Southeastern Library Assessment Conference

I attended this conference November 16-17 in Atlanta.  It was very useful. Below are some of the highlights for me.  All of the presentations are here (or will be soon).

Two librarians from UNC Charlotte presented on assessing e-resources.  They focused on Political Science but had a good protocol that could be applied to other subject areas.  The liaison to that area worked w/ their E-Resources Librarian.  They collaborated closely with teaching faculty to gain their input and used the data to cancel or promote underused resources.  See "Give e-resources a chance" on the program.

Librarians from MIT presented on "Design Thinking."  They worked with teams of students for a marathon over 2.5 days to gain input on library space design.  It was somewhat similar to our Idea-Thon and working with the IARC students a few years ago but with a different twist.

One of the most valuable presentations was from Grand Valley State.  The Information Literacy librarian conducted a study to examine the impact of library instruction on student retention.  She found a definite correlation. Interestingly, she used a method similar to what we've started here by recording the Genie course code for each instruction session.  She then worked with a statistician to compare it to retention rates.  Because she is working toward a publication she didn't post her PPT on the conference web site but will send it to individuals.  I've requested it and will share.

I presented with Crystal Baird from SACSCOC about how libraries can use assessment to prepare for accreditation.