abstract:In an age of assessment and accountability, academic libraries feel much pressure to prove their value according to new university measurements of student success. This study describes a methodology for how libraries may examine student interactions with services to assess whether library usage impacts student grade point averages (GPAs) and retention rates.Usage data were collected at six library service points during the 2013-2014 academic year.Analysis suggests an association between student use of the library and higher GPAs and retention rates. The findings may help demonstrate the value of the academic library to stakeholders and thus further integrate library services into course curricula.

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This paper describes the results of an analysis of 430 Indiana public library homepages. The authors examined each homepage for 129 total elements, such as navigation, search, content, and Indiana Library Homepage Design 2 Web 2.0 features. Our findings reveal common trends in public library homepage design, including 21 elements that appear on at least half the surveyed homepages. The results of this study provide a profile of public library homepage design in Indiana. Additionally, this study blends two pre-existing library content checklists in order to provide a replicable methodology for additional libraries to apply to their homepages or websites.

Three librarians from two similar but unaffiliated state collegesboth members of larger university systems-discuss how they confronted similar e-book acquisition concerns. In this session, presenters described how they took two different approaches toward revising their collection development policies, economizing their processes and streamlining their workflows. The presenters discussed patron-driven acquisition e-book programs, as well as the importance of communication and collaboration among library personnel. By formalizing the purchasing decisions of electronic formats, libraries can provide the structure needed to support changing staff roles and shrinking resources, as well as address important related issues such as accessibility and timeliness.