Digital Commons Network^™

Optimizing Library Marketing With Shorturls, Kimberly Abrams, Junior Tidal

Publications and Research

In this study, researchers observed the impact of various promotional materials, such as print flyers, social media, email, and other web platforms, to market three electronic resources at a mid-sized, urban, commuter college academic library. Links to article databases were shortened and then tracked through a link shortening tool, which were observed over a two month period. The results created a data-driven picture of users’ promotional preferences, highlighting strengths, areas for improvement, and best practices in marketing e-resources. These best practices can be implemented at other libraries and the study methodology can be applied to other institutions tailoring their promotional …

Wvul 2020 Graduate Student Library Immersion Assessment Summary & Findings, Jessica Vanderhoff

2020 Library Immersion Program for Graduate Students

This report summarizes the assessment findings from the 2020 Graduate Student Library Immersion Program held at the Downtown Campus Library from Monday, January 6, 2020 to Wednesday, January 8, 2020.

Not Another Survey! Use Interviews Instead To Understand Needs In Your Library, Dan Broadbent

Faculty Publications

Assessment in libraries is an essential part of managing library resources to meet the needs of patrons and stakeholders. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of two assessment devices—surveys and interviews—in particular as they apply to libraries.

Small Data, Small Steps: Lessons From Assessing The Investment Studio, Jiaxin Low

Research Collection Library

Singapore Management University’s (SMU) Li Ka Shing Library was renovated in 2014. During the renovation, the Investment Studio was created within the library to house high-end financial databases such as Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters (now Refinitiv). Usage of the space was assessed using quantitative and qualitative data, comparing the first academic terms across two academic years, 2017 and 2018. The data provided evidence to support anecdotal evidence and library staff’s knowledge and observation. The assessment resulted recommendations for further action. It also provided opportunity to engage with users and stakeholders of this unique space.

Comparison Of Personas Between Two Academic Libraries, Holt Zaugg, Donna Harp Ziegenfuss

Faculty Publications

Purpose: A persona describes a group of library patrons as a single person to better identify and describe user patterns and needs. Identifying personas in academic libraries can assist in library planning by focusing on patrons. Initially personas were thought to be unique to each library; additional insights led the researchers to rethink this assertion. This article seeks to determine if personas, developed in one library, are unique or more universal than previously thought.

Design/methodology/approach: In this study, 903 surveys were completed across two institutions asking library patrons to identify use patterns within each library. Mean score responses were analyzed …

Assessing And Improving Library Services At Georgia Southern University, Clement Chu Sing Lau

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Many academic libraries in America, including Georgia Southern University Zach S. Henderson Library are required to document and prove how its performance contributes to institutional goals and outcomes. Over the years, Henderson Library has been assessing its service performance, making improvements, and demonstrating its values. It has been applying various assessment tools and methods to evaluate its services and programs, and using the findings to make improvements. This case study article will describe how Henderson Library continuously assesses and improves its services.

More Than Fun And Games: Changing Library Perceptions Through Outreach Efforts, Maureen Rust, Elizabeth Brown

Library Scholarship

Academic libraries are beginning to devote more resources to library outreach as a means of conveying the unit’s relevancy to its campus constituents. Various methods of outreach include student engagement activities, embedded librarian liaisons within campus-wide departments, community programming, often in partnership with other campus units, and increased library instruction in University 101 courses. How effective are these methods of heightening the library’s campus profile? Does the return on investment warrant the resources expended on these programs? This study investigates campus perceptions of the target library. Since instituting its formal embedded librarian program in 2013, hiring two tenure-track faculty specializing …

Suagm 2017: Las Bibliotecas Transforman; Acceso Y Oportunidad Para Todos, Daniel Ortiz-Zapata

Joseph P. Healey Library Publications

The presentation was delivered at the 5th Conference for Librarians at the Ana G. Mendez Educational System, with five campuses in Puerto Rico and the mainland, around the National Library Week theme on the trans-formative power of libraries. Examples of activities and metrics to measure the impact SUAGM libraries have on their constituents and stakeholders are reviewed in the presentation to inspire and provoke staff and librarians to embark in documenting and providing narratives on the impact the SUAGM libraries have across their campuses.

Managing With Purpose: Integrating Assessment, Planning, And Budgeting, Gregory A. Smith

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Assessment, planning, and budgeting are interrelated disciplines that play an important role in accomplishing a library's mission. This conference session introduces tools and concepts that will equip attendees to manage library services strategically in response to evolving customer needs and environmental conditions. Four tools—the logic model, six dimensions of assessment, the balanced scorecard, and the business model canvas—will enable managers to evaluate, plan, and communicate progress in the pursuit of mission and vision. Additionally, two concepts—opportunity cost and the principal-agent problem—will provide context for planning and budgeting decisions.

Undergraduate Library Internships And Professional Success, Clinton K. Baugess, Kathryn Martin, Katherine Mattson, Qin Zhang

All Musselman Library Staff Works

This poster reports on an assessment completed of former undergraduate library interns to explore the impact their internship had on the development of career goals, acceptance to and preparation for graduate education, and their early career. Through an online survey (n= 45) and six semi-structured telephone interviews, respondents reported a positive impact on the above areas.

Assessment Committees: Good Practices From Arl Libraries, Michelle H. Brannen, Sojourna J. Cunningham, Regina Mays

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

Purpose – Assessment activities in academic libraries continue to grow as libraries explore assessment endeavors. Ranging from basic stats gathering and reporting to surveys, focus groups, and usability studies and beyond. Many practitioners are finding it necessary to create new processes and programs, with little guidance. The purpose of this paper is to paint a broad picture of assessment activities in Association of Research Libraries (ARL) university libraries with the goal of creating a resource for libraries developing or improving their assessment programs.

Design/methodology/approach – A survey was developed that asked questions about assessment personnel, activities, mission, and website. A …

Improving Reference Service With Evidence, Bonnie R. Nelson

Publications and Research

As part of an assessment process, reference statistics in an academic library were examined over a twenty-year period and revealed steep declines in the numbers of reference questions asked. To attempt to halt or reverse this slide a number of interventions were attempted, including improved signage, outreach to patrons, and increased availability of chat reference. Increasing chat reference was clearly effective; the other interventions showed more modest success.

Focus Group Report On The Teaching Resources Collection, Tamar Brown, Marilyn Geller, Anne-Marie Mulligan, Kate Thornhill, Jaime Wimmer

Library Reports

The Lesley University Libraries’ Assessment Workgroup conducted focus group interviews with faculty and students in order to plan for the future development of the library's Teaching Resources Collection, which includes K-8 curriculum materials and the Evelyn M. Finnegan Collection of high-quality children's literature. We spoke with a total of seven faculty members and two students, a very small sample, but our conversations did offer the library a starting point for thinking about how to improve the visibility of the collection, the space in which it is housed, and patron ability to access the materials. Focus group participants gave feedback on …

Library Assessment And Data Analytics In The Big Data Era: Practice And Policies, Hsin-Liang Chen, Philip Doty, Carol Mollman, Xi Niu, Jen-Chien Yu, Tao Zhang

Library and Learning Resources Faculty Research & Creative Works

Emerging technologies have offered libraries and librarians new ways and methods to collect and analyze data in the era of accountability to justify their value and contributions. For example, Gallagher, Bauer and Dollar (2005) analyzed the paper and online journal usage from all possible data sources and discovered that users at the Yale Medical Library preferred the electronic format of articles to the print version. After this discovery, they were able to take necessary steps to adjust their journal subscriptions. Many library professionals advocate such data-driven library management to strengthen and specify library budget proposals.

Re-Thinking Survey Promotion: It's Not Just About The Numbers, Kristen S. Shuyler, Jonathan Reed, David Vess

Libraries

Promoting a survey - it's all about getting people to click on it, right? Not always. This session will describe the promotion campaign we designed for the James Madison University Libraries' 2015 LibQUAL+ survey. Ultimately, this campaign was not just about the survey - it was about how we want our campus to feel about the Libraries.

Libraries commonly engage their user communities by gathering users' feedback. Analyzing and acting on user feedback can lead to the responsive design and (re)development of library services, spaces, and programs. Our campaign placed that value of "responsiveness" front and center, with two taglines: …

Journeying Into Library Assessment: A Case Study Measuring Value Of An Information Literacy Programme At The Li Ka Shing Library, Rajendra Munoo, Wei Xia

Research Collection Library

No abstract provided.

E-Content Statistics Schedule, Lanette Garza

Library Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

A Survey Of Student Use Of Sherrill Library, Marilyn Geller, Library Assessment Workgroup

Library Reports

In the summer of 2013, the Sherrill Library Assessment Work Group began work on a project to identify areas where the current physical library facility excels and where it warrants improvement, and to understand how and why students are using physical libraries in general and the Sherrill Library facility specifically. We chose to use an online survey that was distributed to all current EDS students and to all LU students enrolled in at least one class on campus during the fall 2013 semester. The combined population size for both schools totaled 3,675 students. To achieve a margin of error of …

Faculty Information And Research Needs: A Qualitative Study Of Lesley University And Episcopal Divinity School Faculty, Marilyn Geller, Library Assessment Workgroup

Library Reports

In the summer of 2011, the Library Assessment Workgroup began an investigation into the Lesley University and Episcopal Divinity School faculties’ information needs for research and teaching. By exploring faculty members’ perceptions of the library, and behaviors as researchers and instructors, we hoped to discern how well the library addresses their needs. The resulting project is a qualitative analysis of Lesley University and Episcopal Divinity School faculty members’ use of the library in the research and instruction process. Through twenty-five interviews and 3 focus groups, we studied the information-seeking strategies of forty members of the faculties. The examination focused on …

Assessing History Student Research Activity And Learning Outcomes Through The Understanding Library Impacts Project, Jessica Hronchek

Faculty Presentations

In an era when academic libraries increasingly need to justify their budgets and impact to campus administrators, there is a growing necessity for helpful assessment tools. Engaging in this current trend of “demonstrating value,” this liberal arts college sought to explore areas of impact through a focused study on one particular department with known high library activity. For the past two years the library and the history department have partnered with an outside project called Understanding Library Impacts. Beginning with a beta-test of a quantitative and qualitative survey tool in upper-level courses and later expanding to history courses at all …

Educational Effectiveness Assessment Plan, M. Sara Lowe

Library Staff Publications and Research

Information on Claremont Colleges Library educational effectiveness Assessment Plan

Department Library Dashboards As A Measure Of Library Value, Kelly Gordon Jacobsma

Faculty Presentations

A department dashboard approach to measuring library value was developed after the library was charged with measuring its contributions to the academic program distinctives at a liberal arts college. This presentation will focus on using data that libraries already collect to tell a story about an academic department’s library activity. Working in a dashboard culture, how the dashboards will be used to drive future conversations with departments and effects on library decision-making will be discussed.

Faculty Perceptions Of The Value Of Academic Libraries: A Mixed Method Study, Kelly L. Heider, Sandra Janicki, Joann Janosko, Blaine Knupp, Carl Rahkonen

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This article details the findings of a year-long study at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Libraries which examined IUP faculty members’ perceptions of the value of library resources and services to both their research and teaching. Through a mixed-method study, which included an online survey and follow-up focus groups, the researchers found that faculty were dissatisfied with IUP Libraries’ marketing initiatives but satisfied with its small embedded librarian program. As a result, marketing and growth of the embedded librarian program became the two main focus areas for improvement in the next academic year.

Using A Pre- And Post-Survey Method To Assess The Effectiveness And Usability Of An Online Information Literacy Tutorial, Lesley M. Moyo

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

The presentation is a case study reporting on the assessment of Virginia Tech’s online Information Skills Modules (ISM): http://info-skills.lib.vt.edu/. The ISM is an information literacy tutorial developed for use either as a teaching tool or independently. The evaluators used a pre and post survey method to determine the ISM impact on research skills of agricultural economics students who used the tutorial as a textbook for a component of their course. The session will cover methods and instruments employed in collecting both quantitative and qualitative data, and how the data was analyzed. Discussion will include detailed findings and recommendations.

Cheyenne And Arapaho Tribal Library Assessment, Frederic Murray

Faculty Articles & Research

No abstract provided.

Following The Evidence: Approaches To Assessment In Academic Libraries, Gregory A. Smith

Faculty Publications and Presentations

In an environment of strained budgets and heightened accountability, academic libraries need to base their planning, decision-making, and advocacy on evidence more than ever before. Fortunately, the resources required to collect, analyze, and visualize data—thus turning it into evidence—are increasingly accessible. This session will challenge participants to grow in their handling of evidence by exposing them to a range of data sources and analysis tools. In order to accomplish this goal, the presenter will share brief sketches of a number of recent library assessment efforts, focusing on projects with which he has been involved personally. The session’s brevity will preclude …

Pulling It All Together: Developing An Assessment Toolkit, Kathy Ball, Margaret Martin Gardiner

Western Libraries Presentations

This presentation discusses topics such as good assessment practices, assessment tools, data analysis and presentation, and assessment promotion.

Review Of The Book, Library Assessment In Higher Education By Joseph R. Matthews, Brinley Franklin

Published Works

No abstract provided.

Keeping Assessment Results On The Radar: Responsibility For Action, Margaret Martin Gardiner

Western Libraries Presentations

This presentation is about the development of the assessment program at Western Libraries at the University of Western Ontario.

Using Content Analysis Software To Analyze Survey Comments, Bradford W. Dennis, Tim Bower

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

In order to get the most from LibQUAL+™ qualitative data, libraries must organize and classify the comments of their patrons. The challenge is to do this effectively and efficiently. This article illustrates how researchers at Western Michigan University Libraries utilized ATLAS.ti 5.0 to organize, classify, and consolidate the LibQUAL+™ comments.