The Information Professional

RT @theREALwikiman: Anyhow, I blogged about it here: Student Induction, Libraries, Prezi, and Interactive Maps http://t.co/k5eHK5Jx...

"All new students go through quite a lengthy induction process in the first three weeks at the University. The library is slotted into that – how much time we get with the students varies between departments – and so it’s a good opportunity for us to make contact, promote our services, and try and embed ourselves in the academic culture, but also tricky because the students are overloaded with information as it is.

I wanted to give each of my departments an interactive map with all the library info relevant to them specifically – the idea being that it’s easier to navigate an actual map of the library than it is to just search for stuff on the library website. Because each department would have a bespoke map it would mean the students had all the info they needed in one place, and because I created the maps in Prezi they could also be used as a presentation tool (as well as a stand-alone web object, later; I give students the URL of the Prezi itself and tell them not to worry about writing down any of the other URLs it contains).

I created a generic map of the library with all the information which wasn’t department specific, then copied that for each of my two departments and doctored it accordingly. I also made it available to my colleagues in Academic Liaison here at York, and a few of them created their own subject-specific versions too."