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Testing the Waters: Library Assessment
from Strategic Plan to First Report
Marna Hostetler, Library Director
Phil Orr, Distance Learning Librarian
Peter Whiting, Serials Librarian
David L. Rice LibraryUniversity of Southern Indiana
Background The University of Southern Indiana (USI) is a public institution
located in Evansville, Indiana. Enrollment hovers around 10,000 As of Fall 2013, USI employs nearly 700 faculty The David L. Rice Library employs:
- 16 staff members- 10 librarians- 24-26 part-time student employees- 8-10 temporary employees
The building opened in 2006 Total library budget just over $2.5M
History & Overview
History & OverviewFall 2009
USI’s new President, Linda Bennett, engaged the USI campus in developing university wide strategic plan.
At the same time USI’s Rice Library began the process of working on its own strategic plan.
History & Overview Key questions asked ofRice Library staff:
What are our goals for the next 3 to 5 years for the library?
What is the library’s primary purpose or mission?
History & Overview Rice Library strategic plan
subcommittees: Collections Evaluation & Assessment Services Staffing Technology
History & Overview
May 2010: The library strategic plan subcommittees progress shared at the Rice Library staff day
November 2010 – The final library strategic plan submitted to the USI administration
Setting Limits
Setting LimitsRice library’s mission statement
The David L. Rice Library supports the mission of the University of Southern Indiana by assisting the instruction and research efforts of the university's students and faculty through the provision of appropriate collections and services.The Library provides course-integrated instruction and individual consultation to assist users in identifying, locating, and interpreting information in a variety of formats. The provision of instruction is intended to assist users in becoming more critically aware, self-confident information consumers and researchers.
The selection, cataloging, management and evaluation of information resources is undertaken to support present and future
programs of the university. Ongoing review and evaluation of Library resources and services are carried out in collaboration with the university community to determine the nature of information resources and services needed.The Library uses appropriate technology to make services and resources available to members of the USI community on campus and in remote locations, in support of distributed education as well as on-campus courses. The Library makes use of the campus Web site to provide information, to further communication, and to facilitate access to online resources.
The Library shares information resources with local, state, national, and international communities, and librarians attempt to anticipate and respond to new trends in scholarship, instruction and the communication and delivery of information as these affect libraries.
Setting Limits: Library Resources
Do not create more work for the library staff.
Financial resources
Forming a Team
Forming a Team
First Assessment Committee appointed in April 2012
Membership was broad, including
representatives from nearly every major library unit.
Forming a Team
The objective of the David L. Rice Library Assessment Committee is to
guide and report on the use of assessment as a means of
supporting the library’s mission.
Forming a TeamTo achieve this objective the committee will seek to fulfill the following charges:
Encourage and promote a culture of assessment.
Gather planned assessment activities and integrate into a single document.
Serve as a resource for those conducting assessment activities.
Record the results of assessment activities.
Contribute to university-wide assessment efforts.
Seeking Input
Seeking Input Assessment & data collection activities “The Library should perform an assessment audit
to determine what goals presently exist and what assessment is currently being done. The library may already be doing a lot of assessment of services and learning but simply not reporting it.”
-- Shelley Arvin, Reference/Instruction Librarian at Indiana State University http://libguides.indstate.edu/libassess
Seeking Input: Statistical Reports and Data Collection
Statistical reports Cataloging Circulation Database Inter-library loan usage Patron counts
Google analytics Accreditation reports
Seeking Input:Formal Assessment
Public service desk surveys Social media effectiveness Student assessment of instruction Faculty assessment of instruction
Seeking Input:Informal Assessment
Web site revision Lost and missing resources affecting collection
development Serials and electronic resource reviews
Taking Advantage
of Existing
Resources
Gathering IdeasCampus input
USI Faculty Senate – find out about Faculty Senate Assessment Committee
Seek out faculty who are experts on assessment
Attended the USI College of Science, Engineering, and Education presentation about their assessment activities
Resources on Campus
Surveys sent out by the USI Office of Planning, Research and Assessment (OPRA)
Faculty, Administrators, and Staff fall survey
Student survey fall survey
Writing a Plan
Writing a Plan Collected and studied plans from other
academic libraries
Committee met regularly for nine months
First plan was intentionally modest
Plan included:
Narrative introduction (Word)
Summary of assessment activities (Excel)
Writing a Plan
Purpose Measure(s)/Methods(s) Assessor(s)
Timeline Classification Strategic Plan Alignment
Assessment activities summarized by:
Writing a Plan
Plan included eight assessment activities: General survey of faculty and staff General survey of senior students Instruction assessment of students Student assessment of instruction Faculty assessment of instruction Public service desks Social media Library information wall iPad survey
Working as a Unit
Working as a Unit
Worked well together
Committee as a whole: Face-to-face meetings E-mail exchanges
Sub-committees / Independently
Sharing Data
Sharing Data
Unit heads notified of data availability in shared electronic file
Discussion of data during monthly
Librarians Council meetings
Reporting Results
Reporting Results Assessment activities summarized in a single
report Made available to everyone through
Assessment Committee LibGuide
Eight assessment activities were summarized
Reporting Results
15-page report (Publisher) Each activity summarized by individual
members of committee Library Director edited final report
Closing the Assessment Loop
You Asked, We Listened Wish List All-campus meetings
Maintaining MomentumFoster a “culture of assessment”
Continue to solicit assessment ideas from unit heads
Work with library units to accomplish the goal Invite all to assessment webinars, local seminars,
etc. Some members of the Assessment Team stay,
some rotate off and are replaced with fresh faces
The important thing is to start
Questions?Marna Hostetler Phil Orr Peter Whiting [email protected]@usi.edu [email protected] 812-461-5328 812-465-1280
Assessment LibGuide: usi.libguides.com/libraryassessment
