The concepts of planning and assessment are intrinsically linked—and understanding them is essential for raising the library’s profile and strengthening its position among stakeholders and the community. Even if you're an LIS student or are new to the profession, or if planning or assessment are not your primary areas of responsibility, you still have a role to play in the success of organizational efforts. Fleming-May has more than a decade of experience in planning and assessment initiatives and instruction, and Mays was her institution’s first assessment librarian; their primer draws from theory, research, and their first-hand observations to illuminate such topics as
- characteristics of bad planning strategy that can help to illustrate a better approach;
- reasons why using economic models, like ROI, fall short;
- how to mix the three types of planning;
- guidelines to ensure that assessment is meaningful and actionable;
- tips for creating effective surveys;
- emphasizing users’ needs with a critical assessment framework;
- data analysis for surveys, interviews, focus groups, and observation;
- four questions to ask about audience level before you develop a report;
- a sample 3-year assessment plan that can be customized; and
- seven steps for developing a culture of ongoing assessment.
Rachel A. Fleming-May is 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 Mays is 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.
