Library Assessment in North America Stephanie Wright, University of Washington Lynda S. White, University of Virginia American Library Association Mid-Winter Conference January 11, 2008 Association of Research Libraries Sessions

Background  May-June 2007  74 respondents (60%)  85% from US academic libraries  12% from Canadian academic libraries  3% from public libraries

In the beginning…

Impetus for Assessment Desire to know more about your customers91.3% Investigation of possible new library services or resources 71.0% Desire to know more about your processes65.2% Desire to identify library performance objectives62.3% Need to reallocate library resources55.1% Accountability requirements from your parent institution37.7% Institutional or programmatic accreditation process29.0% Other (please specify)23.2% Proposal from staff member with assessment knowledge 17.4%

Assessment Methods % Used Currently % Used Previously Statistics gathering (e.g., e-resource usage, gate counts, ARL statistics, etc.) 98.6%1.4% Suggestion Box 82.2%8.2% Web usability testing 80.8%12.3% User interface usability 78.1%12.3% Surveys developed elsewhere (e.g., CSEQ, LibQUAL+®) 75.3%20.5% Focus Groups 69.9%21.9% Data mining and analysis 58.9%8.2% Facilities use studies 56.2%30.1% Statistics inventory 54.8%12.3% Student learning outcomes evaluations 54.8%15.1% Interviews 52.1%30.1% Online user feedback (pop-up windows, etc.) 52.1%24.7% Observation 50.7%30.1% Benchmarking 50.7%15.1% Locally designed user satisfaction survey 49.3%42.5%

Areas Assessed: >80% Website 100.0% Electronic Resources 98.4% User Instruction 97.6% Collections 97.6% Reference 96.0% Online Catalog 94.6% Facilities 94.0% Circulation/Reserve 93.8% Interlibrary Loan 93.4% Branch Libraries 88.5% Digital Initiatives 85.7% Shelving 84.8% Acquisitions 84.5% Selectors/Subject Liaisons 81.8% Cataloging 80.5%

Areas Assessed: <80% Staff Training/Development 79.8% Special Collections 77.9% IT Systems 76.7% Preservation 74.0% Work Climate 69.3% Other 57.1% Administration 56.3% Financial/Business Services 52.9% Development/Fundraising 45.5% Human Resources 43.1% Publicity/Marketing 37.3%

Responsibility for Assessment

Growth of Assessment

Importance of Assessment

Assessment Tasks Analyzes, interprets, and reports on data collected in assessment activities 95.9% Consults with staff on assessment methods and needs 93.9% Performs assessment activities 87.8% Monitors/coordinates assessment projects throughout the library 77.6% Coordinates collection of data across the library 75.5% Submits external surveys (ARL, ALS, NATC, American Library Directory, etc.) 69.4% Coordinates the reporting/archiving of the library’s statistical data 67.3% Fills requests for library data 67.3% Provides training on assessment topics 55.1% Other (please specify) 26.5% Approves assessment projects throughout the library 24.5%

Distribution of Results Library Staff Parent Institution General Public Web site81%58%57% Library newsletter articles65%51%39% Print reports (e.g., annual report) 71%57%26% Presentations84%46%16% announcements84%23%6% Campus newsletter articles23%45%20% Other6%0%

Assessment Website Content answer options Staff-only Website Publicly Accessible WebsiteN General library statistics69%53%71 Analysis of assessment activity results 62%47%63 Assessment data55%28%48 Presentations52%31%48 Publications34%43%45 Online assessment tools (e.g., surveys) 45%21%38 Links to other library assessment sites or information 38%22%35

Coordination with Other Units Full-timePart-timeDepartment Standing Committee Ad hoc Committee Yes72.73%869.23%988.89%841.67%575.00%3 No27.27%330.77%411.11%158.33%725.00%1

Training for Assessment answer options%N Yes, support is given for training provided outside of our institution 61.8%42 Yes, support is given for training provided by our parent institution 32.4%22 No, there is no particular training provided 29.4%20 Yes, training is provided by the library 27.9%19

Training Programs answer options%N Assessment methods58.33%14 Basic statistics45.83%11 Survey construction45.83%11 Value of assessment41.67%10 Data analysis37.50%9 Other (please specify)29.17%7 Data presentation29.17%7 Sampling techniques25.00%6 Report writing12.50%3

Assessment Networking % Who Have Attended % Who Recommend Venue ARL assessment-related meetings 83.6%100.0% Library Assessment Conference (e.g., Charlottesville 2006) 58.2%100.0% Other 20.9%100.0% ALA/LAMA sessions/discussion groups on assessment 52.2%97.1% ALA/ACRL sessions/discussion groups on assessment 59.7%92.5% Northumbria International Conferences on Performance Measurement in Libraries 16.4%90.0% Evidenced-Based Library and Information Practice Conference 16.4%81.8%

Culture of Assessment % Agreeing at 4 or 5 (1-5 scale) Library administrators are committed to supporting assessment 79.4% Assessment results are used to improve my library 76.5% Assessment is evident in our library planning documents such as the strategic plan 73.5% My library evaluates its operations and programs for service quality 72.1% Assessment is a library priority 67.6% My library has local assessment resources and experts 50.0% There is support and/or rewards for staff who engage in assessment activities 42.6% Staff accepts responsibility for assessment activities 30.9% Staff have the necessary assessment expertise and skills 19.1% Staff development in assessment is adequate 16.2%

Assessment Plans %N No, the library has no assessment plan53.7%36 Yes, the library has a library- wide assessment plan29.9%20 Yes, the library has an assessment plan for some departments/units19.4%13 Yes, the library has an assessment plan for every department/unit4.5%3

Outcomes Website 3149% Facilities 2337% Collection Development 1930% Services1727% Access Services 1422% Hours 1422%

Web  Redesign Usability Content Online catalog (29%)  Methods LibQUAL / surveys (26%) Usability studies (16%) Focus groups / interviews (10%)

Facilities  Changing spaces Expanding / renovating old spaces Creating new spaces Repurposing Branch closures / consolidations  Methods LibQUAL / surveys (35%) Focus groups / interviews (17%)

Services  Getting out there Going virtual Liaisons Quality of service  Methods Surveys Reference stats Focus groups / interviews

Collection Development  Focusing the collection Going “e” Cancellations/subscriptions Subject areas  Methods Usage stats (26%) Surveys Focus groups / interviews

Everything Else  Hours Extended – during interims/finals LibQUAL/surveys, focus groups & gate counts  Access Services Processes – circ & shelving ILL / document delivery Off-site storage Surveys, stats

Everything Else  Organizational Development (16%)  Equipment (13%) Computers Photocopy / print  Training (14%)  Instruction (6%)  Marketing (5%)

ARL SPEC Kit 303 Stephanie Wright University of Washington Lynda S. White University of Virginia