An investigation of ways to better correlate library usage statistics with institutional goals.

1. Reporting Academic Library Impact
Transforming the Message of Library
Usage Statistics
CCL Deans and Directors Meeting
April 9, 2015

2. Media messaging about libraries in the
“quintessential 1980s film”
The Breakfast Club
Source: Image: Movieclips.com; Quote: Dunkleberger, Amy (2007). So You Want to Be a Film Or TV Screenwriter? New York: Enslow. p. 73.
Library = Detention
Center

3. 1985 message :
This is not the environment to fully
develop student potential
Source: Image: Movieclips.com; Quote: Dunkleberger, Amy (2007). So You Want to Be a Film Or TV Screenwriter? New York: Enslow. p. 73.
“Just say the word,
say it. Instead of
going to prison
you'll come here.”
-- Principal Vernon, character

4. Today’s teens and today’s message
2015 college-bound
teenager
Information Sources
 Buzzfeed
 Reddit
 Youtube
 Instagram
 Yahoo Answers
Movies
 22 Jump Street
 Kingsman
 American Sniper
 Divergent
 Anchorman 2

5. Today’s teens and today’s message
I’ve been told...
selecting
“asking a
librarian” as
your book
source adds
years to your
estimated age.

6. Media messaging about libraries in 2015:
22 Jump Street

7. What are current media messages?
College campus message in media: Current, vibrant, engaged students.
 Sense of fun
 Sense of purpose
 Relevant

8. What are current media messages?
 No one goes there
 No one reads books
 Place to sell drugs
 Irrelevant
Library message in media doesn’t fare as well:

9. How do we communicate a different
message?

10. Two Strategies
How do we increase the collective intelligence of higher
education as to the effectiveness of libraries in contributing to
student equity, achievement, and retention?
 Get more visual
 Correlate library actions to institutional goals

11. ACRL says “Libraries must share
information with others by clearly
aligning library services and resources to
institutional missions. Communicating
that alignment is crucial for
communicating library value in
institutional terms.”
Source: Bosanquet; McRostie and Ruwoldt; Estabrook in Oakleaf. (2010). The Value of Academic Libraries. Association of College and Research Libraries.
#MeganOakleaf
#Brilliant

12. “Libraries cannot demonstrate their
institutional value to maximum effect
until they define outcomes of
institutional relevance and then work to
measure the degree to which they attain
them.”
Source: Kaufman and Watstein in Oakleaf. (2010). The Value of Academic Libraries. Association of College and Research Libraries.

13. Why Visual?
Source: Just, M & Ludtke, M. (2010, June 29). “Watching the Human Brain Process Information.” NiemanReports. Harvard College.
“Processing print isn’t something the
human brain was built for…Mother
Nature has built into our brain our
ability to see the visual world and
interpret it.”
– Marcel Just
“90% of the transmitted information
in the human brain is visual.”
–often quoted, harder to substantiate
Director, Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging,
Carnegie Mellon University

14. First attempt: Visual data without
correlation to institution goals
Source: SRJC Libraries. (2014). By the Numbers.
A good start, but no direct correlation with institution goals. Are we
collecting the right data?

15. Perspective added: Annual data correlated to
enrollment patterns
Demonstrates that demand for
library services remained high,
even during enrollment downturn.
Did we share this with our
institution?
Of course not! Shared with library
staff for motivational purposes.

16. Does data collected connect library
services with higher education missions?
Source: Phan, T., Hardesty, L., and Hug, J. (2014). Academic Libraries: 2012 (NCES 2014-038). U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, p. 2.
The Library Statistics Program of the National Center for
Education Statistics categories of data gathering:
Library collections – Volumes held, volumes added
Expenditures – Information expenditures, operating expenditures, staff
Services – Items loaned and borrowed, library hours
Staffing – Full time equivalent staff, other paid staff
Electronic Services – Reference by e-mail or web, library staff digitizing documents
Information Literacy – Institution SLOs exist, information literacy is incorporated into SLOs
Virtual Reference – Reference by e-mail, chat, and text messaging

17. Are we clear on what we are collecting?
Source: Phan, T., Hardesty, L., and Hug, J. (2014). Academic Libraries: 2012 (NCES 2014-038). U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Electronic Services (Table 11). Percentage of academic libraries with
selected electronic services
Virtual Reference (Table 13). Percentage of academic
libraries with virtual reference services.
“The way you
organize things
says a lot about
you.”
--Abby Covert, Author

18. Information literacy activity data is
collected…
Source: Phan, T., Hardesty, L., and Hug, J. (2014). Academic Libraries: 2012 (NCES 2014-038). U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Information Literacy (Table 12)
How do we use this data to demonstrate
support of institutional goals?

19. There is correlation between availability
of library materials and student success,
but not causation
Source: FY 2013-2014 ACRL Trends and Statistics Survey

20. The challenge
How do we use the data we collect to better communicate to our
institutions the value and impact of libraries on the student?
Relate library statistics to college objectives. Use the same
vocabulary articulated in institutional goals.

21. University of Minnesota correlated
library usage with academic success
“Students who use the library had an average GPA of 3.18
compared with the average GPA of students who did not use the
library, which was 2.98.”
This is big news! There should be TED Talks!
Source: Soria, K., Fransen, J., & Nackerud, S. (2013). “ Library use and undergraduate student outcomes: New evidence for students’ retention and academic success.” Libraries and the Academy, (13) 2., p.154.

22. St. John Fisher College correlated research
appointments with student retention
“Librarians spent over 197 hours this semester in one-on-one
consultations directly supporting College Wide Learning Goal 3:
Communication (individual assistance and personal attention).”
Their premise: individualized instruction has
a high impact on student retention.
Source: Jadlos, M. & Hillman, C. (2014). "Hash marks to hashtags: Turning statistics into strategic value statements." (2014). Lavery Library Faculty/Staff Publications. Paper 14, p. 2.

23. Indiana University correlated library
usage with retention rates and
academic success
Library users had higher GPAs and higher retention rates
Source: Thorpe, A. & Lukes, R. (2015). “ Connecting the dots? Assessing the impact of library use on student success.” Presented at ACRL 2015.

24. What steps can we take?
Make a concerted effort to include assessment into our course integrated
instruction sessions, information literacy workshops, embedded
librarianship activities, partnerships in learning communities, and individual
reference sessions.
Transition from user satisfaction assessment to measures that indicate
achievement.

25. What are current institutional goals?
Student Equity
Student Retention
Student Success

26. Student Equity Factors
 Provide environments to fully
develop student potential
 Increase access
 Achieve course completion
 Ensure that underrepresented
groups have equal opportunity
Source: California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. (2014). Student Equity Fact Sheet.
Do libraries have
ready data to
demonstrate ways
we contribute to
student equity?

27. Student Retention Factors
 Consistently accessible and
responsible staff
 Frequent contact with faculty
 Efficient, convenient, and responsive libraries
 Curricular integration
Source: Ewell and Wellman; Scott, et al. in Oakleaf (2010). The Value of Academic Libraries. Association of College and Research Libraries.
Do libraries have
ready data to
demonstrate ways
we contribute to
student retention?

28. Student Learning and Student
Achievement
Hensen & Hern. (2014). Let Them In: Increasing Access, Completion, and Equity in College English. California Acceleration Project.
…prepared for college-level work in
English and math: completion and
transfer rate 70%.
…unprepared for college-level work and
enrolled in remedial courses: completion
and transfer rate of 40%.
Students who are … Do libraries have
ready data to
demonstrate ways
we contribute to
student learning
and student
achievement?
Let’s look at some data…

29. Compare library use to total student
population
Source: Sonoma County Junior College District Fact Book 2014; SRJC Libraries Reserves Checkouts from 1/20/15 – 2/10/15. Anonymized data.
Students using
library reserves
Total student
population at
college

30. The library directly supports student equity
and serves diverse populations
The library is reaching a
greater proportion of
diverse populations than
are represented in the SRJC
student population as a
whole.
What about Latino
students?
Library textbook
reserve checkouts
Source: SRJC Libraries Reserves Checkouts from 1/20/15 – 2/10/15. Anonymized data.

31. The library serves more Latino students than
are represented in the college ethnic mix
The total number of
Latinos served by the
library: 36.7%.
The Latino population for
the college: 31.3%.
With 60% of multi-ethnic
added: 33.7%
Library textbook
reserve checkouts
Source: SRJC Libraries Reserves Checkouts from 1/20/15 – 2/10/15. Anonymized data.

32. Correlate library use with increased access
and population reach
Source: SRJC Libraries Reserves Checkouts from 1/20/15 – 2/10/15. Anonymized data.
The library supports student
equity by reaching a higher
concentration of
underrepresented students
than exists in the college
population mix.
Libraries College
Latino 36.7% 33.7%
Asian 6.7% 4.5%
African American 5.6% 2.3%
Pacific Islander 0.9% 0.4%
Student Equity

33. Correlate library use with increased access
and population reach
Source: CollegeBoard. (2015). Average Estimated Undergraduate Budgets, 2014-15; SRJC Libraries. (2014). By the Numbers.
The libraries directly support
student equity through increased
access to educational materials.
98,524 items
circulated, including
26,499 textbooks
2015 annual estimated cost of textbooks for
average community college student: $1,328

34. Correlate library use with increased
access
42% of students who used
library reserves are eligible for
financial aid.
The library increases access for students in financial need, and for
first generation students who may enter college with limited
knowledge of academic jargon, behaviors, and expectations.
31% of students who used library
reserves are first generation in their
family to go to college.
Source: SRJC Libraries Reserves Checkouts from 1/20/15 – 2/10/15. Anonymized data.

35. Transforming the “underprepared”
into the “prepared”

36. Relate library instruction and student
achievement
2013-14 Course Integrated Instruction Sessions | SRJC Libraries
In one academic year,
librarians conducted 264
course integrated
instruction sessions,
reaching 13 clusters,
providing instruction
across 28 disciplines
working with 105
instructors.
Arts &
Humanities
Behavioral
Sciences
Business &
Professions
Culinary,
Agriculture
Health
Sciences
Early
Childhood
STEM
Learning
Resources
Language Arts
Public Safety
Kinesiology &
Athletics
Student
Services
Work
Experience

37. Curriculum integration
2013-14 Course Integrated Instruction Sessions | SRJC Libraries
Librarians also
conducted 104 for-
credit classes and 321
one-on-one research &
instruction sessions
with students.
Add all these instruction programs together….

38. Library instruction supports student
achievement
Through strong
curricular integration,
library instruction
reaches 40% of all
students.
Number of for-credit
students enrolled at
the college: 23,090.
Source: Sonoma County Junior College District Fact Book 2014; SRJC Libraries. (2014). By the Numbers.
Student Achievement

39. ACRL says “librarians have failed to
explain to those outside the field what
contributions they make.”
Source: Durrance and Fisher, and Oakleaf in Oakleaf . (2010). The Value of Academic Libraries. Association of College and Research Libraries.
Oakleaf (ACRL) urges librarians to publish and present in
higher education venues outside of the realm of library-
centric journals and conferences.

40. We have means, motive, and opportunity
to demonstrate direct impact on student
achievement
Guide on the Side tutorials tested in information literacy classes
showed direct positive student achievement.
96% of students reported increased
understanding of library research
interfaces after taking the GOTS
tutorials.
There was a 55% increase in correct
responses to a question gauging
understanding of library research
interfaces among students who
completed the tutorials compared
to those students who had not.
Virtue, A., Dean, E., & Matheson, M. (2014). “Assessing online learning objects: Student evaluation of a guide on the side interactive learning tutorial
designed by SRJC libraries.” Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects, 10.

41. Was this information shared outside of
library circles?
Of course not! Findings are buried in an esoteric journal
and were not relayed to institutional leaders or shared
with the larger academy of higher education.
Similar findings of evidence directly correlating library use and
library instruction with student achievement are published in
other library-centric journals.

42. Back to means, motive, and opportunity
Where could we integrate assessments that correlate library services and learning
outcomes with student equity, achievement, and success?
Integrate assessment into one-
on-one research tutorial
sessions.
Participation in learning
communities and embedded
librarianship opportunities
allow us to assess curricular
integration with classroom
learning experiences.
Integrate assessment into one-
shot workshops.

43. More retention factors
The library safety net for students
 Consistently accessible and responsible staff
 Efficient, convenient, and responsive libraries
The libraries give vital support to students who are unfamiliar with
the academic environment. The library is often the only service
consistently open with faculty available to students during the day,
nights, and weekends.
Retention factors:
21,280 public service
questions answered in
10 months

44. Communicating library support:
We’re here for students
Libraries help students find their way
Students rely on campus libraries for convenient, responsive services that allow them to succeed.

45. Looking outward
Idea flow and social learning
Source: Petland, A. (2014). Social physics: How good ideas spread. Melbourne: Scribe, p.32-33.
What patterns of
exploration and
social learning
produce the best
outcomes?
The Wisdom Effect
 Copying successful people yields
rewards
 Exploratory behavior creates
better idea flow

46. Great annual reports
Canadian Public Libraries

47. Great annual reports
Harvard Libraries

48. Great annual reports
New York Public Library

49. Looking outward
Shape ideas through several communication exposures over
a short period of time.
Libraries: make a brilliant annual report that translates
library programs and services to institutional goals.
Add frequent communications about library relevance
delivered through direct engagement with campus
colleagues.

50. Thank you
Alicia Virtue
Santa Rosa Junior College