Survey Explores Libraries� Role on Campus

The results of a large scale survey of UCI faculty, staff, and students paint a very positive picture of the Libraries role on the UCI campus.

"The comments on the survey were overwhelmingly positive... They reinforced the message that many of our users view the Libraries as the heart of the campus."

Last Spring, a campus task force chaired by Michael Clark, UCI Vice Provost for Academic Planning, was assigned to explore the current and future role of the Libraries at UC Irvine. The task force was made up of a group of faculty, staff, students, and librarians, who were led by Tim Bruckner, Assistant Professor of Public Health, in the design and administration of a large scale survey to collect feedback from library users regarding their views of the most important and highest priority library services. Nearly 7,000 faculty, staff, and students responded to the survey (including nearly 25% of the faculty on campus).

Overall, the survey responses present the Libraries as a vital and useful resource that provides essential resources for the teaching and research mission of the University. "The comments on the survey were overwhelmingly positive," said Kevin Ruminson, Director of Planning, Assessment, and Research. "They reinforced the message that many of our users view the Libraries as the heart of the campus."

While there was considerable agreement among faculty, students, and staff regarding the importance of the Libraries, these groups prioritized different elements of the Libraries mission. Among undergraduates, hours of operation and library study space were viewed as the highest priorities. In comparison, faculty, staff, and graduate students emphasized online access to library materials and expansion of collections as the highest priorities.

This broad input from the UCI campus community will help the Libraries set priorities and plan future efforts to serve our users.