Library Assessment in Higher Education

by Joseph R. Matthews

Written for library managers, this volume explains and clarifies the practice of assessment at academic institutions. Armed with this information, the library manager will be better prepared to assess library services in the context of the library's impact on student learning outcomes and research productivity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Librarianship, Library Science

156 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good primer on assessment for me. I did feel that a lot of it didn't apply to me, however, because I am a small institution and the chapters on publication/research/tenure weren't necessary for my job. If you don't have a lot of time, I'd recommend reading the following chapters only:

Chapter 4 - Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes
Chapter 5 - Assessment of the Library's Contribution to Student Learning Outcomes
Chapter 11 - Planning Assessment
Chapter 12 - Implementing Assessment

I did get some solid ideas on ways to (and not to) assess our library's performance, including the idea of calculating our "ROI" according to the use of our resources. I think this will certainly help me on my way to learning to better assess library use/efficacy.

[Catie Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matthews's book is a much needed bridge from Oakleaf's Value of Academic libraries for those that are unsure in the assessment field. He provides examples of how others have begun to assess the library in various contexts and provides areas where we as library professionals could still do more research. The book focuses on outward assessment of library roles by tying outcomes to library mission statements and university goals with many references to Oakleaf's report. The last two chapters will be the most useful for those seeking to start assessing the context of the library to improve services. Beware to all those seeking classroom assessment though, this is not the book for you.