The presentation slides for a half-day workshop that reviews the methods to identify the value of the academic library for students, faculty and the college or university itself.
4. Outline
• Value of a Library
– Personal value
• Direct measures
• Indirect measures
– Organizational value
– Financial value
5. Few libraries exist in a vacuum,
accountable only to themselves. There is
thus always a larger context for
accessing library quality, that is, what and
how well does the library contribute to
achieving the overall goals of the parent
constituencies?
Sarah Pritchard
6. There is no systematic evidence
collected which shows the value
of academic libraries
for teaching and research staff.
Claire Creaser and Valerie Spezi
7. Performance Measures
Input Proces
s
Output Outcome
s
Outcome
s
Library
Services
Individual Society
Efficiency Effectivenes
s
Cost
Effectiveness
Impact
VALUE
Cost benefit
Resource
s
Capability Use Beneficial effects
8. Start with the end in mind:
work backwards
Refocus from the activity
to the impact
10. Library Control
How much? How many? How economical? How prompt?
Magnitude
% of change last
year
% of overall change
Cost
Magnitude
Change
Resources used
Units processed
Cycle times
Turnaround time
Anticipatory
11. Library & Customers Decide
How valuable? How reliable? How accurate?
Effort expended
Cost
Benefits obtained
Dependability
Access
Accuracy
Completeness
Comprehensiveness
Currency
12. Customers Decide
How well? How courteous? How responsive? How satisfied?
Accuracy
Promptness
Courtesy
Expertise
Attentive
Welcoming
Anticipatory
Helpful
Empathetic
Expectations met
Materials obtained
Personal interaction
Ease of use
Environment
Comfort
Willingness to
return
14. Challenges
Lack of consensus about what should be
measured and how
Lack of understanding of performance
measurement and metrics
Organizational structural issues
Lack of precision in measuring performance,
and
alignment issues
Determining the “bottom line” is too far away
Majority of stakeholders are too far away
Library staff find it difficult to see the “big”
16. Lack of a Connection
• Budget and outputs (and outcomes) are
separated
• No “bottom line” measure for libraries
• Decision-making process is bigger than
the library
• Library has neither champions nor foes
• Library benefits are not widely self-evident
17. Orr’s Fundamental Questions
• How good is the library?
• What good does the library do?
• How well is the library managed?
18. We should be a bit wary of the “little library”
…For when it is good, it is very, very good
and when it is bad,
it’s a “pretty good library for a town this
size.”
Eleanor Jo Rodger
19.
20. Levels of Assessment …
• Individual student
• Course
• Departmental/Program
• College or University
21. Types of Measures
• Direct
– Provide tangible, visible and
self-explanatory evidence of
what students have & have not
learned
• Indirect
– Capture students’ perceptions of
their knowledge & skills;
supplement direct measures;
sometimes called surrogates
22. Qualitative Tools
• Focus groups – open
ended
• Biography
• Phenomenology –
capture the “Aha!”
moment
• Grounded theory
• Ethnography
• Case study
23. Qualitative Assessment
• Provides in-depth understanding of user
responses and interactions
• Represents part of a long-term strategy of
formative evaluative
25. Quantitative Assessment
• Analyses to determine library impacts on
academic performance, retention rates
• Describe retention rates and GPAs in
defined populations over semesters and
users
• Compare users & non-users of library
services while adjusting for academic
preparation and background differences
• Conduct quasi-experimental designs
employing multivariate analysis of
covariance & hierarchical regression
28. The Issue
• Is it: Use library resources/services and
you will get better grades.
• Or: I want to do well and so I work hard to
achieve better grades - and one way I do
that is to use library resources/services.
29. “Not surprisingly, librarians are keen to show
that the use of expensive, scholarly
materials
positively correlates with higher grades,
although they cannot prove that this is so.”
Deborah Goodall & David Pattern
30. “There is growing pressure on all academic
library managers to be more accountable for
how they use limited resources and to
achieve institutional outcomes perceived
as important by college and university
stakeholders….”
Elizabeth Mezick
31.
32.
33.
34. Value of Information
• Expect value-in-use
• Library’s collection reflects a “potential
value”
• Collection also reflects a “future value”
• Value of local collection is declining
35. Valuable is not about our professional
values;
in the paradigm of the value of public
libraries,
we are the producers,
not the consumers of services.
Our sense of what is valuable
really doesn’t matter
much at all unless it
matches that our our customers.
36. Fundamental Changes
Libraries have changed more in the past two
decades than in the prior two centuries.
Technologyis the major driver . . .
We need to recognize that all this change
has only begun, and that change is
irreversible.
37. Increasingly it is important
to remember that libraries
provide few unique services.
39. Quality of Information
This fast food approach to information consumption drives
librarians crazy. “Our information is healthier and tastes
better
too” they shout. But nobody listens. We’re too busy
Googling.”
Peter Morville
40. Key Characteristics of
Information
Uncertainty Knowledge
Ambiguity Indeterminacy
Redundancy System dependency
Sharing Timeliness
Compression Presentation
Stability Multiple life cycles
Leakability Substitutability
41. Criteria for Judging Value
Customer Criteria Value Added by the Service
Ease of use Browsing, formatting, mediation service,
orientation service, ordering, physical
accessibility
Noise reduction Access (item identification, subject
description, subject summary), linkage,
precision, selectivity
Quality Accuracy, comprehensiveness, currency,
reliability, validity
Adaptability Closeness to problem, flexibility,
simplicity, stimulatory
Time savings Response speed
Cost savings Cost savings
44. Nature of Information is
Changing
Scare, controlled
Expensive
Shaped by elites
One-way, mass
consumption
Slow moving
External to our
worlds
All around us
Cheap or free
Shaped by consumers
Designed for sharing,
participation &
feedback
Immediate
Embedded in our
worlds
Information
was ….
Information
is ….
47. Ifthe physical proximity of
print collections had a demonstrable
impact on researcher productivity,
no university would hesitate to
allocate prime real estate
to library stacks.
49. Universities Provide
• Private goods &
services
– Courses exchanged for
tuition
– Research completed for
funding
• The value proposition
The value to an individual or an
organization determines
50. Academic Libraries Provide
• Public goods and
services
Print and online resources are
shared by all, usually without
the exchange of payment
• Value proposition
The collective value of all users
must be estimated to determine
if a good or service should be
54. Define, develop, and measure
outcomes
that contribute to
institutional effectiveness
ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education
55. Challenge
It is not how much a library
is used that matters,
rather how does the library
impact or benefit the
customer?
56. Perspectives on Value
Benefits
Use
Nonuse
Direct
Indirect
Option – Preservation of option for
future use by me
Existence – Perceived value and
significance
to the community
Legacy – Value of preservation for
future generations
Personal
Organizational
Financial
Impacts
58. Why Use the Library?
Reasons Interactions Results
For a TASK
For PERSONAL
reasons
To get an
OBJECT or
INFORMATION
To perform an
ACTIVITY
Access
RESOURCES
Use of
RESOURCES or
SERVICES
OPERATIONS
ENVIRONMENT
S
COGNITIVE results
AFFECTIVE results
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
EXPECTATIONS met
TIME aspects
MONEY estimates
61. • Full-time students
• Live on campus
• Interact more with faculty
• Study more
• Collaborate with their
peers
Student Learning is Affected by
…
62. NSSE
• 5 benchmarks of effective educational practice
– Level of academic challenge
– Active & collaborative learning
– Student-Faculty interaction
– Enriching educational experiences
– Supportive campus environment
• Student self-reported gains in intellectual &
personal development
• No overlap between self-reported data &
standardized objective tests
63. NSSE – Use of the Academic
Library
• 50% never used the library
• Use of libraries at small, academically
challenging liberal arts colleges are
correlated with other purposeful activities
• Library use less intensive at larger
universities
• Students who work harder use library
64.
65. Assessing Student Achievement
• Direct measures
– Capstone experience
– Use of a portfolio
– Standardized exam (Collegiate
Learning Assessment)
• Indirect measures
66. • Gains in student
performance are
quite low
• Individual learning
is characterized
by persistence
• Notable variation
within and across
institutions
Assessment of Higher Ed
67. Wabash National Study
• Different instrument – CAAP
• 2,212 students
• Nearly identical results to Academically
Adrift
• 44 percent no gains in the first year
• 33 percent no gains in 4 years
• Students only study about 15 hours per
week
69. Bibliographic Instruction
• Improvement in basic library skills is the
means and not the end
• Yet the means is the focus for evaluation
efforts
• Evaluation efforts focus on
– Opinion surveys
– Skills improvement
– Pre-test & post-test knowledge
• Not the impact on student achievement
70. Library experiences do not seem to
directly
contribute to gains in information
literacy,
to what students gain overall in college,
or
to student satisfaction.
Kuh & Gonyea
71. “One way to demonstrate the library’s
contribution is to assess whether
students’
experiences with the library
directly or indirectly
contribute to desired outcomes of college.”
George D. Kuh & Robert M. Gonyea
72.
73. How to Demonstrate Impact in
…
• Student enrollment
• Student experiences
• Student learning
• Student grades (GPA) &
achievement
• Student retention & graduation
• Student career success
• Faculty productivity
• Institutional reputation
• The environment
78. Meta-analysis
• Entering student characteristics
– SES
– High school GPA
– ACT/SAT scores
• Environment - Psychosocial and study
skill factors
– Academic goals, skills and self-confidence
– Social support & engagement (acculturation)
79. Student Learning Occurs …
• in the classroom
• in the laboratory
• with peers
• in the student union
• in the dorm
• in the library (for some)
• online
• and
92. University of Minnesota
Gym Bags and Mortarboards
Use Campus Recreational Facilities
At least 25 times, first-
year retention increased
1%
&
5-year graduation rates
increased 2%
93.
94. University of Minnesota Library
• 5,368 first-year non-transfer students
• Use of library was associated with a .23
increase in students GPA
• More use of the library, GPA also goes up
96. Library Instruction and GPA
• Surveys of student opinions & habits
• Assessing student work for specific skills
• Analysis of grade point average
• Mixed results
97. Library Instruction and GPA
Hong King Baptist University
• 45 sample groups – N=31 to 1,223, study
majors
• Pairs of data
• One-fourth (11) had a positive relationship
• Results:
– 1 or 2 workshops – little impact on GPA
– 3 or 4 workshops – ½ show a positive impact
– 5 workshops (1 sample group) – 100% had a
higher GPA
98. Library Instruction and GPA
University of Wyoming Libraries
• Analysis of 4,489 transcripts
• Slight positive relationship between upper-
level library instruction courses and GPA –
0.075 GPA difference – that’s less than
1/10th of 1 percent
99. • Research statement – 44%
• Evaluate Web site – objectivity –
52%
– authority – 65%
• Presentation to persuade – 12%
103. Retention Concepts
• Institutional retention
– Enrolling & graduating from the same
institution
• Program retention
– Enrolling & graduating with the same
major/department/school
• System retention
– Students who leave one university yet
continue and complete post-secondary
studies elsewhere
104. Measures of Retention
• Persistence (Continuation rate)
– From first to second year? Entry to
graduation?
• Completion rate
– From entry to graduation (Student goals?)
• Graduation rates
– Are transfers included? Time period?
• Attrition
– Leaving university? Leaving higher ed?
105. Measures of Retention
• Stopout
– Leave university with the intention (and
action) of returning later to complete a
program
• Dropout
– Leave university with intention (and action) of
NOT returning
• Transfer
– Change institutions yet persist in higher
education
– May change type of institution
106. Why Students Leave?
• Students’ decision to leave University is influenced
by many personal factors
– Financial reasons
– Family responsibilities
– Lack of academic ability
– Poor fit, etc.
• Foundational Theories from Education / Psychology:
– Tinto’s “Model of Student Integration”
– Bean’s “Model of Student Attrition”
107. Tinto’s
Model of Student Integration
Pre-entry
Attributes
Goals /
Commitment
s
Institutional
Experience
s
Integration Goals /
Commitment
s
Outcome
SES
Skills &
Abilities
Quality
of
Educatio
n
Intentions
Institutional
Commitment
s
Academic System
Performance
Engagement
Extra-
Curricular
Peer group
Social System
Academic
Integration
Social
Integration
Intentions
Goal
Institutional
Match
Stay
or
Leave
108. Bean’s
Model of Student Attrition
Grades
Courses
Educational Goals
Major & Job Certainty
Opportunity to Transfer
Family Approval
Organization
alVariables
Personal
Variables
Environment
al
Variables
Loyalty Attitudes
Certainty
Practical
Value
Intent
Dropout
109.
110. Student Retention & Graduation
• Important because … rankings,
revenues, educational achievement,
emotional well-being
• Many reasons for drop-outs are not
under the control of the university
• Engagement is the key
111. Indicators
• Student goal
attainment
• Course retention
• Subsequent course
work
• Fall-to-fall persistence
• Time to degree
• Degree completion
• Grad school
enrollment
• Transfer rate & success
• Employer assessment
• Academic value add
• Student satisfaction
• Professional growth
• Student involvement
• Citizenship &
engagement
117. Library Retention Studies
• Statistically significant relationships between
library expenditures, or staffing levels and
student retention
E.g. Hiscock, 1986
Hamrick, Schuh, & Shelley, 2004
Mezick, 2007
118. Graduation Rates & Library
Expenditures
• Used IPEDS data on institutional
characteristics & resource allocations
• Library expenditures was strongly
correlated with graduation rates – 1.77
percent increase in graduation rates
• Greatest payoff is attributable to enhanced
library expenditures (+0.92) and instruction
(+0.80) while increased non-library
contributions were quite modest (+0.27)
Hamrick, Schuh & Shelley
119. Library Retention Studies
• Relationships between library use
(collections) and student retention
– Student who borrowed books = more likely to
persist
• E.g. Kramer & Kramer, 1968
• Impact of instruction
– Students involved in library skills programs
showed lower attrition rates
• E.g. Knapp, 1966
120. Library Retention Studies
University of Minnesota
– 77% of undergrads made use of the
libraries, 85% of grad students made use of
the libraries
– Students who used the library at least once
were 1.54 times more likely to re-enroll
121. Library Retention Studies
• Some library involvement in first year
experience programs; specific programs for
“at risk” groups
– NOT proven to have significant effect
• E.g. Hollis, 2001
Colton, et al, 2002
Aguilar & Keating, 2009
Love, 2009
122. Library Retention Studies
• Relationship between library employment
& retention
– Higher completion rate among library student
workers
• E.g. Wilder, 1990
Rushing & Poole, 2002
123. “If strong linkages between libraries
and student retention can be made,
then the perceived value of the library
may indeed rise.”
Steven Bell
124. • Some groups, some majors & seniors
engage in more library-related activities
• Academic support expenditures tend to
correlate with increased engagement
• Institutional academic challenge
correlates with library use
128. • Integration of library resources and
services into course syllabi, Websites,
lectures, labs, reserve readings, etc.
• Faculty/librarian collaborations;
cooperative curriculum, assignment, or
assessment design
Faculty Teaching
129. Perceived Benefits for Teaching
• Savings
– Of own time
– Of own money
– Of other resources
• Improvements
– Teaching
– Course-related materials
– Student performance
130.
131. Impact on Faculty
• Library is the source for most journal
articles (individual subscriptions are way
down)
• If library subscriptions were unavailable –
productivity would decrease 17%
• Library is not the source of book readings
• 42% of reading material is library provided
132. Time
• Academics spend a lot of time reading
• Article reading inspires new thinking,
improved results, changed focus
• Award-winning academics read more
• Academics who publish more use more
library resources
133. Ithaka Studies
• Library services not
understood
• Library services not valued
• The Library is
disappearing
134. • Number of publications, number of
patents, value of technology transfer
• Tenure/promotion judgments
Faculty Research Productivity
Faculty Grants
• Number of grant proposals (funded or
unfunded)
• Value of grants funded
135. Assessment of Research
• Payback model – form of ROI
• Research impact
• Research utilization ladder
• Lavis decision-making impact model
• Weiss logic model
• HTA organization assessment
framework
• Societal impact framework
• Research assessment exercise
• Becker medical library model
136. For Most Impact Models
• Indicators of research output
• Indicators of knowledge transfer
• Indicators of implementation
• Indicators of community benefit
140. Institutional Reputation
• Changes in reputational rankings affects
student & faculty recruitment
• University budget allocations to libraries
have decreased
Since the library absorbs a very small percentage of a
university budget, the contribution of the library is
disproportionately high relative to its cost to the institution.
Sharon Weiner
141. University & the Library Can
• Attract outstanding faculty
• Retain outstanding faculty
• Foster innovative research
• Align library activities with
university goals
142. • Indispensable for their research
• Maintain a high-level overview of their field
• Value for money is good
• Library not available, costs would increase
40%
• Take 31% longer to locate same information
148. ROI in Library Contexts
• Demonstrating the value of libraries
• Evaluating existing services, collections,
etc.
• Making the case for additional services or
resources
• Recruiting support for a program or
initiative
149. ROI Terminology
• Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)
– Compares cost or purchase price with
estimated value of variables that are difficult to
measure
• Consumer Surplus
– Value that consumers place on the
consumption of a good or service in excess of
what they paid for it
• Cost of Time and Effort
– Measures time and effort expended by users
• Contingent Valuation
150. Cost/Benefit Methodologies
• Maximize the benefits for given costs
• Minimize the costs for a given level of
benefits
• Maximize the ratio of benefits over costs
• Maximize the net benefits (present value
of benefits minus the present value of
costs)
• Maximize the internal rate of return
151. Ratio of Benefits to Costs
Value of benefits
divided by
Costs
ROI = Benefit – Cost
Cost
152. University of Pittsburgh ROI
• If the library’s journal collection (print &
electronic) were not available, faculty
would use 250,000 hours and $2.1 million
to find alternative sources for the articles
• It would cost the university 4.38 times
the cost of the current library journal
collections for the same amount of
information gathering to be carried out
153. University of Illinois, Urbana-
Champaign
Connected citations to resources
in
the library’s collection to
successful
grant proposals, and the income
the
grants generated
154.
155.
156. ROI may provide us with calculations that
seek to document a financial relationship
between action and benefit, but too often
in the library community these studies are
poorly constructed, ineffectively
executed, and naïvely communicated.
And in the final analysis, do not respond
to the legitimate questions being raised
by our administrators and funders, and do
not advance the academic library as a
critical factor in institutional success.
James Neal
157.
158. • Comprehensive assessment of the library
• ROI of the journal collection & readership
• ROI for support of teaching & learning
• ROI of digitized special collections
• ROI of eBooks
• Value of library commons
• Bibliography
159. Bryant University – Faculty
Access
Article ROI = 3.2:1
Book ROI = 3.5:1
Other publications ROI = 3.2:1
160. Syracuse University – ROI
4.49:1
Faculty Students
Economic
In Person $13.6 $23.1
Remote 19.0 14.5
TOTAL $32.6 $37.6
Environmental
Remote access $1.6 $3.7
Read not-printed 0.1 0.7
Social ? ?
TOTAL $34.3 $42.0
(Millions of Dollars)
164. ROI for Support of Teaching &
Learning
Perceived Benefits –
• Savings …
– Of own time
– Of own money
– Of other resources – printing, copier
• Improvements …
– Teaching
– Course-related materials
– Student performance
165. ROI of Digitized Special Collections
User
• What is the value to a user in terms of
time and money spent?
Prestige
• What is the prestige to the institution
for high visibility digital special
collection?
Development
• What value accrues to the
166. ROI of Digitized Special Collections
Environmental
• What is the value of the environmental
savings from limited physical access to
unique and often fragile material?
Scholars
• What value accrues from the role of special
collections in attracting graduate students?
Collections
• What is the value of digital collection in
attracting additional special collections?
175. • An offer, not a demand
• Not what you value
• Only valuable perspective is the
customer’s
• Valuable in a competitive environment
The Value Proposition
176. Or
The
promise that a library makes to its
customers about what they can
expect
to receive in return for their time,
their effort, their loyalty, and
especially their dollars.
177. The library needs to …
Focus on customers
and whatthey want and need
as well as
how they want and need it.
183. Is the value in the glass, the wine
or the savoring?
184. The financial crisis is looking even worse,
but you will pleased to know that the
director reports that the library performance
went up a half a point on the
“library goodness scale” last week.
Michael Buckland
188. What Are the Results
Four Year
College
Full-time
Four Year
College
Part-time
Two Year College
Stopout/Transfer
College degree – 19%
AA degree – 8%
No college degree –
60%
No college
Graduate degree –
11%
189. Valuing the Collection
Dewey Subclass
Number of Titles
2010-2011 Avg
List Total Value ($)
001 - Knowledge $76.71 $0.00
002 - The book $62.45 $0.00
003 - Systems $129.77 $0.00
004 - Data processing. Computer science $89.82 $0.00
005 - Computer programming, programs, data $69.14 $0.00
006 - Special computer methods $83.60 $0.00
010 - Bibliography $73.65 $0.00
011 - Bibliographies $69.46 $0.00
012 - Bibliographies of individuals $0.00 $0.00
013 - Of works by specific classes of authors $0.00 $0.00
014 - Of anonymous and pseudonymous works $55.95 $0.00
015 - Of works from specific places $184.99 $0.00
016 - Of works on specific subjects $134.87 $0.00
017 - General subject catalogs $0.00 $0.00
018 - Catalogs arranged by author, date, etc. $0.00 $0.00
019 - Dictionary catalogs $0.00 $0.00
020 - Library and information sciences $56.06 $0.00
021 - Library relationships $62.60 $0.00
022 - Administration of the physical plant $65.50 $0.00
023 - Personnel administration $56.00 $0.00
025 - Library operations $77.02 $0.00
026 - Libraries for specific subjects $89.99 $0.00
027 - General libraries $66.25 $0.00
Notas do Editor
You can download one and buy the other
Claire Creaser and Valerie Spezi. Working Together. June 2012. UK: Loughborough University.Libraries are busy measuring activity and not measuring value
Richard Orr
Focus on outcomes not process
Not all impacts are positiveNot all impacts are intendedNot all impacts are immediateDifficulty in separating library impact from other influences
The How Questions
Allan Pratt and Ellen Altman. Live by the Numbers, Die by the Numbers
2/3rds of managers responsible for library budgets have no idea of how to evaluate or value the library
How good is the library? Quality and capabilitiesWhat good does the library do? Benefits, Impacts - ValueHow well is the library managed? Efficiency - benchmarkingHow can we move from bad to good?
New Zealand Libraries, March 1990
What are some of the Tools for Assessment - Evaluation
Direct method – the financial savings method is used widely to monetize the direct use benefits of public libraries.As such, it undercounts benefits that have had an estimated value assigned to it Not so in academic libraries
Focus groups – open ended – standard, guided, exploratoryEthnography – work study, photo essays, mapping dairies, etc.University of Rochester –they “know” their customers
Survey - random sample best, set questions (no follow up), statistical analysis, representative sample, response ratesExplore - How was it?, What do you do?, What do you want?, What did you do?
Deborah Goodall & David Pattern . Academic library non/low use and undergraduate student achievement. Library Management, 32 (3), 2011, 159-170.p. 161
DefinitionsA nounExchange for or equivalenceMonetary or material worthUsefulness, utilityPrinciple, standard, or qualityToll, cost or priceDarkness or lightness of color A verbEstimate the worth of something (appraise)Regard highly (esteem)Assign a value to something Other definitions depending on the fieldRegardless of context, defining value is a complex issue with its own philosophical discipline; axiology (Cram, 1999, p.11). Axiology, or Value Theory defines three different dimensions of value; extrinsic value, systematic value and intrinsic value (Hartman, 1969, p. 114). Thus, there are a number of different value types, including personal value, aesthetic value, religious value, spiritual value; and ethical value. Bequest value – willingness to pay for the endowment of the good or service for future generationsGoogle images - add_value.jpgonproductmanagement.net
Adam SmithValue-in-exchangeValue-in-use (utility theory)Google image adam‑smith.jpgblog.braintraffic.com
Value is a moving targetWhat was valuable vs.What is valuable vs.What will be valuable
Eleanor Jo Rodger. Value & Vision. American Libraries, November 2002, 50-52.Ideas of value have changedMoving target, constantly needs assessmentUsefulness, quality, availability, imageHistoric is not valuableDoesn't’t correspond to staff ideas of importanceIs not about our professional valuesDoing wrong things well does not create value
Mobile technology is the needle, and social networks are the thread (materials being woven)
Libraries are so screwed Value of the local collections is being diminished
Douglas Badenoch et al
Robert Taylor
http://matthew.reidsrow.com/As a result Discovery happens elsewhere
Hope College Library
A large local inventory was a hallmark of academic reputationWe no longer live in that world.
Photo Flickr.com401K College
Flickr Timtom.ch Trinity College Library
Two different people receive different value when using the same item
Similar to Robert Orr’s Input-Process-Output-Outcomes modelImpact of any one characteristic of the University environment is clearly, at best, indirectInput are the entering student characteristicsOutput are the graduating student characteristicsSimilar to Orr’s Input, Process, Output, Process model
Richard Shavelson. Measuring College Learning Responsibility: Accountability in a New Era. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2010, pg 13
Libraries building communities – 75% of users and nonusers agreed that the library is a good place for facilitating social interaction
Personal Perspectives
TefkoSaracevic and Paul Kantor
Gates Foundation
Organizational Perspective
NSSE results
Pascarella, Seifert, and Blaich. How Effective are the NSSE Benchmarks in Predicting Important Educational Outcomes? Change, January 2010.NSSE data is reliable yet there are still concerns about use of the data
N=380,000 NSSE dataGeorge Kuh and Robert Gonyea. The Role of the Academic Library in Promoting Student Engagement in Leaning. College & Research Libraries, July 2003, 256-282.
The Halo EffectGary Pike – The Constant Error of the Halo – For freshmen – halo error accounts for half of the explained varianceFor seniors – one quarter to one half of the explained varianceSelf-reported gains in student achievement and college experiencesPhil Rosenzweig – The Halo Effect – Jim Collins Good to Great
Richard Arum and JosipaRoksa. Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011.Almost half (45%) showed no improvement – using CLA before and after data – after 2 years35% showed no improvement over 4 yearsLiberal arts majors do better than other majorsTo gauge summative performance authentically, the CLA presents realistic problems that require students to analyze complex materials and determine the relevance to the task and credibility. Students' written responses to the tasks are evaluated to assess their abilities to think critically, reason analytically, solve problems and communicate clearly and cogently. Scores are aggregated to the institutional level to provide a signal to the institution about how their students as a whole are performing. Whether CLA actually measures what it says it measures is another matter
Pascarella et al. How Robust Are the Findings of Academically Adrift? Change, May-June 2011CAAP - Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency
Megan Oakleaf – RAILS Project
Wong Chan and Chu. JAL, July 2006More recently,Reinsfelder. Citation Analysis as a Tool to Measure the Impact of Individual Research Consultants. C&RL, May 2012, 263-277. Found that as number of sources improved, the grade improved yet other research found either no correlations or negative correlations.
Kuh & Gonyea. The role of the academic library in promoting student engagement in learning.College & Research Libraries, 64 (7), July 2003, 256-82.300,000 student respondents – NSSE data
Sept 2010
Megan’s categories – all her suggestions rely on indirect measures or surrogates
One study – Gary Reynolds. The Impact of Facilities on Recruitment & Retention of Students. New Directions for Institutional Research, 135, Fall 2007.– showed that the library was the 2nd or 3rd most important reason why a university was selectedPartnering with Student Affairs – campus tour offices – Connecting with parentsMore recently, Lombard The Role of the Academic Library in College Choice. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, July 2012, 237-41.62% lib. no factor, & another 29% the lib. Was only a minor factor. 9% either an important factor or deciding factorGoogle backtoschool_XS.jpgusd261.com
ACRL Value Report possible surrogate measuresChoice of college (from the students perspective) has a big impact on how long it takes to graduate with a BA, onbeing accepted into a high quality grad schoolAs well as amount of income over your lifetime. Private vs public
Google C09LRN1.jpgcsuchico.edu
ACRL Value Report possible surrogate measures
Acculturation – learning how to function (and succeed) in their new environmentTechnology & bureaucracy are the biggest problems
So assessment of student learning is difficult So too is the assessment of the library’s contribution to student learning
Google 123RF Portrait of happy young people sitting in pub, drinking beer, looking at camera, smiling.
Standardized test – Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP)Measure of Academic Proficiency and Progress (MAPP)the Collegiate Leaning Assessment (CLA) test has three components:Make an argumentCritique an argumentPerformance task – prepare a briefing reportEssays are scored using a rubricThe institution is the primary unit of analysis
Derek Rodriquez – PhD uses rubrics to assess the impact of student capstone projects
De Jager 2002, Zhong & Alexander 2007, Julien & Boon 2004, Wong & Webb 2011Jim Self 1987 no correlation between use of reserve collections and gradesLibrary-related interactions – Dickensen 2006Behaviors – Poll 2003, Poll & Payner 2006
Good newsUK Library Impact Data Project
UK Library Impact Data Project
Book borrowing by students at Huddersfield University in the UK
University of WollongongData into the Library Cube – R squared = .91The Library Cube provides the information needed to support continuous improvement in three areas: collection development; academic relationships; and marketing.The Library has seen a positive correlation between borrowing activity and academic performance
Univ of Wollongong Aus School of CommerceAs use of library increases, grades go up
Reported in College & Research Libraries
Small study but interesting results
Regression Analysis -
led to $59 million expansion
Hong King Baptist University – Wong and Cmor CR&L Sept 2011
Melissa Bowles-Terry. Library Instruction and Academic Success: A Mixed-Methods Assessment of a Library Instruction Program. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 7(1), 2012.
6,300 students in the sample ICT skills 2007
Many confusing terms to describe the same thingRetention rates range from 60 to 80%Do you know the retention rate for your university?
ACRL Value Report surrogate measures
In the 2005 book “College Student Retention” edited by Alan Seidman, Linda Hagedornhas a great chapter that explains the differences between various student retention concepts
Defined by US National Center for Education Statistics institutionsretain; individualspersistPersistence: from entry to graduation? From first to second year?Completion: from entry to grad? What about student goals upon entering?Graduation rates: time period? What about transfers? Can only really belong to one institution – so transfer school X captures the student in their graduation rates; beginning school Y calls the student a non-persister or a dropoutAttrition: leaving the system? Leaving the institution?So just a few more things to think about when you are exploring the student retention literature.
Retention and drop out rates are NOT dichotomous – students might leave during one time period, but then come backStopout; Drop out; TransferVoluntary / Involuntary – how is this (IS this?) accounted for in student retention stats?Non-persistence is not always a bad thing. Retention theorist Alexander Astin believes student GOALS coming in, and INTENTIONS are most significant. (e.g. did that student only intend to pick up one language course at the community college? Did that student travelling far from home only intend to spend one year at the institution for the experience before transferring to a more affordable institution?
On-campus undergraduate students
On-campus undergraduate students
Carroll et al – graduate distant education student Retention Model
Develop a personal connection with the university – especially in the first yearGlasgow Caledonia Univ – highest retention and fastest progression rates among students who have high use of eResources Crawford et al 2004Social integration, academic integrationTemple University – Reasons to drop outLost financial aid/change in financial situation reason for dropping outAlternative textbook project – eBooks
Association for the Study of Higher Ed (ASHE) report
2008 AUSSE data – more you use the library more likely to NOT consider leavingDeparture intention“How libraries and librarians can support student engagement”
Curtin University – sample of 4,461 students66% had NOT borrowed an item were more likely to withdrawThose that HAD accessed eResources were more likely to remain in schoolStudents with low SES DO use computer workstations in the library
Early warning system! In the UK Compare Current vs Dropout
Engagement is particularly important for the first-year student
Why – data is easily accessibleJane E Hiscock, 1986Long Island UniversityLibrary Expenditures increased retentionHamrick, Schuh, and Shelley, 2004Iowa State University Predicting graduation rates based on resource allocation and other institutional characteristics.Found library expenditures (not counting materials) significantly related to graduation ratesCAUSAL RELATIONSHIP: very difficult to prove!! Focus instead on showing statistically significant differences.Mezick, 2007Long Island University (Brookville, NY)Analyze relationships to both library expenditures and number of professional library staff to student persistence. Strongest relationships:Library expenditures (overall) and retention at undergraduate institutionsLibrary professional staff and retention at doctoral institutions
Lloyd A. Kramer & Martha B. Kramer, 1968California State Polytechnic CollegeStatistically significant correlation between library use (in terms of book borrowing) and persistence from 1st to 2nd year<CLICK>Patricia B. Knapp, 1966Monteith College (Wayne State University, MI)Students involved in library skills program showed lower attrition, higher grades
Large body of work that supports the idea that campus jobs generally promote persistence – Astin, TerenziniStanley Wilder, 1990; Darla Rushing & Deborah Poole, 2002Louisiana State University & Loyola University, New OrleansRelationship between employment in the library and student completionWill Weston San Diego State Univ 2010
The problem however is that almost all studies make the library the focus of the investigation and not student retention (and student success)
NSSE - Students tend to over-report their experiences and their skills
ACRL Value Report surrogate measures
What is the impact of the library on the faculty?Flickr AKMA Seabury Faculty
Creaser & Spezi. Working Together: Evolving value for academic libraries. June 2012.
Tenopir and Valentine 2012Back files are important
Time spent reading represents an exchange value – about 25 days per yearCarol Tenopir ALA Midwinter 2012
Ithaka plus Cluff & Murrah 1987 JALFlickr Ben Heine We All Disappear Someday
ACRL Value Report surrogate measures
Creaser & Spezi. Working Together: Evolving value for academic libraries. June 2012.For researchers - Help with lit searching – huge opportunity
Jason Priem – Univ of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Altmetrics– use social media
US News & World ReportStudents from better schools get into better graduate schoolsWeiner JAL Jan 2009 Total library expenditure is related to US News Peer Assessment ScoresBudgets down from 3.7% to 2.5% over 10 years
Work together to …
AustraliaLibrary provides access to information resources that are:
Flickr {e u g e n e } Financial Growth
Is the library “at the table” with funding decision makersOr is it “on the menu”?
What do you think? What is your definition of ROI?
In short, ROI is a tool to help with decision-making in either planning or evaluation of services. Most often, it is a measure of the dollar amount of an investment compared to the estimated value in dollars and cents of the outcomes, outputs, or uses of the results. The most effective ROI analyses are, however, best described as stories that weave together qualitative and quantitative assessments of the value of the library and its services.
Organizational level – ROI studies often called Library Valuation studiesIn financial circles, ROI often referred to as payback period, net present value, internal rate of return
In planning, estimate of measurable outcomes expected to be achieved as a result of investment of resourcesIn evaluating performance, measurement of outcomes achieved as a result of investment of resources
CBAConsumer surplus – cost of the vacation = X ringgits, value of the vacation experience = pricelessCost of Time and Effort – “Is it worth my time?”Contingent Valuation – more later
Typically, analysis of competing projects- capital expenditure projectsROI is sometimes called ROCE – Return on Capital Employed
In library studies, the ratio of benefits compared to costs is usedIn reality, it should be (value of benefits minus cost) divided by costs
Don King et al 2004 Contingent valuation ROI = 2.9.1:1
Formula ? Convoluted –“Funding does not regenerate funding, but reputation does”TenopirPlus a study in Germany
The calculations
StoptheMadness:TheInsanityofROIandtheNeedforNewQualitativeMeasuresofAcademicLibrarySuccess.James G. NealACRL National Conference, March 30-April 2, 2011 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
For-profit university – grown to over 100,000 students – all classes are taught onlineLibrary responsible for linking to online resources PLUSeBookstore (demands at least a 35% reduction in price for all eTextbooks and eliminates all shipping costs)APU ePress creates eTextbooks for high-demand classesOverall library achieves at least a 15:1 ROI
Visit the project’s Web sitehttp://libvalue.cci.utk.edu/Comprehensive assessment of the library – Bryant University – Don King report Syracuse University – Bruce Kingma (surveys) Several NY universities – Megan Oakleaf – Web-based surveysROI of the journal collection & readership – selected US and UK universities – surveys, critical incident, open-ended Drexel UniversityROI for support of teaching & learning – Univ of Tennessee – survey, focus group, writing rubricROI of digitized special collections – Univ of TennesseeROI of eBooks – COUNTER stats, logbooks, surveys – Univ of Illinois, UCValue of library commons – Univ of Tennessee – surveys of undergrad and grad studentsProject bibliography
Access to journal articlesPurpose of reading by faculty – 60% research, 17% teaching, 10% proposals, reportsPurpose of reading by students – 56% course assignment or paper, 20% required reading, 20% class reportFaculty do not get books from the library – 75% from other sourcesReference ROI = 1.50:1Also examined the costs and benefits of providing instruction and access to equipment, photocopiers, AV equipmentSurvey instruments included in the reportStudents do not rely on the library to read books – only 20% do so
Faculty & student surveysBruce KingmaLIBValue Project ALA Midwinter 2012
Annually, faculty spend 216 hours (27 8-hour days) reading articles, 148 hours reading books, and 84 hours reading other publications
What are the values? Using contingent valuation survey and Google analytics
eBooks offer value to the library in both a monetary way through documented “usefulness” to patrons – YMMD – Your mileage may differ - use is locally influencedeBooks are less expensive to own, circulate, maintain and preserve than print bookseBooks offer value to patrons, who “esteem” them due to:Accessibility and availability – 24/7, anywherePortabilitySearch and navigation capabilitiesRoom for improvement
Survey of students and others who enterUniv of Tennessee library
ROI for all of the State of Michigan’s Universities is quite highState funding of $1.5 Billion yield a benefit of $41 BillionYet, even this high ROI has done little to avoid the budget reductions in higher ed
How and what you say has a real impact!
Impact – use VERBS – Learning, collaborating, assisting, empowering
What measures of library success will resonate in your organizational setting?Be visible with your funding decision makers – build personal connectionsIn your environment, how is value defined, measured & communicated?
Pain gapGain gap - outcomes
The Value Proposition must fill two requirements:Actionable by you and your organizationCredible and compelling to target audienceExamples – It’s the most technologically advanced and robust system on the marketWe improve communication and moraleWe offer training classes in a wide variety of areasMy product was rated the best-in-class by leading authorities
Alignment Organization’s mission and goalsWhat is a valuable library? One that contributes to reaching the goals and objectives of the organization.
Partner with others
Remember that ROI is only one piece of the puzzleFunding for libraries is a reflection of public or campus supportSupport (in the form of your budget) reflects the perceived value of the library to each family, student, faculty member –In short, to your communityHowever, the value is judged in the context of today’s economy and today’s society
Tell your story in numbers and stories Your message – “We have contributed towards YOUR goals by ….”Harbor Bridge, Sydney, Australia
Use lots of color and excitement to convey both written and spoken stories of the value of the library
Had enough bullet points?
85% of US population HS grads; 50+% some college1980 data AA = 6%; College degree = 19% no degree – 75%2010 data AA = 8%, College degree – 19%,