Outstanding Achievement in Assessment Nominees -- Group Category

How has the nominee contributed to assessment practices (e.g., identifying outcomes, assessing results, and modifying procedures/services) in the UGA Libraries, as well as the nominee's department? Please provide specific examples.

Opening the new library at the SLC has provided almost daily opportunities for assessment and evaluation; however, it was also important that we design a formal assessment tool that tested our assumptions about the demographics of our population, the use of our library resources in that physical arena, and people's use of the physical building. In spring 2004, Anna Van Scoyoc, Deborah Stanley, and Nadine Cohen designed an assessment tool that focused on these areas. In addition to the written survey development, the group also conducted to 8-person focus groups to question participants at a deeper, more interactive level about their use of the building and use of the library resources. Work is completed on the simplest demographic data; a summary from the focus groups has been prepared; and deeper numerical statistics are currently in the final stages of completion.

The information from the survey will be invaluable to the continued development of resources and services at the Student Learning Center in general as well as the Reference Department in particular.

The assessment tool was available both in paper form and on the slc website. Because the survey involved human subjects, it was necessary to complete the paperwork to process this project as a Human Subjects Research Application through the Human Subjects Office.

How has the nominee's assessment contributed to the continuous service quality improvement within the UGA Libraries?

Because of the design and execution of the focus group part of the survey, we now have base line information on expectations of our users. We now know that much focus will have to be given on changing user expectations of the nature of our digital resources and the level of staffing in the SLC. As we listen to our users and change what we do accordingly this will only continue to improve our core mission: service.

How with the assessment the nominee has been doing this past year affect the Libraries in the future?

As the final statistics are compiled and measured, we will continue to look at these results as a benchmark for future assessment. Additionally, we will consider these results very strongly as we evaluate changes needed to more closely align the services offered at the SLC with the needs and expectations expressed.

What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?

Like so much of the work the happens in libraries, most people don't understand the time, effort, detail, and focus designing, conducting, compiling, interpreting and reporting results an assessment project takes. It is also very difficult to define how central to our success assessment is. It is easy to give anecdotal reports or "feelings" about how well or poorly something is going. It is easy to say "oh, I see lots of students using GALILEO at the SLC" or "Most of the students here are lower classmen"; it isn't nearly as easy to document those statements with facts and figures. Conducting focus groups requires great skill a skill that starts with actually enticing people to participate; designing questions that will really get the information that you need; making sure that the questions are asked in the same way to different groups; making certain that the answers are recorded accurately and without spin. It is not a simple task.

Following up on studying the data; finding on campus assistance in compiling and reporting the data takes resourcefulness and perseverance.

This committee has provided an excellent source of information both for our immediate action this coming Fall and for our continued measurement in future years. The enthusiasm and professionalism with which they have conducted this research is a model to other groups conducting such surveys and focus groups. All at the SLC and the Reference department will benefit greatly from their work.

How has the nominee contributed to assessment practices (e.g., identifying outcomes, assessing results, and modifying procedures/services) in the UGA Libraries, as well as the nominee's department? Please provide specific examples.

Before the opening of the Student Learning Center last summer, Dr. Potter and others posed questions about what student use of the SLC would entail. Would the building be busy? Will students collaborate? How will they use the Electronic Library? As the SLC is unlike any other building on any other campus, people all over the country were talking about this new electronic library and eagerly awaited reports of its success.

This Spring, Anna, Deb and Nadine took a giant leap forward in gathering information about who our patrons are and what they do in the SLC. After completing stacks of paperwork for IRB, holding many meetings, and brushing up on chi-squares and analysis of variance, the group devised an assessment instrument and got to work on distributing it to our patrons.

The survey was answered by an astounding 1000 people over the course of one week, and the results tell us many interesting things about students’ use of the facilities and services. This information is significant not only to the UGA Libraries, but also to our partners in the SLC (EITS and OISD) and to campus as a whole. In his 2004 State of the University address, President Adams proclaimed that “For decades to come, the Student Learning Center, with its combination of electronic library and classroom spaces, will be a defining experience for almost all UGA students.” The results from this survey give us the numbers to support that.

In addition to the print and online survey, the group conducted two focus groups to talk to students about their experience at the SLC. The interaction between students at the focus groups yielded even more insight into what students love about the SLC and what we might do to improve upon our success.

Before this survey we had only assumptions and anecdotes about the impact of the SLC on the student experience. This group has provided us with rich, detailed and significant information that will guide our decisions in the years to come and will help other libraries around the country in forming their very own “Lighthouse of Learning.”

How has the nominee contributed to assessment practices (e.g., identifying outcomes, assessing results, and modifying procedures/services) in the UGA Libraries, as well as the nominee's department? Please provide specific examples.

The work that WAG members, Caroline Cason, Kristen Nielsen and Jill Severn, did to improve the UGA Libraries Website spans across departments in the UGA Libraries. Using feedback from previous assessments, a new website prototype was redesigned. In order to determine whether the changes met users needs, the WAG Members acknowledged that they needed a thorough and reliable assessment of the website. The trio outlined an assessment project in order "to consider the efficacy of the overall redesign of the homepage."

How has the nominee's assessment contributed to the continuous service quality improvement within the UGA Libraries?

They have exemplified the true meaning of the idea behind assessment, in that they've identified outcomes, assessed the results, and modified the UGA Libraries Website to better serve its users. The group took the information from previous assessment efforts to better the website, tested the prototype, made the changes that were evidently needed from observations during usability testing. The new website will be released in August 2004. Even after the new release in August, WAG will repeat the assessment process and continue to augment and improve the website for its users.

Using the library does not always require users to be in the actual physical library. The UGA Libraries Website is an additional entryway for students, faculty, and staff to access and use UGA Libraries' resources. The UGA Libraries is constantly acquiring more and more technical resources for student use. Currently, a researchers (whether a first-year or a faculty member) have an abundance of print, audio, visual, and microform materials available, as well as a choice of over 300 databases from which to choose in GALILEO, and billions of websites. A user-friendly, easily navigable library website can ease researchers' information gathering process -- whether it is to find out when Hargrett is open, how to use Interlibrary Loan, or just to use the OPAC to locate books.

How with the assessment the nominee has been doing this past year affect the Libraries in the future?

To most people the library is a building with books. By modern standards, a library exceeds such walls and physical boundaries. The official library webpage is the gateway to the UGA Libraries' holdings, services, departments, building logistics, and much more. WAG acknowledges the importance of having a well-organized, easy-to-use, and aesthetically pleasing site that contains pertinent information about the UGA Libraries for the UGA community. With WAG constantly assessing and improving both the interface and content of the UGA Libraries Website, the site will continue to be a valuable and logically organized resource for students, faculty, staff, library employees, and community members.

What else do you think the ASSET Awards Committee should know about your nominee?

According to our Sawmill statistics, in 2003 the UGA Libraries' Website had over 5200 visitors per day by library staff, students, faculty, and community researchers. The fact that our website is greatly accessed and used on a daily basis, we are fortunate to have members of the UGA Libraries' recognize that our website is a product that should be regularly evaluated, assessed, and refined.