Focus on Assessment - May 24, 10

The Library Assessment and Metrics Council recently held a symposium entitled “"Using
Assessment Tools for Collection Development and Management", which was co-sponsored by
the Collection Development Council. Four faculty members presented ways in which they
perform assessment activities in making decisions about monographic materials and subscription
materials (serials, databases, etc.).

The first half of the symposium focused on assessment for monographic materials. Bernadette
Lear spoke about the criteria she uses for weeding the collection at Penn State Harrisburg,
including usage, availability, content, and reputation of the text. Eric Novotny reviewed his
assessment of Penn State University Park’s Native American Studies collection, in which he
looked at usage statistics in Director’s Station and approval plan titles and criteria in GOBI, and
also gave an overview of annexing. Nan Butkovich discussed her criteria for selecting materials
for the Popular Science collection in the Physical and Mathematical Sciences Library, and Linda
Musser gave a short presentation on assessment of materials for preservation.

The second half of the symposium focused on assessment for subscription materials. Bernadette
discussed the survey she created to gather information about faculty periodical use in fall 2005,
which she used in her assessment and cancellation of periodicals. Nan reviewed her methods for
evaluating serials, including the data she reviews, problems with the data, and red flags. Lastly,
all four faculty answered questions from the audience while ideas for additional assessment
activities, compiled by Linda, scrolled on the screen behind them.

The Library Assessment and Metrics Council has developed a companion website to the
symposium, which includes links to all the presentations and supplemental materials. Please note
that the recording of the symposium is available via MediaSite Live. We also ask for your
feedback about the symposium or suggestions for future symposia via completion of a brief
survey. Thank you to all our faculty presenters and to all of you who participated in the
symposium! — Submitted by Sydney Bennington