Table of Contents

• Preface

  1 Introduction to Planning and Assessment

• 2 History of Planning/Assessment
• 3 Fundamentals of planning
• 4 Basic principles of assessment
• 5 Approaches to assessment
• 6 Collecting data: Principles
• 7 Collecting Direct Evidence
• 8 Collecting Indirect Evidence
• 9 Analyzing Data
• 10 Reporting and Presenting Data
• 11 Collaboration and Relationship Management

  Appendix A Glossary of Terms

• Appendix B Sample Library Assessment Plan
• Appendix C Sample Informed Consent Form
• Appendix D Sample Observation Template
• Appendix E Continuing Education and Professional Development
• Appendix F Assessment Librarian: Position Description Example

About the Author

Rachel A. Fleming-Mayis an Associate Professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Prior to earning her Ph.D. from the University of Alabama in 2008, Fleming-May worked as a public and academic librarian for several years. Her teaching and research interests include academic libraries and librarianship, information sources and services, and library assessment. She has worked on two assessment-related Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)-funded grant programs: Experience Assessment: Building User Experience and Assessment Capabilities in Libraries and Information Centers (UX-A) (co-Principal Investigator), and Value, Outcome, and Return on Investment of Academic Libraries (Lib-Value) (management team member).

Regina Maysis  an Associate Professor and Head of Assessment Programs and Collection Strategy at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Libraries, where she has practiced, researched, and published on library assessment and planning for over a decade. She holds an MSIS from the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Her research interests include library assessment and planning, with a particular focus on the organizational structure of assessment in academic libraries, mentoring and assessment education for library professionals, strategic planning, and demonstrating library value.

Reviews

"Planning and assessment are no longer something libraries need to consider; they are essential to survival. Library schools need to make this part of all curricula. This book could and should be the textbook ... The bottom line of this book is growth and development of skills for survival. For the expert, this resource can become a teaching tool to bring staff on board to get involved with the process. It takes the scary out of the process and makes it a real part of the job. The Appendices are real tools for execution and instruction. "
-- Journal of Hospital Librarianship

"The authors use real-life anecdotes and hypothetical examples and offer figures that supplement and illustrate concepts introduced. Five appendices provide additional useful resources--e.g., a sample assessment plan, an informed consent form, and a template for recording observations."
-- Choice

"Written in the conversational tone of a trusted assessment mentor ... This realistic and pragmatic monograph may be read in its entirety for an overview or consulted a section or chapter at a time as needed, for instance, during strategic planning or when performing data analysis. The book's utility is increased by the fact that it includes explanatory charts, resources for further reading at the end of each chapter, a brief glossary, and an extensive index. Those interested in both public and academic library assessment will find this a useful volume."
-- Technical Services Quarterly