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Library Assessment: Assessment Plan

Guidelines to create and manage a library assessment plan

Assessment Plans for Libraries

This LibGuide provides information on how to create an assessment plan and promote a culture of assessment in the library. The assessment plan describes an assessment cycle. Assessment never ends. It is a process of continuous improvement in response to changes in student characteristics, the economy, technology, and other factors that affect libraries and institutions of higher education.

The culture of assessment develops best if it receives support from both top down and bottom up. Administration needs to require evidence in the process of decision-making or employees will not do it. And employees need to champion assessment and eventually buy in or it will never be sustainable.

What is Assessment?

Assessment is the systematic evaluation of the worth or merit  of something. There are many different types of assessment--ROI, benchmarking, total quality management, etc. Academia tends to prefer outcomes-based assessment. Outcomes-based assessment is a systematic way to assess whether a program/unit has achieved its intended results. How has my program made a difference? How are the lives of the program participants better as a result of the program? It is outwardly focused on the users of the library or program.

“Outcome-based evaluation is designed to get an organization, such as a library, to answer a crucial question:
  
                We do what, for whom, for what outcomes or benefits?”

Matthews, J. R. (2007). The evaluation and measurement of library services. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited. p. 25.

Assessment Cycle

 

 Library Assessment Cycle

  • Outcomes established
    • For each Outcome, establish narrower performance criteria that are measurable statements
    • Designate how often each Outcome will be analyzed
  • Assessments established
    • Plan measurement methods
    • Establish measurement methods and collect data
    • Designate who is responsible for measurement methods or data collection
    • Determine what is an acceptable level of "success" for the data 
    • Data collection and measurement methods should be part of regular duties
  • Evaluations conducted
    • Set aside time to compile and analyze the data
    • Designate what group is responsible for analyzing the data
  • Library Faculty discussion
    • Interpret the data and decide what it means
    • Decide who will discuss - a committee or the entire faculty
    • Should any non-library faculty be part of the discussion?
  • Make decisions
    • Make decisions regarding the success of the Outcome
      • Make modifications to library curriculum or library services, if necessary
      • Revise Outcomes or assessment plan, if necessary
      • Make no change if that is appropriate
  • Do it again!

 

Assessment Plan

An Assessment Plan should include

  1. Oversight for assessment (Who does this?)
  2. Resources and structures for assessment
  3. Outcomes/Goals:
    1. how they are constructed and   
    2. how they are used for assessment
  4. Measures of achievement of the goals
    1. What the measures are
    2. Why these measures are chosen
    3. How the choice relates to the goals
    4. How the measures are administered
  5. How assessment data are used for improvement of learning
  6. Recommended changes to improve assessment mechanisms

Maki, P. (2004). Assessing for learning : Building a sustainable commitment across the institution. Sterling, Va: Stylus.
ISU Main Library Stacks -  LB2366.2 .M35 2004

Schedule the Assessment Cycle

The library can't do everything every year and it is not expected. Plan a reasonable assessment schedule to review your data. It is suggested that the library build the data collection into the work routine, when possible, and plan time periods to regularly examine and analyze it. 

 

 

Year One

Year Two

Year Three

OUTCOME:

1

2

3

4

5

6

1

2

3

4

5

6

1

2

3

4

5

6

Review performance criteria defining outcomes

X

    

X

      

X

    

X

      

X

    

X

Map activities to a curriculum map

    

X

    

X

X

    

X

      

X

    

X

  

Review mapping and identify where data will be collected

X

    

X

      

X

    

X

      

X

    

X

Develop or review assessment methods

  

X

    

X

      

X

    

X

X

    

X

    

Collect and analyze data

    

X

    

X

X

    

X

      

X

    

X

  

 

Things to Remember

  • The library cannot assess absolutely everything. Assessment should focus on the most important outcomes.
  • The assessment cycle should not be unduly burdensome. It should be a manageable amount of work.
  • Just counting or measuring without providing a framework doesn’t say much.The assessment plan may require a reevaluation of the plan itself.
  • The first year may reveal flaws in the approach and assumptions. This is not unusual. Don't beat yourself up about it.
  • Agreement regarding goals may result from "what you can live with" rather than what you think is perfection. Compromise may be required.
  • Reporting and use should make sense to stakeholders, as well as the library.
  • Assessment and evaluation need not be done on every outcome every year. Data collection and analysis takes time. Changes take time to see results.
  • Some factors are outside library control. The assessment program focuses on factors we can control.
  • Just because you can count it, doesn’t mean you should.
  • Snapshot counting can be as successful as bean counting.

Subject Guide

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Assessment Glossary

Unfortunately, assessment terminology is inconsistent. Outcomes may be referred to as objectives and objectives may be referred to as outcomes. This guide will use the terminology designated by the Assessment Council of Indiana State University.

The ISU Assessment Council is developing a glossary of standard assessment terms for ISU. It is in progress. The link will be added here when it is completed.