The Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana State University has formed a Library Assessment Committee to facilitate the creation and maintenance of a culture of assessment within the library.
Library Assessment Committee Membership
Library Assessment Committee Charge
The Library Assessment Committee has primary oversight of library assessment activities with a goal of enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of programs and services and with assisting library departments to meet the mission and goals of the library and Indiana State University.
Specifically, the Committee is charged with:
1. Structure of the Library Assessment Committee
a. Membership
i.Library Assessment Committee will be composed of three library faculty members and one support or EAP staff member appointed by the Dean of Library Services.
ii. The Dean and the Associate Dean are welcome visitors to the meetings of the Library Assessment Committee.
b. Eligibility and Terms of Membership
i. All persons who at the time of election are voting members of the Library Faculty shall be eligible for appointment to the Library Assessment Committee, except as provided below.
ii. No member of the Library Faculty who occupies the position of Dean, Assistant Dean, Associate Dean, Assistant to the Dean, or similar administrative position regardless of title, whether full- or part-time, or who is acting in any such capacity, whether full- or part-time, shall be eligible for appointment to the Library Assessment Committee.
iii. One member will be the Library representative on the ISU Assessment Executive Committee and will act as a liaison from that committee to inform the library of goals and activities and the wishes of the administration regarding assessment.
2. Committee Responsibilities
a. Members will be responsible for achieving at least a basic knowledge of assessment in order to act as consultants to the Library units and employees.
b. Provide oversight for assessment of the library and advise on its appropriateness and validity
c. Facilitate the development of a Library Assessment Plan in conjunction with the department chairs and administrators
d. Act as a liaison to the ISU Assessment Executive Committee
e. Acts as an assessment consultant to the library units in the development and implementation of their assessment plans
f. Provide an annual report on the state of assessment within Cunningham Memorial Library*
* Contingent upon the requirements established by the Indiana State University Assessment Council. Subject to change.
3. Department Chair Responsibilities
a. Department Chairs are responsible for assessments occurring within their unit, the evaluation of that data and information, and its ultimate interpretation toward changes made or not made to library services
b. Lead the creation of a mission and goals for their unit
c. Assure that each of their units establishes an assessment process and cycle of inquiry
d. Assure that each of their units implements the assessment process
e. Consider how the results and interpretations of program-level assessment affect budgets, priorities, and plans for improvement
f. Annually report on the state of assessment within their units*
* Contingent upon the requirements established by the Indiana State University Assessment Council. Subject to change.
4. Assessment-Related Staff responsibilities
a. "Assessment-related staff" are library employees collecting and/or analyzing data for assessment and evaluation.
b. Assessment staff may work with the Library Assessment Committee as determined by their Department Chair and the Dean of Library Services.
General Description of the Activities of the Committee
Library assessment orbits around the mission and goals of the ISU Library. The library as a whole must decide what is important to its employee and patrons. Assessment will then be a method to measure whether those goals are being met and to what degree. Evaluation may require a judgment to predetermine what is an acceptable result of a measurement. (Example: The library wants at least 80% of students to use library research materials for assignments while they are freshmen.)
The first duty of the Assessment Committee would be to perform an assessment audit to determine what goals presently exist and what assessment is currently being performed and what data is currently being collected. This will require the cooperation of the Department chairs and those employees performing assessments or collecting data to report and provide this information.
The second duty of the Assessment Committee would be to facilitate the implementation and execution of an assessment plan with the Dean's Advisory Council. The assessment plan would select the objectives and outcomes that the library thinks are most important and develop a schedule for how often and when assessment will occur for each objective. The ISU Assessment Council goal is for departments to have established Learning Objectives and Assessments by fall 2010 (NCA visitation).
The Assessment Committee will evaluate the assessment plan annually in coordination with the Dean's Advisory Council.
Individual departments and designated personnel will perform actual assessments and evaluations. The Library Assessment Committee will provide advice and consultations and help as needed.
