Leddy Library to survey faculty efforts to stay abreast

How do UWindsor faculty members keep up with developments in their disciplines? The Leddy Library will conduct a survey next month asking faculty to offer their perspectives on this question.

The Ithaka S+R Local Faculty Survey has been administered at numerous universities in the U.S., Australia and the U.K. over the past decade. Through the coordinating efforts of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries, Windsor will join several universities in Canada to roll it out in this country for the first time.

It is an effort to better understand the teaching and research needs of faculty members in an environment that is increasingly reshaped by digital technology, says Joan Dalton, associate dean of the library.

“Responses will provide us with the data needed to create a roadmap for collections and services development over the next few years,” she says.

The survey will look at four major areas related to how faculty do their work:

  • How faculty discover and access the scholarly materials they need for their research and teaching;
  • Whether and how libraries and library collections are evolving to foster these methods of discovery and access;
  • The ways in which research and teaching practices are changing as new technology offers new opportunities for doing scholarly work;
  • How scholars communicate the findings of their research through the entire scope of media available today.

The survey will provide an understanding of these and related issues that will reflect the distinctive nature of the UWindsor campus community while also contributing to national benchmarks. Find more information on the Leddy website, or direct questions to Dalton at Joan.Dalton@uwindsor.ca.