Project Outcome

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) is embarking on a field test of an outcomes assessment project that aims to improve library instructional assessment by standardizing outcomes nationally, which would provide national comparison benchmarks.

Based on the Public Library Association’s Project Outcomes, ACRL will adopt similar survey measures for an academic library setting. This undertaking will allow academic libraries to consistently collect instruction outcomes data that can be compared at an institution, state, or national level. Data will also be aggregated by Carnegie Classifications to enable comparisons with peer institutions.

Boston College Libraries has signed on to assist ACRL in field-testing for this groundbreaking program. This testing consists of a survey measuring both qualitative and quantitative data. What makes this survey unique is that it measures instruction based on four themes: Knowledge, Confidence, Application of New Skills, and Awareness of Resources on a Likert-type scale. Standardized themes resolve a persistent problem of comparison when instruction sessions are distributed among many staff in many different contexts, as in academic libraries.

This Fall, BC Libraries will be participating by administering the survey, which has an online and print version, to BC students after each instructional session. BC Libraries Staff will provide feedback on the surveys to ACRL while also collecting data for national benchmarking. The project ends in October. The rollout of the finalized outcomes database will occur at ACRL’s Conference in Cleveland, April 2019. If successful, this program will provide a very useful tool for assessing instruction in libraries.

Expect to see brief surveys after most instruction sessions provided by BC librarians between now and mid-October, when the trial will finish.