{{ site.title }}

Leading a Strategic Assessment Program in a Research Library: ARL to Offer Seminar

two people sitting at a table in a libraryThe Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is offering an educational opportunity for academic and research librarians, “Leading a Strategic Assessment Program in a Research Library: An ARL Seminar,” on April 14–15, 2016, in Washington, DC. This two-day, in-person seminar is designed for individuals who are responsible for leading the library”s assessment program and who seek to develop a strategic agenda for assessment.

This is the fifth time ARL has offered the seminar. Registration is limited to 18 people and each previous seminar has reached capacity quickly, so early registration is recommended.

The seminar will introduce participants to the practice-based framework of organizational performance assessment in libraries. As a high-level overview of the roles and responsibilities of assessment librarians/coordinators, coverage will include the rationale for library assessment and will provide context for current methodologies, tools, and techniques for library-wide assessment approaches. The seminar will concentrate on making library assessment strategic, diverse, and effective in demonstrating library impact and value, and on the importance of alignment with the university mission and initiatives.

The seminar will be supplemented with extensive pre- and post-workshop independent learning activities; these are an essential component of a successful seminar experience.

Steve Hiller, of the University of Washington Libraries, and Raynna Bowlby, a consultant to ARL, will serve as the seminar’s core faculty with assistance from Sue Baughman of the ARL staff. Additionally, a number of leading library professionals will review some strategic assessment practices in the areas of space, teaching and learning, and library contributions to student success. By the end of the seminar, each participant will have had the opportunity to:

  • Discuss the strategic intent and changing focus of library assessment
  • Become familiar with the rationale for library assessment activities
  • Increase awareness of ways to leverage library assessment methods, tools, and protocols
  • Consider effective uses of metrics and evidence for planning, decision making, communicating, engaging, and taking action
  • Develop approaches for collaborative and institution-specific library assessment
  • Identify strategies for cultivating a culture of assessment that includes the participant’s role and responsibilities in the assessment program and ways to maximize the participant’s effectiveness and value to the organization

Event Details

Dates: Thursday, April 14–Friday, April 15, 2016
Times: 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Thursday and 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Friday
Location: ARL Offices, 21 Dupont Circle NW #800, Washington, DC
Fee: $800
Registration: Register online by Friday, March 11, 2016


About the Association of Research Libraries

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 124 research libraries in the US and Canada. ARL’s mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the web at https://www.arl.org/.

Affiliates