Creating Interactive Course Assignment

PagesThe OSU Libraries ICAP Project

Coalition for Networked Information

Fall 2007 Task Force Meeting

Kim Griggs, Jane Nichols, Margaret Mellinger

ICAP Project Goals

• Connect students with quality library information when and where they need it for course assignments.

• Enable librarians to employ traditional library resources with Web 2.0 features in easily created and maintained web pages.

ICAP Project Strategies

• Determine the right approach– Course Management System, Content Management

System, Campus Portal, Broader library software environment, Custom Solution?

• Get people with the right skill sets – Hired a programmer to develop the tool

• Use an agile development cycle– Ruby on Rails provides a framework to quickly develop

prototypes and incorporate user feedback

• Perform usability testing throughout the process– Include stakeholders early and often

ICAPs: Connecting Students to Libraries

To help students more easily access quality

library information, we developed the Interactive Course Assignment Pages (ICAPs).

ICAPs are dynamic web pages that integrate

Web 2.0 features, chat and RSS feeds, etc.

with traditional library content, such as catalogs and article databases.

ICAP Example

ICAP Publishing System: For and By LibrariansLibrarians have enough to do and

maintaining static HTML pages is tedious and time

consuming.

OSU Libraries decided to develop the ICAP

Tool, which enables librarians to easily create,

manage, and publish ICAPs.

The ICAP tool provides libraries with asystem librarians can administer through a web browser.

ICAP Tool Screenshot

Initial feedback, assessment and analysis

• Librarians– Forums, usability testing, meetings, use

statistics

• Students– Surveys, emails, use statistics, chats and

conversations

• Faculty– Surveys, emails, conversations

Lessons Learned

The ICAP project provided openings for discussion with

campus about how the library supports student

learning.

Lessons learned • Learned a lot about the time and energy people need to

spend to adopt new software• Do the background research, but don’t get stuck there• Use case scenarios and requirements documents• Incorporating usability testing and training facilitated

communication and feedback• Built capacity, for the team and for the librarians.• Learned to work through inevitable difficulties in project

management

Future directions

Image credits

• Ryan Sawhill. 3756 – pause http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryran/141371051/

• ARendle's photos. Secret garden gate open. http://www.flickr.com/photos/arendle/381210322/

• Valley Library (Oregon State University. A Jolly Librarian. http://www.flickr.com/photos/osuvalleylibrary/489970803/