As our UW Libraries Pressbooks network grows, we are considering a (hopefully small + manageable!) project to better understand who is creating books, motivations for using the platform, what kind of local support they need, and impact of books produced (affordability, innovative teaching, etc). We currently have 875 users and 438 books (39 of which are public) in UW Libraries Pressbooks. Many users are no longer active, and many books are likely “practice” books. But we know there are many users on the network who are actively creating works that they are using for various research/teaching/support purposes at UW, and a solid number who we aren’t regularly in touch with.
I’m wondering if anyone else has conducted an assessment using surveys, interviews or other methods at your institution. And if so, would you be willing to share how it went and any recommendations you have regarding the process?
Thanks in advance!
-Lauren Ray (she/her)
Open Education Librarian
University of Washington Libraries
At the Product Update webinar today I shared that last month at the University of Washington we distributed Pressbooks User survey (via Qualtrics) to all users on our network.
I was asked to share a copy of our survey questions. Here is a link to a PDF of the questions. I look forward to sharing themes from the survey results once we have them analyzed. The survey will close next month.
Would love to hear from others who are conducting similar surveys or interested in doing so.
This is terrific, Lauren. Thanks for sharing – I’m sure there are lots of people in the @EDU_Managers community who will be interested to see your findings!
Hi all, we created a google docs version of the survey instrument, with a CC license. Sharing it here, in case others want to reuse and adapt it at your institution: UW Libraries Pressbooks User Assessment 2022 - Google Docs
Thanks!-Lauren