The Patriot Spot

Starting today, the Library has launched a redesigned website. Please visit http://library.uttyler.edu to see the new design. Many of the services faculty and student are already familiar with are still here but be sure to visit the Research Guides at http://libguides.uttyler.edu/. We are using a product called LibGuides to implement our research guides. LibGuides allows for more interaction online as well as for a variety of new and exciting features to better help our students and academic community.

Faculty members can contact their Librarian Liasons (http://library.uttyler.edu/liaison_directory.html) if they have any questions or comments. They can also leave comments here on the blog for feedback.

We hope that you will visit the new website, and that it will become a destination that meets your research needs.

We would like to thank all the UT Tyler students who volunteered some of their time to help us build a better website. We got a lot of valuable feedback and suggestions, many of which we will incorporate in the final design. Our new website will be unveiled in May.

And now the winners of the prize drawing:

• Jason Jackson: 1 iPod Shuffle.
• Paula Gean: 1 iPod Shuffle.
• Ashley Propes: 1 2GB USB Thumbdrive.
• Cecilia Chavez: 1 1GB USB Thumbdrive.
• Joanne Klem: 1 1GB USB Thumbdrive.
• Daniel Fearn: 1 set of Skull Candy Headphones.

I have notified the winners by e-mail or phone. Please come to the library to pick up the prizes. You may ask for me or Eric Hartnett when you come in.

Again, congratulations to the winners and thanks to all our student participants. We are looking forward to our new website and to continue working to serve you better.

The library continues searching for UT Tyler student volunteers to help test out the new library’s website. We are extending the testing sessions we had last week for one more week.

Here are the details:

When : Monday March 31, 2008 to Friday April 4, 2008. Testing sessions last about 30 minutes for each volunteer. We do testing between 9:00a and 5:00p. You need to sign up for an appointment. However, you can also show up at the reference desk. If we happen to have an open spot, we’ll take you right then and there. However, we prefer you sign up ahead of time.

What: Usability testing of a new library website design. We want to make sure the website works well for our student and that they can use it with ease for their research needs.

Where: At the library. Volunteers can check in at the Reference Desk.

Other details: We are looking for UT Tyler students. If you sign in, you can certainly invite friends, but they need to be students too.

The prizes: All participants’ names will be entered in a prize drawing to take place after the testing period. You can win one of the following prizes:

• One of two brand new (just released) 2GB IPod Shuffles.
• One 2GB USB Flash Drive.
• One of two 1GB USB Flash Drives.
• One set of Skull Candy Headphones.

To participate or get more information, you can contact me, Angel Rivera, via e-mail (arivera AT uttyler DOT edu; take out the appropriate parts and replace with the symbols). You can also stop by the reference desk.

If you don’t volunteer, we may get desperate and try to find other volunteers, as you see below:

(Photo found on Flickr posted by user Quanta. Photo used by a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 License).

We are currently recruiting U.T. Tyler students to help test a new design for the library’s website. The process involves a session in the library to view the new design and complete some common tasks. We want to know how user friendly (or not) is our new design. The testing would take about 20 to 30 minutes. We are looking at the week of March 24 for actual testing.

Please contact Angel Rivera, Reference and Outreach Librarian, at 903-566-7165 or via e-mail at arivera@uttyler.edu.

Participants’ names will be entered in a prize drawing.

Sign up today!

As previously announced, the UT Tyler Robert R. Muntz Library is working on a new design for the library website. The purpose of the website’s redesign is to make the site more accessible, interactive, and user-friendly. Last Thursday, November 15th, 2007, the Library Web Committee invited a group of students to the library so they could offer input on a new library website design. We had a very productive session, and the students were enthusiastic. They gave us many ideas to work on for improving the website. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our student participants from last week.

We can still use more feedback. To that end, the Library Web Committee is taking the show on the road, so to speak.  We will host a second focus group meeting. The details are as follows:

What: Library Website Redesign: Student Response Meeting 2

When:  Thursday November 29, 2007

Time: 5:00p

Place: Ornellas Hall Media Room.

The process should last 45 minutes to an hour. We will provide a brief set of questions for students to answer, which will be followed by some discussion. Food and drink will be provided for participants.

If you have any questions, or to participate, you can contact me, Angel Rivera, Outreach Librarian, at ext. 7165 or via e-mail at arivera AT uttyler DOT edu (replace symbols accordingly).

We are in the process of redesigning our library’s website. We want to make it more user-friendly, and we are adding some new features. The library’s web advisory committee will host a small meeting next week. We are seeking some student volunteers to come view a new preliminary design for the library’s website. This would involve a brief written survey, and then some question-and –answer time with our librarians where volunteers can provide us with valuable feedback.

If you are a UT Tyler student, undergraduate or graduate, here are the details:

What: Library Website Redesign: Student Response Meeting

When: Thursday November 15, 2007

Time: 5:00pm

Place: Library Room 401

The process should take about 45 minutes to an hour. The library will provide some food and soft drinks for participants.

If you have any questions, or to participate, you can contact Angel Rivera, Outreach Librarian, at ext. 7165 or via e-mail at arivera AT uttyler DOT edu (replace symbols accordingly).