ANLY482 AY2017-18T2 Group19 Project Overview
[[BACKGROUND]] |
SMU libraries’ mission includes possessing the capability in providing seamless access to information using innovative and leading-edge technology. They are committed to delivering exceptional services and building dynamic relationships with the SMU community. As such, they are constantly seeking out ways in which they can improve users’ experience in the libraries. Experience is derived not only in terms of the provision of space for users to study in, but also in terms of the quality of materials available to the users. This project focuses on the provision of printed course reserve materials by analysing the sufficiency of the loan periods assigned. A poor choice of loan period will result not only in dissatisfaction on the part of the library’s patrons, but also in increased costs for the library such as those resulting from increased record keeping.
As such, SMU Libraries aim to align its loan policy with the expectations of the undergraduate students such that it would render the loan policy more sufficient for them. From 2016 to 2017, the 2-hour loan policy of course reserve collection was extended to 3 hours long. This paper then aims to investigate if this 1-hour extension in loan policy helped make it more sufficient for the SMU undergraduate students and with these insights found, propose if SMU Libraries should consider the option of extending this 3-hour loan policy by an additional hour.
Analyze the differences between 2016 and 2017 transactions for:
- Frequency of overdue transactions and duration of overdue period
- Frequency of successive borrowings and duration of hours borrowed with successions
As active users of the library for 4 years, SMU Libraries has consistently been providing us with ample amounts of resources which have helped us greatly throughout our education in SMU. Like our peers, we have been heavily reliant on the resources only available in the library for revisions and homeworks. The course reserve consists of materials that have been classified as compulsory readings by professors, and hence essential for the course itself. Typically, these books are rather expensive, and thus, by providing these resources, SMU Libraries provides a cheaper alternative for us cost-conscious students. We feel eternally grateful to SMU Libraries for providing us with the relevant materials. We eagerly adopted this project as this project allows us an opportunity to give back to SMU Libraries.
Furthermore, we are able to understand the problems users might have faced during the process of borrowing the course reserves. Hence, we are committed towards analyzing the loan data and ultimately providing useful insights for the library to improve the current policies, and this project has given us the opportunity to do so. Our fellow schoolmates will have a better user experience while the library continues to adhere to its ‘just in time’ access policy.
- Data collection
- Data cleaning
- Exploration of data
- Analysis and Testing
