1. “Advancing Learning and Transforming Scholarship”: Challenges and Opportunities
Ann Campion Riley
University of Missouri
Mississippi Library Association, October 2014

2. Thanks for coming today!

3. Association of College and Research Libraries
Formed from ALA’s College Library Section, started in 1890; became a Division in 1940
About 20% of ALA membership, with over 12,000 members (2013)
Core Purpose
To lead academic and research librarians and libraries in advancing learning and scholarship.

4. . Desired Future (from ACRL)
Long-term Envisioned Future
Vision
Academic and research librarians and libraries are essential to a thriving global community of learners and scholars.
ACRL’s directions identified in the “Plan for Excellence”

5. Three Areas in Plan
 ACRL’s Plan for Excellence focuses attention on “ three areas that capitalize on our strengths, deliver high member value, and heighten our impact”:
• Value of Academic Libraries • Student Learning • Research and Scholarly Environment

6. Linked Concepts and Projects

7. Information Literacy (Student Learning) and Scholarly Communications
Intersections of Scholarly Communication and Information Literacy: Creating Strategic Collaborations for a Changing Academic Environment. White paper on the overlapping issues
Related to teaching students the value and appropriate use of information
Addresses the context of scholarly writing and the paper/journal/database/monograph system

8. Student Learning and Value of Libraries
Closely linked in most cases
ACRL “Assessment in Action” project developed to document the linkage
Part of the ACRL “Value of Libraries” project begun in 2009
Two IMLS grants, two summits, reports

9. Direct Result of Assessment
Regional accrediting agencies (for many here, Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association) have shifted focus to outcomes- based assessment rather than output measurements, like how many of what.
Groups asking, “What does a diploma mean? Why go to college? Why is it so expensive?”
Diploma

10. What Does It Mean for You?
This Value of Libraries research is intended to help document the effects that a library’s presence on campus, and/or involvement in the curriculum, has on student learning, student retention and other goals of the institution, e.g, how do libraries matter?
For the summits, ACRL partnered with the Council of Independent Colleges, Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, and Association for Institutional Research

11. The “Heart of the Campus?”

12. Spaces, Collections vs. Services
Ithaka survey (2012) documents faculty still think of libraries first as collections
Administrators seem to think of libraries first as spaces
Librarians seem to think first of our staff and services

13. Challenge of Survival

14. ACRL Advocacy
Consistent, multi-year effort to communicate Value of Libraries and other research results to administrative associations in higher ed
ACRL officers and staff present to meetings of provosts, chancellors, business officers and other professional groups in higher ed including CHEA (Council of Higher Education Accrediting Associations)
ACRL Council of Liaisons reps work with additional subject-based organizations

15. A Few Recommended Actions for Librarians (from Summits)
Develop a library research agenda to consider questions like: How can we increase and document library impact? What partnerships can increase and document impacts?
Develop strategies to advance library participation in learning analytics initiatives; some use technology applications to look at student learning

16. Data Gathering at Your Institution

17. Librarians Learn Assessment
Outcomes must be incorporated into library activities, facilities planning and evaluation
Librarians should know the uses of assessment data, including the roles of quantitative and qualitative data, sources of data, and data analysis and interpretation, and who does this work on your campus
Look at tools like National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

18. Focus on Institutional Goals

19. Use the Tools
Standards: libraries (free)
New online resource, provides access to academic library data collection by ACRL and the National Center for Education Statistics:
ACRL Metrics
(Unfortunately, costs $199 for contributors)

20. New Info Lit Framework
ACRL group looking at updating the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (2000)
Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education (draft) content/uploads/2014/02/Framework-for- IL-for-HE-Draft-2.pdf

21. Opportunities for Us

22. Challenge = Opportunity
How do we demonstrate libraries contribute to results like:
Potential students are more likely to choose the school.
Students learn more, achieve better grades, win more awards, and stay at the institutions to graduate.
Faculty teach more effectively, publish more and receive more grants.
Institutions get higher rankings.
Alumni donate more.

23. Old and New Roles
Librarians become key players in campus assessment teams
Libraries help maintain scholarly identity and campus atmosphere of learning
Librarians document their value to the institutions by focusing on student recruitment and success
Librarians help lead technology innovation
Librarians manage print collections and the shift to online as partners in learning
Librarians play a central role in research data

24. Questions and Comments
“Advancing learning and transforming scholarship…”
Questions and Comments
Or me at

25. Sources
Association of College and Research Libraries. Connect, Collaborate and Communicate: A Report from the Value of Libraries Summit. Chicago: ACRL, 2012.
---. Intersections of Scholarly Communication and Information Literacy: Creating Strategic Collaborations for a Changing Academic Environment. Chicago: ACRL, 2012.
ACRL Plan for Excellence. Chicago: ACRL, ratplan
Ithaka S+R Survey US. Faculty Survey 2012. Ann Arbor, Mich. : Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2012.     
National Survey of Student Engagement %20Experimental_INL_Codebook.pdf
Oakleaf, Megan. The Value of Academic Libraries. Chicago: ALA, 2010.
Pew Research Center. “The Rising Cost of Not Going to College.” 2014.
( -rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college/)