Assessment in Action: A Journey toward Transforming an Academic Library's Value

Danielle Theiss DionLibrary Director, University of Saint Maryformally of Rockhurst University

One of 28 Jesuit institutions Kansas City, Missouri 3,000 students 76% undergraduates 13:1 Student-Faculty ratio

Rockhurst AiA Team

Members chosen for their experience with library instruction , assessment, mission and Ignatian pedagogy.

• Research, Learning and Assessment Librarian (Danielle Theiss) is team leader• Faculty members from each of our 3 schools: English Department (College of Arts

and Sciences) (John Kerrigan), Helzberg School of Management (Turner White) and Graduate and Professional Studies School-Education Department (Mandi Sonnenberg)• Brought in additional members of the English faculty throughout the project

(Dan Martin and Jason Arthur)• Sought support for project during face to face meetings with English faculty

• Office of Institutional Effectiveness Assessment Coordinator (Annalisa Gramlich)• Library Director is the second tier team member (Laurie Hathman)

Rockhurst AiA Team Collaboration

Research QuestionQuestion:What is the impact of library face to face and online instruction on students in English Composition 1120 or 1140?

Action:Students in English Composition 1120 or 1140 will receive a combination of face to face and online instruction through the use of live instruction and webchat services.

Rockhurst AiA Study Benchmarks

• 60% of sources in bibliographies will be from scholarly journals.

• 70% of sources in bibliographies will be post-2004.

• Students’ attitudinal scores will be 10% higher from the pre-survey to the post-survey.

Rubric

Pre and Post Survey Assessment Tool

A nine question pre/post assessment survey instrument was collaboratively developed by the team during fall 2013 and administered during Spring 2014 to multiple first year experience English Composition sections by Danielle.

• 7 classes (6 faculty members)

• Approximately 140 students• Pre-survey responses:

• 126 usable responses• Post-instruction survey responses:

• Approximately 77 usable responses

Pre-survey Results• 59% reported no previous attendance in a class

where a librarian teaches about doing research• 78% reported they were satisfied to very satisfied

with library instruction they received on how to use library resources

• 76% reported they have never used a library research guide (we have LibGuides)

• 83% reported they were satisfied to very satisfied with their interactions with the library

• 49% reported they use the library’s website and databases to do research for course papers or projects

Post-survey Results

• 87% reported they were satisfied to very satisfied with their interactions with the library – increase of 4%

• 64% reported they had asked for help at reference desk – increase of 14%

• 90% reported they were satisfied to very satisfied with library instruction on learning how to use library resources. – increase of 12%

• 87% reported they use the library’s website and databases to do research for course papers or projects – increase of 38%

*not complete data set

Unexpected Results

• Spring 2014 semester over 500 chats with patrons – an increase of 19% from spring 2013

Future Initiatives

• Conduct similar assessment project with the business school first year experience students in 2014/15

• Train additional librarians to conduct assessment related projects with the training from AiA

• Collaborate with additional faculty and other departments

• Monitor virtual reference interactions for instruction impact

• Incorporate possible ideas from the Framework for Information Literacy into the research assignment

More information?Contact Danielle Theiss Dion, University of Saint Mary Library Director danielle.dion@stmary.edu

or Laurie Hathman, Rockhurst University Library Director Laurie.Hathman@Rockhurst.edu