Measuring the academic library

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an Australian perspective of impact and value by examining how the broader international and national perspectives play out in practice in the Australian context and where adaption for local requirements is necessary. Design/methodology/approach This paper will explore the assessment of impact and value in academic libraries and the tools available to translate today’s inputs into future impact and value. It will focus on a range of methods and procedures, including international and national standards, frameworks and benchmarks. Findings The La Trobe University Library is presented as a case study to examine the challenges of leveraging tools to assess impact and communicate the value of the library across the university community. Originality/value Assessing the impact and demonstrating the value of the academic library in a digital environment is a constant challenge. While usage and service data are plentiful, traditional metrics no longer sufficiently demonstrate the academic library’s contribution to university learning, teaching and research outcomes.

Returns on library investment: seeking causative relationship between the library investment and the institutional research output

“…Seeking value and impact of services rendered is what most of the professionals generally attempt to look into and so holds true of library professionals, who do want their services to get recognized in both socially and scientifically, and looking for economics of information is one such attempt in this direction, thereby evaluating returns on library investment. People always reflect sentiments for their institutional library, but these sentiments do not represent the true face value or the tangible value of libraries, which need to be collated through evidence (Salisbury and Peasley, 2018). The researchers are of the view that evidence-based narrative, libraries can translate today's inputs into tomorrow's impact, be it helping through retention of students or contributing to their success.…”

Utilization of Web-based Information Services among University Students in Malaysian Academic Libraries: A Proposed Conceptual Framework

“…Physical space, virtual space [13,17,18,22] Information Literacy Skills (Moderating) Cognitive, ethical [2,8,15,16,19,20,21] Utilization of WBIS (DV) Output, outcome [4,7,8,9,10]…”

“…Therefore, libraries need to emphasize the rapid changes and influence of networked technologies and should endure seriously the assessment challenges in the aspect of users' utilization or usage of WBIS and the attainment of outcomes. Measuring WBIS is indispensable that library assessment should refocus from merely relying on usage statistics that may not explicitly prove the direct value of a library to its institution, and as such, need to also look into the difference that library usage makes to users' experience and scholarly outcomes [4].…”

Impact of academic libraries on grade point average (GPA): a review

“…Stone and Ramsden (2013) demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between degree results (first, upper second, lower second and third class) and usage of e-resources and book borrowing across eight universities in the United Kingdom. Researchers at La Trobe University in Australia faced challenges when using a varied mix of qualitative and quantitative assessment methods to demonstrate evidence of the library's contribution in support of the university's strategic priorities, but 97% of students self-reported that the library contributed to their study/research success (Salisbury and Peasley, 2018). Researchers at the University of Sunderland in England developed a “value, outcome and impact-centered performance model” used to generate evidence in support of the Student and Learning Support Service, including library services (Grieves and Pritchard, 2018, p. 11).…”