In the five years following implementation of a chat reference service at James Madison University (JMU), the service proved very popular but was not closely assessed for quality of service. Using grounded theory and qualitative data analysis techniques, a comprehensive assessment effort was begun in earnest and is in progress. Preliminary results…

The research guide is a common tool librarians use to communicate with and instruct their audiences. Despite their prevalence and value to users, research guides remain underused. There are many examples of efforts encouraging guide use, but few studies have measured the effectiveness of that promotion. Academic Outreach librarians at Virginia…

As part of a move toward data-driven decision making, the University Libraries at Virginia Tech made a commitment to evaluate library instruction systematically. During the design and implementation phase of the program, library faculty developed a variety of tools for evaluating teaching, tested them out, and consulted with educational experts to…