This study looks closely at the library services assessment efforts of five major US colleges and universities: Temple University, Florida State University, Buffalo State College, the University of Rochester and Pennsylvania State University.
The study describes how these libraries are assessing a myriad of important academic library functions including but not limited to the end user experience, use of the library website, library instruction services, library programming, space-use dynamics and much more. The study particularly emphasizes how libraries collect, store, distribute and analyze data for assessment purposes. It also stresses how different library departments collaborate on assessment projects with one another, with other units of their institutions, and with third parties outside of the institution. It highlights how libraries use benchmarking and third party data in assessment, and how they create an assessment oriented culture at their libraries It includes discussions of the bureaucratic dynamics of creating positions for assessment librarians, and the role that they play.
The report was written by Ilka Datig , instruction & Outreach Librarian at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York. Ilka earned her MLIS from Syracuse University and her MA in Cultural Anthropology from New York University and has previously worked as a librarian at New York University Abu Dhabi and Mary Baldwin University. Ilka has published her work in College & Research Libraries, Journal of Academic Librarianship, College & Undergraduate Libraries, Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship and Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian.