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Library services to students with diverse language and cultural backgrounds
Library Services to Students with Diverse Language and Cultural Backgrounds by Suzanne D. Li
This article offers the impressions of library service needs for undergraduates born and mostly educated outside the United States. Most of them described needs related to their coursework rather than their language or culture.
Suzanne D. Li is Reference College,
Librarian,
The City University
Queens
of New York,
Flushing, New York 11367.
L
ibrary instruction on the college level has been developed with the assumption that students had come from the traditional American educational system that included constant exposure to school and public libraries. the students have been Therefore, expected to have rudimentary knowledge of the concepts of free access to resources, library classification and shelf arrangement, varieties of printed information sources, and the role of the librarian to assist in finding materials relevant to their interests. The focus of library instruction has been on conceptual aspects of research strategy and identifying new tools to find information more independently. Increasingly, though, a number of new students do not come from this tradition. In 1990, 33.2% of new freshmen at the City University of New York (CUNY) were foreign born; by 1992, 41 .O% were foreign born;’ but by 2000 half the new CUNY students will have been born outside the United States. Many of the new immigrants have had their first exposure to American education and libraries in high school or college. Somehow, they have had to learn what many of their classmates had at least been exposed to for years to meet faculty expectations for independent use of college library resources. One way to address the needs of these new students at Queens College/CUNY has been to offer basic bibliographic instruction classes at the request of teachers from the English Language Institute, a language program for non-matriculated students who had not yet passed the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The Institute also includes teachers of College English as a Second Language (CESL) for matriculated students who had not yet passed the CUNY Assessment Tests in reading and writing that indicate sufficient English proficiency
to take upper division courses. Evaluation of these and other services came into question, however, when the Library Assessment, Performance, & Measurement (APM) Committee was formed, in 1995, as a result of a library planning process. Its charges included the preparation of a self study and the identification of means of assessing a wide variety of services.
LITERATUREREVIEW The Immigration/Migration study of the new makeup of the student body at CUNY addressed such issues as English as a Second Language, classroom instruction, curriculum, and advisement, but nothing about developing or adapting library services was addressed.* Recent studies across the country, though, have described a variety of ways to assess library services to culturally diverse patrons. Questionnaire surveys were conducted at several academic libraries, such as the University of Illinois Library at Urbana which focused on international graduate students and library computer usage,3 and at Arizona State University West which dealt with the attitudes of their nontraditional students-part-timers not fresh out of high school-towards the library.4 Lois Buttlar at Kent State University directed her survey at academic library directors of schools with culturally diverse students5 while Kenneth W. Berger and Richard W. Hines directed theirs at library users in general at Duke University.6 Questionnaires had also been utilized at the Rosenthal Library of Queens College/ CUNY, with first year English Composition students before and after class introduction to the library. The voluntary responses were limited, however, and some response sheets were incomplete. There was no way to distinguish whether students, especially those from different cultural or language backgrounds, did not fully understand the questions, needed
March
1998
139
more time to answer them, or had responses not offered in the multiple choice format. Several recent studies, have described focus group surveys as a supplementary technique to elicit direct input and analyze library user attitudes. Barbara Valentine interviewed groups of student library assistants at Linfield College to examine their research behaviors.7 Although she studied a specific group easily available for her purposes, the technique was noteworthy because it solved some of the problems noted with the questionnaire format. Richard Widdows assessed a broader assortment of both graduates and undergraduates at Purdue University libraries applying similar techniques.*
Resource Center, and the Introduction to College Writing classes. The profile selected consisted of undergraduates, born outside of the U.S., parents not U.S. citizens, elementary education outside the United States, and who had visited the Queens College library at least once. Once accepted, participants were allowed to sign up for whichever date was most convenient (see Table 1). The groups were audiotaped and the tapes transcribed for analysis. All participants received campus
METHODOLOGY Through funding from the college president’s grant program designed to enhance cultural diversity within academic departments and services, a focus group study of linguistically and culturally diverse students sought qualitative information about their attitudes toward the library.’ Three sessions were planned for groups of 10 students each. Two professional counselors from student services were hired as group facilitators to encourage students to respond to guideline questions developed by the reference staff and APM Committee (see Appendix). The facilitators also interviewed the candidates who were directed to them from International Student Services, the Academic Skills
140 The Journal of Academic Librarianship
for the time and
FINDINGS The comments of the participants generally fell into the following categories: hours, physical surroundings, materials, research tools, personnel, and copy services. Hours Most of the participants turned out to be heavy users of the library, spending several hours daily on the premises, usu-
Table 1 ETHNICITY
AGE
PROBLEMSTATEMENT No Queens College Library study had ever been directed at the increasing numbers of new students born and mostly educated outside of the United States, but library staff were beginning to ask more questions in departmental meetings. Librarians wondered if students, after passing the TOEFL and enrolling in regular curriculum courses, were able to use the library effectively to complete their assignments, or if any kind of additional or different assistance should be developed. Was it sufficient for an individual librarian to react to one student’s need, or should there be a more organized group effort? Did the staff need more training to develop additional bibliographic instruction classes, and could they be fit into already busy schedules? Were the librarians sufficiently sensitive to the variety of cultural groups coming to the library? Before any of these questions could be properly addressed, though, more input was required from the new students themselves.
bookstore gift certificates effort they contributed.
GENDER
AGESTARTED SCHOOL1NU.S.
MAY8,1995 Bengali
18
male
17
Indian
19
male
19
Asian
23
male
19
West Indian
19
female
19
Georgian (USSR)
22
female
18
Asian
_
female
Fall 1991
Trinidad
24
female
23
Ukrainian/Armenian
22
female
19
Asian
19
female
19
Egyptian
20
male
19
Asian
23
male
21
Pakistani
23
male
18
Hispanic
18
female
16
Bahamian
24
female
24
Guatemalan
26
female
17
MAY11,1995
Caribbean/E.
Indian
24
female
24
Russian
20
female
19
Trinidadian
21
female
21
Swedish
23
female
23
Asian
19
female
15
JUNE13,1995 Cypriot
25
male
19
Korean
30
male
28
West Indian
23
male
23
Ethiopian
20
female
16
Korean
30
female
28
Korean
23
female
19
Chinese
23
female
21
Jamaican
22
female
19
Bangladeshi
23
female
21
ally the time between or after classes. Of the few who admitted infrequent use, the reasons stated ranged from course textbooks containing all the information they needed or computer lab time being a higher priority. Library hours, therefore, figured among many of the comments. Longer library hours was most frequently mentioned, especially in connection with finals. A number of students wished the 24-hour study hall during finals would be held the two weeks before finals, when they really needed to prepare for their exams. Others also wanted staff and the stacks to be available during the study halls. Earlier hours for people to prepare for morning classes and later hours so that people taking evening courses could begin class assignments immediately were an important consideration. Majors in art and music also questioned why the separate Art Library and Music Library were not open the same hours as the main library. Physical Surroundings Students talked of trying to study in other places, such as the bathroom at home, crowded studio apartments, and other buildings on campus, including the cafeteria, student union, and even empty classrooms. Some participants from the Caribbean shared memories of dusty, small buildings with dusty, old books as the libraries of their childhood. The Queens College Library was “magnificent” by comparison. “Comfortable” was the word agreed upon by most of the students. Although the physical structures of the library were clearly appreciated, students also commented frequently about the noise level and lack of cleanliness, particularly during finals. Despite being limited to Queens College students with identification, the 24-hour study hall on the second floor still was deemed too crowded. Participants requested that an additional floor be opened and even access to books and periodicals be allowed. Group study or designated talking areas were also suggestions made to alleviate the noise problems. Most noted that group study rooms were rarely available because they were claimed all day by groups or even individual students. Some also remarked that, in both cases, they suspected the group study rooms were occupied by non-Queens College students. Others wondered why there were so many unused little rooms (faculty carrels) kept locked. One student who had studied at another college before coming to Queens recalled the main floor was designated a
talking area and the rest of the library kept quiet. While complaining about library cleanliness especially during finals, at the same time, students wished there were drink and snack vending machines available in the lobby. Research Tools Concerns about CUNY+Plus (CUNY+), the City University’s implementation of the NOTIS Library Management System to search for books, periodicals, and other resources, varied. Some found the menu screens helpful with practice and no more difficult than ones they found in the public library, whereas one computer science major found them difficult enough to pity any non-computer science student facing them. Someone also wondered why, when they had officially checked out a book, CUNY+ still said “Check Shelf’ for its status. (Circulation records were not yet linked to bibliographic records.) Others were savvy enough to notice that keyword searching was easiest but also slowest, particularly during busy times, like lunch hour. The slow response time and occasional system crashes made some students leave, although others said they did not have to wait too long or did not mind resorting briefly to the old card catalog. Several students familiar with the computer labs wished there were more printers attached to CUNY+ stations or that several stations could share a printer. Some students were clearly confused when their searches produced materials outside of Queens College. Some were dissatisfied because they wanted all their materials on one campus, but others were pleased to learn they had access to more than one college library. Several students mentioned excellent results from using interlibrary loan (ILL) to obtain books outside of Queens, but others did not know they were eligible for ILL or said they did not have enough time to use it. Suggested ways to improve mastery of CUNY+ also varied. Although students wanted to be as proficient as one who had taken the library research credit course, no one wanted to put in a semester’s worth of time to achieve it. The general tours of the library offered the first month of every semester were deemed too short and not useful enough. The more specialized tours for English Composition classes and Business & Liberal Arts (BALA) classes were very helpful for a few students but still not enough for others. One student suggested l-2 hour tutorials be offered on the basics
of CUNY+, something more in depth than a tour but not as big as a course. Some students were articulate enough to be able to specify what they wanted, such as learning how to limit searches just to Queens College materials and knowing exactly how to locate a book. Since they were all undergraduates, most of the participants were not very familiar with the CD-ROM special indexes that are most heavily used by graduate students. Some thought they had something to do with the microform center, The few who had used them mentioned them as good sources for magazine articles, although one student stated disappointment that none of them were devoted to business. Another was intimidated at the thought of another computerized resource, whereas most were intrigued enough to hope the librarians would demonstrate their use. Personnel Using CUNY+ was the first discussion topic that brought in the role of library workers in the students’ research. When asked how they were introduced to CUNY+, answers ranged from personal experimentation to one student who took the library research credit course. One student specified a preference for well written printed instruction sheets to interacting with a librarian; but, if questioning a fellow student at the adjoining CUNY+ station did not help, then others did not mind resorting to “whoever was at the big desk on the main floor.” Some, however, first confessed they did not know there were print directions for CUNY+ in display racks by the stations. They said, though, that the main floor staff “at the desk’ seemed the most knowledgeable, because they had terminals which were not readily available on other floors. This also led to the suggestion that the book stack floors and other campus sites, such as the student union, needed CUNY+ terminals. Several students wished the main floor librarians were also available on the other floors, especially in the book and periodical stacks. Others wished some would come over to the CUNY+ stations a little more often to help on the spot, especially when a search came up with more hits than they could manage. They expected that the librarian could help them focus on the best hits. The desire to locate materials found through CUNY+ searches forced some students to approach workers for the first time. No one specified a need for a librarian. A few students confessed they could
March 1998
141
not go from the call numbers and locations in their searches to a definite place in the library without much appreciated help from student workers. Still others were frustrated when they got to the specified location and found the material was not there when the CUNY+ status was “Check Shelf’ (the status given to a material not yet linked to its circulation record). This, in turn, led to suggestions that materials, particularly newspapers and magazines, needed to be reshelved more often. Some students commented that even librarians who assisted them came up empty handed, but that made them feel they had done the best they could. They also recognized, though, that the librarian was able to suggest alternative resources. Concerns about noise level brought out comments about security. The general opinion stated was that guards would speak once to the noisy party but never follow up and, therefore, noise would resume shortly after. Other comments were about guards on the second floor clearing out patrons 15 minutes before listed closing times and guards in general being no help when a patron was robbed. A suggestion that lockers be provided as they are in the bookstore was rebutted by another student whose locker in another building was also robbed. Collections In the course of their discussions the participants began to realize that certain subjects were better supported by the library than others. Majors in art and sociology spoke of satisfaction with books available, but one in linguistics voiced strong disappointment with outdated material. A biology major, however, was astute enough to note that since the books were old, she found it better to use journals or go to an alternate library. Others commented, though, that journal titles suggested in CUNY+ searches had been cancelled. In light of heightened publicity this semester about CUNY budget problems, students voiced dismay that library resources were being sacrificed as a result. Interestingly, a need for more foreign language materials was only stressed as a resource for language or literature majors. Only one participant commented casually it would be nice to read magazines in his/ her first language. Most students spoke positively of finding materials located in the reserve library because it saved them having to buy them in the bookstore, but they did wish the loan times could be extended from two hours to four. This led to comparisons of Queens
142
The Journal
of Academic
Librarianship
loan periods of three weeks for regular circulating books with other CUNY libraries-Hunter College four weeks and the Graduate Center six weeks-and the wish that Queens could also loan for longer periods. They also agreed it would be good for the reserve library to have copies of all required books, as some of their teachers claimed it would have. Copy Services Discussions about reserve materials naturally led to copying services. Most of the participants related problems such as copiers out of order or paper, copies of poor quality, and long lines especially for microform copiers. Microform copies being twice as expensive as regular copies was also mentioned. A new frustration voiced in regard to the use of vendacards instead of coins was that every library seemed to employ a different card, so a person using the public library or a college library in addition to Queens could not distinguish them.
“Expectations of many comments from the participants that they were too shy to approach staff for help or that staff spoke too quickly or unintelligibly were not borne out.” Suggestions included standardizing the vendacards and perhaps adding another card machine on the second floor, especially useful during late study hours when students want to copy each other’s notes but can not add money to their vendacards. or even at other campus sites like the Music Library and the student union. FOLLOW
UP
Policies that could be effected without new funding were set in motion first, because they would not be slowed down by new budget requests. A variety of new strategies were discussed by the Library Director and the Library Operations Committee and implemented: l
CUNY+ workshops (50 minutes long) were developed and are now offered by librarians during the free hour and before the first evening classes after the tours of the library offered daily during the first month of the fall and spring semesters.
More CUNY+ terminals were added to the book stacks and periodical stacks, with more scheduled for installation the following year. Additional printers were also added to the largest group of CUNY+ stations on the main floor. More visible display racks were installed to hold the basic directions on how to use CUNY+ databases and the CD-ROM databases. A group study room policy was developed, and security guards began monitoring two hour reservations for the group study rooms for Queens College students with identification. Extra photocopying machines were added to the Microform Center, and a copy machine with extra capabilities on the main floor and in the Microform Center were also added. The main floor machine was also adapted for use by disabled patrons. Food is now available from vending machines and allowed to be eaten in the second floor lobby. Cooperation from tenance to extend hall in the Fall and 1996 was sought. limitations did not of this service.
Security and Mainthe 24 hour study Spring semesters of However, budget allow enhancement
When additional funding became available, general library hours were extended to 10 pm, an extra hour, four days a week. CONCLUSION Expectations of many comments from the participants that they were too shy to approach staff for help or that staff spoke too quickly or unintelligibly were not borne out. Only one person mentioned timidity about approaching a librarian without explanation. Another welcome surprise was that most of the suggestions about the facilities, collections, resources, and staff would be helpful to any library patrons, regardless of language or cultural background. Attention to most of these suggestions would not require creation of new services devoted to a small segment of library but improvement of those patrons, already in place for all patrons. Unfortunately, many areas of improvement were related to additional funding: longer hours, newer books, more journals, and more terminals for access to databases. Although the findings indicate these students do not view their language and
cultural backgrounds as major deterrents to satisfactory use of the library, they are indicators that students share common concerns about library services regardless of culture or language. Other variables may determine whether students view language and culture differences as stumbling blocks to effective library usage, such as shorter length of time in the United States, undergraduate/ graduate status, and choice of majors. A quantitative study would be needed to measure these variables, but the present findings can still be used to improve services. APPENDIX Focus
GROUP QUESTIONS
Basics 1. What do you personally use the library for? (Research to complete course assignments? Leisure reading? A place to hang out between classes?) 2. How is Queens College Library different or the same, compared to any library you’ve used before? 3. How well do you understand the arrangement of the Queens College Library, where different materials are located? 4. How well can you find the materials to complete your course assignments? (What would you do to get help?) 5. How well can you use CUNY+ (the basic online research tool to search for books, periodicals, and other resources throughout the City University)? a. How did you learn? (Formal class instruction in English 110 or another course? Librarian demonstration at CUNY+ terminal, student watching? Student at CUNY+ terminal, librarian offering cues? A friend demonstrating? Trying it out on your own?)
b. What would make you most comfortable using CUNY+? (A formal class? Librarian at CUNY+ terminals offering cues? Written help sheets? Better menus on screenclearer, more detailed directions? 6. How well can you use the CD-ROM indexes? How did you learn? (Instructor arranged visit? Librarian demonstration, student watching? Student at CD-ROM station, library staff Written help offering cues? sheets? Trial & error on your own?) Do you know when you would use them, and when you would use CUNY+? What would help you most to learn to use them independently? Staff Assistance 1. When you have a problem library, what would you do?
in the
2. How do you feel when you need help in the library? 3. What discourages you from asking for help? (What encourages you?) 4. How did you choose the person to ask? a. What did you expect the person to do for you? (Get materials and hand them to you? Point to what you need? Tell you where to find what you need? Explain how to find your own answers? Any other expectations?) b. Did the person make you feel comfortable or uncomfortable about asking a question? c. What did the person do to make you feel that way? d. Did the person’s response answer your question, or get you a step closer to the answer? e. What would make you go back to that person for help? What would not?
Materials 1. Does the library carry the materials you have determined you need for your project? 2. Are print resources available and in satisfactory condition? (No pages you needed were missing?) 3. Do you know how to find and use the microform resources? 4. Do you know how to get help? 5. Does anyone tell you how you can obtain materials outside Queens College Library? Conclusion 1. Any other feelings you’d like to express about the library?
NOTESAND REFERENCES I. Immigrutioll/Migrution and the CUNY Student of‘ the Future (New York: City University of New York, 1995) p. 7. 2. Ibid. 3. Mary Beth Allen, “International Students in Academic Libraries: A User Survey,” College X Research Libraries 54 (July 1993): 323-333. 4. Carol Hammond, “Nontraditional Students and the Library: Opinions, Preferences, and Behaviors,” College & Research Libraries 55 (July 1994): 323-341. “Facilitating Cultural 5. Lois Buttlar, Diversity in College and University Libraries,” Journal of Academic Librarianship 20 (March 1994): 10-14. 6. Kenneth W. Berger & Richard W. Hines, “What Does the User Really Want’? The Library User Survey at Duke University.” of Academic Librarianship 20 Journal (November 1994): 306-309. 7. Barbara Valentine, “Undergraduate Research Behavior: Using Focus Groups to Journal of Academic Generate Theory,” Librarianship 19 (November 1993): 300-304. 8. Richard Widdows, “The Focus Group Interview: A Method for Assessing User’s Evaluation of Library Service,” College & Research Libraries 52 (July 1991): 352-359. 9. See Richard A. Krueger, Focus Groups: A Practical Guidefor Applied Research, 2nd ed. (Thousand Oaks CA: Sage, 1994) for procedures used to set up the groups.
March 1998
143
This article offers the impressions of library service needs for undergraduates born and mostly educated outside the United States. Most of them described needs related to their coursework rather than their language or culture.
Suzanne D. Li is Reference College,
Librarian,
The City University
Queens
of New York,
Flushing, New York 11367
L
ibrary instruction on the college level has been developed with the assumption that students had come from the traditional American educational system that included constant exposure to school and public libraries. the students have been Therefore, expected to have rudimentary knowledge of the concepts of free access to resources, library classification and shelf arrangement, varieties of printed information sources, and the role of the librarian to assist in finding materials relevant to their interests. The focus of library instruction has been on conceptual aspects of research strategy and identifying new tools to find information more independently. Increasingly, though, a number of new students do not come from this tradition. In 1990, 33.2% of new freshmen at the City University of New York (CUNY) were foreign born; by 1992, 41 .O% were foreign born;’ but by 2000 half the new CUNY students will have been born outside the United States. Many of the new immigrants have had their first exposure to American education and libraries in high school or college. Somehow, they have had to learn what many of their classmates had at least been exposed to for years to meet faculty expectations for independent use of college library resources. One way to address the needs of these new students at Queens College/CUNY has been to offer basic bibliographic instruction classes at the request of teachers from the English Language Institute, a language program for non-matriculated students who had not yet passed the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The Institute also includes teachers of College English as a Second Language (CESL) for matriculated students who had not yet passed the CUNY Assessment Tests in reading and writing that indicate sufficient English proficiency
to take upper division courses. Evaluation of these and other services came into question, however, when the Library Assessment, Performance, & Measurement (APM) Committee was formed, in 1995, as a result of a library planning process. Its charges included the preparation of a self study and the identification of means of assessing a wide variety of services.
LITERATUREREVIEW The Immigration/Migration study of the new makeup of the student body at CUNY addressed such issues as English as a Second Language, classroom instruction, curriculum, and advisement, but nothing about developing or adapting library services was addressed.* Recent studies across the country, though, have described a variety of ways to assess library services to culturally diverse patrons. Questionnaire surveys were conducted at several academic libraries, such as the University of Illinois Library at Urbana which focused on international graduate students and library computer usage,3 and at Arizona State University West which dealt with the attitudes of their nontraditional students-part-timers not fresh out of high school-towards the library.4 Lois Buttlar at Kent State University directed her survey at academic library directors of schools with culturally diverse students5 while Kenneth W. Berger and Richard W. Hines directed theirs at library users in general at Duke University.6 Questionnaires had also been utilized at the Rosenthal Library of Queens College/ CUNY, with first year English Composition students before and after class introduction to the library. The voluntary responses were limited, however, and some response sheets were incomplete. There was no way to distinguish whether students, especially those from different cultural or language backgrounds, did not fully understand the questions, needed
March
1998
139
more time to answer them, or had responses not offered in the multiple choice format. Several recent studies, have described focus group surveys as a supplementary technique to elicit direct input and analyze library user attitudes. Barbara Valentine interviewed groups of student library assistants at Linfield College to examine their research behaviors.7 Although she studied a specific group easily available for her purposes, the technique was noteworthy because it solved some of the problems noted with the questionnaire format. Richard Widdows assessed a broader assortment of both graduates and undergraduates at Purdue University libraries applying similar techniques.*
Resource Center, and the Introduction to College Writing classes. The profile selected consisted of undergraduates, born outside of the U.S., parents not U.S. citizens, elementary education outside the United States, and who had visited the Queens College library at least once. Once accepted, participants were allowed to sign up for whichever date was most convenient (see Table 1). The groups were audiotaped and the tapes transcribed for analysis. All participants received campus
METHODOLOGY Through funding from the college president’s grant program designed to enhance cultural diversity within academic departments and services, a focus group study of linguistically and culturally diverse students sought qualitative information about their attitudes toward the library.’ Three sessions were planned for groups of 10 students each. Two professional counselors from student services were hired as group facilitators to encourage students to respond to guideline questions developed by the reference staff and APM Committee (see Appendix). The facilitators also interviewed the candidates who were directed to them from International Student Services, the Academic Skills
140 The Journal of Academic Librarianship
for the time and
FINDINGS The comments of the participants generally fell into the following categories: hours, physical surroundings, materials, research tools, personnel, and copy services. Hours Most of the participants turned out to be heavy users of the library, spending several hours daily on the premises, usu-
Table 1 ETHNICITY
AGE
PROBLEMSTATEMENT No Queens College Library study had ever been directed at the increasing numbers of new students born and mostly educated outside of the United States, but library staff were beginning to ask more questions in departmental meetings. Librarians wondered if students, after passing the TOEFL and enrolling in regular curriculum courses, were able to use the library effectively to complete their assignments, or if any kind of additional or different assistance should be developed. Was it sufficient for an individual librarian to react to one student’s need, or should there be a more organized group effort? Did the staff need more training to develop additional bibliographic instruction classes, and could they be fit into already busy schedules? Were the librarians sufficiently sensitive to the variety of cultural groups coming to the library? Before any of these questions could be properly addressed, though, more input was required from the new students themselves.
bookstore gift certificates effort they contributed.
GENDER
AGESTARTED SCHOOL1NU.S.
MAY8,1995 Bengali
18
male
17
Indian
19
male
19
Asian
23
male
19
West Indian
19
female
19
Georgian (USSR)
22
female
18
Asian
_
female
Fall 1991
Trinidad
24
female
23
Ukrainian/Armenian
22
female
19
Asian
19
female
19
Egyptian
20
male
19
Asian
23
male
21
Pakistani
23
male
18
Hispanic
18
female
16
Bahamian
24
female
24
Guatemalan
26
female
17
MAY11,1995
Caribbean/E.
Indian
24
female
24
Russian
20
female
19
Trinidadian
21
female
21
Swedish
23
female
23
Asian
19
female
15
JUNE13,1995 Cypriot
25
male
19
Korean
30
male
28
West Indian
23
male
23
Ethiopian
20
female
16
Korean
30
female
28
Korean
23
female
19
Chinese
23
female
21
Jamaican
22
female
19
Bangladeshi
23
female
21
ally the time between or after classes. Of the few who admitted infrequent use, the reasons stated ranged from course textbooks containing all the information they needed or computer lab time being a higher priority. Library hours, therefore, figured among many of the comments. Longer library hours was most frequently mentioned, especially in connection with finals. A number of students wished the 24-hour study hall during finals would be held the two weeks before finals, when they really needed to prepare for their exams. Others also wanted staff and the stacks to be available during the study halls. Earlier hours for people to prepare for morning classes and later hours so that people taking evening courses could begin class assignments immediately were an important consideration. Majors in art and music also questioned why the separate Art Library and Music Library were not open the same hours as the main library. Physical Surroundings Students talked of trying to study in other places, such as the bathroom at home, crowded studio apartments, and other buildings on campus, including the cafeteria, student union, and even empty classrooms. Some participants from the Caribbean shared memories of dusty, small buildings with dusty, old books as the libraries of their childhood. The Queens College Library was “magnificent” by comparison. “Comfortable” was the word agreed upon by most of the students. Although the physical structures of the library were clearly appreciated, students also commented frequently about the noise level and lack of cleanliness, particularly during finals. Despite being limited to Queens College students with identification, the 24-hour study hall on the second floor still was deemed too crowded. Participants requested that an additional floor be opened and even access to books and periodicals be allowed. Group study or designated talking areas were also suggestions made to alleviate the noise problems. Most noted that group study rooms were rarely available because they were claimed all day by groups or even individual students. Some also remarked that, in both cases, they suspected the group study rooms were occupied by non-Queens College students. Others wondered why there were so many unused little rooms (faculty carrels) kept locked. One student who had studied at another college before coming to Queens recalled the main floor was designated a
talking area and the rest of the library kept quiet. While complaining about library cleanliness especially during finals, at the same time, students wished there were drink and snack vending machines available in the lobby. Research Tools Concerns about CUNY+Plus (CUNY+), the City University’s implementation of the NOTIS Library Management System to search for books, periodicals, and other resources, varied. Some found the menu screens helpful with practice and no more difficult than ones they found in the public library, whereas one computer science major found them difficult enough to pity any non-computer science student facing them. Someone also wondered why, when they had officially checked out a book, CUNY+ still said “Check Shelf’ for its status. (Circulation records were not yet linked to bibliographic records.) Others were savvy enough to notice that keyword searching was easiest but also slowest, particularly during busy times, like lunch hour. The slow response time and occasional system crashes made some students leave, although others said they did not have to wait too long or did not mind resorting briefly to the old card catalog. Several students familiar with the computer labs wished there were more printers attached to CUNY+ stations or that several stations could share a printer. Some students were clearly confused when their searches produced materials outside of Queens College. Some were dissatisfied because they wanted all their materials on one campus, but others were pleased to learn they had access to more than one college library. Several students mentioned excellent results from using interlibrary loan (ILL) to obtain books outside of Queens, but others did not know they were eligible for ILL or said they did not have enough time to use it. Suggested ways to improve mastery of CUNY+ also varied. Although students wanted to be as proficient as one who had taken the library research credit course, no one wanted to put in a semester’s worth of time to achieve it. The general tours of the library offered the first month of every semester were deemed too short and not useful enough. The more specialized tours for English Composition classes and Business & Liberal Arts (BALA) classes were very helpful for a few students but still not enough for others. One student suggested l-2 hour tutorials be offered on the basics
of CUNY+, something more in depth than a tour but not as big as a course. Some students were articulate enough to be able to specify what they wanted, such as learning how to limit searches just to Queens College materials and knowing exactly how to locate a book. Since they were all undergraduates, most of the participants were not very familiar with the CD-ROM special indexes that are most heavily used by graduate students. Some thought they had something to do with the microform center, The few who had used them mentioned them as good sources for magazine articles, although one student stated disappointment that none of them were devoted to business. Another was intimidated at the thought of another computerized resource, whereas most were intrigued enough to hope the librarians would demonstrate their use. Personnel Using CUNY+ was the first discussion topic that brought in the role of library workers in the students’ research. When asked how they were introduced to CUNY+, answers ranged from personal experimentation to one student who took the library research credit course. One student specified a preference for well written printed instruction sheets to interacting with a librarian; but, if questioning a fellow student at the adjoining CUNY+ station did not help, then others did not mind resorting to “whoever was at the big desk on the main floor.” Some, however, first confessed they did not know there were print directions for CUNY+ in display racks by the stations. They said, though, that the main floor staff “at the desk’ seemed the most knowledgeable, because they had terminals which were not readily available on other floors. This also led to the suggestion that the book stack floors and other campus sites, such as the student union, needed CUNY+ terminals. Several students wished the main floor librarians were also available on the other floors, especially in the book and periodical stacks. Others wished some would come over to the CUNY+ stations a little more often to help on the spot, especially when a search came up with more hits than they could manage. They expected that the librarian could help them focus on the best hits. The desire to locate materials found through CUNY+ searches forced some students to approach workers for the first time. No one specified a need for a librarian. A few students confessed they could
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not go from the call numbers and locations in their searches to a definite place in the library without much appreciated help from student workers. Still others were frustrated when they got to the specified location and found the material was not there when the CUNY+ status was “Check Shelf’ (the status given to a material not yet linked to its circulation record). This, in turn, led to suggestions that materials, particularly newspapers and magazines, needed to be reshelved more often. Some students commented that even librarians who assisted them came up empty handed, but that made them feel they had done the best they could. They also recognized, though, that the librarian was able to suggest alternative resources. Concerns about noise level brought out comments about security. The general opinion stated was that guards would speak once to the noisy party but never follow up and, therefore, noise would resume shortly after. Other comments were about guards on the second floor clearing out patrons 15 minutes before listed closing times and guards in general being no help when a patron was robbed. A suggestion that lockers be provided as they are in the bookstore was rebutted by another student whose locker in another building was also robbed. Collections In the course of their discussions the participants began to realize that certain subjects were better supported by the library than others. Majors in art and sociology spoke of satisfaction with books available, but one in linguistics voiced strong disappointment with outdated material. A biology major, however, was astute enough to note that since the books were old, she found it better to use journals or go to an alternate library. Others commented, though, that journal titles suggested in CUNY+ searches had been cancelled. In light of heightened publicity this semester about CUNY budget problems, students voiced dismay that library resources were being sacrificed as a result. Interestingly, a need for more foreign language materials was only stressed as a resource for language or literature majors. Only one participant commented casually it would be nice to read magazines in his/ her first language. Most students spoke positively of finding materials located in the reserve library because it saved them having to buy them in the bookstore, but they did wish the loan times could be extended from two hours to four. This led to comparisons of Queens
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loan periods of three weeks for regular circulating books with other CUNY libraries-Hunter College four weeks and the Graduate Center six weeks-and the wish that Queens could also loan for longer periods. They also agreed it would be good for the reserve library to have copies of all required books, as some of their teachers claimed it would have. Copy Services Discussions about reserve materials naturally led to copying services. Most of the participants related problems such as copiers out of order or paper, copies of poor quality, and long lines especially for microform copiers. Microform copies being twice as expensive as regular copies was also mentioned. A new frustration voiced in regard to the use of vendacards instead of coins was that every library seemed to employ a different card, so a person using the public library or a college library in addition to Queens could not distinguish them.
“Expectations of many comments from the participants that they were too shy to approach staff for help or that staff spoke too quickly or unintelligibly were not borne out.” Suggestions included standardizing the vendacards and perhaps adding another card machine on the second floor, especially useful during late study hours when students want to copy each other’s notes but can not add money to their vendacards. or even at other campus sites like the Music Library and the student union. FOLLOW
UP
Policies that could be effected without new funding were set in motion first, because they would not be slowed down by new budget requests. A variety of new strategies were discussed by the Library Director and the Library Operations Committee and implemented: l
CUNY+ workshops (50 minutes long) were developed and are now offered by librarians during the free hour and before the first evening classes after the tours of the library offered daily during the first month of the fall and spring semesters.
More CUNY+ terminals were added to the book stacks and periodical stacks, with more scheduled for installation the following year. Additional printers were also added to the largest group of CUNY+ stations on the main floor. More visible display racks were installed to hold the basic directions on how to use CUNY+ databases and the CD-ROM databases. A group study room policy was developed, and security guards began monitoring two hour reservations for the group study rooms for Queens College students with identification. Extra photocopying machines were added to the Microform Center, and a copy machine with extra capabilities on the main floor and in the Microform Center were also added. The main floor machine was also adapted for use by disabled patrons. Food is now available from vending machines and allowed to be eaten in the second floor lobby. Cooperation from tenance to extend hall in the Fall and 1996 was sought. limitations did not of this service.
Security and Mainthe 24 hour study Spring semesters of However, budget allow enhancement
When additional funding became available, general library hours were extended to 10 pm, an extra hour, four days a week. CONCLUSION Expectations of many comments from the participants that they were too shy to approach staff for help or that staff spoke too quickly or unintelligibly were not borne out. Only one person mentioned timidity about approaching a librarian without explanation. Another welcome surprise was that most of the suggestions about the facilities, collections, resources, and staff would be helpful to any library patrons, regardless of language or cultural background. Attention to most of these suggestions would not require creation of new services devoted to a small segment of library but improvement of those patrons, already in place for all patrons. Unfortunately, many areas of improvement were related to additional funding: longer hours, newer books, more journals, and more terminals for access to databases. Although the findings indicate these students do not view their language and
cultural backgrounds as major deterrents to satisfactory use of the library, they are indicators that students share common concerns about library services regardless of culture or language. Other variables may determine whether students view language and culture differences as stumbling blocks to effective library usage, such as shorter length of time in the United States, undergraduate/ graduate status, and choice of majors. A quantitative study would be needed to measure these variables, but the present findings can still be used to improve services. APPENDIX Focus
GROUP QUESTIONS
Basics 1. What do you personally use the library for? (Research to complete course assignments? Leisure reading? A place to hang out between classes?) 2. How is Queens College Library different or the same, compared to any library you’ve used before? 3. How well do you understand the arrangement of the Queens College Library, where different materials are located? 4. How well can you find the materials to complete your course assignments? (What would you do to get help?) 5. How well can you use CUNY+ (the basic online research tool to search for books, periodicals, and other resources throughout the City University)? a. How did you learn? (Formal class instruction in English 110 or another course? Librarian demonstration at CUNY+ terminal, student watching? Student at CUNY+ terminal, librarian offering cues? A friend demonstrating? Trying it out on your own?)
b. What would make you most comfortable using CUNY+? (A formal class? Librarian at CUNY+ terminals offering cues? Written help sheets? Better menus on screenclearer, more detailed directions? 6. How well can you use the CD-ROM indexes? How did you learn? (Instructor arranged visit? Librarian demonstration, student watching? Student at CD-ROM station, library staff Written help offering cues? sheets? Trial & error on your own?) Do you know when you would use them, and when you would use CUNY+? What would help you most to learn to use them independently? Staff Assistance 1. When you have a problem library, what would you do?
in the
2. How do you feel when you need help in the library? 3. What discourages you from asking for help? (What encourages you?) 4. How did you choose the person to ask? a. What did you expect the person to do for you? (Get materials and hand them to you? Point to what you need? Tell you where to find what you need? Explain how to find your own answers? Any other expectations?) b. Did the person make you feel comfortable or uncomfortable about asking a question? c. What did the person do to make you feel that way? d. Did the person’s response answer your question, or get you a step closer to the answer? e. What would make you go back to that person for help? What would not?
Materials 1. Does the library carry the materials you have determined you need for your project? 2. Are print resources available and in satisfactory condition? (No pages you needed were missing?) 3. Do you know how to find and use the microform resources? 4. Do you know how to get help? 5. Does anyone tell you how you can obtain materials outside Queens College Library? Conclusion 1. Any other feelings you’d like to express about the library?
NOTESAND REFERENCES I. Immigrutioll/Migrution and the CUNY Student of‘ the Future (New York: City University of New York, 1995) p. 7. 2. Ibid. 3. Mary Beth Allen, “International Students in Academic Libraries: A User Survey,” College X Research Libraries 54 (July 1993): 323-333. 4. Carol Hammond, “Nontraditional Students and the Library: Opinions, Preferences, and Behaviors,” College & Research Libraries 55 (July 1994): 323-341. “Facilitating Cultural 5. Lois Buttlar, Diversity in College and University Libraries,” Journal of Academic Librarianship 20 (March 1994): 10-14. 6. Kenneth W. Berger & Richard W. Hines, “What Does the User Really Want’? The Library User Survey at Duke University.” of Academic Librarianship 20 Journal (November 1994): 306-309. 7. Barbara Valentine, “Undergraduate Research Behavior: Using Focus Groups to Journal of Academic Generate Theory,” Librarianship 19 (November 1993): 300-304. 8. Richard Widdows, “The Focus Group Interview: A Method for Assessing User’s Evaluation of Library Service,” College & Research Libraries 52 (July 1991): 352-359. 9. See Richard A. Krueger, Focus Groups: A Practical Guidefor Applied Research, 2nd ed. (Thousand Oaks CA: Sage, 1994) for procedures used to set up the groups.
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