The Assessment Team provides broad oversight and leadership for measuring the uses and impacts of the services, spaces, and collections of the consortium libraries. Such activities include but are not limited to data collection on and analysis of how library activities demonstrate impacts on student and institutional success. Such activities include, but are not limited to:
This Toolkit was developed by the CSCU Library Consortium’s Assessment Team in response to their charge of recommending best practices of implementing assessment data and analysis toward student success. The grid below depicts some of the many assessment questions and topics that libraries can explore to demonstrate how students, faculty, staff, and their communities are supported by library collections and services. Each of the main categories of assessment is explored through the lens of a research question on the subsequent tabs. Assessment Team members have added resources, recommendations, and examples of how assessment can be done in these areas. We look forward to input and additional recommendations from the CSCU library community.
| Category | Data | Quantitative or Qualitative | Where does it come from? (examples) | Do we have it now? | Do we need training? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collections | Circulation statistics | Quantitative | Alma | Yes | Some might need training to modify existing reports |
| Collections | Course reserves: use study | Quantitative | Alma | Yes | Recommend best practices |
| Collections | Collections: What is being used, and what will the future hold? | Quantitative | Alma | Yes | Recommend best practices |
| Collections | Databases: How are they being used? | Quantitative | Vendor websites, Alma | Yes | Recommend best practices. Yes to Alma piece, may need training |
| Collections | What materials are faculty assigning/requiring for assignments? | Qualitative | syllabi review, curriculum committee reports, program reviews | No | Recommend best practices/ offer training. |
| Collections | How do collections match curriculum needs and trends? | Both | Alma circulation reports, curriculum reviews, search reports from Primo | Some | Recommend best practices/ offer training. |
| Collections | Should a resource be deaccessioned or a database subscription discontinued? | Both | Vendor websites, Alma, faculty feedback | Some | Recommend best practices/ offer training. |
| Collections | How are library collections supporting equity in student access? | Both | Student surveys, analysis of impact of materials on student persistence | Some | Recommend best practices/ offer training. |
| Collections | How diverse and inclusive are the library collections? | Both | Collection review | Some | Recommend best practices/ offer training. |
| Feedback | Surveys | Qualitative | Survey tools, CCSSE, NSSE, SENSE | Some | Request data from IR |
| Feedback | Focus Groups | Qualitative | Focus groups | Some | Recommend best practices/ offer training. |
| Research | Information literacy sessions- quantitative data | Quantitative | shared documents | Yes | Create data collection template. |
| Research | Research Appointments | Both | LibCal, Teams. follow up surveys using Forms and Project Outcome | Some | Recommend best practices/ offer training. |
| Research | Research Habits: How is the library contributing to scholarly activities? | Qualitative | tracking faculty questions, surveys, analysis of faculty publication trends | Some | Recommend best practices/ offer training. |
| Research | Are students demonstrating competence in Information Literacy? | Qualitative | Bibliographies, research logs, faculty interviews, IL assessment | Some | Recommend best practices/ offer training. |
| Research | Chat/text/in person reference statistics | Quantitative | LibChat, tally sheet, LibInsight, clicker/calendar | Varies | Recommend best practices/ offer training. |
| Space Usage | Space usage: How are students using our spaces? Who is and who isn't using the library? | Both | study room bookings, ethnographies, surveys | Varies | Recommend best practices/ offer training. |
| Space Usage | Door counts | Quantitative | Security Gates, counters, walk-through headcounts. | Varies | Recommend best practices. |
| Student Success and Retention | How are the libraries supporting student success and retention? | Both | IR retention reports and circulation statistics, surveys | Some | Recommend best practices/ offer training. |
| Usability/Accessibility | How are we measuring ease of access to our library? | Qualitative | WCAG Best Practices, Usability studies, surveys | Some | Recommend best practices/ offer training. |