Testing the Waters: Library Assessment from Strategic Plan to First Report Marna Hostetler, Library Director Phil Orr, Distance Learning Librarian Peter Whiting, Serials Librarian David L. Rice Library University of Southern Indiana

Background  The University of Southern Indiana (USI) is a public institution located in Evansville, Indiana.  Enrollment hovers around 10,000  As of Fall 2013, USI employs nearly 700 faculty  The David L. Rice Library employs: - 16 staff members - 10 librarians part-time student employees temporary employees  The building opened in 2006  Total library budget just over $2.5M

History & Overview

History & Overview Fall 2009  USI’s new President, Linda Bennett, engaged the USI campus in developing university wide strategic plan.  At the same time USI’s Rice Library began the process of working on its own strategic plan.

History & Overview Key questions asked of Rice Library staff:  What are our goals for the next 3 to 5 years for the library?  What is the library’s primary purpose or mission?

History & Overview  Rice Library strategic plan subcommittees:  Collections  Evaluation & Assessment  Services  Staffing  Technology

History & Overview  May 2010: The library strategic plan subcommittees progress shared at the Rice Library staff day  November 2010 – The final library strategic plan submitted to the USI administration

Setting Limits

Rice library’s mission statement The David L. Rice Library supports the mission of the University of Southern Indiana by assisting the instruction and research efforts of the university's students and faculty through the provision of appropriate collections and services. The Library provides course-integrated instruction and individual consultation to assist users in identifying, locating, and interpreting information in a variety of formats. The provision of instruction is intended to assist users in becoming more critically aware, self-confident information consumers and researchers. The selection, cataloging, management and evaluation of information resources is undertaken to support present and future programs of the university. Ongoing review and evaluation of Library resources and services are carried out in collaboration with the university community to determine the nature of information resources and services needed. The Library uses appropriate technology to make services and resources available to members of the USI community on campus and in remote locations, in support of distributed education as well as on-campus courses. The Library makes use of the campus Web site to provide information, to further communication, and to facilitate access to online resources. The Library shares information resources with local, state, national, and international communities, and librarians attempt to anticipate and respond to new trends in scholarship, instruction and the communication and delivery of information as these affect libraries.

Setting Limits: Library Resources  Do not create more work for the library staff.  Financial resources

Forming a Team

 First Assessment Committee appointed in April 2012  Membership was broad, including representatives from nearly every major library unit.

Forming a Team The objective of the David L. Rice Library Assessment Committee is to guide and report on the use of assessment as a means of supporting the library’s mission.

Forming a Team To achieve this objective the committee will seek to fulfill the following charges:  Encourage and promote a culture of assessment.  Gather planned assessment activities and integrate into a single document.  Serve as a resource for those conducting assessment activities.  Record the results of assessment activities.  Contribute to university-wide assessment efforts.

Seeking Input

 Assessment & data collection activities  “The Library should perform an assessment audit to determine what goals presently exist and what assessment is currently being done. The library may already be doing a lot of assessment of services and learning but simply not reporting it.” -- Shelley Arvin, Reference/Instruction Librarian at Indiana State University

Seeking Input: Statistical Reports and Data Collection  Statistical reports  Cataloging  Circulation  Database  Inter-library loan usage  Patron counts  Google analytics  Accreditation reports

Seeking Input: Formal Assessment  Public service desk surveys  Social media effectiveness  Student assessment of instruction  Faculty assessment of instruction

Seeking Input: Informal Assessment  Web site revision  Lost and missing resources affecting collection development  Serials and electronic resource reviews

Taking Advantage of Existing Resources

Gathering Ideas Campus input  USI Faculty Senate – find out about Faculty Senate Assessment Committee  Seek out faculty who are experts on assessment  Attended the USI College of Science, Engineering, and Education presentation about their assessment activities

Resources on Campus  Surveys sent out by the USI Office of Planning, Research and Assessment (OPRA)  Faculty, Administrators, and Staff fall survey  Student survey fall survey

Writing a Plan

 Collected and studied plans from other academic libraries  Committee met regularly for nine months  First plan was intentionally modest  Plan included:  Narrative introduction (Word)  Summary of assessment activities (Excel)

Writing a Plan  Purpose  Measure(s)/Methods(s)  Assessor(s)  Timeline  Classification  Strategic Plan Alignment Assessment activities summarized by:

Writing a Plan Plan included eight assessment activities:  General survey of faculty and staff  General survey of senior students  Instruction assessment of students  Student assessment of instruction  Faculty assessment of instruction  Public service desks  Social media  Library information wall  iPad survey

Working as a Unit

Worked well together Committee as a whole:  Face-to-face meetings  exchanges Sub-committees / Independently

Sharing Data

 Unit heads notified of data availability in shared electronic file  Discussion of data during monthly Librarians Council meetings

Reporting Results

 Assessment activities summarized in a single report  Made available to everyone through Assessment Committee LibGuide  Eight assessment activities were summarized

Reporting Results  15-page report (Publisher)  Each activity summarized by individual members of committee  Library Director edited final report

Closing the Assessment Loop  You Asked, We Listened  Wish List  All-campus meetings

Maintaining Momentum Foster a “culture of assessment”  Continue to solicit assessment ideas from unit heads  Work with library units to accomplish the goal  Invite all to assessment webinars, local seminars, etc.  Some members of the Assessment Team stay, some rotate off and are replaced with fresh faces

The important thing is to start

Questions? Marna HostetlerPhil OrrPeter Whiting Assessment LibGuide: usi.libguides.com/libraryassessmentusi.libguides.com/libraryassessment