Georgia Library Association Research and Assessment Interest Group Spring Conference

The COVID-19 pandemic might be altering nearly all our lives, but the Georgia Library Association’s Research and Assessment Interest Group continued with another year of a half-day conference showcasing Georgia libraries’ efforts towards assessment, the user experience, and data-driven decision making

We have a strategic plan - now what?!

With a new strategic plan in hand, the University of Tennessee Libraries has formed a small task force charged with keeping the organization focused on its strategic goals and tracking progress made toward these goals in a systematic way. In this session, members of this task force will report on our process and progress thus far, share the tools we\u27ve developed to track and report activity throughout the organization, and engage in a conversation about approaches to creating support and excitement for the strategic plan you worked so hard to create

The Inked Experience: Professionalism and Body Modifications in Libraries

The decision to undergo body modifications can be done for a myriad of personal reasons, ranging from a love of the art, an expression of the person\u27s individuality, the display of an affiliation, or for religious and/or spiritual beliefs. In the winter of 2020, our research team set out on a quest to discover the culture of acceptance of body modifications, including tattoos, piercings, and unnatural hair colors, among those who work in and use libraries in the United States of America. With over 850 participants, the study discussed not only perceptions of professionalism, but also the number of those who have body modifications and those who wish to acquire some in the future. The study also delved into possible reasons a tattoo, piercing, or dyed hair may or may not be appropriate. For instance, participants noted a disapproval of tattoo content that includes vulgar or offensive imagery. The study also explores questions regarding placements of body modifications and surprising exceptions to the overall opinion base

Convenience sampling and student workers: Ethical and methodological considerations for academic libraries

As library and higher education professionals, it is our duty to promote the highest level of integrity in our assessment and research. Whether it be a new programming event, instruction methodology, or usability testing, there is a growing trend in using the student workers of the library to assist in the initial testing and assessment. While this sample allows for impromptu testing and easier participant recruitment, this not only puts the students in a place of negative power-differential, it also does not allow for accurate initial testing of these various assessments. This opinion of one librarian begs for a scholarly communication surrounding the use of our student workers as participants in our assessments and the ethical considerations surrounding the extent in which student workers are being utilized. Librarians will be challenged to rethink the convenience of the sample and try whenever possible to take extra time to find representative samples to accurately analyze success