Assessment in the Emory University Libraries

1. Assessment in theEmory University Libraries Lurching Toward Sustainability Susan Bailey and Charles Forrest September 25, 2006

2. Emory Libraries University Libraries 300 staff 3.1M volumes $29M annual budget Offsite Collection Annex General Libraries Health Sciences Center Law Oxford College Theology

3. Emory Libraries General Libraries 170 staff members 62 professional staff 108 support staff Robert W. Woodruff Library (Main) Business Library Chemistry Library Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library (MARBL) Mathematics and Science Center Library Music and Media Library

4. Context for Assessment and Planning 2001 March: Organizational redesign Proposed Market Integration Coordinating Group Market Analysts Market Councils Established Office of Program Assessment and Coordination (OPAC) (originally called Office of Market Integration) Jane Treadwell, Director Amy Williamson, Information Analyst Market Councils

5. Context for Assessment and Planning 2002 Interim Co-Coordinators for OPAC Charles Forrest Director, Library Facilities Planning & Construction Betsey Patterson Librarian for Research and Special Initiatives ARL Statistics Ejournal metrics LibQUAL+ Market Councils

6. Context for Assessment and Planning 2003 Coordinator, Program Assessment and Process Improvement Recruited Unsuccessful

7. Context for Assessment and Planning 2004 University Strategic Planning Vision Goals Measures and Targets Measurement, evaluation and assessment Strategic Initiatives Tactics Library liaison to University strategic planning process Ruth Pagell, Executive Dir, Goizueta Business Library Charles Forrest, Dir, Library Facilities Planning & Construction

8. Context for Assessment and Planning 2005 Recruited for Coordinator, Library Assessment Susan Bailey started September 2005 Created Office of Library Planning and Assessment (OPA) Strategic Planning Library Assessment and Evaluation Library Assessment Council Assessment Integration Group Facilities Planning & Project Management ARL VPO visit in December

9. Context for Assessment and Planning 2006 Student assistant began in January, providing some operational support Library Fellow began in September

10. Office of Library Planning and Assessment Mission �The Office of Library Planning and Assessment (OPA) provides coordination and management services to the rest of the organization in the three related areas of library strategic planning, library assessment and evaluation, and library facilities planning and project management.�

11. The Library Environment Two groups exist to oversee and support assessment activities: LAC and AIG Staff are asked to report library assessment activities to the OPA; OPA can ok or indicate that the activity needs additional vetting or approvals Connections with the Emory Office of Institutional Research (OIR) Connections with the Emory Institutional Review Board (IRB)

12. Library Assessment Council (LAC) Provides oversight for the library�s assessment program Coordinate program elements Common body of knowledge about the program�s direction and priorities Membership Director, Office of Finance and Budget Director, Office of Planning and Assessment Human Resources Officer Library Assessment Coordinator

13. LAC work in 2005/2006 Discussed priorities Engaged in planning for the ARL VPO visit including preparing the senior leadership group Did significant preliminary work on the Balanced Scorecard measures in advance of the broader discussions with the leadership group

14. Assessment Integration Group (AIG) Coordinates, promotes, and monitors assessment efforts in the library, supporting and sustaining a user-centered environment in which decisions are based on facts, research and analysis, and where services are planned and delivered in ways which maximize positive outcomes and impacts for customers and stakeholders Composed of volunteers from throughout the library

15. AIG work in 2005/2006 Focused on developing a common understanding of assessment in the various units of the library Worked with the data and contributed to the final document presented to ESG on LibQUAL+ Developed an Assessment Activities form and posted it as a web form to enable creation of an Activities Database Participated in several all staff presentations, including the June InfoForum on Assessment Activities Update, and the July Assessment 101 session

16. Assessment Activity Form http://fd2.formdesk.com/beaverbailey/activityform Submit proposals for new activity in advance Submit information on existing activities Submitted proposals can be found here: http://fd2.formdesk.com/beaverbailey/activityform?results

17. Assessment 101 content Context for assessment at Emory Methods (surveys, focus groups, etc.) Assessment form Relationship to Office of Institutional Research (presentation from OIR Director) Relationship to Institutional Review Board Data Management Considerations in the Use of Survey Monkey

18. Strengths Creation of an Office devoted to planning and assessment in the Library Creation of Full-time position allocated to library assessment Presence and commitment of staff for whom assessment is important--in the OPA, in the LAC, and in the AIG Relationship with Making Library Assessment Work (MLAW) project Development of new relationships with other significant campus offices Office of Institutional Research Institutional Review Board Emory Healthcare Strategic Planning Office (already working with the Balanced Scorecard process) Arrival of a new library director who has a demonstrated commitment to strategic thinking, planning, and assessment

19. Weaknesses �Newness� of the office and program�the program is not yet well-established Difficulty of moving the library culture toward one of assessment�it is challenging to get staff members to adopt new policies and practices that are needed in programmatic assessment Data gathering and documentation challenges exist�there are many questions about our current practices and the validity of much of the data that we collect and have used over the years�the derivation of many of our existing statistics is not documented or is poorly documented LA Coordinator is still working on development of needed skills and competencies Difficulty in identifying and providing the metrics that really speak to university administrators, library staff, and the user community

20. Pulling It All Together: The Balanced Scorecard University Strategic Planning Vision Goals Measures and Targets Measurement, evaluation and assessment Strategic Initiatives Tactics

21. Pulling It All Together: The Balanced Scorecard Executive Strategy Group initially identified measures and targets in Library Strategic Plan (May 2005) �Refined� from about forty to sixty measures University requests not more than twenty �key measures� for annual report LAC decides to introduce Balanced Scorecard to Library as tool to help focus and refine measures and targets, and move toward twenty key measures