USQ Library provides a supportive, connected and intuitive experience that enables:
USQ Library is part of the Academic Division. USQ Library is led by the Director, Library Services, Carmel O'Sullivan.
There are three functional areas within USQ Library.
The Library Experience team provides learning spaces, information services, and a premium digital experience for USQ students and staff. The team gathers and analyses evidence to improve library services and better understand our students and academic staff.
The Content team provides access to content, advice and support on intellectual property rights, manages USQ created learning objects and research outputs, and ensures data quality across our various content systems.
The Learning and Research team works with academic staff to support their teaching and research, and with students to support them to develop the skills to succeed at University. The Learning and Research team provides peer support, education support, and research support services, as well as co-curricular and entrepreneurship opportunities via the USQ Library Makerspace.
This model provides support for USQ students and staff via unique approach that brings together librarians, learning advisors, program consultants and educational designers into a discipline support team. The development and design process for this model won the 2018 Good Design Award in the Educational Services category.
USQ Library operated an exclusively online service during Semester 1, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 crisis. During this period we:
An overview of how the USQ Library has provided support during COVID-19 is available as an infographic. While our campus libraries have reopened, we continue to provide online study support, peer support, events and digitization to our community.
USQ Makerspace was the only Australian University exemplar featured in the 2018 NMC Horizon Report Higher Education for its Maker-kits which are mailed out to remote and regional students who can then participate in Makerspace activities online.
USQ Library is committed to becoming an evidence-based practice library and encourages staff to engage in practitioner-research. Examples of our staff publications are published in our ePrints research repository.
USQ Library was the first academic library in the southern hemisphere to join the Open Textbook Network, an alliance of higher education institutions working to improve access, affordability and academic success through the use of open textbooks. Open textbooks are offered freely in digital form, and have flexibility in how they can be reused, revised, remixed, and repurposed to suit local contexts and needs. As of 31 December, 2019, open textbook adoption has saved USQ students approximately $277,153.00.
The USQ Library Stories of 2020 publication gives an account of University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Library’s services, activities and associated impacts during 2020. Library staff share their stories of achievements and milestones, our challenges, and experiences in contributing to the outcomes of the University’s strategic goals. These narratives also demonstrate the knowledge and information infrastructures by which we enable student achievement and success, and research excellence.