Products : Case Studies : Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB)

Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB):
How DialogWeb helps the Information Centre respond to the needs of its end user degree students and professors

With 15,000 students and 900 professors involved in some 36 subject areas, the team of 5 staff in the information centre of this Mallorcan University had its work cut as the centralised information search service.

Business Challenge

To service the needs of this vast audience, the information centre was using a disparate range of information sources, such as individual CD-ROM and online database subscriptions, including a pay-as-you-go Dialog subscription. However, it became evident that each source was not being used intensively by the information centre and as a result the information centre was unable to maximise its resources efficiently.

In discussions with the university information centre about its present information approach Dialog set out to achieve two specific objectives - to increase the service levels to end users through a self-searching desktop solution and to provide a predictable cost management structure.

Business Solution

The university had already worked with Dialog for the previous 9 years under a traditional pay-as-you-go arrangement. However, its goal of giving direct access to the end user meant that DialogWeb would be flexible enough to fit the varying and increasing demands of both the end user, whether student or professor, and the information centre. This is because DialogWeb provides easy and expert access to the full content range, power and precision of Dialog through a Web browser.

DialogWeb was selected by the information centre for several key reasons. Firstly, Dialog's breadth and depth of its authoritative content collection gave professors and degree students the range of information they needed to conduct their research.

Secondly, the challenge of giving end users the opportunity to do their own searching whatever their level of experience was achieved by offering a range of search interfaces. With Dialog Web, the flexible and easy-to-use Guided Search mode does not require knowledge of the Dialog command language. At the same time, experienced searchers used to the powerful Dialog command language, such as the information centre staff, can easily use the robust Command Search mode.

Thirdly, DialogWeb's flexible 'flat fee' pricing plans offered the information centre accurate cost control over its information expenditure. Based on the type of information consumed and the number of users involved, the flat fee plan allows the information centre to benefit from predictable cost management structure, managing this through the strict issuing of individual user ids and passwords to end users.

Training plays a big role

There were several implementation phases to the successful integration of DialogWeb across the university. This involved a partnership approach between the information centre staff and Dialog, together with a comprehensive training strategy.

Once it was accepted that end users should have the possibility of carrying out their own searches through the means of DialogWeb, the next stage involved training the information professionals on the Web-based product. Because the information centre would be expected to handle a lot of enquiries about DialogWeb once it was rolled out to end users, Dialog provided extensive training sessions for the information centre staff during the first year and on an ongoing basis.

In preparation for the end user rollout, the information centre staff produced support documentation in the form of Search Guides to help users get the most out of the Dialog Web service. Also required was the creation of access codes and terms and conditions to cover usage.

Launching the service to end users involved a series of training sessions, held jointly by the information centre staff and Dialog. These sessions covered how to use the Dialog Web service, the content resources available and expenditure controls. An important aspect of the training sessions focused on helping the users to be self-educated in terms of the information research process.

In addition, the information staff developed an online help tool for users in the form of a Web page on the intranet. The Web page contains information about and access to the databases, with suggested information solutions for users.

End User Demand Grows

Demand for the service is increasing, with more and more access passwords being issued and training sessions organised for end users.

As the information centre responds to the new self-service user, the information staff's role is evolved from searcher to consultant, researcher, trainer, assessor and creator of help tools.

Key Benefits

DialogWeb has enabled the university to respond to a growing trend amongst its degree students and professors to conduct a large part of their searching themselves. It has presented the university with a number of key benefits.

• Range of search interfaces: End users' desire to do their own searching whatever their level of experience was achieved by offering a range of search interfaces through DialogWeb.
• Cost management: DialogWeb's flexible 'flat fee' pricing plan offered the information centre accurate and predictable cost control over its information expenditure.
• Information management: The time gained from conducting ad hoc search requests allowed the information centre to re-focus on other important information management activities, such assessment of different sources, training users and creating help tools to support users.
• Breadth and depth of content: DialogWeb's breadth and depth of its authoritative content collection gave professors and degree students the range of information they needed to conduct their research.
• A new role for the information professional: the information staff are changing the way they work, evolving from day-to-day-searchers to creative consultants. This brings them status within the university as they are increasingly relied on as a vital reference and information consulting service for end users.

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