For immediate release:
January 7, 2009

For more information, contact:
Crit Stuart
Association of Research Libraries
202-296-2296
crit@arl.org

Research Library Virtual Resources and Instructional Initiatives: Survey Results Published by ARL

Washington DC—The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published the results of a survey that explores ARL member libraries' innovations in virtual resource development and instructional programming.

ARL libraries are setting a rapid pace for experimentation as they replace or supplement traditional information literacy classes with a variety of library engagements in classrooms, through course management systems, and in the virtual spaces inhabited by students and faculty. Respondents to this survey conducted by ARL during the late winter and early spring of 2008 described a widely varied landscape of instruction initiatives.

The survey invited all ARL libraries to describe innovative and noteworthy experiments in three areas: instruction programs, virtual resource development, and space initiatives. Of the 123 member libraries, 77 participated in the survey, for a response rate of 63%. Responses to the first two elements of the survey (instruction and virtual resource development) are being reported now; responses to the third element, space initiatives, will be reported separately.

Innovations and noteworthy experiments were defined in the survey as either “a new service for the library,” or “unique in academic librarianship.” Respondents briefly described the initiative, provided supporting documents and URLs, and offered assessment data where it existed. What is new or innovative for one library may be a standard and long-practiced approach at another institution. Whatever one’s perspective however, it is clear that considerable change is underway. Research library engagement in, and support for, student learning and academic success is producing an instruction landscape that is varied, evolving, and shaped by local cultures and opportunities.

The complete survey responses are available on the ARL Web site, organized (1) by subtopics that emerged in the responses and (2) alphabetically by institution; see http://www.arl.org/rtl/roles/vrii/. Please note that key-word searching can be applied to the PDF of the complete survey results. A summary of the responses is also available as “Research Library Instruction Initiatives: Varied, Evolving, Shaped by Local Cultures,” by Crit Stuart, in ARL: A Bimonthly Report, no. 261 (Dec. 2008): 5-8, http://www.arl.org/bm~doc/arl-br-261-vrii.pdf.

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/.