Presentation delivered at the 10th Northumbria International Conference on Performance Measurement in Libraries and Information Services.

1. Library Performance
Measurement Conference
23rd July 2013
Selena Killick
Library Quality Officer,
Cranfield University
@SelenaKillick
Assessing the Impact of
the Academic Library:
From theory to practice

2. Cranfield University
• The UK's only wholly postgraduate university focused
on science, technology, engineering and
management
• One of the UK's top five research intensive
universities
• Annual turnover £150m
• We deliver the UK Ministry of Defence's largest
educational contract

3. Cranfield Locations
Cranfield Defence &
Security
375 Staff
1,250 Students
83% study part-time
Barrington Library
185,000 Print items
13,000 eBooks
27,000 Journals
878,000 downloads*
364,000 chapter
requests*
34,000 visits
20 Library Staff
*Cranfield University

4. Value & Impact at the
Barrington Library
• Purpose: Identify and report on how the Library is
impacting on the University
• Method: Develop robust Library assessment process
linked to University strategic objectives
• Desired Outcome: Regular reporting to Library
stakeholders on the impact of the service

5. Library Impact Theorists
• Megan Oakleaf
• Joe Matthews
• Markless & Streatfield

6. Library Impact Theory
• Focus on stakeholder values
• Evidence how the Library impacts upon the
mission and objectives of the University
• Use existing information sources
• Communicate impact
• Key stakeholders
• Library staff
• Wider community
If you're not going to
communicate your
results, don't bother
doing assessment

7. VIP Timeline
• July 2012 – Managerial approval
• October 2012 – Team established
• December 2012 – Project commenced
• March 2013 – Phase 1
• April 2013 – Phase 2
• June 2013 – Phase 3
• August 2013 – Phase 4
• October 2013 – Phase 5
• December 2013 – Phase 6

8. VIP Team
Barrington
Library
Library
Customer
Services
Development
& Systems
Integration
Library
Support Team
Academic
Liaison
Specialist
Services

9. Cranfield University
Strategic Plan
Strategic Themes:
• Enhance our research and innovation profile
• Increase our impact globally
• Inspire our people to achieve their full potential
Key Enablers:
• Excellent people and organisation
• Financial sustainability
• A collaborative and supportive environment

10. University Strategic Plan
2011-2015
Strategic Themes
& Key Enablers
Library Services,
Activities, Resources,
Expertise
SMART Objectives
Assessment Data
Documented
Impact
Communicate
Impact
Reflection and
continuous
improvement
Value & Impact Project Process
Library Services,
Activities, Resources,
Expertise
PHASE 1: ACTIVITIES
What activities / services
/ expertise does the
Library offer which
supports the University
Strategic Plan?

11. Phase 1: Activities
• VIP Team reviewed Strategic Plan individual
• Group discussion to identify activities
• 65 different activities
Strategic Themes:
• Customer-facing
Key Enablers:
• Internal-facing

12. Phase 2: Rationalisation
• Not possible to report on 65 different activities
• Staff resources
• Stakeholder sanity!
• Strategically valuable activities identified by:
• VIP Team (individually)
• Head of Barrington Library
• Feedback captured via Qualtrics

13. Phase 2: Rationalisation
# Answer Response %
1 CRIS 5 100%
2 Access to electronic resources 5 100%
3 Literature reviews for research projects 5 100%
4 Support and input to the Research Newsletter 4 80%
5 Assistance with the creation of research bids 3 60%
6 Reports collection 2 40%
7 Secret PC access 1 20%
8 Shrivenham repository (defence portal) 1 20%
9 RLI Access 1 20%
10 Mobile technology library services 1 20%
11 Copyright training 1 20%
12 Digitisation services, including HESS
requests for the VLE
1 20%
13 Enquiry answering 1 20%
14 Ezell collection 1 20%
Strategic Theme: Enhance our research and innovation profile

14. Rationalisation
Outcomes
Strategic Theme / Key Enabler Library
Activities
Theme Enhance our research and innovation
profile
4
Theme Increase our impact globally 4
Theme Inspire our people to achieve their full
potential
4
Enabler Excellent people and organisation 1
Enabler Financial sustainability 3
Enabler A collaborative and supportive environment 3

15. Rationalisation:
Challenges
• Common viewpoint
• Evidence influence choices
• Distribution of activities
• Themes Enablers
• Library Teams

16. SMART ObjectivesSMART Objectives
University Strategic Plan
2011-2015
Strategic Themes
& Key Enablers
Library Services,
Activities, Resources,
Expertise
Assessment Data
Documented
Impact
Communicate
Impact
Value & Impact Project Process
PHASE 3: OBJECTIVES
What tasks does the
Library perform in
order to achieve the
strategically beneficial
activities?

17. Phase 3: Objectives
• VIP Team identify measurable library objectives for
each of the 19 activities
• 100+ possible objectives
• Information sources identified for some

18. Information Sources
• Reporting on existing information sources only
• Internal & External
• Qualitative & Quantitative
• Networking
Resist the urge
to start counting

19. Examples
Strategic
Theme
Library Service Objective Information
Source
Enhance our
research and
innovation
profile
Assistance with
the creation of
research bids
Provide estimate
costs for
copyright
cleared
information
Barrington
Liaison Tool

20. Examples
Strategic
Theme
Library Service Objective Information
Source
Increase our
impact globally
Provide and
support CERES
(University
repository)
Promote
CERES through
the publication
of Usage
Statistics
Institutional
Repository
Usage Statistics
(IRUS-UK)

21. Examples
Strategic
Theme
Library Service Objective Information
Source
Inspire our
people to
achieve their full
potential
Research
methods training
and support for
PhD students
PhD satisfaction
with library
training
LibQUAL+

22. Next Steps
• Phase 4: Rationalisation of Objectives
• Availability v. desire
• Representative of department
• Phase 5: Data collection & compilation
• Phase 6: Communicating impact
Perfect information is
expensive or even
unattainable

23. Desired Outcome
Desired Outcome: Regular reporting to Library
stakeholders on the impact of the service
? Dashboard
? Written reports
? Key performance indicators
? Intranet site

24. Considerations
• Moving goalposts
• New Library Strategy
• New Vice-Chancellor
• New University strategy…?
• Resourcing
• Prove v. Improve
• Staff apprehensiveness
We don’t assess to
prove…
… but to improve!

25. Thank You!
Selena Killick
s.a.killick@cranfield.ac.uk
@SelenaKillick
Tel: +44(0)1793 785561