The latest news from your partners at OCLS
NOVEMBER 2016
Introducing the Learning Portal
From the Learning Portal Team


Formerly known as the Ontario College Digital Library (OCDL), The Learning Portal / Le Portail d'Apprentissage is a collaboration between the Ontario college libraries (HLLR), several Ontario college learning centres, and the Ontario Colleges Library Service (OCLS). The project began in 2015 as a library support space built within OntarioLearn but has grown to include a standalone website. The project aims to provide easy and equitable access to open learning resources and services to Ontario's online college students and to provide a consistent, province-wide academic support platform for faculty to use for course and assignment design.

Drawing on the best practices, knowledge, and resources of the Ontario college libraries and learning centres, the Learning Portal includes two instances: a standalone open-access portal built on LibGuides, which is available to all distance education students, and the delivery of open learning resources delivered via the OntarioLearn portal.

The Learning Portal envisions a space that includes:
  • Direct links to college libraries' websites
  • Digital resources to support teaching and learning
  • Centralized virtual help
  • Learning objects, tutorials, videos, and other tools through 6 Academic Hubs:
     
The links to college library websites have been achieved, and a link to a shared streaming video collection by the college libraries is included in the OntarioLearn portal. The Academic Hubs will launch over the coming year, with the soft launch in December including a "How to Do Research" learning object, six study skills learning objects ( time management, procrastination, critical reading, note taking, test and exam taking, and online group work), three academic writing learning objects, and several digital literacy learning objects. There is also a link to the new Learning Portal YouTube channel.

The Learning Portal is actively seeking participants for the Learning Objects, eResources, and Virtual Services working groups. If you'd like to join one of the working groups, please contact your HLLR representative to express your interest. Additionally, you may be approached by a project member about using one of your library's learning objects in one of the Learning Portal's Academic Hubs.

Please visit the Learning Portal at http://www.tlp-lpa.ca to see how the project is progressing. You can also visit the Learning Portal Project Site for more details, including a project timeline and committee participants. The site includes a regular project manager's update, which you can sign up to receive via email. We also invite you to review the Learning Portal Talking Points, which provides talking points for college library staff to use when discussing the project with college faculty and administration.
When Students Ask, College Libraries Answer: the askON Service Transformation
By Siobán Linnen, Services & Support Associate

The askON virtual reference service has transformed in the years since it launched in 2008, keeping pace with developments in online learning. Through the hard work, dedication, and direction of the askON college library staff, askON has flourished into an exceptional service for college students, faculty, and staff.

With a significant traffic increase from both increased student and faculty awareness as well as a proactive chat pilot, the fall 2016 semester has brought changes to the askON staff experience, and they have adjusted to higher traffic levels remarkably while continuing to provide an excellent level of customer service.

The recent askON evaluation reveals that visitors are satisfied with the service they receive through askON (96%), and most visitors feel they've received better information than they could have found on their own (65%), which is the mandate of the askON service.
This satisfaction rate has held steady in fall 2016 as traffic increased by 88%. 
 
A recent pilot project to explore proactive chat has further contributed to the traffic increase. The first phase of this project launched in May 2016 with 5
member libraries. Encouraged by the positive feedback from phase one, the pilot was extended in September to include 4 additional libraries.

Proactive chat allows askON staff to invite visitors to chat at their point of need. By integrating with the databases and electronic resources that students use during the research process, proactive chat has shown to uncover typically unasked questions. For some students, proactive chat was their first interaction with the library, and led them to discover services and resources that they were unaware of.

Phase 2 of the pilot will run until the end of 2016, with a task force exploring how to effectively implement proactive chat while maintaining excellent customer service.

The exceptional service provided by askON staff as well as other significant findings and recent developments are documented in the 2015 askON evaluation. An Evaluation Summary has been posted on the OCLS website, for you to check out when you have a chance.  
Build a Team with the Skills Database
By Thomas Guignard, Director of Services

Ontario college libraries have created a tool for building collaborative project teams based on staff self-identified skill-sets. The new college library staff skills database was successfully launched on August 23, 2016.

College library staff can search the database for skill-sets related to a project or initiative to build a project team, or when seeking expertise on a particular topic. Access to the database is restricted to library staff. If you wish to add your profile, fill out this form and we'll get you set up. 
 
In Spring 2016, all staff members were invited to complete a skills audit survey. Participants completed questions pertaining to the applicability of skills to their current role, assessment of their current skill level, interest in professional development, and any accreditation or other relevant skills. Skills identified as "intermediate" or "advanced" were gathered from that survey to populate the skills database.
 
The database was created by the Heads of Libraries and Learning Resources (HLLR) in partnership with OCLS. The skills database task force is excited to see how this tool will assist with collaborative projects across Ontario's 24 college libraries. Many thanks to Pam Drayson (Durham), Tanis Fink (Seneca), David Luinstra (Fleming), and Jan Dawson (OCLS) for bringing forth this new service. 
Permitted Uses just got CLEARer
By Coralee Leroux, Electronic Resources and Services Coordinator

License Terms of Use Legend
On August 22 OCLS launched the central instance of CLEAR, an online tool that conveys permitted uses information for electronic resource licence agreements. CLEAR (College Libraries Electronic Access Rights) Central replaces the permitted uses summaries for library staff previously posted on OCLS's now retired eResources Portal, but adds the additional feature of a public display for students and faculty, enabling library users to see at a glance how they can use a specific resource.

CLEAR Central is the result of a joint HLLR-OCLS research project, which aimed to find a better tool for displaying permitted uses information. Through that project, OCUL's OUR (OCUL Usage Rights) database was selected, and over the past year, the database has been populated with licensing information for over 200 resources managed by OCLS on behalf of the college libraries. It can be accessed directly at https://clear.scholarsportal.info/licenses/ or via links to specific resource records from the licence section of ERMA, OCLS's Electronic Resource Management Assistant.

The database includes both a Public View for students and faculty, and a more detailed Staff View for library staff. While the Staff View is also available on the open web, it contains information that may be less useful to faculty and students, such as the different types of interlibrary loan that are permitted and whether alumni may access the material. The Staff View is accessible by appending "/staff" to the end of the URL for any record in CLEAR Central.
 
CLEAR logo 
As part of the launch, two webinars were hosted by OCLS to introduce CLEAR Central. To view a recording of the webinar or to access training and information al materials on the central instance, please visit the CLEAR page on the OCLS website.

As part of the HLLR-OCLS research project, a pilot project allowing colleges to have their own branded instance of CLEAR is under way. CLEAR Local instances are available until March 31, 2017 at no cost to participating colleges. Additional development is also being done to integrate CLEAR data into college library discovery layers. If you're interested in more information about joining the pilot project or about the discovery layer integration, please contact Coralee Leroux.


Members of the joint HLLR-OCLS project team are Lynne Bentley (chair, Humber), Sam Cheng (Sheridan), Rob Makinson (Centennial), Kim Reaume (Centennial), Meaghan Shannon (Fanshawe), James Yochem (Conestoga), Liana Giovando (Pertinence.ca), and Coralee Leroux (OCLS). 
Staff Profile: Gail Strachan
OCLS welcomes Gail Strachan as Administration/Office Manager and Executive Assistant. In addition to a Masters of Library Science Gail has qualifications in Managing Performance and Project Management. Until the fall of 2015 Gail was a campus librarian at Seneca, where, in addition to reference work she participated in and chaired committees on quality assurance, data analysis and information literacy.  She was also a sessional instructor in Seneca's Library and Information Technician Program.  Recently, with her sights set on a different career path, she completed an office/legal administrative course at Humber.  She brings strong administrative, communication, organizational and change management skills to her role at OCLS, as well as an understanding and appreciation of OCLS's core mandate to strengthen college libraries by maximizing resources, building capacity and leveraging the strengths of collaborative system.
Save the Date! Friday February 3rd, 2017

OCLS will once again be hosting a breakfast during the OLA Super Conference on Friday February 3rd 2017, starting at 7:30 a.m. Please put this date in your calendar if you are planning to attend the conference. Also, please tell all library staff who will be attending the conference that they are welcome to attend the breakfast. Updates on key collaborative projects between HLLR and OCLS will be presented. We will forward an invitation with RSVP instructions soon.
The Creative Outlet at Northern College
By Thomas Guignard, Director of Services
 
Shannon Arsenault, Library Tech at the LRC 
The Learning Resource Centre (LRC) at Northern College is a busy and active place. But lately, patrons may have noticed a new sound besides the soft tapping of computer keys and the conversations of students finishing a group assignment. It is the sound of machines happily printing, cutting and milling away as students and local artisans bring their ideas to life in the the college's brand new makerspace, the Creative Outlet.
 
Established in partnership with the newly established Entrepreneur Centre at Northern College, the Creative Outlet was born out of the vision and dedication of Shannon Arsenault, Library Technician at the LRC and maker extraordinaire.

VR demo
Virtual reality at the Creative Outlet 
3D printers, a desktop CNC milling machine, GoPro cameras, HTC Vive virtual reality headsets, electronics kits, and specialized software for video editing, 3D design and computer programming are some of the tools available to users, who are welcome to freely experiment, design innovative technologies, develop new products and create prototypes. The tools are also beginning to be incorporated with the curriculum: virtual reality headsets are for example now used in Anatomy and Physiology courses to enhance visualization and interaction.

Entrance to the Creative Outlet 
The Creative Outlet is not only an environment where students can participate in experiential learning. As Timmin's first makerspace, it is open and publicly available to the entire community! As Northern College is a regional college with campuses in Porcupine, Moosonee, Kirkland Lake and Haileybury, members of communities across the region will be aware of and able to access its technology and services. And there are plans to add a creative art space where local artisans can create handcrafted products.
 
The Creative Outlet is a brilliant example of the innovative and creative spirit that lives within the Ontario college libraries, constantly evolving to meet the needs of their communities!
Meet Us in the Atrium
By Nicole Morgan, eResources Services and Support Associate

With the end of August came the sunset of OCLS's Forum spaces, the online home for many of our joint committees, working groups, task forces, and projects.
 
The Forum spaces were hosted on Igloo CMS/intranet software and provided by ORION, the Ontario Research & Innovation Optical Network, as part of their O3 Collaboration, a fully-funded project which provided Ontario educational and research organizations with a platform to collaborate and manage shared content. Since 2013, OCLS and the Ontario college libraries had been principal users of the O3 Collaboration, as profiled in ORION's blog post, "Bringing Ontario Libraries into the Digital Economy" (12 May 2014).
 
ORION announced on May 31st that they would be retiring the O3 service, and OCLS began researching possible alternatives. Since many of the Forum spaces were in active use, it was our top priority to implement a migration strategy that minimized both down-time and ongoing costs.
 
On August 29th, OCLS announced the launch of OCLS Atrium. OCLS Atrium is built on Open Atrium, an open-source Drupal-based project, and includes many of the functionalities that the O3 Forum spaces did - including file management, space calendars, discussion boards, and customizable layouts - while also featuring a more modern look and feel.
 
As we continue to develop OCLS Atrium, news will be posted on the home page. For specific questions and instructions, users can visit the Atrium FAQ page.  We hope the new Atrium workspace provides a fresh environment to support ongoing collaboration and collective activity among the college libraries!
Ontario Colleges Library Service 74 Gervais Drive, Toronto, Ontario, M3C 1Z3 1-800-268-5560
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