For immediate release:
September 14, 2010
For more information, contact:
Lee Anne George
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296
leeanne@arl.org
Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published Impact Measures in Research Libraries, SPEC Kit 318, which explores the tools and methods libraries use to gauge the difference they make for their user community, the topics assessment practitioners probe and the results they obtain, the effects of impact assessment, and whether institutions that publicize positive impact evidence see a difference in the level of financial or political support from their parent institutions.
The survey asked ARL member libraries whether they have investigated five major areas of possible library impact: correlations between measures of library use and student success pre- or post graduation; correlations between participation in library instruction and information literacy skills; correlations between measures of library use and research output; attempts to calculate how much financial value the library contributes to the parent institution or user community; and any other areas of library impact. Within each of these five areas, the survey asked which measures were correlated, which methods were used to collect data, what conclusions were drawn, who instigated the study, whether the study was one-time or ongoing, whether the results were shared outside the library, and whether the results were used to influence decisions at the library or parent institution. By the March deadline, responses had been submitted by 55 of the 124 ARL member libraries for a response rate of 44%.
Nineteen respondents (34%) report having conducted a study in one or more of the five impact areas and 13 others (24%) are planning to conduct studies. Relatively speaking, library instruction is the area that has seen the most impact assessment activities; 15 respondents (27%) have studied this area and 12 others (22%) have plans to. Each of the other areas has been studied by between one and five libraries; between three and nine other libraries plan to conduct studies in the next 12 months. The remaining 23 respondents (42%) report their library has not and has no plans to study impact measures.
While impact assessment appears to be in its infancy for research libraries, it is encouraging to learn that those activities that took place have been initiated by libraries; that among the surveyed areas, correlating instruction with measures of student success is getting more established; and that some of the assessment results have influenced decision making at the library or the parent institution level.
This SPEC Kit includes documentation from respondents in the form of impact assessment goals, user surveys, and calculations of library value.
The table of contents and executive summary from this SPEC Kit are available online at http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/spec-318-web.pdf.
SPEC Kit 318, Impact Measures in Research Libraries
Zsuzsa Koltay and Xin Li • September 2010 • ISBN 1-59407-852-1 • 120 pp. • $45 ($35 ARL members)
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Designed to examine current research library practices and policies and serve as resource guides for libraries as they face ever-changing management problems, each SPEC Kit contains a summary analysis, survey questions with tallies, pertinent documentation from participating libraries, and a reading list and Web site references for further information on the topic.
2010 SPEC Kit subscription (ISSN 0160-3582): $225 ARL member/$295 nonmember, six issues per year, shipping included (additional postage may apply outside North America).
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 125 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, 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 http://www.arl.org/.