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Information Services User Survey 2023 Feedback
We ask our users to take our IS User Survey every November.
- What do we do well?
- What do we need to work on?
We use the results to plan and develop our services.
Survey Respondents
The number of responses to the survey in 2023 was unfortunately lower than the previous year.
We received 315 responses, 219 fewer responses than in 2022
315 in 2023
534 in 2022
Our survey was completed by University staff, undergraduate students, postgraduate students, distance learning and lifelong learning students
Professional Services Staff 41
Academic Staff 26
Undergraduate Students 192
Postgraduate Taught Students 24
Postgraduate Research Students 24
Distance Learning Students 8
Top 5 Responding Depts / Groups
| Department | Number of responses |
|---|---|
| Life Sciences |
59 |
| Geography and Earth Sciences | 25 |
| Professional Services Staff | 22 |
| Law & Criminology | 20 |
| Business | 19 |
Services that Shine
Email services
More than 92% of our student responders and 88% of our staff responders were satisfied or highly satisfied with the University's email services
Hugh Owen Library Opening Times
More than 92% of student respondents and 78% of the staff were satisfied or highly satisfied with the library's opening hours
Our respondents were especially happy with having study spaces kept open over the holidays
Customer Services and support from IS staff
Over 73% of student respondents and more than 90% of staff stated they were satisfied or highly satisfied with the helpfulness of Information Services staff
Our customer services are the highest ranked of all our services year after year
Your Comments
"The attitude and helpfulness of IS staff is outstanding. I phone helpdesk all the time and they are especially patient and helpful."
"I'm always amazed at the level of knowledge of the librarians and their enthusiasm. They provide an indispensable service."
"I can't praise the level of service in the Hugh Owen or document supply high enough. It is very rare that IS are unable to obtain the book or article I require."
The library is easily accessible and easy to use. It has made studying better and easier for me. Since using the library my work and study ethic has improved VASTLY.
"IT help desk is superb. There seems to be absolutely nothing that they can't sort our. Total professionals. I'd be lost without them. A huge thank you to all of them."
Gap analysis
Satisfaction - We ask our users to rate their levels of satisfaction with our services
Importance - We ask our users to rate how important our services are to them
We use the results to identify priorities for improvement. If the levels of satisfaction are lower than the importance, the service may not
be meeting expectations.
| Service | |
| Libguides | 5.25 |
| Click & Collect | 7.88 |
| Opening hours | 3.27 |
| Printing | .99 |
| Silent study spaces | -10.20 |
| FAQs | -4.55 |
Our Priorities for 2024
Making changes to the study room booking system
We are looking into ways to improve bookings and use of library study rooms.
If you've reserved a study room but do not need it, please cancel your booking to free the room for other students by emailing is@aber.ac.uk.
Availability of Books and eBooks
We buy books for the library based on recommendations from academic staff via reading lists. We have a ‘Digital First’ policy where we buy an electronic copy of a book where it is affordable and available (not all books are available electronically). Where ebooks are unavailable, we buy physical copies.
Have your say here: book or ebook?
We buy reading list material according to a ratio outlined in our Reading List Policy due to a limited budget. For essential texts this works out to one copy of a book for every 15 students on a module.
We monitor the usage of our books and note where there is significant demand building up through requests. Through this we hope to be able to match demand for these books whilst at the same time prioritising the use of our limited budget.
If you experience any difficulty accessing resources, please do get in touch with your Subject Librarian
Blackboard Learn Ultra and Turnitin
The Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit are working to ensure greater consistency on Bb Learn Ultra between modules by:
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Creating modules blank for 2024-25. Further information on the rationale behind this process can be seen on the blog.
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Showcasing the best practice from the latest round of the Exemplary Course Award.
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Encouraging departments to adopt standardised approaches to content organisation in modules.
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Highlighting the search function so that students can find the information they need quickly.
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Promoting the use of enhanced functionality such as Learning Modules and Document presentation to make more visually appealing modules.
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Focusing on students' experience of Blackboard Learn Ultra during Information Services next Sample Week.
Turnitin
We regularly review our E-submission tools to make sure they meet the needs of staff and students. We have other tools available such as Blackboard Assignments, Blackboard tests, and graded tools which instructors are welcome to use. We actively work with Turnitin to address issues and provide feedback and enhancement requests.
If you are having difficulties marking or submitting to Turnitin please contact us via elearning@aber.ac.uk.
Information about Information Services!
We have made it easier for you to keep up with library and IT systems and services
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IS News has details of all our library and IT information and events
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IS Updates is the place to go to find out about IT systems and services status. Subscribe to email updates or follow the feed on X here
We're always working on ways to improve communication about IS services, so watch these spaces
Contact Us
We want to hear from you
call - 01970 62 2400
email is@aber.ac.uk