The Library Self-Study Process

In this chapter, we bring together the various thematic strands from the previous chapters -- those that focus on the impetus for self-studies and reviews and those that discuss the value of different types of data and assessment frameworks. We hope that this pragmatic approach provides a blueprint to allow you to apply the theoretical and practical lessons of the surrounding chapters

Reviewing The Academic Library: A Guide To Self-Study And External Review

Whether the library assessment is driven by external pressure or by an organizationally inspired desire to improve, library managers are expected to be able to plan and implement both comprehensive and targeted evaluations of their impact, services, resources, programs, virtual and physical spaces, and partnerships. Many librarians have been invited to serve on review teams for other academic libraries, either as part of a reaccreditation process or as part of a general cyclical program review process. At their own institutions, librarians have initiated reviews of their libraries or been asked to do so by a senior administrator. There are no blueprints for conducting external reviews and self-studies. In this volume, the reader will find essays by key thinkers and leaders that address the major aspects of the formal assessment and review of academic libraries. This volume offers practical and applicable information, contextualized through current theory and approaches

Friends, Peace and Sanctuary: A Case Study

We are proposing a presentation session on a case study. Swarthmore College Libraries and the College’s Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility is engaged in a two year project, Friends Peace, and Sanctuary, that seeks to bring historical narratives of migration and displacement into conversation with current experiences of Iraqi and Syrian refugees through the medium of the book arts. Five established book artists have been invited to work with a group of around fifteen recently resettled Iraqis and Syrians to collaborate on new artistic works through a series of ten workshops. Given that the project was conceived to be as fully bilingual (Arabic and English) as possible, we have hired students to translate archival materials on migration and refugees into Arabic so that all of our collaborators may have access to these materials. In parallel to the project work, Katie Price and Peggy Seiden are teaching a class (Spring 2018) that engages students in the Project’s work through observation, interviews, reflection and research utilizing a variety of disciplinary methods. The students’ final project is a piece of public scholarship that brings together their experiences in the workshops, interviews, and research findings. In this presentation, Price, Seiden, and Seesman will discuss the project findings to date and share what they’ve learned from collaborating with refugee resettlement organizations, libraries, civic engagements centers, students, faculty, and staff

Roles and Responsibilities of Deans and Directors in Digital Initiatives and Campus IRs

Three library deans will share their perspectives on developing organizations that can sustain digital initiatives and IR, and to assess those initiatives. Peggy Seiden will set the stage by discussing the organizational change, budgetary decisions and political work that allow college and university libraries to move forward with this work. Karen Schneider will talk about the political and practical opportunities facilitated by creating a culture of respect for numbers and assessment. Kenning Arlitsch will focus on the development of RAMP (Repository Analytics and Metrics Portal) as an example of a diagnostic tool whose aggregated dataset about IR use holds enormous research potential for the library community

Library Buildings And The Building Of A Collaborative Research Collection At The Tri-College Library Consortium

This report is the product of a planning grant awarded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 2001 to the Tri-College Library Consortium, which comprises the libraries of Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges. The grant proposal, entitled “Library Buildings and the Building of a Collaborative Research Collection at the Tri-Colleges,” set out a research agenda designed to address two central questions. The first question was a challenge: How could the three libraries come to terms with space problems caused by ever-growing collections and increasing demands to accommodate media, teaching, and student study areas in an environment in which library building expansion was a remote possibility? The second question was an opportunity: Could the libraries take advantage of their history of cooperation and the powerful tool of a unified online catalog to create a single research-quality collection out of the combined holdings of three strong liberal arts colleges? Working with a consultant, a seven-member Planning Group representing the three colleges and the consortium gathered data on the collections, convened focus groups of faculty and students, and engaged three publishing industry experts to assess the state of electronic publishing. After analyzing the data, the Planning Group studied alternatives for maximizing collection space and made recommendations for new models and strategies to be pursued by the Tri-Colleges consortium