How We Came to Dread Fridays: Developing an Academic Library Assessment Plan Two Hours at a Time

During the summer of 2012, St. John Fisher College's Lavery Library developed a coordinated assessment plan. Committing to weekly meetings, librarians reviewed ACRL Standards, identifying key outcomes that would link to the college strategic plan. Utilizing the unique synergy of the library staff, librarians committed to persistence, collaboration, and flexible teamwork. Based on their summer-long perseverance, the librarians originated an assessment strategy that has not only aligned them with the college but has also positioned them to demonstrate the value they provide to their community.     

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in Library Instruction

This article introduces Universal Design for Learning (UDL), an emerging paradigm to “design course instruction, materials, and content to benefit people of all learning styles without adaption or retrofitting.” The study explores multiple UDL principles that could be applied to library instruction by providing a lesson plan in general and one focusing on teaching Boolean Logic. The article presents data and analyzes surveys to evaluate the impact these have on teaching effectiveness. The results of the survey suggest that a simple adoption of UDL can help students master search skills effectively.     

Public Library Services for Veterans: Selected Brief Case Studies

Public libraries across the country design and deliver programs for military veterans and their families, often collaborating with other organizations and agencies. The examples were assembled from both general and specialized interviews with librarians, and literature and Internet searches, with summaries of programs assembled and written by multiple researchers. The specific limitations on the listing in this article are clearly outlined in the first section. Overall, however, the article provides a good introductory overview of what’s going on in veteran’s programs and services in America’s public libraries in over seventy libraries in forty states. We hope this list of what public libraries have organized or are doing will supply other public librarians with ideas on how to provide new services or enhance their existing ones.     

Tools of Academic Library Assessment: the User Survey

ABSTRACT

Academic libraries are taking a closer look at how well they are serving the needs of their users. As a result assessment activities become more important. In this column, the authors will focus on and describe one major tool of assessment—the user survey.     

谈公共图书馆评估的体系缺陷与改进建议

通过分析第四次文化部对公共图书馆评估所存在的体系问题和原因,论述传递文献情报信息是公共图书馆的主要社会职能,中介性是否发挥到位应是评价服务效益的主要指标,提出科学匹配评估目的与方式、尝试用经济量化法评估公共图书馆服务效益的建议,认为科学有效的评估基础是文化主管部门开发并统一全国公共图书馆的业务管理系统,建立有效的数据共享机制和文献资源保障体系。     

Using ILIAC to Systematically Plan and Implement a Library Information Literacy Assessment Program for Freshman Classes

In order to prepare for the 2013 SACS reaffirmation, the Joyner Library instruction librarians developed a systematic assessment program using Oakleaf's Information Literacy Instruction Assessment Cycle (ILIAC) to plan for instruction, assess student learning and improve future student learning by reviewing data and enacting changes. The paper outlines the systematic development, implementation, assessment, and improvement of an information literacy instruction assessment program for freshman classes over a three-year period from 2008 to 2011. It also analyzes student learning outcomes assessment data from 1,956 freshman students using quizzes and formative assessment during the 2010–11 school year.     

Flipping the Classroom in Freshman English Library Instruction: A Comparison Study of a Flipped Class Versus a Traditional Lecture Method

A problem that Instruction Librarians often grapple with is the lack of time that is necessary to deliver, and assess, proper library instruction to students so the students grasp the Information Literacy concepts that are delivered especially in one or two instruction sessions. This article examines using the flipped classroom model in English library instruction classes where the works cited page of students final paper was assessed according to a rubric designed to assess the Authority, Timeliness, and Variety of the sources cited. The study compared results of flipped classroom sections against traditional lecture method classes with mixed results.     

A Journey Worth Taking: Exploring a Hybrid Embedded Library Instruction Model Through Three Distinct Cases

ABSTRACT

To facilitate systematic learning and to complement the limitations of conventional one-shot library instruction sessions, a hybrid embedded instruction model was designed and implemented for undergraduate students and residents in three disciplines at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Variations of hybrid instruction are explored, including models that combine face-to-face interactions, online content delivery, flipped instruction techniques, and individual consultations. The hybrid model highlights benefits of collaborative teaching between course faculty members and librarians and enhances the relevance of library instruction for users.     

Assessing,Analyzing, and Adapting: Improving a Graduate Student Instruction Program Through Needs Assessment

This article highlights an assessment of library instruction needs among graduate students in the social sciences. The article addresses the development and implementation of the assessment and the application of assessment results to an established set of library instruction workshops. The article provides a detailed summary of assessment findings and a discussion of how the findings were successfully used to create a user-centered instruction program. The findings were used to make significant changes in workshop content, as well as refinements in the overall number and format of workshops offered, schedule of workshops, and marketing of the instruction program.     

PubMed Instruction for Medical Students: Searching for a Better Way

In 2007, Duke University Medical Center Library instituted an interactive, online PubMed tutorial and quiz for medical students to replace an in-person lecture. This article describes the events leading to this educational paradigm shift and how the tutorial was implemented. Important concerns in the switch to an online approach to PubMed training were student satisfaction and the extent to which searching skills would improve. To determine the effectiveness of the online model, two years of student quizzes and evaluations were examined. Results indicate that students benefit from and appreciate the interactive tutorial.     

Combining History of Medicine and Library Instruction: An Innovative Approach to Teaching Database Searching to Medical Students

Library faculty members at the Health Sciences Library at the LSU Health Shreveport campus offer a database searching class for third-year medical students during their surgery rotation. For a number of years, students completed “ten-minute clinical challenges,” but the instructors decided to replace the clinical challenges with innovative exercises using The Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus to emphasize concepts learned. The Surgical Papyrus is an online resource that is part of the National Library of Medicine's “Turning the Pages” digital initiative. In addition, vintage surgical instruments and historic books are displayed in the classroom to enhance the learning experience.     

Weeding of a Library Reserve Book Section:

Computerization of reserve section records enabled a midwest academic library to institute a systematic weeding procedure and to create an easy, accurate, and up-tp-date indexing system for the reserve book collection. Data for the system is maintained on an IBM 3741 key-to-diskette data station, on floppy diskettes. The system produces an author (main entry) master list which reformats as a title index, a course number index, and an instructor name index. Implementation of the system resulted in the withdrawal of over 10,000 obsolete items and reduced the size of the reserve collection by 50 percent. Circulation statistics indicated that the elimination of the obsolete materials has not adversely affected the use of current reserve materials.     

Health Sciences Library Support of a University Common Reading Program: A Case Study

Common reading programs have become increasingly popular on college and university campuses as a means for increasing student engagement, retention, and success. This article describes the characteristics, goals, and benefits of common reading programs and provides examples from the literature of academic library involvement in them. Finally, an example is provided of how one academic health sciences library participated in its institution’s First-Year Summer Reading program.     

Creating a Library-Wide Collection Management Cycle: One Academic Library’s Approach to Continuous Collection Assessment

Abstract

Collections assessment in academic libraries has experienced a shift in recent years from project-based models to continuous models that aim improve the responsivity of library collections to campus needs. This article reports on how one university library used a library committee with representation from across library departments to develop a holistic, on-going Collection Management Cycle. This newly created process evaluates the entire library collection over a five-year period and aligns with library reporting requirements for university program review to minimize additional workload and improve the impact of external reporting activities.     

Tailoring Library Instruction for Non-Science Majors Taking Hybrid and Online Science Classes: Student Perceptions of Information Literacy in the Virtual Environment

An instruction librarian and a biology professor at a small, urban commuter college campus worked together to provide research instruction to non-science majors in selected hybrid and online biological sciences classes. They collaboratively designed in-class and online learning tools, as well as homework assignments aimed at developing non-science majors’ information literacy skills. Through an array of innovative technologies and pedagogical models (including online screencasts, Twitter conversations, and embedded librarianship), they sought to engage non-science majors in the scientific discourse and to encourage them to access and assess reputable online science materials. This study explores the efficacy of their pedagogical partnership.     

Use of a Pre-Assessment Tool to Start a Meaningful Dialogue: New Paradigms in Library Instruction

In 2009, the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library started a library instruction dialogue with the medical students and faculty from the Emory School of Medicine. These discussions exposed a gap among faculty, students, and librarians in their perceptions of information processing. Follow-ups with the Associate Deans for Student Affairs and Medical Education led to the decision to administer an online assessment of the incoming student body and a complete redesign of the library orientation program. The aim of using self-assessment methodology in the framework of an orientation program was to set the students' foundation for self-discovery and introduce them to self-learning.     

A Purposeful Collaboration: Using a Library Course Enhancement Grant Program to Enrich ESL Instruction

Developing a meaningful collaboration with teaching faculty to enhance courses can be a challenge for information professionals as they struggle to move away from the one-shot classroom lecture model. The Association of College & Research Libraries encourages the use of mini grants for this purpose. These incentives can jump-start partnerships in a needed area, such as English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction. The article describes The Ohio State University Libraries Course Enhancement Grant Program and its positive impact on a subject librarian and ESL instructor teaching collaboratively in a composition course, with an analysis of students’ assessment of course objectives and outcomes.     

Assessment of Digitized Library and Archives Materials: A Literature Review

Professional literature about the assessment of digital libraries reflects a growing interest in both improving the user experience and in justifying the creation of digital collections to multiple stakeholders. This article explores some of the key themes in digital library assessment literature through a review of current literature (2004–14) gathered from both scholarly and popular resources online. The majority of scholarship about digital library assessment utilizes usability testing and Web statistics for data collection, while studies about altmetrics, the reuse of digital library materials, cost benefit analysis, and the holistic evaluation of digital libraries are also present in the literature. Exploring the literature about digital library assessment allows libraries to create effective and sustainable evaluation models based on the successes and shortcomings of previously completed projects.     

构建三维立体式图书馆公共文化服务体系的理性思考

图书馆公共文化服务体系是社会主义文化体系的重要组成部分,三维立体式图书馆公共文化服务体系的建设,既是一项牢固树立群众观点,让文化发展成果更好地惠及人民群众,推动文化全面协调可持续发展的文化工程,又是统筹文化建设规划,体现图书馆公益性、基本性、均等性、便利性的文化惠民工程。文章通过分析建立三维立体式图书馆公共文化服务体系的必要性、体系的构成和体系的保障,提出了图书馆公共文化服务体系建设的原则、运行模式和特性,并提出了以政府、制度和技术作为体系建设的保障,以推动图书馆公共文化服务体系的建设。     

Assessing Academic Library Services to Distance Learners: A Literature Review of Perspectives from Librarians,Students, and Faculty

Many academic libraries are expanding services to online and distance students to keep pace with enrollment trends in higher education, prompting additional research to evaluate the use and effectiveness of library reference and instruction services to distance users. This literature review explores this research from the perspectives of academic librarians, distance students, and faculty teaching online and distance courses, and finds both commonalities and contradictions among these viewpoints.