The document summarizes research conducted by the University of Minnesota Libraries examining the relationship between student library use and academic outcomes. The research found that students who used the library were more likely to earn higher GPAs, enroll in subsequent semesters, and graduate in four years. Specifically, introductory library instruction workshops and database usage had the strongest correlations with student success. The libraries plan to expand instruction outreach and leverage student data to identify non-users and better support student needs.

1. Working with campus partners to
integrate the library into students’
academic experience
Jan Fransen (fransen@umn.edu)
Service Lead for Researcher & Discovery Systems
University of Minnesota Libraries
Justifying the Library
NISOVirtual Conference
April 20, 2016

2. Undergraduate
28,638
Professional
3,761
Non-Degree
3,365
Graduate
12,046
Faculty
3,709
Staff (all types)
19,444
70,963Twin Cities
Students, Faculty,
and Staff

3. Layers of Data
Libraries Data (13 Access Points)
Circulation, Digital, Instruction, Reference, andWorkstation
Office of Institutional Research Demographics Data
College, Level, Major, Gender, Ethnicity, Age
Office of Institutional Research Performance Data
GPA, Retention

4. Circulation Data
• Aleph (now Alma)
• ILL (both Loans and Articles)

5. Digital Data
• Databases
• E-Journals
• E-Books
• Website/Other
• Search

6. Instruction Data
• Workshops
• Course Integrated
• Online Intro to Library
Research tutorial

7. Reference Data
• Online Reference
• Peer Research Consultants

8. Workstation Data
• Logins

9. Institutional Research Partnership

11. Astin’s (1991) I-E-O Model
Inputs
• Demographics
• Interests, abilities
• Pre-college experiences
Environment
• Academic and co-
curricular experiences
• Faculty and peer
interactions
Outcomes
• Academic achievement
• Graduation
• Development

12. 2.784
2.628
2.854
2.926
3.016
3.258
2.755
2.932
3.079
3.141
3.224
3.503
2.5
2.7
2.9
3.1
3.3
3.5
3.7
Below 19 19-22 23-24 25-27 28-30 31-36
ACT Score
UndergradTerm GPA – Fall 2011
Did not use library
Used library at least once

13. Ordinary Least Squares Regression
Demographics
Gender
Race/Ethnicity
Pell Grant Recipient
Veteran Status
First Generation college student
Prior Academics
ACT/SAT Score
AP credits
College Environment
Freshman Seminar
Access to Success program
Residence Hall
Holding all of these factors constant…
http://xkcd.com/539/

14. Taking all that into account, we found
.23
Increase in GPA associated with using the library one or
more times
.07 Increase in GPA associated with each new type of library use
1.54
Times more likely to re-enroll for Spring semester for
students who used the library at least once
1.1
Times more likely to re-enroll for Spring semester for each
one-unit increase in type of library use
7.58
Times more likely to re-enroll for Spring semester for
students who participated in Intro to Library Research 2
1.03
Times more likely to re-enroll for Spring semester for each
one-unit increase in database use
Fall 2011 NHS

15. Controlling for
• Demographics
• College experience
• Classmate interactions
• Library research skills
• Critical thinking skills
Using the library at
least once is
significantly and
positively associated
with students’
scholarship
Using the library at
least once is
significantly and
positively associated
with students’
academic engagement

16. • Our first work was with the first year
students of Fall 2011
• Four years later…is 2015!
• So those who stayed on track all the
way to graduation in four years
would have graduated in May 2015
Cohort Love

17. • Using the library at least one time in the
first year of enrollment significantly
increased the odds that students would
graduate in four years OR remain
enrolled after four years
• First year students who used electronic
resources and books had significantly
improved odds of graduation in four
years
Results

19. Astin’s (1991) I-E-O Model
Inputs
• Demographics
• Interests, abilities
• Pre-college experiences
Environment
• Experiences related to the
Libraries’ resources and
staff
• Let’s call the Interventions
Outcomes
• Level of library use
Jan’s (2016)*
*Note: Not a real thing!

20. Digital
Circulation
Instruction
Reference
Library
Interventions
Student
Actions

22. The behavior we most want to increase is use
of databases (correlates consistently to GPA
and Retention)
We can increase use through mediation, and
our Intro to Library Research workshop and
online learning object is the most successful
and scalable way to do that
Reach out to students who aren’t currently
taking Intro to Library Research

23. Working with Academic Advisers and
First Year Experience staff in the
Colleges

24. CLA 1002: A FirstYear cohort

26. Referrals

27. • Begin using APLUS for Libraries interactions with students
• More information enables us to provide the most appropriate help
to the student
• Closes the loop:Advisers can see what happens when they refer
• Allows us to refer to other campus partners
• Other ways to use the data
• Get to know the user community in aggregate (by college,
department, level…)
• Find out who’s NOT using our resources (but should be) and figure
out best ways to reach them
• Go beyond undergrads
Possible next steps

28. Library Data & Student Success
A project of the University of Minnesota Libraries, in collaboration with the
University of Minnesota Office of Institutional Research
Krista Soria (OIR)
Shane Nackerud (Libraries)
Jan Fransen (Libraries)
Kate Peterson (Libraries)
Kristen Mastel (Libraries)
More information about the project on our blog at z.umn.edu/LDSS
Find a list of our publications at z.umn.edu/LDSSPubs