1. Assessment Cycle or Circular File: Do Academic Librarians Use Information Literacy Assessment Data? Megan Oakleaf & Lisa Hinchliffe Library Assessment Conference, August 2008

2. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Methods - IL Assessment Data Surveys Tests Performance assessments –Ex: evaluation of student bibliographies, research papers, or portfolios Classroom Assessment Techniques (CAT) –Ex: muddiest points or minute paper Etc.

3. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 From the literature: (Bresciani 2009) Too little time/resources Lack of knowledge or skills Lack of process coordination Lack of conceptual framework for assessment Lack of collaboration with faculty Lack of trust Difficulties managing expectations Barriers to Assessment

4. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Research Questions Do academic librarians use information literacy assessment data? –If so, how do they use the data? –If not, why not? What can be done to encourage the use of information literacy assessment data in academic libraries?

5. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Survey & Participant Details 12-question survey using SurveyMonkey Distributed to Information Literacy Instruction Listserv (ILI-L) and the ACRL Immersion Alumni listserv 437 participants –98% academic librarians –96% conduct IL instruction –35% supervise people who conduct IL instruction –31% have been a librarian 1-5 years –21% have been a librarian 6-10 years –24% have been a librarian 20+ years

6. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Do academic librarians assess information literacy skills? 76% (332) assess IL skills 24% (105) do not

7. Barriers to Assessing IL Skills

8. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Too Little Time 26% I spend my time on other work responsibilities. 21% Im unsure how to re-allocate my responsibilities to make time for assessment.

9. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Too Few Resources 29% I dont have the necessary staff. 19% Other library services and priorities monopolize available resources.

10. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Lack of Knowledge & Skills 21% I have limited understanding of or expertise in assessment. 17% Im concerned that I am not competent in conducting assessment. 15% I dont know how to select & implement assessment tools. 14% I dont know how to analyze assessment data.

11. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Lack of Process Coordination 29% There is no centralized support/commitment for assessment. 22% There is no assessment coordinator to assist me. 18% Assessment is not valued in my library. 15% There is no assessment committee to assist me.

12. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Lack of Conceptual Framework 18% Its hard to integrate with college-wide assessment efforts. 17% Its hard to grasp librarians role in assessing student learning.

13. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Fear, Anxiety, Lack of Trust 17% Im concerned that I am not competent in conducting assessment.

14. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Lack of Collaboration with Faculty 21% Faculty involvement is limited. 19% Faculty consider the library an auxiliary service. 11% Faculty do not collaborate with librarians or vice versa.

15. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Difficulty Managing Expectations 17% Many assessment tools dont adequately measure information literacy.

16. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 To Assess IL Skills, Librarians Need: More time Help re-allocating their time More staff Greater understanding of IL assessment Centralized support and/or a coordinator of assessment Increased faculty involvement

17. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Do academic librarians who assess IL skills have results from these assessments? 86% (276) have results 14% (46) do not

18. Barriers to Producing Assessment Results

19. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Too Little Time 31% I spend my time on other work responsibilities besides producing assessment results. 24% I dont have time for the added responsibility of producing assessment results. 21% Im unsure how to re-allocate my responsibilities to make time for producing assessment results.

20. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Too Few Resources 24% I dont have the necessary staff to produce assessment results. 10% I wont be rewarded for producing assessment results.

21. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Lack of Knowledge & Skills 31% I have limited understanding of or expertise in producing assessment results. 14% I dont know how to select & implement tools for producing assessment results.

22. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Lack of Process Coordination 24% There is no centralized support/commitment for producing assessment results. 10% There is no assessment coordinator to assist me in producing assessment results. 10% There is no assessment committee to assist me in producing assessment results. 10% Assessment results are not valued on my campus.

23. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Lack of Conceptual Framework for Assessment 17% Its hard to integrate assessment results with college-wide assessment efforts.

24. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Fear, Anxiety, Lack of Trust 10% Im concerned that I am not competent in producing assessment results.

25. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Lack of Collaboration with Faculty 24% Faculty do not collaborate with librarians or vice versa to produce assessment results. 17% Faculty involvement in producing assessment results is limited.

26. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Difficulty Managing Expectations 31% Many assessment results dont adequately measure information literacy. 17% Many assessment results dont provide an adequate level of detail.

27. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 To Produce Results, Librarians Need: More time Help re-allocating their time or responsibilities More staff Greater understanding of how to produce assessment results Centralized support for producing assessment results Increased faculty collaboration in producing assessment results Assessment results that adequately measure IL skills

28. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Do academic librarians who have IL assessment results use them? 83% (228) use assessment results 17% (48) do not

29. Barriers to Using Assessment Results

30. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Too Little Time 45% I spend my time on other work responsibilities besides using assessment results. 25% I dont have time for the added responsibility of using assessment results. 18% Im unsure how to re-allocate my responsibilities to make time for using assessment results.

31. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Too Few Resources 15% I dont have the necessary budget to use assessment results. 15% I dont have the necessary professional development opportunities to use the assessment results. 15% I dont have the necessary staff to use assessment results. 15% I wont be rewarded for using assessment results. 15% Other library services and priorities monopolize available resources for using assessment results.

32. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Lack of Knowledge & Skills 40% I have limited understanding of or expertise in using assessment results. 33% I dont know how to select & implement tools for using assessment results.

33. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Lack of Process Coordination 28% There is no centralized support/commitment for using assessment results. 15% The use of assessment results is not valued on my campus. 13% The use of assessment results is not valued in my library. 13% There is no assessment committee to assist me in using assessment results. 10% There is no assessment coordinator to assist me in using assessment results.

34. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Lack of Conceptual Framework 35% Its hard to grasp expectations for using assessment results. 33% Its hard to integrate the use of assessment results with college-wide assessment efforts. 28% Its hard to grasp librarians role in using assessment results. 13% Its hard to grasp librarians role in using assessment results for accreditation purposes.

35. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Fear, Anxiety, Lack of Trust 25% Im concerned that I am not competent in using assessment results.

36. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Lack of Collaboration with Faculty 30% Faculty do not collaborate with librarians or vice versa to use assessment results. 28% Faculty involvement in using assessment results is limited.

37. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Difficulty Managing Expectations 48% The assessment results cant be used because they dont adequately measure information literacy. 40% The assessment results cant be used because they dont provide an adequate level of detail.

38. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 To Use Results, Librarians Need: More time Greater understanding of how to use assessment results Training in how to use assessment results Training in how to select & implement tools for using assessment results Centralized support for using assessment results Clearer expectations for using assessment results Greater understanding of librarians role in using assessment results Increased faculty collaboration/involvement in using assessment results Methods for integrating assessment results with college-wide efforts Assessments results that adequately measure IL skills Assessment results that provide an adequate level of detail about IL skills

39. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 What do academic librarians use IL assessment results for?

40. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Ways Academic Librarians Use IL Assessment Results 96% To improve instruction 73% To increase student learning 58% To inform future assessment efforts 52% To provide data for accountability measures 50% To collaborate with faculty 36% To collaborate with other librarians 20% To argue for increased resources

41. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Results Summary (n=437) YesNo Assess?332105 Analyze Results? 27646 Use Results?22848

42. 42 Closing the Loop…

43. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 So, what can be done to encourage academic librarians to assess IL, produce assessment results, & use the results to achieve the purposes of assessment?

44. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 What can be done to encourage collection & use of assessment data? From the literature: (Bresciani 2009) Educate Clarify Collaborate Coordinate Celebrate Be flexible Keep it simple

45. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Educate Train librarians about –IL assessment in general, –tools for assessing IL skills adequately (and in detail), –tools for producing data, and –tools for facilitating the use of assessment data Inform library administration about –the time and –resources required to assess IL skills, as well as produce and use assessment results

46. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Clarify Clarify the role of librarians in assessing information literacy as well as producing & using assessment data

47. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Collaborate Collaborate with faculty, centralized campus assessment support processes and personnel. Participate in college- wide efforts to act on assessment results.

48. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Coordinate Coordinate assessment efforts within the library by creating structures to support IL assessment.

49. Oakleaf & Hinchliffe, LAC 2008 Be Flexible Re-allocate job responsibilities of those tasked with assessment duties.

50. Questions ? moakleaf@syr.edu ljanicke@illinois.edu