December 8, 2021 Meeting of Library Assessment Committee

Community Agreement

• Listen Actively: Try to understand others before being understood.
• Step In, Step Back: Step up and use your voice or Step Back and make space for others.
• Speak from Your Own Lived Experience: Use “I” statements and refrain from telling other people’s stories.
• Invest In Yourself and Invest in Each Other: Honor our shared space and keep time in mind.
• Think Beyond Binaries: Hold multiple perspectives at once.
• Stories Stay, Lessons Go: Confidentiality and personal privacy.
• Repair Harm: Seek space to repair harm when we mess up.

1. Library Assessment updates (5 min.) 

• Fall 2021 library service overview (Fall 2021 Library Service Satisfaction Survey, WiFi stats and gate count/head count)
• Student-Focused Spaces Team and Teaching and Learning Task Force
• LibInsight trial could start in spring 2022 (major data collections: reference/directional, gate count/head count, instruction statistics)
• Ithaka S+R Supporting Big Data Research local and national reports available
  • UIUC local report http://hdl.handle.net/2142/112807
  • Ithaka S+R national report https://sr.ithaka.org/blog/supporting-big-data-research/

2. Review unit annual reports and work on a post-submission analysis (5 min.)

• https://www.library.illinois.edu/staff/administration/services/annualreports/fy2021-unit-annual-reports/
• 4 teams of two members each. Each team reviews the same 5 or 6 annual reports.

3. LAC 2021-2022 committee project (Belinda)

4. COVID-19 Library Response Infographic/Factoid

• https://uwm.edu/libraries/2021/02/05/fall-2020-response/
• https://olc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/OH-Libraries-Response-to-COVID-19-Crisis.png

5. Other Updates

Jen-chien Yu, Kirsten Feist, Erin Kerby, Rebecca Smith, Yali Feng, Ruthann Mowry, Belinda Bolivar, Alex Deeke, Mary Ton, Amy Fry, John Laskowski, Lindsay Taylor

1. Library Assessment Updates

• 2021 statistics (gate/head counts, instruction, wifi) are lower than they were in 2019. Although there are increases after 2020, the current statistics are not as high as they were pre-pandemic.
• Two new groups working on assessment projects:
  • Student-Focused Spaces Team
  • Teaching and Learning Task Force
    • Both have a three-year term
• Multiple library teams are looking to move from DeskTracker (reference/directional counts, gate/head counts) and the Instructional Statistics Database
  • LibInsights is a potential software replacement, with a trial coming up in Spring 2022
• Chris Wiley, Carissa Phillips, & Jen participated in Ithaka S+R Big Data Research project:
  • UIUC-specific report: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/112807
  • Some takeaways from Jen’s perspective in the project:
    • Although we often feel behind the trends and improvements when we assess ourselves, that’s not what the data shows. UIUC faculty view of big data is advanced. More perspective can be found in the report.
• Jen and Belinda did a presentation for Lisa Hinchliffe‘s IS594: Library Assessment class
  • Powerpoint from this presentation is shared in the LAC’s box: https://uofi.app.box.com/file/892912767426
    • Review of current projects
    • Emphasizes that everyone in the library assesses (not just the assessment committee/staff)

2. Review unit annual reports

• As mentioned in the October meeting, teams will review unit annual reports to create a post-submission analysis
• Volunteers from LAC welcome
  • Yali, Alex, and Amy confirmed continued interest in project

3. LAC 2021-2022 Committee Project

• From LAC member votes cast during the October brainstorming meeting, the LAC annual project will focus on looking at pandemic effects on the collection
  • Good project for LAC because no overlap with the work of other task forces (like Teaching and Learning, for example)
  • Currently no known overlap with circulation or collection team projects, but LAC will seek more guidance from them
• Open discussion to develop a research question:
  • Interest in bringing attention to pandemic effects on collection
  • Interest in creating/developing a methodology for collection assessment that can be repeated in future years
  • Are there patterns in monograph vs. serials usage?
  • Are there patterns in digital vs. print usage?
    • Are any of these patterns subject/discipline specific?
  • Interest in digitization & Hathi Trust statistics (use of our digitized materials there)
    • Esra likely has those statistics
  • Include looking at increased use of digital special collections materials?
  • Interest in knowing what statistics are available to us for collections assessment generally. Who is collecting what?
    • Data in Alma Analytics (including SUSHI now for eResources)
    • Some statistics in G-Drive [G:\Collections Info\EResourceUsageStats]
• Some next steps:
  • Potentially inviting Esra and Tom (Teper) to speak at next LAC meeting to discuss what is available
  • Narrowing down the question further (and figuring out what we can answer)

4. Other updates (LAC Grant Applications)

• LAC has not received any grant applications this academic year yet
• Jen is considering doing another open house
  • Even if attendance is low, the email can be a reminder that the LAC gives grants

5. COVID-19 Library Response Infographic/Factoid

• Two examples of COVID-19 Library Response Infographics:
  • https://uwm.edu/libraries/2021/02/05/fall-2020-response/
  • https://olc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/OH-Libraries-Response-to-COVID-19-Crisis.png
• We would like to make something like this: look at library statistics through a pandemic lens
• Send any ideas of what to highlight via email to Jen