2006-2007 University Library Assessment Report
List of Departments/Units:
Reference and Instructional Services
Technical Services
Access Services
Library’s Mission:
Our Mission
We are committed to meeting the information needs of our academic community, to providing effective, caring and responsive service,
to partnering with faculty in the education of our students, to developing the information competence skills of our students and to
fostering a love of reading and learning.
Our Vision
The vision for our Library includes a collection superbly tailored to our student and faculty needs, exemplary service to all our users,
skillful and engaging instruction on information research skills, strong and continuous support from our users and friends, and a national
reputation for excellence in librarianship and library service.
Library’s Goals:
Our Strategic Directions
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The foremost provider of information resources to support the academic success of our students.
The foremost provider of information resources to support the teaching and research of our faculty.
A teaching library engaged in the development of the information research skills of our students.
A preserver and developer of collections and of archives essential to faculty and student research.
A center for independent, resource-based learning that promotes engagement with resources, studying, the seeking of knowledge and
the freedom of information.
An effective partner that forms collaborative alliances for student success.
Name of Assessment Liaison: Katherine Dabbour
2006-2007 University Library Assessment Report
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Assessment Activities for the University Library
Student Learning or Library Outcomes
(which SLOs or library outcomes were assessed?)
The information competent student will
be able to:
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Determine the nature and
extent of the information
needed.
Access needed information
effectively and efficiently in
both the physical and
electronic library.
Evaluate information and its
sources critically and
incorporate selected
information into his or her
knowledge base and value
system.
Use information effectively to
accomplish a specific purpose.
Demonstrate understanding of
the many economic, legal, and
social issues surrounding the
use of information.
Access and use information
ethically and legally.
2006-2007 University Library Assessment Report
Assessment
Dates
(when was
SLO
assessed)
March
2007
Assessment Procedures
(what did you do?)
PRS personal response system
clickers used as a pretest or
pretest/posttest during library
instruction sessions for sections
of COMS 151, ENGL 155, and
UNIV 100
Summary of Findings
(what did you learn?)
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Clicker systems are not easy
to use to collect aggregate
data for program assessment.
Only 40% of students knew
that a peer reviewed journal
article was more scholarly
than Wikipedia, a newspaper
editorial or magazine article.
However, 92% of students
knew you had to cite the
source when you paraphrase.
87% know the criteria to use
to evaluate a web page.
70% know how to create a
Boolean search in an online
database
Use of Findings for Program
Improvement
(what recommendations for program
improvement did you make?)
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We need to practice how
to use the PRS system
and figure out how to
make data aggregation
work.
Librarians need to focus
more on resource choice
in lower division GE
library instruction
sessions.
Librarians need to also
focus on search strategy.
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Library Collections
support learning,
teaching, and
research
Fall
2006
Web-based survey posted on
Library home page and
publicized via campus listservs
to faculty and their students
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2006-2007 University Library Assessment Report
73.6% of students agreed or strongly agreed
there were enough books on their research
topics
69.2% of students agreed that the books
were current enough
73% of faculty agreed or strongly agreed
that they were satisfied with the quality of
the books cited by their students
56% of faculty disagreed or strongly
disagreed that the Library had enough books
to support their research, and 44% agreed or
strongly agreed.
54.3% of faculty thought that the books
were current enough for their students’
research needs, but less than half (44.9%)
felt the same regarding their own research
75.4% of students did not need to use
audiovisuals, but for those that did use AV,
75.5% agreed that they met their needs.
48.8% of the faculty respondents did not
require or recommend AV collections to
their classes, of those that did, 64.3% found
they met their students’ needs
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We need to do better in terms of
library purchases of book and
audiovisual materials to support
faculty research
We should encourage greater
participation in collection
development by faculty in order to
help meet their and their students’
information needs
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The Oviatt Library’s services support learning,
teaching, and research through its staff who:
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Provides courteous, capable, and
responsive service that demonstrates
professionalism and pride in our work.
Creates a physical environment
conducive to study and research.
Provides open hours that takes into
consideration both the schedules of our
students and faculty and the realities of
budgetary constraints.
Provides skillful and engaging
individualized point-of-use instruction,
both in-person and virtual, that helps
students develop their information
competence skills.
Actively engages in outreach to
collaborate with faculty to develop
assignments and instructional
experiences that develop students'
information competence skills.
Provides skillful and engaging
classroom instruction, which helps
students develop their information
competence skills.
Facilitates searches for needed
information by maintaining the efficient
organization of and timely access to the
Library's print and manuscript
collections, including course reserves.
Facilitates searches for needed
information by maintaining the efficient
organization of and timely access to
electronic resources via its Web pages,
including course reserves.
Facilitates use of audio/video resources
by maintaining the efficient
organization of and timely access to
media resources, including collections,
equipment, and the University Video
Network.
2006-2007 University Library Assessment Report
Spring
2007
Web-based survey posted on
Library home page and provided
to classes and at service points
in hardcopy, and publicized via
campus listservs to faculty and
their students
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Average of 73% agreed
that staff at all service
desks are courteous and
helpful
Average of 66% agreed
that that staff at all service
desks helped users learn
about the library
Reference librarians are
effective teachers (76.4%
agreed)
Librarians actively engage
in outreach to faculty
(66.9% agreed)
Library employees are
courteous and helpful by
telephone (72.8% agreed)
The library is pleasant and
inviting (62.4% agreed)
The library has enough
study space (67.3% agreed)
The library is quiet (65.9%
agreed)
The library’s hours are
convenient (73.3% agreed)
Computers and software
support assignments and
research (71.7% agreed)
Printers and photocopies
adequate (62.6% agreed)
Microform reader/printers
adequate (70.6% agreed)
58% can locate library
materials
83.5% successfully
connect to library’s online
resources
72% agree the Web site
well-organized and easy to
navigate
ILL provides timely access
(67.4% agreed)
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While overall data
indicates that the library’s
services are supporting
users’ needs, there are
areas that need
improvement
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Facilitates effective use of information
by providing equipment (i.e.,
computers, printers, copiers, etc) and
software to extract needed information
from either online or print formats.
Provides timely access to resources of
other libraries via inter-library loan
and/or document delivery, as
appropriate, to supplement Library
collections.
2006-2007 University Library Assessment Report
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Book purchase requests
handled in a timely manner
(65.1% agreed)
Overall, 67% satisfied with
all library collections
Overall satisfaction with
library services, facilities,
and resources (74%)
Likelihood of
recommending the Oviatt
Library to a
friend/colleague: Very
likely/Likely (87.9%)
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