The 2008 Service Quality Evaluation Academy is now accepting participant nominations, with a deadline of January 14, 2008. The academy is an intensive five-day program that focuses on both qualitative and quantitative methods for collecting and analyzing library service quality data. The program emphasizes basic concepts and skills in measurement and data analysis that will be applicable to service quality evaluations. Time is also spent on relevant software skills, including the use of ATLAS.ti to analyze the content of interviews or responses to open-ended surveys and the use of SPSS for quantitative data analysis.
Academy Instructors
The academy instructors are:
Colleen Cook, Dean and Director of the Texas A&M University Libraries, holder of the Sterling C. Evans Endowed Chair, and Chair of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Statistics and Assessment Committee;
Bruce Thompson, Distinguished Professor and Distinguished Research Scholar, Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University, and Adjunct Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine; and
Dawn Thistle, Director of Library Services at Assumption College and Member-at-Large of the College Libraries Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL).
Who Should Attend
The academy is designed for librarians across library types and organizational structures, with a strong commitment to service quality assessment efforts. It is most appropriate for those who have direct responsibility for their library assessment efforts and show high potential for developing new and innovative assessment tools.
Date & Location
Academy classes will be held March 10–14, 2008, at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Nominations & Application
Library directors are invited to nominate candidates for the 2008 academy class. Directors can nominate an organizational team, but must rank order individual team members when doing so. To maximize training impact and ensure the geographic diversity of the participants, first-ranked nominees will be admitted before second-ranked nominees. Library directors and deans can be nominated by their provost or president.
Each nomination should include the following materials from the nominees to complete their application package:
- nomination letter from library director;
- a half-page description of possible assessment project including research questions of primary interest, or a brief statement (250 words) of interest emphasizing assessment activities; and
- curriculum vitae.
The application deadline is Monday, January 14, 2008.
Selection of Candidates
Members of the Selection Committee, composed of ARL and ACRL library directors, will review candidate nominations and the selection of participants will be based on the following criteria:
- assessment experience as illustrated by applicant’s statement of interest, or viability of proposed assessment project;
- demonstrated commitment to service quality assessment efforts; and
- support of the participant’s institution as demonstrated by the nomination letter from the library director.
Fee
The participation fee for this five-day event is $1,500 per participant. This covers the cost of tuition, all program and instructional materials, and daily refreshments (lunch and dinner are on your own).
More Information
For more information, see the academy Web site:
http://www.arl.org/stats/statsevents/sqacademy/
Contact
Send all nomination packets and inquiries to:
Kristina Justh
Customer Relations Coordinator, Statistics and Measurement Program
Association of Research Libraries
21 Dupont Circle, Suite 800
Washington DC 20036
Phone: 202-296-2296, x136
E-mail: kristina@arl.org
