Measuring the academic library. Translating today’s inputs and outputs into future impact and value

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-07-2017-0068
Published date08 January 2018
Pages109-120
Date08 January 2018
AuthorFiona Salisbury,Jennifer Peasley
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services
Measuring the academic library
Translating todays inputs and outputs into
future impact and value
Fiona Salisbury and Jennifer Peasley
Library, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an Australian perspective of impact and value by
examining how the broader international and national perspectives play out in practice in the Australian
contextand where adaptionfor local requirements is necessary.
Design/methodology/approach This paper will explore the assessment of impact and value in
academic librariesand the tools available to translatetodays inputs into future impact and value. It will focus
on a range of methods and procedures, including international and national standards, frameworks and
benchmarks.
Findings The La Trobe University Library is presented as a case study to examine the challenges of
leveragingtools to assess impact and communicate the value of the library across the universitycommunity.
Originality/value Assessing the impactand demonstrating the value of the academic library in a digital
environment is a constantchallenge. While usage and service data are plentiful, traditional metrics no longer
sufciently demonstrate the academic librarys contribution to university learning, teaching and research
outcomes.
Keywords Academic library, Frameworks, Digital environment, Research outcomes,
Teaching outcomes, University learning
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Impact and value are hot topics in Australian academic libraries. In a constantly changing
university environment, where all aspects of academic endeavour are scrutinised and
measured academic librarians are thinking differently about how to demonstrate
the strategic value libraries add to the contemporaryuniversity. Over the past 20 years, the
role of the library in the academy has broadened in its denition.Academic librarians have
embraced opportunitiesfor new partnerships within university communities that appreciate
that the academic library is not just a repository [...] service[...], or a place to study[...]
but rather can also be a partner in research and in teaching(SCONUL, 2017). However,
closer alignment withuniversity strategic priorities means that simplycounting the number
of resources, loans, downloads, visits, enquiries or classes, no longer sufciently
demonstrates the inuenceof the library or the complexity of the academic librarys value in
the measured universityenvironment.
The quandary for academic libraries is that traditional usage statistics alone cannot
determine the impact of the library and the value of new learning and researchpartnerships.
The difference libraries make to academic life for students and scholarsalike is not easy to
articulate. How can academic librarians give expression to the value that the library
provides to the university, and particularly to students, in terms of our contribution to
university learning and research strategies? How can libraries comprehensively validate
relevance and success across both virtual and face-to-face services? To answer these
Measuring the
academic
library
109
Received7 July 2017
Revised2 October 2017
Accepted21 October 2017
Informationand Learning Science
Vol.119 No. 1/2, 2018
pp. 109-120
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-07-2017-0068
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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