1. LEVERAGINGAND INTERPRETING LIBRARY ASSESSMENT DATA
PULLINGTHEWHEAT FROMTHE CHAFF
Elizabeth Brown
Director of Assessment and Scholarly Communications
Binghamton University Libraries
April 20, 2016
Image Source: Flickr Public Domain
2. GATHERINGAND USINGASSESSMENT DATA
¡ Library assessment data – the basics
¡ Special Projects Data
¡ Local Qualitative Data
¡ Benchmarking Data
¡ Telling a story – some advice
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3. COLLECTINGASSESSMENT DATA –THE BASICS
¡ Service point activity – reference, instruction, ILL, circulation, institutional repository
input,gate counts for buildings, course reserves
¡ Collections – items added, electronic and print format, media and audiovisual items,
linear feet manuscripts
¡ Staffing – FTE, salaries and wages, fringe benefits, librarians, paraprofessional, student
levels
¡ Infrastructure – preservation, computers and technology, catalog and supporting
tools to access collections
4. ACRL,ARL,AND IPEDS
¡ Major statistical reports requestedof
U.S. academic libraries
¡ Annual collection periods based on
most recent fiscal year data
¡ Varying levels of public data available
for non-members
¡ Analysis and comparison tools for
benchmarkinglibrary services,
collections,andstaffing support
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6. ARL STATISTICS & SALARY SURVEYS
¡ More information: http://www.arlstatistics.org/about/survey_pp
¡ AnnualARL Statistics Report published in print and as an ebook:
http://arlstatistics.org/home
¡ ARL Statistics Analytics available as a subscription: http://arlstatistics.org/analytics
¡ Selected statistics and table data are open access: http://arlstatistics.org/publications
7. IPEDSANNUAL LIBRARY STATISTICS
¡ IPEDS = Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System
¡ NCES = National Center for Education Statistics
¡ Use collected IPEDs data (2013-2014):http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/Home/UseTheData
Note: academic library data is currently provisional – final data not yet released
¡ Library Statistics Program (2000-2012):
https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/libraries/academic.asp
8. SOME LIMITATIONS
¡ Measurements show volume and
activity,some usage
¡ Impact of services and collections
not available
¡ Reach of activities and services
not clear
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9. SPECIAL PROJECTS DATA
¡ How are students using computer areas (information commons) in the
library?
¡ How can stacks overflow be reduced by analyzing circulation and
acquisition patterns by call number?
¡ Large lecture classes – what are they and are we reaching them?
¡ Publication activity of faculty and potential journal hosting opportunities
– where are they?
¡ How are collection needs changing with new faculty hires?
10. LOCAL QUALITATIVE DATA – SOME EXAMPLES
¡ Focus group information from specific users
¡ Secret shopper and other techniques for
measuring quality of service
¡ LibQUAL+ and LibQUAL+ lite surveys:
https://www.libqual.org/home
¡ Individualized library surveys:Triennial Survey
(University of Washington):
http://www.lib.washington.edu/assessment/surveys/
triennial
¡ Individualized topical surveys
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11. BENCHMARKING DATA SOURCES
¡ Library Journal’s Periodical Price Survey (Annual) :
http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/04/publishing/whole-lotta-
shakin-goin-on-periodicals-price-survey-2015/
¡ Library and Book Trade Almanac (formerly Bowker Annual):
http://books.infotoday.com/directories/Library-and-Book-
Trade-Almanac.shtml
¡ Institutional and Student ROI for library services
(Robert Dugan,University ofWest Florida):
http://libguides.uwf.edu/c.php?g=215171&p=1420704
¡ Annual Library Systems Report (Marshall Breeding):
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/05/01/library-
systems-report/
Image Source:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/woolgenie/16200135443/in/album-
72157631115747450/
12. TELLINGA STORYWITH DATA – SOME ADVICE
¡ Remember your audience
¡ Match content to knowledge level
¡ Make message succinct
¡ Link analysis to existing data
¡ Show trends clearly – use simple
graphs and charts
¡ Make quotes for qualitative data –
intersperse with data to emphasize
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/woolgenie/16140094366/in/album-
72157631115747450/