NOAA Libraries: Usefulness and Quality of Services and Collections Fast Track Request

OMB Control No. 0690-0030

Expiration Date: 07/31/2023

NOAA Libraries: Usefulness and Quality of Services and Collections

NOAA Library Advisory Committee, NOAA Science Council

DRAFT

Intro:

The NOAA Libraries Advisory Committee and the NOAA Committee of Librarians are conducting research about the usefulness and quality of library services and collections at NOAA. Your answers will be essential to help us craft a strategic plan shaping NOAA library services for the future. Your specific data will remain confidential and the survey will take you about 20 minutes to complete. One explanation about wording: the NOAA Library network is the confederation of libraries around the agency composed of 20 active libraries. When we use the term “NOAA library” we mean any library in the network. If we ask about a specific library, we will use its name. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact: [email protected].

A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with an information collection subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 unless the information collection has a currently valid OMB Control Number. The approved OMB Control Number for this information collection is 0690-0030. Without this approval, we could not conduct this survey. Public reporting for this information collection is estimated to be approximately 20 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering, and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information collection. All responses to this information collection are voluntary. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this information collection, including suggestions for reducing this burden to the NOAA Libraries, [email protected].

Section 1: Please Tell Us About Yourself

1. Which of the following best describes your position?

   1. NOAA full-time employee

   2. NOAA part-time employee

   3. Cooperative institute employee working with NOAA (Ex: CICOES, CIMRS, CIRES, JIMAR, etc.)

   4. Full- or part-time contract employee

   5. Other (please specify)_________________________

2. What NOAA line office/staff office/corporate services office do you work in, or are assigned to?

   1. Pull-down list all line offices and program offices, other (please specify)

3. What is your duty location (free text: city, state)?

4. What is your job title _______________________________? (Free text, provide examples: e.g. biologist, attorney, meteorologist, budget analyst, physical scientist.)

5. How long have you worked at NOAA? (less than 1 year; 1 - 3 years; 4 - 7 years; 8 - 10 years; 11+ years)

6. Below is a list of the current NOAA libraries. Please select any from which you have received services, including electronic access to resources, in the past 24 months)? (multiple choice -- provide list of NOAA Libraries and locations; None; Not sure)

Sect. 2. Library Services. The NOAA Library network provides a number of services to NOAA staff, contractors, and cooperative institute employees, including reference and research assistance, interlibrary loans and more. We would like to find out what services you use and what you think about them. Note: even if you are not co-located with a NOAA library you still have access to the NOAA Central Library’s services.

1. How familiar are you with each of the following NOAA library services? (Likert scale from not at all familiar to very familiar) - all respondents

   1. Reference services, quick or in-depth. (Examples on this spectrum: citation verification, information retrieval, bibliographies, etc.)

      1. Not at all familiar -- slightly familiar -- somewhat familiar -- moderately familiar -- very familiar

   2. Interlibrary loan or help in locating an article or book your NOAA library did not own.

      1. Not at all familiar -- slightly familiar -- somewhat familiar -- moderately familiar -- very familiar

3. Document delivery, or provision of scanned article from NOAA library print collection

   1. Not at all familiar -- slightly familiar -- somewhat familiar -- moderately familiar -- very familiar

4. Endnote -- either using for your own research or being provided with an Endnote library from a NOAA librarian

   1. Not at all familiar -- slightly familiar -- somewhat familiar -- moderately familiar -- very familiar

5. Help with Publons (formerly Researcher ID) or ORCID

   1. Not at all familiar -- slightly familiar -- somewhat familiar -- moderately familiar -- very familiar

6. Assistance with submission to the NOAA Institutional Repository including assistance with submission requirements such as compliance with Sect. 508

   1. Not at all familiar -- slightly familiar -- somewhat familiar -- moderately familiar -- very familiar

7. Use of NOAA libraries’ online catalog, NOAAlinc, or the Boulder Labs Library’s online catalog to locate known titles or titles on a subject

   1. Not at all familiar -- slightly familiar -- somewhat familiar -- moderately familiar -- very familiar

8. Bibliometrics service -- citation or network analysis of your own or your office’s or lab’s research

   1. Not at all familiar -- slightly familiar -- somewhat familiar -- moderately familiar -- very familiar

9. Informational, brown-bag, or training session hosted by a NOAA library

   1. Not at all familiar -- slightly familiar -- somewhat familiar -- moderately familiar -- very familiar

10. Physical space in your library -- to study, work, meet with a group, or for some other reason

    1. Not at all familiar -- slightly familiar -- somewhat familiar -- moderately familiar -- very familiar

2. How often do you use NOAA libraries services? Consider your experience over the past 24 months as you answer: all respondents (Likert scale from not at all frequently to very often)

   1. Never (skip to #7, all others continue to #3)

   2. Almost Never

   3. Sometimes

   4. Almost always

   5. Every Time/always

3. In your experience over the past 24 months, how important have the following NOAA library services been to you?

   1. Reference services, quick or in-depth. (Examples of this service include citation verification, information retrieval, bibliographies, etc.)

      1. Not at all important -- low importance -- slightly important -- neutral -- moderately important -- very important -- extremely important

2. Interlibrary loan, or help in locating an article or book your NOAA library did not own

   1. Not at all important -- low importance -- slightly important -- neutral -- moderately important -- very important -- extremely important

3. Document delivery, or provision of scanned article from NOAA library print collection

   1. Not at all important -- low importance -- slightly important -- neutral -- moderately important -- very important -- extremely important

4. Endnote -- either using Endnote for your own research or being provided with an Endnote library from a NOAA librarian

   1. Not at all important -- low importance -- slightly important -- neutral -- moderately important -- very important -- extremely important

5. Help with Publons (formerly Researcher ID) or ORCid

   1. Not at all important -- low importance -- slightly important -- neutral -- moderately important -- very important -- extremely important

6. Assistance with submission to the NOAA Institutional Repository including assistance with submission requirements such as compliance with Sect. 508

   1. Not at all important -- low importance -- slightly important -- neutral -- moderately important -- very important -- extremely important

7. Use of NOAA libraries’ online catalog, NOAAlinc, or the Boulder Labs Library’s online catalog to locate known titles or titles on a subject

   1. Not at all important -- low importance -- slightly important -- neutral -- moderately important -- very important -- extremely important

8. Bibliometrics service -- citation or network analysis of your own or your office’s or lab’s research

   1. Not at all important -- low importance -- slightly important -- neutral -- moderately important -- very important -- extremely important

9. Informational or training session hosted by a NOAA library

   1. Not at all important -- low importance -- slightly important -- neutral -- moderately important -- very important -- extremely important

10. Physical space in your library to study or to meet with a group, or for some other reason

    1. Not at all important -- low importance -- slightly important -- neutral -- moderately important -- very important -- extremely important

4. How likely are you to use each of the following NOAA libraries services in the next 12 months)? (Likert scale from not at all likely to very likely) - all respondents

1. Reference services, quick or in-depth. (Examples on this spectrum include citation verification, information retrieval, bibliographies, etc.)

   1. Extremely unlikely -- Unlikely -- Neutral -- Likely -- Extremely likely

2. Interlibrary loan, or help in locating an article or book your NOAA library did not own

   1. Extremely unlikely -- Unlikely -- Neutral -- Likely -- Extremely likely

3. Document delivery, or provision of scanned article from NOAA library print collection

   1. Extremely unlikely -- Unlikely -- Neutral -- Likely -- Extremely likely

4. Endnote -- either using Endnote for your own research or being provided with an Endnote library from a NOAA librarian

   1. Extremely unlikely -- Unlikely -- Neutral -- Likely -- Extremely likely

5. Help with Publons (formerly Researcher ID) or ORCid

   1. Extremely unlikely -- Unlikely -- Neutral -- Likely -- Extremely likely

6. Assistance with submission to the NOAA Institutional Repository including assistance with submission requirements such as compliance with Sect. 508

   1. Extremely unlikely -- Unlikely -- Neutral -- Likely -- Extremely likely

7. Use of NOAA libraries’ online catalog, NOAAlinc, or the Boulder Labs Library’s online catalog to locate known titles or titles on a subject

   1. Extremely unlikely -- Unlikely -- Neutral -- Likely -- Extremely likely

8. Bibliometrics service -- citation or network analysis of your own or your office’s or lab’s research

   1. Extremely unlikely -- Unlikely -- Neutral -- Likely -- Extremely likely

9. Informational or training session hosted by a NOAA library

   1. Extremely unlikely -- Unlikely -- Neutral -- Likely -- Extremely likely

10. Physical space in your library to study or to meet with a group, or for some other reason

    1. Extremely unlikely -- Unlikely -- Neutral -- Likely -- Extremely likely

5. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (all respondents)

   1. NOAA library services provide valuable services to NOAA researchers and affiliates (cooperative institute workers and contractors):

      1. Strongly disagree -- Disagree -- Undecided -- Agree -- Strongly Agree

2. NOAA library services help me do my job:

   1. Strongly disagree -- Disagree -- Undecided -- Agree -- Strongly Agree

3. NOAA library services are critical for me to be able to do my job

   1. Strongly disagree -- Disagree -- Undecided -- Agree -- Strongly Agree

6. Specifically, can you tell us how NOAA library services help you do your job? __________________________(free text)

7. If you do not use any of the NOAA libraries’ services mentioned above, or only very rarely -- why? Choose all answers that apply. (continue to Section 3 after any of these answers)

   1. Not needed for my work

   2. I was unaware of these services

   3. There is no NOAA library near me

   4. I use another library (not NOAA) for library services

   5. My library closed

   6. Other (please specify)_______________________________(free text)

Sect 3: Library Collections. Most NOAA libraries offer both printed books and journals, electronic books, journals, and databases. We would like to know how useful these are to your work. Note: even if you are not co-located with or assigned to a duty station with a NOAA library you still have electronic access to the Central Library’s NOAA-wide subscriptions.

1. How often in the past 24 months have you used the printed collection materials (books, journals, maps, etc.) from a NOAA library? This includes having a print book owned by the library sent to you via mail.

   1. Never -- Almost Never (skip to 3) -- Sometimes (skip to 3) -- Almost Always (skip to 3) -- Every Time/Always (skip to 3)

2. If you answered ‘Never’ to #1, why is that? (Choose all that apply)

   1. Not needed for my work

   2. I was unaware of these services

   3. There is no NOAA library near me

   4. I use another library (not NOAA) for library services

   5. My library closed.

   6. Other _______________________________(free text)

3. How often in the past 24 months have you used the electronic content (eBooks, journals, databases, or other electronic resources) from a NOAA library?

   1. Never-- Almost Never -- Sometimes -- Almost Always -- Every Time/Always

4. Speaking generally, in what format do you prefer to access library collection materials (books and journals) Answer even if you do not currently use NOAA library collections:

   1. In print

   2. Electronically

   3. Depends (explain):__________________________(free text)

5. Are there subject areas that you have difficulty finding information about from a NOAA library? Y (continue to #6)/N (continue to #7)

6. What are the subject areas? ___________________________ (free text).

7. From which of the following do you prefer to access electronic library books and journal content? (choose all that apply)

   1. Desktop/laptop computer onsite at my office

   2. Mobile device at my office

   3. Desktop or mobile device from a remote location

   4. Other (please specify) ___________________________ (free text).

8. In the last year, how often have you encountered problems accessing electronic content from any NOAA library such as: problems with IP authentication, VPN access or other?

   1. Never (skip to 10) -- Almost Never -- Sometimes -- Almost Always -- Every Time/Always

9. When you have had problems accessing electronic content from the NOAA library over the last year, how were the problems generally resolved? (Choose any that apply)

   1. Contacted the library for resolution

   2. Contacted local IT

   3. Found another way to locate the material without the library’s help

   4. Problem was unresolved

   5. Other (please specify) __________________________(free text)

10. Do you use other sources to find or procure published information besides the NOAA libraries? Yes or No (no skip to 12)

11. Which of the following sources have you used to find published materials in the past 24 months? Do not list sources provided from a NOAA library. Choose all that apply:

    1. Ask a colleague

    2. Directly contact the author of the item

    3. Google Scholar

    4. ResearchGate

    5. Search of open web/Google

    6. Local university or organization where I have library privileges

    7. Subject specific online repositories, e.g. DOE’s Pages, Science.gov, PubMedCentral, USGS Publications Warehouse, etc.

    8. Purchase articles from publishers

    9. Other source (please list) __________________________(free text)

12. Please rate your response to the following statement: I believe NOAA library print collections help me to do my job.

    1. Strongly disagree -- Disagree -- Undecided -- Agree -- Strongly Agree

13. Can you please explain why you answered Q 12 the way you did? __________________________(free text)

14. Please rate your response to the following statement: I believe NOAA library electronic collections help me to do my job.

    1. Strongly disagree -- Disagree -- Undecided -- Agree -- Strongly Agree

15. Can you please explain why you answered Q 14 the way you did? __________________________(free text)

Sect. 4: Going forward, what can NOAA libraries do to help you do your job?

1. Before today, I did not know about all the services provided by the NOAA Libraries.

   1. Strongly disagree -- Disagree -- Undecided -- Agree -- Strongly Agree

2. I would like to learn more about the services provided by the NOAA Libraries.

   1. Strongly disagree -- Disagree -- Undecided -- Agree -- Strongly Agree

3. More should be done to communicate information about the services provided by the NOAA Libraries that are available to the NOAA community.

   1. Strongly disagree -- Disagree -- Undecided -- Agree -- Strongly Agree

4. From your perspective, which of the following would be the most effective means to communicate information about the NOAA library services?

   1. Targeted emails from libraries to employees

   2. Regularly offered webinars

   3. I want to reach out when it is convenient for me to ask

   4. Other (please tell us): ______________________________________

5. What is the most important thing NOAA libraries could do to serve you better? (choose any that apply)

   1. Purchase more electronic subscriptions

   2. Purchase more print books

   3. Purchase more electronic books

   4. Offer new services such as____________(short answer)

   5. Offer more trainings on Library resources and services

   6. Improve existing services in terms of speed and accuracy

   7. Update or modernize library spaces

   8. Other__________________________________________

6. Is there anything else you would like to share with us about NOAA libraries that we did not cover? Please tell us: (free text -- Open text box for free-text answer)

Thank you paragraph.