For immediate release:
March 11, 2009

For more information, contact:
MaShana Davis
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296 x134
mashana@arl.org

Learn about ARL Assessment Tools at ACRL in Seattle, March 13–14

Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is offering several opportunities to learn about ARL assessment tools at the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) National Conference in Seattle, Washington, March 13–14, 2009:

ClimateQUAL™ and Other ARL Assessment Tools

Join us for a discussion of assessment tools developed for the ARL StatsQUAL® platform at the session, “ClimateQUAL™ and Other ARL Assessment Tools,” Saturday, March 14, 2:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m. StatsQUAL® is a gateway to library assessment tools that was developed to address issues of service quality, electronic resource usage and value, and outcomes assessment. The tools available through StatsQUAL® combine the power of both quantitative and qualitative methods and are integrated into a platform that allows easy data collection, analysis, and presentation of the results. The goal is to establish an integrated suite of library assessment tools that tell users’ library success stories, emphasize customer-driven libraries, and demonstrate responsiveness and engagement in improving customer service.

Charles Lowry, ARL Executive Director, and Martha Kyrillidou, Director of ARL Statistics and Service Quality Programs, will discuss the expansion of the ARL assessment toolkit with ClimateQUAL™: Organizational Climate and Diversity Assessment, a survey designed to help librarians understand how organizational procedures and policies affect customer perception of service quality in a library setting.

Presentations on best practices and experiences with the ClimateQUAL™ and LibQUAL+® protocols will be delivered by Paul Hanges, Associate Chair, Department of Psychology and Professor, Industrial & Organizational Psychology, University of Maryland; Sydney Thompson, Delivery Services Librarian, New York University; and Janine Schmidt, Director of Libraries, McGill University.

A discussion of MINES for Libraries® (Measuring the Impact of Networked Electronic Services), DigiQUAL®, and ARL Statistics™ and how these tools relate to budget planning and decision making will also be featured.

This session is aimed at all academic library staff interested in assessment. Attendees will have the opportunity to share their experiences with ARL assessment tools and learn from other participants’ experiences.

Event Details

Date: Saturday, March 14, 2009
Time: 2:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.
Location: Sheraton Seattle Hotel, Cedar Room

Booth Consultations

ARL will hold consultations at booth #837 in the Washington State Trade & Convention Center, March 13 & 14:

The LibQUAL+® team will be available for one-on-one consultations, Friday & Saturday, March 13 & 14, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

MINES for Libraries® consultant, Raynna Bowlby, Library Management Consulting, will be available for individual consultations, Friday, March 13, 2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m., and Saturday, March 14, 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

Library Scorecard Consultants, Ted Jackson and Laura Downing, Ascendant Management, will be available to discuss developments of the ARL Library Scorecard project, Friday, March 13, 2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.

To schedule a booth consultation, e-mail libqual@arl.org.

Event Details

Date: Friday & Saturday, March 13 & 14, 2009
Time: 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Location: Washington State Trade & Convention Center, booth #837

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 123 research libraries in North America. Its 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, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the Web at http://www.arl.org/.