Assessing library contributions to university outcomes: the need for individual student level data
| Published date | 20 July 2012 |
| Pages | 389-402 |
| Date | 20 July 2012 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435121211266203 |
| Author | Joseph R. Matthews |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Assessing library contributions to
university outcomes: the need for
individual student level data
Joseph R. Matthews
JRM Consulting, Carlsbad, California, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to suggest move beyond examining the impact of the library
from the library’s perspective but rather to collaborate with university-wide assessment efforts to
determine the impact of the library from the student’s perspective, the instructor’s perspective, or the
researcher’s perspective.
Design/methodology/approach – A limited number of studies have been conducted in an attempt
to determine the impact of the use of the library’s physical or electronic resources, reference services,
and the library as place. Considerably more studies have been prepared that have examined library
instruction programs and information literacy programs although the results paint a very mixed
picture. A majority of the evaluation efforts for information literacy programs have used opinion
surveys, skills testing, and observed actual behavior using rubrics and other methods. A consistent
criticism of such studies has been the small sample size and the lack of replication of such studies.
Clearly an approach that collaborates with the university’s assessment efforts and allows the library to
determine the correlation levels between use of a library collection or service and a desired university
outcome will be welcome by all academic libraries.
Findings – The suggested approach is to combine library usage data with university data. In the
best of worlds the library data would be combined with both indirect measures of learning (such as
student persistence, graduation rates) as well as direct measures of student learning such as the
Collegiate Learning Assessment, Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency, and the Measure of
Academic Proficiency and Progress. If university libraries were to embark on a coordinated program
of data analysis then the results would have greater credibility and impact within the university.
Practical implications – The paper provides a set of recommendations for combining library data
(where the identification of each user is preserved) with institutional performance and demographic
data for each user (after which the unique identification information can be eliminated so as to
preserve the privacy and confidentiality rights of the user). The resulting large data set can be then
used to explore possible relationships between use of library services and important outcomes –
student success, student retention, graduation rates, and so forth that is necessary in order to
demonstrate the value of the academic library.
Social implications – Once libraries have a better understanding of the impacts of specific library
services in the lives of their students, faculty and researchers, libraries can enhance services that
produce positive results and drop services that have marginal or no value. The end result will be that
academic libraries will better serve the needs of their customers.
Originality/value – This paper offers a new broad perspective that will encourage libraries to
undertake a collaborative effort with others on campus in order to better assess the impact of the
academic library.
Keywords Libraries, University outcomes, Usagedata, User studies, Data management, Universities
Paper type Conceptual paper
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
This paper was originally presented at the 9th Northumbria International Conference on
Performance in Libraries and Information Services.
Assessing
library
contributions
389
Received 4 May 2012
Accepted 15 June 2012
Library Management
Vol. 33 No. 6/7, 2012
pp. 389-402
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/01435121211266203
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