REIMAGINING THE LIBRARY’S CONNECTION TO STUDENT SUCCESS:An Assessment RevelationCOMO 2016- Athens, Georgia

Presenters from Columbus State University

Alison Cook, Business Liaison & Government Documents Coordinator

Dr. Florence Wakoko, Assistant Director, Library Assessment

Paul Luft, Science Liaison

Paula Adams, Head of Reference Services & Student Outreach

COLUMBUS STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Who Are We? CSU founded in 1958, library first built in 1959 Regional State University Student Enrollment (Fall 2015) = 8,400 1,503 are graduate students (Fall 2015) 11 Post graduate degree programs CSU Library current building built in 1975 Currently houses over 400,000 volumes

Two CSU Libraries Music Library (RiverPark Campus) & Main Campus

Library

So, What’s There to Prove?

The major question is……….. Why do we care? The good news: The literature also suggests there may

well be some correlation between library use (Soria et al, 2013) and more importantly, library instruction (Cook, 2014) and student academic success.

Assessment and the CSU Libraries past efforts.

What’s the Point of it All?

Academic libraries and methodologies used for such assessment. Institutional data and library related data (Stone, Ramsden, 2013) (Cook, 2014)

CSU Libraries and a multi-modal approach. Our next presenter will provide more details

concerning how we came to this question……

CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Visualizing How and Where to Begin

Figure 1: Examining What We Provide

Library Services

CSU LibrariesStudent Networking

Student Research

Collaborative Learning Spaces

Consultations

Forums

Bis/Library workshops

E-Resources

LIBR 1105 Class2 Credit Hrs.

Reference DeskAccess Services

CONCEPTUALLY CONNECTING LIBRARY SERVICES TO STUDENT SUCCESS(Figure 2)

COLLECTIONS

LIBRARY INSTRUCTION

LIBRARY PHYSICAL SPACE

STUDENT SUCCESS

LIBRARY SERVICES

Person-Environment Interaction Models (PEIM) (Strange and Banning, 2006)

Physical surrounding (Learning Spaces)

Socialization

Social Climate & Culture

Organizational Structures & Polices

GPA

Satisfaction

Graduation Rate

REVIEWING THE LITERATURE

How are others defining student success and measuring the value of libraries?

Which Studies Should We Consider?There are tons of studies done that try to measure

and/or define student successA comprehensive picture of different schools

Demographics Geographic location Size of student body Program areas

Universities similar to CSU in student compositionUniversities in Georgia and with in the University System

of Georgia (USG)Continually cited in research

Highlighted Research Studies

1. University of Minnesota- Twin Cities (large public university)

2. United Kingdom: 8 unidentified universities of various sizes, demographics, urban and rural surveying 33,074 undergraduate students

3. University of West Georgia: mid-sized public university, similar to demographic of Columbus State University, and a USG sister school

4. Georgia State College: Large metropolitan research university and USG sister school

5. University of Nebraska- Lincoln: Large public university

How do other schools define student success?

All schools highlighted used different factors and asked different questions

Different but similar to what we at CSU were trying to learn and define

All studies looked at came up with a definition of what student success is AND defined how they would measure it

Common themes, definitions, and questions surrounded: Grade point average (GPA) Retention Progression Graduation (RPG) Format of instruction: one-shot classes, for credit

library courses (LIBR 1105)

Author(s) Research Question(s)/Statements

Element Looked At

Soria, K. M. & Fransen, J. & Nackerud, S.(2013)Large public university- University of Minnesota- Twin Cities

Is the use of the library, especially by first-year students, associated with academic success and retention?

- Logins to databases and websites- Participation in workshops- Demographics, academic

background, ethnicity, race, ect.

Weaver, M. (2013)Looked at universities across the US and the UK

How are academic libraries developing and supporting students into and beyond higher education?

- Tied common themes of library use and the success

- Retentions rates

Stone, G., & Ramsden, B. (2013)Looked at 33,074 undergraduate students across eight UK Universities

There is a statically significant correlation between library activity and student attainment.

- e-resource usage, library borrowing statistics

- Gate count- Compared against final degree

award

Cook, J. M. (2014)University of West Georgia

How does the library contribute to student retention and graduation rates?

- RPG rates of full-time students entering UWG in the fall semester of each year

- First-year students (never took a college course)

Kot, F. C., & Jones, J. L. (2015)Georgia State College

How does using library resources and services impact undergraduate students' academic performance in their first term?

- GSU Library provided data on student's utilization of library workstations, group study room reservations, and research clinic attendance.

- Office of Institutional Effectiveness merged library use data with student background characteristics and academic records.

- GPA

Study Research Question(s)/Statements FindingsSoria, K. M. & Fransen, J. & Nackerud, S.(2013)Large public university- University of Minnesota- Twin Cities

Is the use of the library, especially by first-year students, associated with academic success and retention?

- Students who use the library had an average GPA of 3.18 vs. 2.98 average GPA of students who did not use the library

- significant association between library usage and students' first to second semester retention.

- The most significant correlation observed between the number of databases and e-journals accessed and enrollment into a LIBR type course

Weaver, M. (2013)Looked at universities across the US and the UK

How are academic libraries developing and supporting students into and beyond higher education?

- Retention is increased if the library is used within the first few weeks.

- Student engagement is critical to retention: Librarians need to engage students in their learning.

- The more resources used = more likely student will attain a degree

Stone, G., & Ramsden, B. (2013)Looked at 33,074 undergraduate students across eight UK Universities

There is a statically significant correlation between library activity and student attainment.

- Statistical analysis shows a positive relationship between book borrowing and degree result

- No correlation between library entries and degree attainment

- The library is important to students regardless of what they could find on the internet

Cook, J. M. (2014)University of West Georgia

How does the library contribute to student retention and graduation rates?

- Graduation rates were higher for those who took a for-credit library course

- GPA significantly higher than those that those who did not take the course

Kot, F. C., & Jones, J. L. (2015)Georgia State College

How does using library resources and services impact undergraduate students' academic performance in their first term?

- Student credit load appeared to be positively related to the likelihood of using library workstations

- Increased use of workstations by a student lead to higher GPA

- Possible bias in the study

Findings

Students who use the library had an average GPA of 3.18 vs. 2.98 average GPA of students who did not use the library significant association between library usage and students' first to second semester retention.

The most significant correlation observed between the number of databases and e-journals accessed and enrollment into a LIBR type courseStudent engagement is critical to retention: Librarians need to engage students in their learning.

Statistical analysis shows a positive relationship between book borrowing and degree result

Graduation rates were higher for those who took a for-credit library courseGPA significantly higher than those that those who did not take the course

Increased use of workstations by a student lead to higher GPA

More Takeaways From the Literature

Students value the library

They want library resources and will use them

It is not the reason why they choose the university, but a

reason why they stay (Weaver, 2013)

The IS a correlation between student success and use of the

library

Questions We Wanted AnsweredHow do students use library resources?

What is the value of the library to students?

What is the impact of library on student success?

HypothesisThere IS a correlation that CSU Libraries too, has an impact upon student success through support services and resources offered!

THE METHODThe Rationale For the Narrative

Mixed-Methodological Approach

September 2015 research process began

Formed the Library Research Team

Literature review relevant to the study

Institutional Review Board (IRB) for review and approval   

Sampling Technique

Methods: Research Questions 1)  What percentage of students use library services regularly?

2)  How do students rate the value of library services?  

3)  Does library usage relate to student academic performance? If

so, which services and resources have the most impact?

Method Data Discussed

SURVEYSFall 2015

Qualtrics Software, MS Excel & SPSS

Library Usage Perceptions of library services on academic

achievement Satisfaction Ratings Relationship between library use and G.P.A

(correlation/linear regression analysis)FOCUS GROUPSSpring 2016

6 focus-groups: 4 student groups (N= 35); 2 Groups Faculty/staff (N = 15).

Key Themes Library Instruction (LIBR course); CollectionsTechnology: computers, and Online resources -- GALILEO, GIL, ILLFacilities / Learning Spaces; Staff support

DeskTracker, Library Services Data Collection Tool(Annual Reports)

Office of Institutional Research (Spring 2016)

Gate Count, Online Searches

Institutional data on graduation rates (LIBR 1105)

Figure 3: Summary of Methods

Answer % Count

Female 69.96% 333

Male 30.04% 143

Total 100% 476

Figure 4:Respondent Characteristics by Sex

Question Female   Male   TotalBlack/African American 77.44% 151 22.56% 44 195Hispanic/Latin American 47.83% 11 52.17% 12 23Pacific Islander/Asian 81.82% 9 18.18% 2 11

Middle Eastern 100.00% 4 0.00% 0 4Native American 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0White/Euro American 65.14% 142 34.86% 76 218Other, please specify 62.50% 15 37.50% 9 24

Figure 5:Respondent Characteristics (by Race/Ethnicity)

Figure 6: Respondent Characteristics (by Sex & Academics Classification) (N= 476)

Question Female   Male   TotalFreshman 75.41% 46 24.59% 15 61Sophomore 74.73% 68 25.27% 23 91Junior 65.42% 70 34.58% 37 107Senior 67.14% 94 32.86% 46 140Other (Please specify) 71.43% 55 28.57% 22 77

Figure 7: Respondent Characteristics (N=576)

Answer Response %International Students 15 3%Transfer Student 91 20%Fully-Online Degree Student

31 7%

Military/Veteran 50 11%Traditional College Student 263 57%

Non-traditional College Student

76 17%

First Generation student (1st in my family to attend college

50 11%

RESULTSQ1:Students using library services (Figure 8)

Main Library RiverPark Use Both Libraries0

50100150200250300350400450500

434

21 29

LIBRARIES RESPONSE %Schwob Library (Main campus) 434 89.67Music Library (River Park) 21 4.34Use both libraries 29 5.99Total 484 100

Various ways in which students use library services at CSU

Planning meetings for student clubs

Networking, consultations & collaborative work

Use Printing & Photocopying Services

Access & use computers, Chrome Books & WiFi connection

Hangout/catch up on unfinished business

Annual Library Usage by Patrons (Figure 9)

2013 2014 2015 20160

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

500,000

Gate Count Totals

Gate Count Totals

YEAR

TO

DATE

June JuneJuneJune

Searches of Online Resources (Figure 10)

Annual Totals # of Searches

2012-2013 2,395,336

2013-2014 4,627,670

2014-2015 6,367,318

2015-2016 6,003,3892012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

7,000,000

Annual Totals

Annual Totals

YEAR

TO

DATE

Q2 (a). How do students perceive the value of the selected Library services ? (Figure 11)

Student Perceptions of Helpfulness (Figure 12)

Resources with relatively low ratings of use

Resources Most Used

Interlibrary Loan 76% Online Databases (GALILEO)

96%

Library Instruction 76% Printing 93%

CSU E-Press 71% Library Computers 93%

Universal Cataloging (GIL)

91%

Summary of Services Used in the Library(Figure 13)

Response Percentage of students who have used services

Have you ever -Taken LIBR 1105 --Academic Research Methods course

97%

Have you ever Participated in library workshop (e.g. by a librarian who visited your class).

91%

Have you ever -Taken a course in which the instructor required you to use library resources

77%

Have you ever Participated in Online library tutorials

93%

Have you ever -Attended a lecture at the CSU Libraries

82%

Have you ever -Attended a Workshop at the CSU Libraries

96%

Learning activities

Percent of students who say that by having access to, and use of library services, they have been able to successfully perform the listed activities

Locate print, electronic, and multimedia resources

86%

Gather information ethically to avoid plagiarism and copyright issues

83%

Write a successful research assignment/paper

83%

Earn better grades on research assignments

81%

Q2(b) What impact has CSU libraries had on your ability to do the following: (Figure 14)

Q2 To what extent are you satisfied with the following Library Services ? (Figure

15)

Question Total Response Response Rate

Very Satisfied 192 40.94%

Satisfied 260 43.28%

Dissatisfied 10 2.13%

Very Dissatisfied 7 1.49%

Total 469 100.00%

Q3.If library usage relate to student academic performance, which services have the most impact?

(Figure 16)R2= 0.140 F= 48.7 P= 0.000    ParametersN=331

Standardized Beta Coefficients P- value

Taken LIBR 1105—Academic Research Methods course

0.022 0.682

Participated in a library workshop (e.g. by a librarian who visited your class)

0.113 0.045***

Taken a course in which the instructor required you to use the library

-0.076 0.473

Participated in Online library tutorials

0.541 0.03*

Attended a lecture at the CSU Libraries

-0.804 0.422

Attended a Workshop at the CSU Libraries

0.594 0.000***

Six Year Graduation Rates for FTFT Students Taking LIBR 1105 (Figure 17)

Graduation Rates for FTFT Library Students (Figure 18)

FOCUS GROUPS RESULTSRiverPark Campus & International Students

Figure 19: RiverPark Focus Group

Resources ThreadBattle of the Print Books vs EBooksPrint Books E-Books

Some students prefer print books(Survey seem to indicate that students want print books related to courses )

Some students prefer e-books

Some profess require print books for assignments (Informal polling Suggest the same)

Ebooks provide multiple copies

A social science major wants more than one book on a subject because of different viewpoints on a topic.

Ebooks are more current

Access to computers - Not everyone has access to computers or not enough computers to access ebooks“Print books are outdated”

RiverPark Focus GroupLibrary Spaces Thread

Study Areas=

Forum Areas=

Workshops=

RiverPark Focus GroupLibrary Services Thread

Librarians & StaffFinding information (electronically and physical location)

Providing Research Advice & Developing TopicsUnderstanding the available resources

Bibliographic InstructionBeneficial that librarian came to her class in her freshmen years

Functionality of the Library: and Interlibrary loan

Librarians and Staff are AWESOME!

Library Space: NoiseNoise: 1st Floor, 2nd Floor

“Not enough quiet spaces in the library”

Einstein’s: Extremely Loud = Noisy Squared

“Dislike coming to library between 12-1:30”A positive comment: “I like the food and studying”

Separate But Special Issue“The Music Library does not feel welcoming to

Non-art majors “

International Students & Library Services

“Librarians don’t connect with international students”

“People in the library don’t understand international

students”

“Make resources/services known to international students”

“Hire international students”Positives

• Library hours are good• White boards are good

International Students &Library Spaces

“More quiet spaces”

“(MC) Paint Color and Carpet color needs to change”

“Library need to focus on more study rooms”

“Einstein's is convenient” /“Designated spaces for eating”

“Designated social spaces in the library”

*MC= Multiple Comments*

International Students & Technology

Not enough outlets for charging laptops Wi-fi is spotty on 3rd floor

Figure 20: International Students & Resources

Print Books E-Books

Print Books are old Electronic books are easy to access

Interlibrary loan books should be added to the collection

I use online resources heavily

Never find what I need

FOCUS GROUPS RESULTSGraduate and LIBR 1105 Students

Graduate Students: 8 ParticipantsCollection: students used the

library resources and found them helpful in their academic success; love historical collections

Technology: Wi-fi is spotty at best on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the library; love dual monitors; want longer checkout period for laptops

Services: Promote more services and resources so students will know about them; love online services; staff is helpful

“If it weren’t for the library sources, I couldn’t be successful in my classes.”

“The checkout hours [for laptops] are actually only three hours of limit. We feel that it could have been like five to six hours.”

“The online services are absolutely fantastic. I have never had any issues with those…”

Graduate Students Continued Instruction: wished

librarians would come to graduate classes like they do for undergraduate courses

Library Space: Quiet rooms don’t help with noise

“Library should create videos to promote library services and resources.”, “Create an LIBR course for graduate student research;” “LIBR should be mandatory or something”

“[The noise] deters me from coming in.”

LIBR 1105: 2 Credit Information Literacy Course:

10 ParticipantsTechnology: Love two computer screens

Space: Study rooms are not any quieter

Collections

Instruction: LIBR should be shorter; wished

they had taken it in the beginning.

“You look back and you say, wow, if I had taken this in the beginning I'd have such great papers.”

“LIBR should be mandatory.”

“I really don't know what I learned from the class. I feel like we just keep learning how to use search engines.”

Limitations of the studyThe Survey One-stop-shop type of study very limiting in determining correlations: Use

longitudinal study Too many questions: survey fatigue Sample selection procedure (use random selection to allow probability

analysis Short time for planning and executing the project Focus-groups

Increase the number of students to include Online-students

Annual public service statistics Need for disaggregated data from all library departments Standardized reports on other services (instruction, archives etc)

Concluding RemarksResults indicate that majority of students in at CSU

access the main library for their research and academic related needs.

Both undergraduate and graduate students find library resources very helpful.

International students Non-traditional students are particularly interested in using hard-copy textbooks in addition to online materials.

Graduate students need specialized learning spaces for quiet study and collaboration on research

Overall, comments received on the survey and focus-groups addressed the following themes (next slide)

Figure 21: Recommendations

WIFIImprove services & Expand Computer Access

Study SpacesExpand

RiverPark CampusExpand Service

CollectionsUpdate Print Books NOISE!

!QUIETER!

Info CommonsExpand & Update

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Mark Flynn, Dean of Libraries Thomas Ganzevoort, Associate Professor, Library

Science Dr. Katherine White, Associate Professor, Psychology Sridhar, Sitharaman, Director of Institutional Research Julie Caulder, Administrative Assistant to Dean of

Libraries

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SOURCESCook, J. M. (2014). A Library Credit Course and Student Success Rates: A Longitudinal Study. College & Research Libraries, 75(3), 272-283.

Kot, F. C., & Jones, J. L. (2015). The Impact of Library Resource Utilization on Undergraduate Students' Academic Performance: A Propensity Score Matching Design. College & Research Libraries, 76(5), 566-586.

Krueger R.  2015.  A Practical Guide for Applied Research, 5th Edition.  Sage Publishers. 

Stone, G., & Ramsden, B. (2013). Library Impact Data Project: Looking for the Link between Library Usage and Student Attainment. College & Research Libraries, 74(6), 546-559.

Soria, K. M. & Fransen, J. & Nackerud, S.(2013). Library Use and Undergraduate Student Outcomes: New Evidence for Students’ Retention and Academic Success. portal: Libraries and the Academy 13(2), 147-164. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from Project MUSE database.

Weaver, M. (2013). Student Journey Work: A Review of Academic Library Contributions to Student Transition and Success. New Review Of Academic Librarianship, 19(2), 101-124.

CSU statistical data obtained through the Office of Institutional Research

Questions? Comments?

Thank You!