides for direct links to the ejournal databases without having to go via multi-search or LibrarySearch

Our website homepage gets a revamp

Check out the new-look library page launched at the beginning of 2013.

We have made the links for About Us, Contact Us, Find Us, and  Hours clearer under the page header banner.

The main areas of the library website have been organised into four areas

• Search - the main areas for looking for library resources
• Help and how to - to allow easy access to pages explaining how the Unitec Library works
• Referencing and Citing - quick access to the important tools for keeping track of your research
• Services to - the ways in which the Library helps the sections of the Unitec community.

The News highlights information important to our users.

The other sections of the page will be used to promote other topics and/resources that may be of interest to students at different times of the year.

These changes were made in response to user feedback to our 2012 website survey that the site homepage design was a bit cluttered and the navigation needed some improvement. The changes were tested with students before going live. Some functionality enhancements were also requested and these are being implemented in stages this year.

We hope you like the new layout and welcome your further feedback.

Group Study Room Bookings

You can now view current bookings for group study rooms online. However you must still contact the library to make a booking - contact us in person at the library, or by email, or phone (09) 815 4185.

There are 7 group study rooms located at the Main Library on the Mt Albert Campus. Room 1 at the Main Library has a wall-mounted monitor. Some of the study rooms have whiteboards and video/DVD players. Whiteboard markers are also available from the main service desk. At the Waitakere Library on Level 3, there is one group study room.

More about using the study rooms.

Unitec libraries and SCC close early on Sat 16 March

On Saturday 16 March, the Unitec main library, Building 1 library and the Student Computer Centre will be open from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.  The Waitakere Library will be open from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, as usual.

The Mt Albert campus is host to Sounds in the Sun, the country's biggest orientation event on that day.