Alumni

The Mardigian Library surveyed UM-Dearborn students during the Fall 2007 term to learn about their awareness and use of library services. Over seven hundred students responded to the online survey.

Key findings from the survey include:

• Most students learned about the library and its services from campus orientation (49.6%), followed by the library’s website (48.8%), or from a friend or classmate (38.6%).
  
• A faculty member had the most influence on how effectively students used the library’s services for academic work (30%), followed by the library’s website (29%), or a friend or classmate (25.4%).
  
• When asked how frequently they used library services in the building or online, 20.9% report using the library several times a week, 16.3% once a week, 21.7% every couple of weeks, and 14.4% once a semester.
  
• 33.4% of students found it easy to use the library’s online resources, 26.3% found it somewhat easy, and 14.4% found it very easy.
  
• 90.5% of students preferred that the library communicate with them via email.
  
• 94.8% of students would recommend the library and its services to other students.
  

Library staff members met in early 2008 to interpret these data and to recommend actions we can take to improve service to students. Recommendations include:

• Review orientation handouts to ensure clarity and remove jargon. Consider creating discipline or school specific handouts.
  
• Increase number of electrical outlets for laptop users.
  
• Review hours of service; consider longer weekend hours.
  
• Create more multimedia tutorials.
  
• Partner/collaborate with faculty members who teach online courses to find ways to better support their students.
  

A similar survey was conducted in 2005. We are pleased to see that some of the concerns reported by students in the 2005 survey did not appear in the 2007 survey. The library plans to periodically survey students and collect data that can be used to make informed decisions regarding services provided by the library.

A change will soon take place in the way the Mardigian Library offers UM-Dearborn alumni access to electronic databases. Since early 2006, the library has conducted a pilot project to provide UM-Dearborn alumni free, off-campus access to four online research databases: ABI/INFORM, Ethnic NewsWatch, GenderWatch and ProQuest Research Library. Under the new program, the UM Alumni Association will provide its members access to a suite of seven electronic databases. This is a significant enhancement of the package the Mardigian Library has been offering.

All members of the UM Alumni Association will be eligible for this service under the new program.

UM-Dearborn alumni who are currently registered for database access through the Mardigian Library's program, but are not paying members of the UM Alumni Association, will receive a complimentary one-year UM Alumni Association membership, which will provide access to a subset of the suite of seven electronic databases available to paying members of the UM Alumni Association.