Annual Report highlights staff successes
Staff successes have been celebrated in the Library’s Annual Report for 2018-19.
The Annual Report for 2018-19 showcases another successful year for the Library
The report reflects on a number of notable achievements during the year, highlighting the focus on customer service and academic collaboration to deliver an excellent library service.
This was particularly evident in last year’s National Student Survey (NSS) figures, which showed 93% of students agreed that the Library “supported their learning well”. This made Leeds the top-scoring Russell Group University Library for the third year running.
Dr Stella Butler, University Librarian and Keeper of the Brotherton Collection, said: “I am hugely privileged to lead a group of staff who take such pride in delivering a consistently high quality service to all our readers. As in previous years, they deserve all the accolades they justly receive!
“We want the Library to be a supportive and stimulating place to work. Our preparation for the Investors in People standard enabled us to stand back and consider how we communicate and collaborate, and examine the values we adhere to and promote. We were delighted to receive silver accreditation. We still have work to do to reach the highest level, but the feedback from the review has demonstrated we are well on the way!
“We again received 93% in the National Student Survey for the support we provide for student learning. As in 2018, this is the highest score of participating Russell Group universities. This exceptional achievement reflects a deep commitment to excellence across all sections of the Library.”
Collaborative working was a particular highlight
The report also highlights successful collaborations, both across campus and within the Library on projects like the roll-out of a new Library management system.
The Collections Network is now a strategic focus of collaboration between Special Collections and Leeds Arts and Humanities Research Institute, setting priorities for acquisitions and digital innovation, and supporting grant applications. Academic members of the network advocated for specific collections, which created exciting new opportunities for research and teaching.
The Library is also improving its understanding of the impact of our research. The newly appointed bibliometrician worked alongside Deputy Vice-Chancellor: International, Professor Hai-Sui Yu, to analyse citations received by the University’s research outputs and how they contribute to our current position of joint 93rd in the prestigious QS World University Rankings.
2018-19 was a great year for student support, both on and offline
The Skills@Library programme was highlighted in the report, with more than 1,100 students attending new language workshops rolled out in 2018-19 in partnership with the Language Centre. And improved induction sessions and student support were provided, in partnership with the International Office and the Lifelong Learning Centre, to deliver appropriate support at the right time.
The ‘Critical Thinking at University: an introduction’ Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) was also praised by the report. Developed in partnership with the Digital Education Service, it was ranked in the ‘top 100 free online courses and MOOCs of all time’ by Class Central users, and was nominated for the Digital Award for Information Literacy 2019.
But partnerships aren’t always outward-facing. Close working between Library teams led to the successful launch of the new Library management system. The project was a year in the making and resulted in a new simplified loans system, a new Library Search and enriched data to improve resource discovery.
You can read the report in full on the Library website.
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