Category Archives: Focus on Assessment

Members needed for new LibQUAL assessment group

Submitted by Alan Shay, data analyst

The Library Assessment and Metrics Council (LAMC) is pleased to announce the creation of a working group to assist the LAMC with the assessment of the recent LibQUAL survey comment responses. Members of this group will assist in the categorization and analysis of our patrons’ responses to the open-ended question regarding library services. Results of this analysis will assist the libraries assessment of currently provided services, while also providing analysis of our users’ service needs compared to the results of our previous LibQUAL surveys.

If you would like to be a part of this working group, please submit a brief statement of interest via email to the LAMC (ul-assessment-council@lists.psu.edu) by Wednesday, January 8, 2014. The first meeting of this working group will occur in late January or early February of next year. The categorization and analysis done by the group should be completed within one month’s time. This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to the continual assessment initiatives of the University Libraries. Please consider expressing your interest.

Thank you,

The Library Assessment and Metrics Council
https://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/groups/assessmentcouncil.html

Behrend’s survey of graduating seniors

By Richard Hart, director, Lilley Library, Penn State Erie

For more than 20 years, Penn State Behrend has conducted a survey of its graduating seniors in order to measure their attitudes toward their college education. Originally administered through the Chancellor’s Office, in recent years the survey has been conducted by the College’s Institutional Research Committee. Among other things, the survey seeks information about the students’ satisfaction with their education, their post-graduation plans, and the degree to which they were challenged as students at Behrend.

Although it has been revised over the years, certain basic elements of the survey have remained relatively constant. Measuring student satisfaction with various campus offices, facilities, and services constitutes one of the central goals of the survey. Satisfaction is measured with a 5-point Likert-type scale. Included are the library, computing services, athletic facilities, the bursar, tutoring services, the bookstore, the registrar, residence life, food services, housing, and more, for a total of 26 items on the most recent survey. Continue reading →

Discussion of Ithaka S + R US Faculty Survey 2012 on June 4

Submitted by Ann Snowman, head of Access Services

The Libraries’ Assessment and Metrics Council is sponsoring a discussion of the Ithaka S + R US Faculty Survey 2012, on June 4, from 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., in Mann Assembly Room or via Adobe Connect. Nancy Adams, Harrell Health Sciences Library, and Ann Snowman, head of Access Services, will facilitate the discussion.

How to connect: Remote viewers should log on to https://meeting.psu.edu/ithaka and use the chat box feature to participate. Recording will be made available shortly after the event. I-Tech recommends Firefox as the first choice when using Adobe Connect; IE will work too, but fewer issues are seen with Firefox.

Overview of Ithaka S+R discussion: How would the faculty you liaise with respond to the following statement? “Assuming that electronic collections of journals are proven to work well, I would be happy to see hard copy collections discarded and replaced entirely by electronic collections.” Would they agree or disagree? Is the answer the same for all disciplines? Has it changed over time? How much has it changed?

Would they answer “often” or “never” to the following question, or pick a mid-point? “You may have the opportunity to read scholarly monographs in electronic format, either through a library subscription database or as standalone e-books. How often have you used scholarly monographs in digital form in the past six months…?”

Continue reading →

Capturing in-house use of library materials

By Ann Snowman

Beginning April 1, 2013, all libraries are asked to capture in-house use of collections via WorkFlows.

Why?

· Capturing in-house use quantifies a portion of collection use that can be as high as 50 percent of total circulation for some libraries.

· In-house use is one measure of browsing activity which can be difficult to gauge.

· Once captured in Director’s Station this data can be used to assess the use of a single item, a title, or a collection when making retention and budget decisions.

· In-house use is included in the total circulation figures for the University Libraries and is reported for both the ARL annual survey and the ALS biennial survey.

Continue reading →

ACRL Assessment in Action: Academic Libraries and Student Success

By Alan W. Shay, data analyst

ACRL is seeking applications from all types of higher education institutions for 75 teams to participate in the first cohort of “Assessment in Action: Academic Libraries and Student Success (AiA),” made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and described on the AiA program homepage.

Librarians will each lead a campus team in developing and implementing an action learning project which examines the impact of the library on student success and contributes to assessment activities on campus. They will be supported in this work by a professional development program with sequenced learning events and activities at key junctures. The AiA program, part of ACRL’s Value of Academic Libraries initiative, employs a blended learning environment and a peer-to-peer network over the course of the 14-month long program, which runs from April 2013-June 2014.

The Library Assessment and Metrics Council is seeking individuals who have an idea for a project topic with the potential to contribute to the greater library and higher education community. Neither a complete plan nor a list of team members are necessary to have in place at this time.

If you have a potential project topic and/or an interest to participate in the AiA program, please contact the Library Assessment and Metrics Council via ul-assessment-council@lists.psu.edu by Friday, February 8, 2013. For more information on the AiA application process, please visit the AiA application website.