Program Planning Report
Robert E. Swenson Library/
Spring 2007
I. Background and
Analysis
A. Program Description
Overview
The Cabrillo College Library
contributes to the college mission by serving as an intellectual center and providing
instructional focus for a full range of information resources. The library
strives to provide an active learning environment that nurtures and reinforces
self-directed inquiry.
Reference and Public Services
The Library offers a rich
array of core reference and information services. Librarians are available for
questions and consultation at the Reference Desk in person or by telephone
during all hours when the library is open. Patrons rarely wait longer than a
few minutes even though their inquiries can require quite involved interaction
and research, depending upon the topic covered or the patron’s level of
knowledge. The library has also responded to the growth in the campus’
Spanish-speaking population by providing bilingual service at its primary
service points, Reference and Circulation. Bilingual help can be either on-call
or it can be scheduled.
Electronic services available
both within the library and remotely from home computers include 31
subscription full text information resources, a large collection of Internet
links covering all campus department areas, and an email reference service with
24-hour turnaround for replies. Although the practice of providing remote reference
service via “chat” mode has become common in many libraries, the Cabrillo
library does not currently provide any immediate electronic reference service.
During the 2005/06 academic
year, over 280,000 students, faculty, staff, and community members came to the
library. The library’s circulation of books, videos, and other materials
continues at a robust pace, with over 30,000 recorded checkouts and in-house
uses every academic year. Additionally, nearly 20,000 checkouts of course
reserve materials serving virtually every campus department are recorded
annually. Of particular note is the dramatic increase in student printing in
the library, reflecting the increasing use of the Internet and online databases
for research. The number of pages printed during 2005/06 was 44,000, an increase
of 83% since 2003, and the number of print-related transactions was 6900, a
growth of 135% in the same time period. A campus-wide self-service printing
system being investigated jointly by Information Technology and the library should
help the library handle this explosive growth area.
Service areas which need to
be explored include but are not limited to: 1) Live electronic reference
services; 2) 24/7 provision of reference services 3)Watsonville Center reference services; 4)
Expanding the scope of course reserves to include electronic links between
library reserve materials and reserve materials posted on the Internet. (Item
re Encore web 2.0 upgrading technology)
Information Technology Status in the Library
Library services depend in
equal part on a technically-skilled service-oriented group of staff and
librarians and on a sophisticated flexible technology infrastructure. There are
over 70 public computer workstations, most with flat-panel monitors, and 30
circulating laptop computers within the library, plus an additional 27 staff
computers. The library maintains and supports several network servers,
including a web server and a catalog server.
Most of the library’s public
workstations were purchased in Summer of 2004, and they will need to be
replaced within two to three years. The classroom workstations will have their
flat-panel monitors installed in Spring 2007 for better workspace use. Most
staff computers were purchased within the last two-three years, and so should
continue to be adequate for at least another three to four years. It is unknown
whether the advent of
Computer-Aided Instruction
programs available on various library workstations continue to actively support
Geography, Nutrition, and Dental Hygiene classes. Media services include 18
TV/VCR/DVD stations, 2 slide viewers, 4 microform viewers, and 4 audio
listening stations. Assistive technology available within the library includes
two Jaws/ZoomText workstations, one recently updated Kurzweil reader/scanner
workstation, and one Omni 3000 scanner/reader workstation.
The Collection
Successful academic and
occupational programs depend upon the availability of a sufficiently large and
sufficiently current library collection. Although the library’s funding support
has been somewhat erratic over the past five years, as of 2006/2007 our funding
appears to be stabilized. As the library is not an archival collection but
rather an active current collection for campus-wide program support, the
currency of the collection is the most significant measure, reflective of its
usefulness to the campus.
|
As of: |
Percent of Total
Collection Published from 2000 to present |
|
September 2006 |
21.3% |
|
October 2005 |
16.9% |
|
September 2002 |
6.5% |
|
October 2001 |
3.4% |
Access to articles in
magazines, journals, newspapers, and encyclopedias has been enhanced
considerably with the expansion of online databases available through EBSCOhost and other vendors, resulting in over 7,000
full text titles available to the campus community. In the summer of 2006 the
library took advantage of an exceptional consortium offer and virtually doubled
the number of online databases subscribed to, now consisting of 31 databases.
An active collection
development program guides the selection and purchase of library materials,
ensuring that materials support the curriculum and educational programs.
Librarian liaisons are assigned to each college division and work with faculty
to add new materials. During the 2005/06 academic year, nearly 3000 items were
added to the library’s collection, including, for the first time, music CDs. In
addition, catalog records for the 2000+
Library Instruction
Library curriculum and
Information Literacy Instruction is facilitated by the use of an electronic
classroom with 24 student workstations and one instructor workstation. The
Instruction Program of the library has two components: credit courses and
information literacy efforts.
Credit Courses
Library
10, Information Research, is the library’s sole remaining credit course offered
as of 2006. Since the late 1980s, Library 10 has been the one unit co-requisite
to the college’s transferable English 1A course. Library 10 reaches
approximately 800-850 students per semester, with one section open to all
students not enrolled in English 1A. It is a workbook-based course with several
online sections available since 2005, with due dates, a midpoint set of review
exercises, and a performance final. All librarians at the Reference Desk work
with Library 10 students doing the workbook or the online class.
Several
additional library credit courses were discontinued during the past 5 years due
to budget cuts or low enrollment: Library 16, Library 17, and Library 21.
Library 18, a new course, has not yet been funded for offering. Librarians at
Cabrillo feel we should be providing more and extended regular instruction to
students.
Information Literacy Program
The
library has a very active course-related instruction program. Librarians
partner with classroom faculty to develop structured exercises which provide
exposure to the research process as well as appropriate electronic and print
resources. Web-based exercises are linked to the library’s web pages. Between
70-100 instruction sessions are created and conducted every semester, and are held
in the library’s classroom, in other campus classrooms, or at the
Distance Education and Services to Remote Users
As mentioned earlier, the
library’s online subscription databases have increased considerably, from 11
databases in 2001 to 31 databases as of Fall 2006. Funding for most of these
has been from the external categorically funded programs TTIP and Tech II,
periodically supplemented by additional campus funds as needed. The library’s
databases have been available remotely to students, staff, and faculty since
1999. From 1999 to 2004 facilitating remote access was a partially manual
process which resulted in a typical delay of 1-4 days for new library
cardholders to be able to access our databases remotely. In 2005 the
library converted to authenticating remote access by purchasing the Web Access Management
module from the catalog vendor Innovative Interfaces, thereby providing
immediate database access to any new library cardholders.
The distance learner can now
use any of our online databases, check the status of their checked-out books
and renew their titles, and send an email reference question to a librarian and
get a response within 24 hours. One area still needing attention is the
accessibility of a full range of library services to the growing
Staffing
As a result of the loss of a
classified position in the Circulation department, the workload formerly
assigned to the lost position was distributed to five other classified staff
members and one librarian. With the retirement of the Circulation Lead
position, the department will be at least briefly down to one position, from its
previous three positions. Maintaining any level of quality service, let alone a
high level of service, will be extremely difficult for the library staff. The
lost position was eliminated during difficult campus budget times which also
initially reduced other library budgets and therefore some of the workload of
other staff. However, with the return of more normal budgets and workloads, it
is increasingly difficult to continue to provide an even level of service. Changes
in media and materials have notably increased workloads in all areas of the
library, from cataloging and processing to circulation and support. In
addition, the growth of the library's course reserve textbook collection
continues to have a significant beginning-of-the-semester impact on the
workload in both Technical Services and Circulation.
The
Circulation department is a high-volume, extremely fluid function within the
library: not only is it the largest student employer on campus, but it has
experienced the introduction in recent years of circulating laptops and
assorted computer peripherals, a new audio CD collection, new security systems
for multimedia items, and a heavily used course reserve collection that has
grown to over 2000 items. A restoration of this position, as a full-time classified
position, would allow a considerably distributed workload to be consolidated
once again in one person, and would provide Circulation with much-needed depth
and staffing backup.
B. Relationships with Other College Components
All of the full time library
faculty and the library director serve on college-wide committees (Faculty
Senate, Curriculum, Technology, Distance Learning, Staff Development,
Accreditation, Transportation, Bookstore, CCFT), as well as college councils
and boards that promote library awareness and cooperation across campus.
The Library works as an
integral part of the college and has close relationships with most departments
within Instruction, Information Technology, Student Services, and Business
Services.
Instruction
The library’s collection
development program offers every college division and every faculty member the
opportunity to contribute to the selection and maintenance of its holdings.
Students from every department on campus make heavy use of the library’s growing
course reserve materials, print and video/DVD collections, information
workstations, and portable laptop computers. In addition, the library exposes
Cabrillo students to all subjects and areas of study by hosting a heavily used
current periodical display area with approximately 200 magazines on all
disciplines, providing internet links on numerous subject areas, and hosting
periodic targeted awareness-building book and online resource displays. The
library also has a strong partnership with the English department through the
co-requisite classes of English 1A and Library 10, with instructors and
librarians working together on student success, course needs, and collection
building. The library’s Information Literacy program is now reaching
instructors in more than 50% of all campus departments, every year providing
students with over 160 classroom presentations using exercises created in
partnership between the course instructor and a librarian.
Information Technology
The library has a strong
partnership with Information Technology. The library’s director, librarians,
and technical staff work closely with IT on support, development, planning, and
maintenance of the library’s applications, servers, and desktops. The
introduction of wireless services and circulating laptop computers for students
to use for open access word-processing and other applications is an excellent
example of the planning and collaboration that routinely takes place between
the two organizations. Initial technical troubleshooting is provided by library
staff, but IT staff are responsible for extended troubleshooting, repair, and
replacement of the laptops.
Student Services
The Counseling department
hosts more Information Literacy sessions for individual classes than any other
department on campus. The library director works closely with the Student
Senate on a number of ongoing initiatives, most notably the ongoing grant of
15,000 dollars per year for the provision of a single copy of the most
expensive required textbooks at the Reserve Desk in the library. Librarians
work with Admissions & Records staff on the challenges of registration for the
Library 10 co-requisite class.
Business Services
The library works closely
with the Bookstore on annually providing updated course reserve textbooks in
the library for students. Also, as the largest employer of students on campus,
the library works closely and often with Student Employment, and has been
involved in testing new student employee support systems in recent years.
C. Relationships with Non-Cabrillo Organizations
The
In addition to the UCSC
library borrowing privileges available to current Cabrillo faculty, there is a
long-standing agreement between the Cabrillo College Library and UCSC which
specifically allows Cabrillo students to obtain short-term borrowing rights at
the UCSC libraries. The library also works with the
D. Costs
Library percentage of Base College Expenditures
|
|
2001/02 |
2002/03 |
2003/04 |
2004/05 |
2005/06 |
|
Library Base Expenditures |
$1,090,370 |
$1,066,684 |
$949,168 |
$1,021,006 |
$1,117,812 |
|
|
$23,229,461 |
$24,168,447 |
$23,646,684 |
$24,373,819 |
$25,688,668 |
|
Library Pct of College
Expenditures |
4.694% |
4.414% |
4.014% |
4.189% |
4.351% |
The costs of the library when
compared to the college as a whole appear high. The Association for College and
Research Libraries, however, does recommend that 6% of a college budget be
allocated to supporting a library. The college library is a service oriented,
staff intensive function that is responsive to the information needs of
students and faculty. The instructional component of the library program also
generates college revenues through FTES, albeit less than one percent.
|
|
2001/02 |
2002/03 |
2003/04 |
2004/05 |
2005/06 |
|
Fall Semester |
0.61% |
0.63% |
0.66% |
0.74% |
0.72% |
|
Spring Semester |
0.72% |
0.71% |
0.69% |
0.71% |
0.68% |
The Library’s budget for
collections has varied a great deal for the past several years. The funding has
come from a combination of college general funds and the categorical State
Instructional Equipment and Library Materials fund. The college general funds
have been fixed and unchanged from 1989 to 2003, at which point general funds
allocation for collections was reduced by 25 percent [2C-21 Cabrillo College
Governing Board Agenda
It is difficult to measure
overall student success in the library. Most services in the library are
typically on-demand and transaction-based. The student’s success can only be
inferred by the result: did they understand the librarian’s answer, were they
able to find the desired website or magazine article, etc. We can only infer
that the sum of these small successes adds up to the larger student successes
in an individual course, or in a program of study. In addition, library
services are primarily in support of instruction, serving as a complement to
assignments and study efforts in numerous classroom instruction programs.
Learning that takes place in the library, or because of the library’s services,
can not be isolated to the library, but must be considered part of the overall
picture of student success: do students complete their research assignments,
find the appropriate study materials to pass their classes, etc.
Somewhat easier to measure is
whether the library is providing a sufficient variety of services, and in
sufficient quantity, to meet perceived and projected student need levels. If we
have few students waiting excessively to speak to a librarian, if we have few
students unable to check out their required course reserve materials, then the
levels of service provided are sufficient. From observations, the library
rarely has students waiting more than a few minutes to speak to a librarian or
be assisted with any of the varied Circulation services, rarely has students
who are not provided with acceptable print or electronic resources on their
topic, and only occasionally has students who cannot be provided requested
course reserve materials at the time of their request.
During the 2006 accreditation
and services assessment efforts, it was decided that service operations such as
the library should more appropriately use the college-wide Core
Competencies for assessing their
services, rather than create unique student learner outcomes pertaining to the
many services provided by campus service operations. The library’s completed
Assessment Analysis and Assessment Plan forms are attached to this document. The
library assists students in achieving the core college competencies in several
ways:
Communication: When a librarian engages a student in defining their
information need and translating that need into a query to use with an
information tool, we are directly helping the student hone their communication
skills. Both primary service desks provide experienced service assistance in
English and Spanish.
Critical
Thinking & Information Competency, Global Awareness: The Library 10 course, assistance at the Reference
Desk, and the course-related instruction sessions all represent direct
instruction in critical thinking and global awareness. Assistance at the
Reference Desk is instruction-based, intended not to answer a student’s
information need so much as to teach students how to use electronic tools and
thinking processes to independently and confidently satisfy their own future
information needs.
Personal
Responsibility & Professional Development: Many of the library’s transaction services directly reinforce
students’ personal responsibility by requiring loaned materials to be returned
on time or generate overdue fines. Indirectly, all of our transaction services
help facilitate countless educational pursuits and therefore support
communication and critical thinking.
The
Cabrillo College Factbook indicates that student success rates for Library 10
are typically lower than student success rates for the campus as a whole.
Retention rates for Library 10 are closer to retention rates for English
courses, and both are lower than retention rates for the campus as a whole.
Since Library 10 is a co-requisite of English 1A, we would expect retention
rates to be similar.
|
Success |
Fall 2001 |
Fall 2002 |
Fall 2003 |
Fall 2004 |
Fall 2005 |
|
Library |
61.56% |
63.98% |
61.93% |
65.62% |
53.29% |
|
English |
68.38% |
68.99% |
66.89% |
67.04% |
67.60% |
|
College |
67.73% |
68.04% |
68.81% |
69.62% |
67.23% |
|
Retention |
Fall 2001 |
Fall 2002 |
Fall 2003 |
Fall 2004 |
Fall 2005 |
|
Library |
78.42% |
74.43% |
78.44% |
82.24% |
71.06% |
|
English |
77.85% |
79.25% |
78.30% |
78.98% |
77.43% |
|
College |
81.09% |
80.16% |
81.78% |
82.94% |
80.98% |
Library
10 learner outcomes assessment is accomplished by student completion of the
workbook and the performance final. In addition, the completion of a successful
works cited exercise in the workbook is used to confirm that the student has
learned to identify, evaluate, and communicate information resources. Each
student completes an anonymous course evaluation form that is turned in
separately from the workbook. Summaries of all the evaluative responses are
distributed to the librarians.
Course-Related
Instruction
assessment is observational and inferred
from the class instructors. Although some librarians ask students to complete
an online evaluation form, many sessions are still in need of some sort of
evaluative tool.
F. Student Survey Results
According to the 2005
Cabrillo College Student Survey, of the 872 students asked to rate their
overall experience with the library, 61% responded with “very good” or
“excellent,” giving the library the highest satisfaction rating of all of the
student services included in the survey.
Three library-related
questions were asked of faculty in the Accreditation Self-Study survey (2005).
Their answers indicate that 86% of the responding faculty “strongly agree” or
“somewhat agree” that the library’s support for instructional programs
contributes to student learning outcomes, 83% of the respondents “strongly
agree” or “somewhat agree” that the library is sufficiently responsive to
faculty input, and 61% “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” that the library
collection has enough breadth to meet the needs of their students. On the last
question, it is worth noting that 14% disagreed and 25% were neutral in
evaluating the breadth of the collection, indicating that vigilance and
communication continue to be vital as we continue to grow the library’s
collections.
As part of the library’s 2005
accreditation self-study, we initiated a review of methods for assessing our
services. We created a survey instrument to assess our general services, which
we repeated twice the first year and then annually every Fall semester. The
primary findings of these general services surveys so far:
It is also worth noting that
in 2003, during the planning for campus-wide budget cutbacks, the library
conducted a student survey to help determine which open hours to cut, as we
were facing the elimination of nearly one fifth of our open hours.
G. Results of External Data Research
There are four general trends
identified in campus or regional surveys that are likely to have a significant
impact on the library: 1)a steady increase in the number of Hispanics in the
local population and enrolling at Cabrillo; 2)an increase in the number of
students who enter Cabrillo at the basic skills level; 3)continuing increases
in the levels of computer literacy encountered in new Cabrillo students; and 4)an
increase in enrollment in campus distance education offerings. The library will
need to review the accessibility of its services and information to the growing
Spanish-speaking population. In addition, the library must meet the challenge
of ensuring that it maintain the functionality of its technology at a
sufficient level to meet the needs of new younger students, while at the same
time continuing to provide accessible services for those students who may not
have a high comfort level with technology.
II. Program Directions and Recommendations: These department priorities reflect the data and
discussions presented in this report, but they are also framed by the college
Master Plan and the college’s stated mission.
1. Maintain appropriate and responsive levels
of service in the Circulation function. (Maintenance of Programs)
Service stability has been at risk for several years within this core
high-volume function. We need to ensure sufficient classified staffing by
restoring the position lost in 2003.
COST: $38,000/year, including benefits.
2. Expand and formalize library services to the
The library has been working
with
COST: $39,000/year, including benefits,
or: $25,725 for 18 hours a week
(two semesters) of units of adjunct librarian
3. Maintain the currency of the library’s integrated
software environment. (Maintenance of Programs, Innovative Scheduling &
Delivery)
The library’s core integrated
library system, from Innovative Interfaces, Inc., should be updated with their
Encore product. Encore, due to be released in Spring 2007, is a unified search
and access tool that will leverage Web 2.0 technologies into the Library’s
integrated system. This library system controls the library’s acquisitions,
cataloging, circulation, and public access catalog. Upgrading to the next
version should be accomplished within two years of the release of the upgraded
software
COST: $39,500.
4. Ensure ongoing reliability of workstations at the
library. (Maintenance of Programs)
a) The
70+ heavily-used public computer workstations, purchased in 2004, will need
to be replaced before 2009. These machines are heavily used for Internet and
online research, and need to be able to handle evolving multimedia information
technologies as well as upgrades to new operating systems.
b) The
27 staff computer workstations will need to be replaced before 2009.
COST: 97 x
$1000 = $97,000.
5. Expand information technology in the library to
meet current trends. (Innovative Scheduling & Delivery)
In order to successfully
provide reference services wherever our students are located, the library must
seriously investigate implementing live online reference services. To
complement remote reference, we must pursue purchase of online subscriptions
for reference books which would be available to students wherever they are. The
library must also investigate online multimedia and other non-static content,
such as video and blogs, to continue to reach our more tech-savvy newer
students. Also, we need to pursue additional online instruction tools, such as
tutorials, online overviews, or even additional online credit courses.
COST: $10,000
for an initial online reference book collection
6. Increase awareness of library services for new
Cabrillo students. (Maintenance
of Programs)
The library services surveys
initiated in 2005 consistently identified new students as the least aware of
the services and benefits of the library. We need to develop mechanisms for
awareness-building among the new student arrivals, possibly including tours,
orientations, promotional information, or advertising the library where the
students are (floating signs around campus, ads/articles in the Voice, MySpace
accounts, etc.).
COST: $2000
B.
Plan for ongoing
evaluation of functions & services
The
general services survey mentioned in #6 above will be repeated every year. We
will compare new results to earlier results, and discuss at regular staff
meetings. Subsequent areas to survey or otherwise analyze will be determined by
the results of the general survey, as well as library staff perception on
high-impact areas to survey: areas which contribute most strongly to the core
competencies, or areas which benefit large numbers of students.
III. Curriculum, Requisite, and Model Program
Review
Library 10, Information Research
Library 15 AZ, Special Topics in Library Research
Library 18, Advanced Internet Searching
Attachments
Library Services Assessment Analysis Form
Use the form below to summarize the results of the department meeting in which you discussed the results of your program’s assessment process. Include this form in your Instructional Plan and incorporate the results into the narrative of your instructional plan.
|
Meeting Date |
|
|
Number of Faculty/staff
in Attendance and percentage of department represented |
9 librarians &
8 classified staff (90% of Library staff) |
|
Services Assessed (what services did
you examine?) |
As part of our
Services Assessment Plan, we chose to begin by assessing general user services.
We wanted students to tell us what services they used, and how well they
worked for them. With this information, we hope to obtain information that
would identify specific areas for us to target future assessment efforts. |
|
Assessment Tool (Briefly describe
assessment tool – if using a survey, attach it to this form) |
Our Library
Services Survey instrument (attached) was designed by a group of library
staff (both faculty and classified) meeting over a number of weeks. The
survey was reviewed by the campus Office of Planning & Research, and
modified accordingly. The survey was conducted in Fall 2005 as a self-serve
survey available at both entrances to the library. |
|
Assessment Results (Summarize the overall
results . If using a survey, you may
also attach detailed results to this form. What student needs and
issues were revealed? Were there any areas
that were deemed outstanding? Any areas where they
can be improved? |
Detailed results
of Fall 2005 survey attached. Key findings:
|
|
Next Steps to be taken
within the Department to Improve Student Learning and/or services |
We need to find a
way to reach newer students and assist them in understanding & making use
of the library. Possibilities:
Two caveats: we
need to be selective in what we pursue, to get the most bang for our buck,
and we need to remember that there are 6000-7000 students who do not have
library cards that we aren’t reaching at all. |
|
Next Steps to be taken
with help from the college to improve Student Learning and services |
Survey comments
indicated a desire for longer hours, with the most frequent request being
staying open until |
|
Priorities to Improve
Student Learning (List the top 3-6
things from the previous two lists that the department felt would most
improve student learning or services) |
Priorities:
|
|
Implementation (List the departmental
plans to implement these priorities) |
Identified
priority activities will be implemented immediately. Other activities will be
pursued within the contexts of program planning, accreditation efforts, or
division meetings, as appropriate. |
|
Timeline for
Implementation (Make a timeline for
implementation of your top priorities |
The following will
be implemented immediately as of Spring 2006:
Program planning
efforts in 2006 will reflect and include the need for budget for increased
open hours. We need to repeat
this survey periodically, to confirm our findings. The group decided to
conduct the survey again in Spring 2006, and henceforth once annually. |
Library Services Assessment Plan
2006
Use the form below to describe
your assessment plan for the services your department offers. Include this form in your Instructional Plan
and describe the plan in the narrative of your instructional plan.
|
List the specific
services offered by your department. |
Describe how each
specific service helps students master any or all of the four college competencies |
|
1. Transaction Services. Check-out and renew
materials (in person, by phone & online); check out course reserve
materials; sell printouts, computer disks, and other items; check out
laptops; provide library cards (both in person & online). 2. Online &
Electronic Services. On-campus & remote access to online subscription databases;
computers for research or word-processing; specialized computer-aided-instruction
programs; online catalog for access to library’s collections; specialized
assistive technology workstations; audio-visual equipment; photocopiers;
troubleshooting assistance in support of all electronic services. 3. Information &
Instruction Services. Credit-based Library 10
Information Research course; in-class tailored instruction sessions for 150+
classes annually; research instruction & assistance at the Reference
Desk; campus-wide directional & informational assistance at all service
points; extensive web pages for organized access to local & remote
information. 4. Collection. Acquire, process, and
provide access to collection of books, videos, and other materials of
sufficient breadth and currency to support instruction programs; collection
liaison activities with faculty; provide online tools for accessing
collection including catalog and various material-specific lists; provide
institutional repository of materials in College Archives collection. 5. Service Management. Sufficient open hours and
staffing for library to meet campus needs; track & assess volume &
effectiveness of all services; safe & functional environment; ensure
processes and services conform to current industry standards and available
technologies. |
1.
Many of the library’s transaction services directly reinforce students’
personal responsibility by requiring loaned materials to be returned on time
or generate overdue fines. Indirectly, all of our transaction services help
facilitate countless educational pursuits and therefore support
communication, critical thinking, and global awareness. 2.
Online and other electronic resources provide direct conduits to sources of
research information and study materials used by most campus instruction
programs, thus helping students improve their critical thinking and global
awareness competencies. 3.
The Library 10 course and the in-class instruction sessions represent direct
instruction in critical thinking and the many subject areas represented within
global awareness. Assistance at the
Reference Desk is instruction-based, intended not to answer a student’s
information need so much as to teach students how to use electronic tools and
thinking processes to independently and confidently satisfy their own future
information needs, thus contributing directly to critical thinking and
communication skills. 4.
The library’s physical and electronic collections are intended for direct
support of the institution’s instruction mission, and provide students with
countless opportunities to hone their critical thinking skills as well as
their global awareness of countless topics. 5.
Providing adequate staffing and sufficient open hours increases the
availability and accessibility of the library’s resources to students.
Tracking and assessing library services enables the library to provide
services that are useful to current students, adequate for the volume of
demand, and represent minimal inherent service barriers. In facilitating and contributing to overall
library service availability, our service management efforts strongly support
all core competencies. |
|
Assessment of Services:
List the services you will assess under each year of the 5 year Instructional
Planning Process |
Describe the Assessment
Process your department will use to
evaluate each service and its outcomes.
Include the assessment tool you plan to use and the criteria to
evaluate success. If using a rubric,
attach it to the end of this form. |
|
Year One Service: General
services survey (instrument attached) Library
10 ongoing efforts |
Instead
of a top-down approach, we decided to initiate a series of open library
meetings, attended by both faculty and classified staff, to identify
non-class-related services and assessment options. Services were identified,
grouped in clusters described earlier in this form, & contributions to
core competencies identified. A survey was selected as the assessment method,
& the group developed a general survey instrument to conduct an initial
broad review of library services. In Fall 2005 & Spring 2006, the survey
was made available at both Library exits, & over 100 responses were
collected during 3 days of each semester. Survey questions were intended to
measure satisfaction with the specific activities a patron was engaged in, as
well as self-assessment questions addressing several core competencies. Staff
will assess results based on question responses and frequency of problem
areas mentioned in written comments. Library
10 instructors hold regular meetings every semester, during which problems,
changes, and new instruction elements are discussed. The results of these
meetings, plus any identified ambiguities in the Library 10 workbook and
feedback based upon patterns of student errors or confusion, are folded into
the following semester’s workbook. This process is repeated every semester. |
|
Year Two Service: Repeat
general survey Begin
identifying specific services to survey or otherwise obtain additional
information about. Possible areas: -
library collection -
website review -
computer use -
catalog usability |
The
general services survey will be repeated every year. We will compare new
results to earlier results, and discuss at regular library staff meetings. Subsequent
areas to survey or otherwise analyze will be determined by the results of the
general survey, as well as library staff perception on high-impact areas to
survey: areas which contribute most strongly to the core competencies, or
areas which benefit large numbers of students. Once specific areas are
chosen, the open group meeting process described above will be repeated, to
select assessment method and develop tool to use in evaluation. |
|
Year Three Service: In-class
instruction sessions Repeat
general survey Pursue
other service area as identified in year two |
To
assess course-related instruction sessions, librarians who conduct most of
these sessions will begin meeting to discuss evaluation options, including T.
Smalley’s existing online feedback evaluation tool. Once options are selected,
we will attempt to assess either comprehensively or a sampling of sessions.
Results of the assessments will be consolidated and reviewed. |
|
Year Four Service: Repeat
general survey Pursue
other service area as identified in year two |
See
year two. |
|
Year Five: Service: Repeat
general survey Pursue
other service area as identified in year two |
See
year two. |
|
Assessment Evaluation Describe the process
the department will use to evaluate assessment results. Include: What meetings will be
held? When? Who will be involved? What will be discussed? What process will be
used to implement any improvements needed to services? |
The
regular open meeting format used for the initial identification of library
service areas to assess worked extremely well, and so will be repeated for
most future assessment efforts. The process allowed for both faculty and
classified staff participation, contributions from multiple areas and
specialties in the library, and helped us produce efforts that all
participants could understand, support, and explain to other library staff.
Our target will be to conduct these meetings periodically every semester,
open to all library staff, for the selection of subsequent service areas to
assess and the tools to use to assess them. FLEX
week department meetings will continue to be used to present results of the
most recent assessment efforts to all library staff, and for identifying and
prioritizing any specific service improvements. Service improvements will be
implemented either by directly changing the impacted process, or by
documenting and communicating to staff the desired workflow or process
change. |
Departmental Assessment
Analysis Form
Note: Individual
Assessment Form precedes this form.
Use the form below to summarize the results of the
department meeting in which you discussed the core competency assessment
process or the assessment of course SLOs.
Append this form to your Instructional Plan and incorporate the results
into the narrative of your plan.
|
Department |
Library |
|
Meeting Date |
|
|
Number of Faculty/Staff in Attendance |
7 |
|
Number of Faculty/Staff sharing
Assessment Results |
6 |
|
Core Competency or Course SLOs
measured |
I. Communication
|
|
Assessment Tools (Give examples of major assignments
your faculty/staff used to measure the competency or course SLOs) |
Word Web exercise
in workbook where students have to communicate their own understanding of and
version of a topic with broader and narrower concepts included. |
|
Assessment Results (Summarize the overall results of
your department What student needs and issues were
revealed? Were there any areas where student
performance was outstanding? Any areas where it can be improved? |
Most students are
not achieving at satisfactory levels. They have trouble with a BROADER topic
language. |
|
Next Step in the Classroom to Improve Student Learning (check all the items faculty/staff
felt would help them address the needs
and issues that were revealed by the assessment. How might student performance be
improved? |
X
State goals or objectives of assignment/activity more explicitly X Revise content of narrative that explains
the importance of this communication between teacher and student o
Revise the amount of writing/oral/visual/clinical
or similar work X
Revise layout and design to encourage understanding by adopting the
proposed oval spaces for writing o
Increase in-class discussions and activities o
Increase student collaboration and/or peer
review o
Provide more frequent or more comprehensive
feedback on student progress X
All teachers write comprehensive guidance on this page for helping a
student understand the concepts. This
is not a “graded” assignment as much as it is an assignment which teaches a
student how to communicate a range of concepts on a topic to their teacher. o
As an instructor, increase your interaction
with students outside of class o
Ask a colleague to critique assignments/activities X Collect more data by email and discussion o
Nothing; assessment indicates no improvement
necessary o
Other (please describe) |
|
Next Step in the Department to Improve Student Learning (check all that the department felt
would help them improve student learning) |
X Encourage faculty to share experiences with
students at Reference Desk by writing in the Master Copy and by communicating
in the listserv. o
Write collaborative grants to fund departmental
projects to improve teaching o
Purchase articles/books on teaching about competency o
Visit classrooms to provide feedback (mentoring) o
Create bibliography of resource material o |
|
Priorities to Improve Student
Learning (List the top 3-6 things
faculty/staff felt would most improve student learning) |
|
|
Implementation (List the departmental plans to
implement these priorities) |
1. Revise the assignment 2. Consider teaching narrower and broader separately, not in a single
exercise. 3.
Drafted version of new method should be available and piloted in Fall
workbook. |
|
Timeline for Implementation (Make a timeline for implementation
of your top priorities) |
1. Revisions will be made during Summer by Debra Roussopoulos and
included in the Fall workbook. 2. Effectiveness will be assessed in late Fall and Spring FLEX
meeting. |
Departmental Assessment
Analysis Form
Note: Individual
Assessment Form precedes this form.
Use the form below to summarize the results of the
department meeting in which you discussed the core competency assessment
process or the assessment of course SLOs.
Append this form to your Instructional Plan and incorporate the results
into the narrative of your plan.
|
Department |
Library |
|
Meeting Date |
|
|
Number of Faculty/Staff in Attendance |
7 |
|
Number of Faculty/Staff sharing
Assessment Results |
6 |
|
Core Competency or Course SLOs
measured |
II. Critical Thinking and Information Competency
|
|
Assessment Tools (Give examples of major assignments
your faculty/staff used to measure the competency or course SLOs) |
Ability to create a
three element Works Cited list in the review exercises of the Library 10
workbook |
|
Assessment Results (Summarize the overall results of
your department What student needs and issues were
revealed? Were there any areas where student
performance was outstanding? Any areas where it can be improved? |
Students satisfy
the assignment at satisfactory levels and Librarians want to see an
improvement in the level of achievement.
Question: Would a clearly
written rubric about Works Cited Lists help? Sub-committee will
work on this. Librarians feel the students will improve if the workbook is
rewritten while teachers are actively grading. |
|
Next Step in the Classroom to Improve Student Learning (check all the items faculty/staff
felt would help them address the needs
and issues that were revealed by the assessment. How might student performance be
improved? |
X
State goals or objectives of assignment/activity more explicitly X Revise content of assignment/activities o
Revise the amount of writing/oral/visual/clinical
or similar work X
Revise layout and design of review exercises page in workbook for
clarity o
Increase in-class discussions and activities o
Increase student collaboration and/or peer
review o
Provide more frequent or more comprehensive
feedback on student progress X
Increase guidance for students earlier in the workbook by expanding
the information on Works Cited X State criteria for grading more explicitly o
As an instructor, increase your interaction
with students outside of class o
Ask a colleague to critique assignments/activities X Collect more data by email and discussion o
Nothing; assessment indicates no improvement
necessary o
Other (please describe) o
Add a rubric
on Works Cited Lists. |
|
Next Step in the Department to Improve Student Learning (check all that the department felt
would help them improve student learning) |
X
Encourage attendance at department meetings by rotating the day of the
week when held. X Encourage faculty to share experiences with
students at Reference Desk by writing in the Master Copy and by communicating
in the listserv. o
Write collaborative grants to fund departmental
projects to improve teaching o
Purchase articles/books on teaching about competency o
Visit classrooms to provide feedback (mentoring) o
Create bibliography of resource material X Encourage the addition of broader
suggestions in the Master Copy and encourage further exploration of new
topics for the ever changing workbook. o X Analyze course content, so that the department can add new material and delete dated material with every revision. |
|
Priorities to Improve Student
Learning (List the top 3-6 things
faculty/staff felt would most improve student learning) |
|
|
Implementation (List the departmental plans to
implement these priorities) |
1. Implement a feedback loop which provides drafts of the workbook within
a week of the discussion so that memories and ideas are synchronous.
2. Full drafts of revisions will be available at least a month before
the end of the semester. 3. Major changes will be implemented (if possible)
for Wintersession and Summer session when there are fewer sections as
a way of “testing” the new material. 4. Sub committee
will work on drafting a rubric for all to consider including in the
workbook. |
|
Timeline for Implementation (Make a timeline for implementation
of your top priorities) |
1. Spring revision activities will be accelerated. 2. Drafts will be reviewed by all instructors before the end of the
Spring semester. 4. Rubric drafts will be circulated in Spring. |