Focus on Assessment - Aug 9, 2010

We implemented two surveys, one on assessment activities across the University Libraries, and one on
University Libraries faculty responses to inquiries from external accrediting agencies. We utilized the
results from the first survey to guide many of our activities for the year. Many respondents asked
questions and raised issues, and we specifically addressed many of these in our March 16 Brown Bag and
with a list of Frequently Asked Questions on our website. The survey on accreditation activities led to the
creation of a repository on our website of faculty responses to various accrediting agencies, as well as the
approval of a new University Libraries policy regarding responses to these agencies.

We created a robust website on the Intranet
(https://intranet.libraries.psu.edu/home/groups/assesscouncil.html), which includes data and statistics,
assessment projects and reports, assessment-related resources, links to our “Focus on Assessment” articles
in Interview, Frequently Asked Questions, and information about the events we have held this past year.

The Council co-sponsored a symposium with the Collection Development Council entitled “Using
Assessment Tools for Collection Development and Management,” which was attended by nearly 100
University Libraries faculty and staff members. We also facilitated job enrichment opportunities for two
University Libraries staff.

Other activities included “By the Numbers,” a program on assessment at the University Libraries
Discovery Day 2010, creation of an RSS feed through Delicious, support for the creation of a Director’s
Station User’s Group, “Focus on Assessment” articles in Interview, and an SPSS workshop at Penn State
Harrisburg. Members of the Council will be presenting a poster session at the upcoming ARL 2010
Library Assessment Conference in Baltimore, MD, in October. Our poster will focus on the formation of
our Council, our charge, our activities, and our website. The Council also anticipates offering a second
workshop on SPSS this fall at University Park.

You can view our Annual Report and Executive Summary on our public website at
http://libraries.psu.edu/psul/admin/assessment.html. We would appreciate any feedback, suggestions, or
inquiries you may have via our global e-mail ul-assessment-council@lists.psu.edu. We look forward to
another great year! — By Sydney Bennington