Students

Over 700 UM-Dearborn students responded to a Mardigian Library survey last fall regarding their use of library services. Some key findings from the survey include:

• 21% of students reported that they use library services online or in the building several times a week, and another 52% reported using services between once a week and once a semester.
• 74% of students found it “somewhat easy,” “easy,” or “very easy” to use the library’s online resources.
• 91% of students preferred that the library communicate with them via email.
• The most common way students learned about the library and its services was through campus orientation (50%), followed by the library’s website (49%), and a friend or classmate (39%).
• Faculty members had the most influence on how effectively students used the library’s services for academic work (30%), followed by the library’s website (29%), and a friend or classmate (25%).

Library staff members met in early 2008 to look at the survey results and recommend actions necessary to address students’ needs. One action that has already been taken is to increase the hours the library is open to 24 hours per day during the week of final exams. Other changes the library is working on include increasing the number of electrical outlets for laptop users and creating more online multimedia tutorials to help students learn to use online resources.