Search

Services, resources, and expertise are analyzed, data are gathered, and assessments are complete — now what? It is time to communicate assessment data to demonstrate the library's value to library and institutional stakeholders. Communicating library value is often the missing piece when it comes to assessment. It is not enough to collect and analyze the data, a library must also communicate its findings – the good and the bad – with its institution in order to influence stakeholders and decision makers, and improve services and resources. According to Ballard (2008) libraries tend to limit reporting of assessment data to their annual reports, when accreditation rolls around, or when an issue such as a budget crisis arises. Oakleaf and Hinchliffe (2008) report that librarians face many barriers to using assessment results, and that while librarians may use results to improve instruction and increase student learning, they are not using results for purposes such as education, prioritization, and collaboration. The Value of Academic Libraries Report (Oakleaf, 2010) lays out proactive strategies that libraries can use to engage in honest assessment and increase the visibility of libraries by using data as evidence of library influence. The last piece of the assessment puzzle involves communicating and engaging with stakeholders, on their level, about library assessment findings. It is now more essential than ever, that librarians increase the visibility of the library and its services, use data to make evidence based decisions, and communicate the value of their services to their stakeholders' success.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to determine how undergraduate students search in the context of a library instruction session. The results of an assessment of transaction logs are shared to provide evidence of student search behavior within a class setting. Design/methodology/approach – Transaction logs from 29 library instruction sessions using the library’s federated search tool were analyzed. Using a rubric, the authors assessed the logs to discover if students followed the instruction provided to construct more relevant, targeted searches, if they selected recommended resources and if they exhibited persistence in their searching. Findings – The study found most students had difficulty translating instruction on how to use quotation marks into their own searches, were mostly successful when choosing a database and notes varying participation patterns in classes taught at different times. Practical implications – Implications of this study include greater awareness of student search behaviors during library instruction sessions as well as guidance for providing reference services, particularly virtual reference where it is not possible to see how students construct searches. Originality/value – Although there have been studies of student search behaviors, examining behaviors during the context of a library instruction session is unique. This study provides an opportunity to observe student searching in a classroom setting and provides recommendations for more effective library instruction, both in the classroom and at the reference desk.

The perception of the students of SMA 1 Padang towards the library of SMAN 1 Padang. First, the knowledge or understanding of students of SMAN 1 Padang towards the library is quite good, as seen from the agreed response of the students of SMAN 1 Padang regarding the library on the 3rd floor and the library provides many collections. Second, students responses to the library of SMAN 1 Padang are still not good, it can be sen from students responding negatively to the ease in finding the book they are looking for, because students still get difficulties when looking for books in the library of SMAN 1 Padang. Third, the library assessment by students of SMAN 1 Padang is still not good. This can be seen from the assessment of students who feel uncomfortable being in the library because of the music in the room which disturbs the concentration of students while reading and not all students of SMAN 1 Padang consider the existence of a library as supporting their academic achievement.Keywords: perception, library, students

As the demand for library assessment grows, academic libraries are becoming more interested in Web analytics. Data are automatically gathered and provide information about a wide variety of online interactions. Libraries have long used simple counts such as visits and page views, but have more recently begun to choose strategic benchmarks, also known as key performance indicators (KPIs). Many common KPIs were created for commercial websites and are challenging to adapt for libraries. However, the underlying concepts are sufficiently valuable that libraries should explore their use. By evaluating the validity of web metrics, libraries can further the development of standards and benchmarks to support future investigations. This article discusses how commercial web metrics might be adapted for use in academic libraries. First, the limitations of web analytics are presented. Major key performance indicators used in the commercial sector are reviewed in the academic library context. Finally, the article discusses how the various indicators might support specific library website goals and decisions and uses local data to illustrate one example case. As libraries choose web analytic methods, they should deliberately evaluate their validity. Over time, this will slowly build the profession's ability to use web analytics more effectively for library assessment.

Purpose – The balanced scorecard is gaining momentum as an assessment framework for academic libraries in North America. The purpose of this paper is to examine locally designed assessments available on Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members’ web sites and maps the data to the standard ISO 11620 – Library Performance Indicators (PIs), which is a version of the balanced scorecard. The questions are: first, does data from ARL member web sites cluster round certain ISO 11620 PIs? Second, what implications does data clustering have on internal planning and cross-institutional collaborations? Third, will future standards such as ISO 16439 complement the framework and methods in ISO 11620? Design/methodology/approach – Using the quantitative content inventory and qualitative content audit method, this research analyzes ARL members’ locally designed assessment data. The data grouped within a library category, such as collections, is mapped to PIs found in the ISO 11620. Findings – The locally designed assessment data covers a variety of library processes and maps to many ISO 11620 PIs. From this research libraries can develop methods for tying assessment activities into a comprehensive framework like the balanced scorecard. Using ISO 11620 can advance assessment planning. Implementing this standard can lay the foundation for activities that might arise from standards under development such as ISO 16439 – Library Impact Standard. Originality/value – This is the first research to gather, exam, and map ARL members’ assessment data to the framework of the ISO 11620 standard.

Data visualization offers librarians the ability to better manage, explore, and present information collected by various individuals throughout a library organization. This article discusses The Ohio State University Libraries experiments with Tableau, a sophisticated data visualization and rapid analytics software. Tableau allows librarians to blend and leverage data collected from a number of disparate sources, including transaction logs, Google Analytics, and e-resource usage reports. The article provides context for incorporating data visualization into the Ohio State University Libraries’ assessment program and shares examples of visualizations created for two data analysis projects. The benefits of blending and simultaneously viewing visualizations of data from multiple sources are articulated and explored. The article concludes with a short discussion of potential future projects for visualizing library data using Tableau Desktop.

While it is common for communities to value their libraries and other information institutions, measuring both the overall value of an institution and the value of its specific information services can be difficult, particularly in a rapidly changing environment in which the relevance of these services and allocation of resources can change in very short periods of time. This column explores notions of value in libraries in general and information services specifically and considers ways in which one key service, metadata, has been used as a measure of library value. In turn, the column also explores how metadata work itself is valued in light of increasing use of automated and outsourced metadata acquisition, processing and discovery platforms. Staying focused on the changing value of metadata, the column concludes by considering the impact of current value measures as well as new measures in supporting decision making and resource allocation for metadata related services.

In 2008, the University of Southern Indiana began to offer a new Doctor of Nursing Practice program via distance education. For the first three years, two librarians at the David L. Rice Library evaluated how well the library supported the study and research of students enrolled in the program. The research project incorporated multiple methods of assessment, including an examination of usage statistics generated by the electronic resources supporting the program, a student satisfaction survey, a review of the students' use of the library's interlibrary loan and article delivery services, and a citation analysis of the references appended to formal papers submitted as part of the required coursework. A significant amount of data was generated from the four methods used in the research, and the findings based on these data have impacted and will continue to impact the library's support of the program, including instruction, collection development, and expansion of services.

The metaphor of knowledge as a product is found throughout contemporary discourse. It can be argued that sometimes product, and at other times process, will be a good, useful, or even the only way something can be viewed. But when one looks at process, one ignores product; and vice versa. This is a fundamental human problem, not an oversight, and as a metaphor echoes Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle that suggests we can never know position and momentum simultaneously, but are limited to knowing one or the other. I illustrate briefly how a focus on product dominates discourse on core library issues including scholarly communication and library assessment. I then explore further the implications of this focus for the emerging practice and theory of data curation, despite widespread acknowledgement of both data production and data curation as processes. I conclude by urging greater attention to the possibility and challenge of reshaping practice in data curation around attention to process.

By now, most librarians have at least heard of data visualization. With the recent attention given to library assessment efforts, it is no surprise that articles on data visualization have prolifer...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine and discuss the basis for management decisions among options expressed by customer groups on the basis of their perception and assessment of library service.Design/methodology/approach – In 2008, the authors investigated how customers perceive library functions and assessed the actual activities of Echigawa Library (Shiga prefecture, Japan). Two consecutive analyses were conducted: factor analysis and cluster analysis in order to segment the customers into individual groups based on their perception of libraries. Each of the segments of library customers was then examined to ascertain how they appreciate and make use of the Echigawa Library.Findings – The survey results indicate that in general the customers show a high demand for multiple library services and give a good grade for its services delivery. Four groups of library customers are identified by cluster analysis; however, their demand for service and judgment of the adequacy of service delivery ar...

Most librarians and staff who perform library instruction in academic settings place a high value on assessment. They understand that determining what our students bring with them to the instruction lab and what they learn during the hour we teach them helps improve teaching. Some study the latest in assessment techniques and educational theory and form high ideals for themselves and for their libraries’ instruction programs. However, when faced with realities of our programs, successful though they may be, improving assessment that is performed across instructional programs can be a daunting task. Academic libraries’ efforts to institute or improve library instruction assessment can lead to anxiety as librarians are pulled between using old favorite assessment tools and making major overhauls. The authors of this article have developed an approach to assessment wherein librarians study the components of learning and use these to enhance familiar tools they already use for library assessment during instruction. This allows librarians to greatly improve the quality of their tools while feeling a sense of ownership without losing particular features of importance. This study discusses three popular assessment tools (pretest/posttest sets, posttests, and activities) that were enhanced using this technique and the evidence of learning that each gathers. The authors use data collected with each tool to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each tool and suggests strategies for tool selection.

In an environment of strained budgets and heightened accountability, academic libraries need to base their planning, decision-making, and advocacy on evidence more than ever before. Fortunately, the resources required to collect, analyze, and visualize data—thus turning it into evidence—are increasingly accessible. This session will challenge participants to grow in their handling of evidence by exposing them to a range of data sources and analysis tools. In order to accomplish this goal, the presenter will share brief sketches of a number of recent library assessment efforts, focusing on projects with which he has been involved personally. The session’s brevity will preclude showing participants the mechanics of any specific kind of assessment. Therefore, the presenter’s primary aim will be to impart a vision for using evidence to increase efficiency and enhance customer satisfaction. A secondary aim will be to refer participants to a variety of resources for further exploration: tools, books, journal literature, conferences, and more.

This essay served as the basis for the opening keynote speech during the Library Assessment Conference in Baltimore in 2010. It set the stage by tracing the demands for accountability in the beginning of the century and outlining progress made. It provided important background and context for the following four keynote papers delivered by Megan Oakleaf on teaching and learning, Danuta Nitecki on assessment of library spaces, Joe Matthews on performance measures, and Stephen Town on library value. This essay emphasizes some of the work the Association of Research Libraries and its partners have supported over the past decade and places ARL developments in the larger context of assessment activities across the profession and around the globe.

Academic library assessment has grown as a field over the last 20 years. The pressures of increased competition over scarce resources and rapid technological changes have put pressures on academic libraries as they have on their parent institutions. In the midst of all the pressures and transformations lies a strong desire to be user-focused and responsive to the changing needs of faculty and students.

Through a review of the literature, the author sought to identify what assessment planning practices exist in libraries, how the assessment planning process works in libraries, and what components constitute a library assessment plan. The findings suggest that, while libraries determine and report a great many aspects of organizational performance, general assessment planning (which encompasses total organizational impact and value) is not frequently used or integrated into the library's comprehensive strategic planning process, and it does not always effectively cover the scope of the assessment activities and information needed by organizational leaders and administrators to develop effective strategic plans and decisions. This lack of integration creates disconnects between the library's ability to determine and report organizational value and the library's need to provide accountability evidence to stakeholders and use the performance measurement results effectively in executing strategic pla...

This article seeks to provide an understanding of the issues in and possible steps of aligning the library's assessment processes to distance education service delivery. Through a review of the literature and current practices, the researcher sought to identify the need and value of aligned performance assessment processes for libraries, the primary contributing alignment factors affecting the library assessment process, and potential benefits of improved alignment of the assessment process for libraries in aligning assessment to the distance education services provided to customers. The results of the review suggest that libraries can improve the reporting and value of their assessment processes by improving the alignment of their assessment processes to distance education service delivery in 2 ways: internally through the use of consistent and innovative processes, metrics, and culture within the library and externally by embracing the alignment factors and available technologies of the library...

本稿では，バランスト・スコアカードの大学図書館への適用例として，バージニア大学図書館における導入から運用に至る取り組みを紹介した。その結果，大学図書館運営へのバランスト・スコアカード導入には，図書館のミッションの明確化，既存の統計データの活用，評価結果のフィードバックによる業務の改善等，日本の大学図書館運営においても共通する利点があることがわかった。, This paper introduces how Balanced Scorecard can be applied to academic libraries by using the University of Virginia Library's implementation and use of Balanced Scorecard. As a result of introducing Balanced Scorecard, the library's mission has become clearer, they are better able to utilize the statistics that they have already gathered, and are able to make improvements to operations based on feedback received from evaluations. The author believes that there would be equivalent merits for Japanese academic libraries.

PurposeThe libraries at the University of Chicago, Columbia University, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and Cornell University have created or re‐defined their assessment plans and programs within the last two years. This paper aims to show the similarities and differences between the approaches of these four institutions.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach is taken.FindingsThese case studies underscore how vital assessment has become and illustrate how these assessment programs have evolved to reflect local needs and priorities, their libraries' organizational structure, their institutions' planning cycle, and, the reality of limited resources.Originality/valueRecognizing that understanding local needs is the key to successful assessment at any institution, it is hoped that these case studies will be useful to libraries that are at various stages of building an assessment program.

Inspired by the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, librarians at the Carl B. Ylvisaker Library at Concordia College-Moorhead decided to scrap our old information literacy assessment plan and start from scratch. We began by digging into the library’s past assessment plans in an attempt to gain insight into how the organization’s priorities have changed over time. The earliest assessment notes we uncovered were from 2005 and featured a new student orientation pre- and post-test, administered to a random sample of library users. The focus then was on incoming students’ information literacy abilities and how much they learned during library orientation. A sketch of an abandoned assessment plan from 2010 marked a turn to assessing the library’s instruction program and featured the use of focus groups along with a survey in which alumni were asked how the instruction program may have impacted their life after college. With this pivot towards instruction, the library developed a list of learning outcomes and tracked them to the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. This list was used in-house for designing assignments and linked on our library web page to provide faculty with an overview of the program.

WelServe is the database management system Welch Medical Library developed for quantitative assessment of services. The informationist team uses WelServe to capture data about direct service contacts with members of the research, clinical, and academic units at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. WelServe data is used for library management and for reporting productivity data to higher units, including the Welch Advisory Committees, composed of deans and managers from the hospital and the schools of nursing, public health, and medicine. WelServe also supports reporting for the American Association of Health Sciences Libraries and the Association for Research Libraries.

Measurement System Analysis (MSA) provides decision makers with a useful suite of tools for understanding whether variation should be attributed to an assessment system itself or the actual item or program being assessed. This paper introduces the Attribute Gage R&R, using a study of The Ohio State University Libraries’ mechanism for measuring quality in e-mail reference transactions as an example. An ideal tool for examining assessment programs that require subjective interpretation, the Attribute Gage R&R can assist library organizations in understanding their processes and validating the utility of data collected through their measurement systems.

In anticipation of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) visit in 2002, the Florida Atlantic University Institutional Effectiveness and Analysis (IEA) team began outcomes assessment planning with the creation and development of a searchable data-base that would be used to collect and archive assessment information. This database became known as the Assessment Reporting Database, and access to it was made readily available through a university-wide network. This article provides information about the creation, access, and use of the Assessment Reporting Database at Florida Atlantic University and discusses why there is a need for such an assessment reporting tool and how it can be used by other academic institutions to improve the overall quality of their library assessment studies.

A few months ago I was riveted by an in-house presentation disseminating results from a 2008 survey of computing by Penn State University faculty, students, and staff. I couldn't help but think that RUSQ readers would also find the Penn State data interesting, especially comparisons with national survey data. I invited one of the presenters (Loanne Snavely) to collaborate with Ellysa Stern Cahoy on an article that would share data from this survey as well as another locally executed survey. Both of these surveys represent a library partnership with other campus units. Additionally, I asked the authors to provide advice on how other libraries can replicate what Penn State has done in this area, and to demonstrate the importance of national and local technology-focused surveys for assessment.--Editor Gaining a perspective on student and faculty opinions and abilities relevant to libraries and information technology (IT) is integral to and can locally inform planning for future services and resources. Yet, without ready access to campuswide survey instruments, how can academic librarians assess their users in this area? Building a culture of assessment can enrich evidence-based librarianship and provide a sound basis for decision making and strategic planning. (1) LibQUAL+ and other standardized library assessment tools have provided a basis for understanding library user needs, and surveys of technology use are becoming more essential to library planning. With the continued merging of libraries and IT on college campuses, it makes sense to capitalize on and integrate within already existing IT user surveys. The constant and rapid shift in popular technologies mandates that librarians, faculty, IT departments, and all of higher education understand how students and faculty are using technology in connection with library resources. This knowledge assists librarians in developing technology-related resources, programming, collections, and services, keeping library programming vital and relevant. In only a few years, librarians have witnessed a shift from e-mail to instant messaging to Facebook, from landline telephones to cell phones to the mobile Web. What are the national technology trends, and how do they play out on an individual campus? How do technology trends inform the development of new services and experimentation with emerging methods for serving users? This article provides strategies for using national surveys of library users and leveraging and maximizing partnerships for local library data collection and analysis. The Penn State University Libraries have locally executed two surveys of faculty and students in partnership with Penn State Information Technology Services and the Office of Student Affairs, Research and Assessment. Details of the Penn State studies are shared in this article, along with examples of national technology surveys useful in local benchmarking. NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY-FOCUSED SURVEYS In recent years, the academic library community has used LibQUAL+, a primary assessment tool, to manage user satisfaction with and effectiveness of library services. (2) Based on SERVQUAL, a survey instrument designed to measure service quality for businesses, LibQUAL+ was developed by the Association of Research Libraries in collaboration with Texas A&M faculty. (3) Designed to identify gaps in library services, LibQUAL+ provides libraries with a standardized, Web-based survey to help librarians objectively evaluate services. (4) The tool also carries the option of benchmarking results with other peer institutions (and LibQUAL+ participants). LibQUAL+ covers a broad range of library topics of interest, including information literacy outcomes, effectiveness of services, and library as place. Responses can be broken down by specific audiences, including discipline, age, sex, and academic status. While it is a highly powerful survey tool, it is one that is administered solely by the library without buy-in from other campus groups. …

Martha Kyrillidou is Director, ARL Statistics and Service Quality Programs, Association of Research Libraries, e-mail: martha@arl.org; Charles Lowry is Executive Director, Association of Research Libraries, e-mail: clowry@arl.org; Paul Hanges is Professor, Associate Chair & Graduate Director—Psychology, University of Maryland, e-mail: hanges@psyc. umd.edu; Juliet Aiken is Research Graduate Assistant—Psychology, University of Maryland, e-mail: jaiken@psyc.umd. edu, Kristina Justh, Customer Relations Coordinator, Statistics & Measurement, Association of Research Libraries, email: kristina@arl.org Abstract ClimateQUALTM is the latest assessment tool in the assessment toolkit development by ARL and accessible through the StatsQUAL® gateway to library assessment tools. The tools available through StatsQUAL® are combining the power of both quantitative and qualitative methods and are integrated into a platform that allows easy data collection, analysis and presentation of the results. The goal is to establish an integrated suite of library assessment tools that tell users’ library success stories, emphasize customer-driven libraries and demonstrate responsiveness and engagement in improving customer service. This paper accomplishes three learning outcomes: (1) identifies the elements of a healthy organization in order to improve customer service; (2) identifies the dimensions that are relevant to a healthy organization climate in order to measure them effectively; and (3) helps us understand the relation between organization climate, culture and diversity as measured by the ClimateQUALTM: Organizational Climate and Diversity Assessment.

Duane Webster oversaw the Association of Research Libraries' (ARL) Statistics and Measurement Program as it evolved into the Statistics and Assessment Program. During his 20-year tenure as ARL's executive director, Duane was instrumental in the creation of ARL's Web-based Interactive Statistics and played a leadership role in the development of a library assessment tool kit, StatsQUAL, that includes: LibQUAL+™; DigiQUAL®; MINES; ClimateQUAL™, and Effective Sustainable and Practical Library Assessment (ESPA for Libraries). Duane saw assessment as a means of articulating the value that libraries add to a research institution, and a significant part of his career was dedicated to that pursuit.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to share the experience of using the LibQUAL+™ library assessment suite in a statewide library consortium.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides anecdotal information about one consortium's experience implementing the LibQUAL+™ survey. It provides a description of the survey and a narrative of the Keystone Library Network's experience, and includes other information from published literature regarding the survey's implementation in other libraries and library consortia when relevant.FindingsImplementing a library service quality survey as a consortium has benefits, but also provides challenges. Consortium‐wide planning, training, coordination, survey promotion, and intra‐consortium communication are important.Practical implicationsConsortia considering performing a library assessment will want to consider the challenges and considerations mentioned.Originality/valueThis paper provides information about, and suggestions for, implementing the survey in a consortium, differing from the existing body of literature that tends to focus on the instrument itself or on interpreting outcomes.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to report on the findings of the two‐year Association of Research Libraries (ARL) sponsored project, “Making Library Assessment Work: Practical Approaches to Effective and Sustainable Assessment,”; it aims to examine the organizational factors that facilitate and impede effective data use and the implications for assessment in research libraries.Design/methodology/approachInformation was gathered from a variety of sources, including: a self‐evaluation of assessment activities and needs done by each of the 24 participating libraries; extensive discussion with a designated contact at each library; a review of library and institutional sources such as annual reports, strategic plans, accreditation self‐studies, ARL and IPEDS statistics; and the observations and discussion that occurred during 1.5 day site visits.FindingsThe paper finds that libraries surveyed have made some progress incorporating data in decision making and services improvement, but there is much work to be done.Originality/valueThis is not an evidence‐based practice study but rather one that examines why evidence (the data on which a decision may be based) is not used more widely in libraries.

PurposeColleges and universities conduct regular surveys that provide space for local questions, including library‐related items. Unfortunately these surveys often use incomparable metrics and scales. This study seeks to examine techniques to take advantage of such surveys to supply practical results.Design/methodology/approachEffect size meta‐analysis is a statistical method used to combine such disparate results. This method and other statistical tools were used to extract significant findings from the survey results, looking at such library constructs as physical access, analysis (the ability to determine information quality and relevance), collection quality and quantity, retrieval, hours and staff.FindingsThe paper describes the meta‐analysis of three separate surveys which contained library‐related data responses, and conclusions subsequently drawn from that analysis.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper assumes that the reader possesses some understanding of basic statistical concepts, such as means, variance, standardized scores, and null hypothesis significance testing (NHST). It assumes a “good‐enough” approach to library assessment, one that strives for the greatest possible statistical accuracy, reliability, and validity given the time and resource limitations within which most academic libraries operate.Originality/valueThe method provides a practical, sustainable, and effective library assessment technique using data from Radford University. The use of freeware to undertake the analysis also makes it financially viable.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the alignment of assessment processes in libraries and develop a conceptual model of aligning library performance assessment for effective reporting of library value and performance to stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews of library performance assessment literature and current practice research to identify the need and value of aligned performance assessment processes for libraries, the primary contributing alignment factors affecting the library assessment process, and potential benefits of improved alignment of the assessment process for libraries.FindingsLibraries can improve the reporting and value of their assessment processes by improving the alignment of their assessment processes in two ways: internally through the use of consistent and innovative processes, metrics, and culture within the library and externally by embracing the alignment factors of the library's service environment. The library must develop more effective assessment alignment processes by progressively elevating the alignment of the library's assessment processes from internal non‐alignment of assessment to the total alignment of assessment to the library’ service environment and the dynamic environmental factors driving today's libraries.Practical implicationsIncreasing the alignment of a library's assessment processes can improve the efficiency of assessment processes, the effectiveness of the results of the assessment processes, and the library stakeholder's appreciation and understanding of the results of the assessment processes.Originality/valueProvides a conceptual model applicable to all types of libraries to increase the alignment of assessment and the library's ability to report value and impact.

Research, scholarship, and discovery have been transformed by the internet and communication technologies across all sectors on a global basis. The rapid dissemination of findings, the creation of new tools and platforms for information manipulation, and open access to research data have rendered the more traditional institution-based library approaches to providing access to information inadequate. This paper will examine collective choices and strategies needed to move local collections and services to a global scale in the emerging research library.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate the epistemological underpinning of SERVQUAL and its limitations; and second, to propose ways to enhance the utility of SERVQUAL as a library assessment tool.Design/methodology/approachThe study first conceptualises quality judgment as a knowing process and locates the epistemological stance of SERVQUAL within the general framework of epistemology demarcation; it then examines related SERVQUAL assumptions and their implications for library assessment in general and for service quality assessment in particular based on two empirical investigations: a questionnaire survey and an interview survey. The questionnaire survey applies the SERVQUAL instrument to three Chinese university libraries, with a view to examining the SERVQUAL score in light of epistemological considerations; the interview survey interviews 50 faculty users in one of the three universities with a view to illuminating the naturalistic process through which users develop their judgement of the library's service quality and through which the SERVQUAL score is formed.FindingsThe study shows that the actual SERVQUAL score is distributed in a very scattered manner in all three libraries, and that it is formed through a very complex process rooted primarily in the user's personal experiences with the library, which are in turn shaped by factors from both the library world and the user's life‐world. Based on these findings, this research questions a number of SERVQUAL assumptions and proposes three concepts which may help to contextualise the SERVQUAL score and enhance its utility in actual library assessment: library planning based variance of user perception, perception‐dependent user expectation and library‐sophistication based user differentiation.Originality/valueThe research presented in the paper questions a number of SERVQUAL assumptions and proposes three concepts that may help to contextualise the SERVQUAL score and enhance its utility in actual library assessment.

In accordance with the recent philosophy of quality in higher education embraced by European institutions, a checklist for the qualitative evaluation of service charters in academic libraries is proposed. The checklist is based on the existing literature on the topic, not only the large number of research papers on quality issues in general, but also more specific research on service charters. So that it can be applied to all types of academic libraries, the checklist is defined on the basis of six criteria (characterization, quality, standards, feedback channels, access-diffusion and accreditation) that are broken down into 21 variables. The checklist was implemented using a randomly selected set of service charters. The relatively low levels of suitability achieved demonstrate that there is considerable room for improvement in the field of academic library service charters.

SUMMARY This article describes the formation and content of a required library and information research course for graduate and professional students enrolled in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Master of Arts degree program at Western Washington University. The course was created as a result of library assessment, student feedback, and faculty observations. In place since 2003, the curriculum continues to evolve and is sustained through the collaborative efforts of the library and the department faculty.

In order to get the most from LibQUAL+™ qualitative data, libraries must organize and classify the comments of their patrons. The challenge is to do this effectively and efficiently. This article illustrates how researchers at Western Michigan University Libraries utilized ATLAS.ti 5.0 to organize, classify, and consolidate the LibQUAL+™ comments.

The University of Washington Libraries has a long-established and robust assessment programme that has delivered critical information about user needs, library and information use, importance, impact and priorities for more than 20 years. Two long running cyclical surveys, a large-scale user survey and an in-library use survey, provide the foundation for a lengthy history of evidence-based decision making and library advocacy.

Academic library assessment and evaluation is a set of comprehensive processes to measure an academic library's contributions and values for an academic institutional accreditation, effectiveness, excellence in teaching and learning, improvements, student learning outcomes, and so on in service-oriented and student-centered academic learning environments. The technology shift driven by the Internet and the World Wide Web has made academic library administrators, executives, and librarians focus more closely on effective ways of adapting their resources and services against the risks of obsolescence. To help new librarians understand library assessment and evaluation in academic learning environments, this chapter explores the basic metrics, plans, purposes, and tools applicable for academic library assessment and evaluations.

This overview looks at the methods academic librarians are using to assure themselves that their services are performing successfully, to continually improve their provision and to demonstrate high quality and effectiveness to their stakeholders. Coverage includes: use of quality management systems; statistics, data and benchmarking; work to assess customer satisfaction and service quality; links to strategic planning; and more recent work on outcomes, value and impact.

This paper analyzes the results of a study of the Hennen Annual Public Library Ratings (HAPLR). This study was conducted for the U.S. National Commission on Library and Information Science (NCLIS) as part of a larger survey of library assessment instruments. HAPLR ratings are based upon public library data available from the U.S. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The paper examines promotion of the HAPLR rating method and construction of its scores, summarizes literature on library input and output measures, reviews published criticisms, identifies other key shortcomings of the method, and explores selected statistical trends in NCES public library data from 1999 through 2004. The article concludes that imprecision in HAPLR scores renders the method unsuitable for quantitatively assessing comparative and individual library performance. Statistical validity of the method has never been demonstrated. Input/output data that HAPLR uses are inadequate measures of library performance and quality. The scores are susceptible to inaccuracies in the compilation of NCES data. Promoters of the HAPLR methodology should fully disclose the limitations and biases of the method. These limitations also need to be understood and heeded by the public library community, which has injudiciously joined its national library identity with a statistically unsound portrayal of its collective and individual institutional strengths and weaknesses.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline three analytic tools utilized in the analysis and interpretation of LibQUAL+™ quantitative data.Design/methodology/approachD‐M scores, value rankings, and split‐file cross‐tabulations were used to assess the service items from the 2004 LibQUAL+™ quantitative data. The D‐M score is methodologically superior to other methods used in that it is a single score that takes into account all three LibQUAL+™ perception/expectation scores as dictated by the theoretical model LibQUAL+™ is based upon.FindingsThe paper finds that these tools provide a way to more easily utilize LibQUAL+™ results in taking actions and developing strategic plans designed to improve patrons' perceptions of service quality. These tools also allow for the continuous evaluation of implemented plans.Practical implicationsThe paper discusses how these tools helped produce findings that were informative and in a format that decision makers could easily comprehend and utilize.Originality/valueThis paper outlines three approaches and offers practical recommendation of how to analyze and interpret LibQUAL+™ quantitative data as well as present findings to strategic stakeholders.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine potential new uses of return on investment (ROI) in alternative methods for library assessment and valuation.Design/methodology/approachUses examples of recent uses of ROI by libraries to identify potential new applications of ROI in library assessment and valuation.FindingsROI investment has historically been used by libraries for the assessment of past performance of library organizations in a reactive/defensive nature or for assessing the value of customer services. ROI has not been widely used as a proactive assessment tool, to introspectively assess administrative or other internal services, or as an offensive assessment and valuation tool, especially for intangible performance assessment and valuation.Originality/valueNew applications of the ROI assessment tool could provide library administrators with proactive means of increasing the effectiveness of library assessment, valuation, and their results.

UID/HIS/04666/2013 The need for greater understanding of assessment practices and models highlights a deficit of an up-to-date meta-evaluation model, whilst articulating with new phases in Information and Knowledge Society (IKS) development. Current research carried out by each of the two authors led to a joint meta-evaluation study on the impact of main KIS transitions on performance evaluation models implemented in Portuguese libraries between 1970 and 2010. This paper aims to discuss the meta-evaluation model that was created in that context to explain the relations between IKS transitions and the development of library performance evaluation models. After an initial review of European IKS policies and strategies targeted at libraries and the exploration of the transition and meta-evaluation concepts, a brief characterization of the Portuguese Library System introduces the cycles of recognition, reinforcement, uncertainty and weakness of European IKS strategies that were identified in the Portuguese library scene. Using the CLPET Model, the main types of performance evaluation approaches used in Portuguese libraries are identified and categorized. Based on the evidences gathered, the impacts of IKS transitions on library performance evaluation models in Portugal are then analysed and discussed. publishersversion published

This paper examines the processes taken to design and administer a collaborative ethnographic study of humanities doctoral students within an inter-institutional, collaborative framework. Project organization and management, including the creation of instruments and analysis of results across two local research teams and institutional cultures is discussed. Effective communications, among and between project teams, and time management were identified as critical factors for success. Benefits resulting from the project included an improved understanding of the needs of a key user group, a heightened interest in user assessment and data-driven decision-making among staff within the partner organizations, and a deeper engagement with academic administrators on both campuses.

Throwback Thursday for June 18, 2015: In the Library with the Lead Pipe welcomes Bethany Messersmith to our Editorial Board! In honor of Throwback Thursday, we’re highlighting Bethany’s recent piece on curriculum and assessment mapping. In Brief: The greatest challenge that I faced in my role as Information Literacy Librarian occurred as a result […]