The Quality Matters™ (QM) Program is utilized by over 700 colleges and universities to ensure that online course design meets standards imperative to student success in a Web-based classroom. Although a faculty-driven peer-review process, QM provides assessment from a student perspective, thereby identifying opportunities for improvement that may…

Distance librarians often do not have the opportunity to engage face-to-face with users of library services. Without this personal interaction, it can be difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of library services in meeting the needs of the distance learners. Distance librarians may not realize it, but most have a wealth of information at their…

Distance librarians continually develop information literacy instruction in a variety of formats. Assessment, when it occurs, tends to be of the traditional multiple-choice variety and does not measure more complex skills. Authentic assessments offer the instruction librarian a way to re-think their instruction strategies and assessment of student…

The New York State's School Library Media Program Evaluation (SLMPE) rubric provides a window of opportunity for a librarian to talk with his/her administrators about library program elements that may be out of the librarian's control. There are three areas of focus on the SLMPE Rubric: (1) Teaching and Learning; (2) Building and Learning…

Examines the value of upward evaluation by reviewing historical outcomes of upward evaluations in industrial psychology/business literature and library literature. Also discusses the utilization of upward evaluation in libraries and focuses on results of the Western Kentucky University Libraries' annual process of supervisor evaluation. Appendixes…

Evaluation is important. As the sea of information grows ever larger, educators must be able to teach their students to evaluate what they find and decide its relevance and accuracy. In the American Association of School Librarians' publication "Standards for the 21st Century Learner," evaluation is a skill (1.1.4, 1.1.5), a disposition in action…

Provides a descriptive overview of the design, revision, and execution of a research project undertaken at the Department of Library and Information Studies at the Manchester Polytechnic to evaluate the attitudes of library science students toward computers before and after the completion of a course in library automation. (JL)

Academic library managers need a multimethod, objective, valid tool for measuring service quality. Examines three research studies in the measurement of service quality in Australian and New Zealand academic libraries: the Hernon and Altman Study; Hernon and Calvert Study; and the University of Waikato (Hamilton, New Zealand) Survey, a two-stage…

Examines questions related to service quality, satisfaction, and outcomes assessment in academic libraries. Relates the literature of library and information science to each concept, identifies major research methodologies used, and offers suggestions for future research. (Contains 65 references.) (Author/LRW)

Discusses the strengths and weaknesses of patrons and reference librarians as sources of data for the evaluation of the effectiveness of answers to reference questions. Describes the Wisconsin-Ohio Reference Evaluation program and considers staffing patterns, time spent, collection size, and bibliographic instruction. Reference Transaction…

Discusses the evaluation of library reference service; examines problems with past evaluations, including the lack of long-term planning and a systems perspective; and suggests a method for continuously monitoring and improving reference service using quality improvement tools such as checklists, cause and effect diagrams, Pareto charts, and…

Argues that a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures is most efficacious in library collection analysis. Cases drawn from the literature in which a combination of these measures was profitably applied are considered, and the types of software packages for purposes of data manipulation are discussed. (Contains 15 references.) (KRN)

In the rapidly changing information environment, libraries have to demonstrate that their services have relevance, value, and impact for stakeholders and customers. To deliver effective and high quality services, libraries have to assess their performance from the customer point of view. Moving to an assessment framework will be more successful if…

Discussion of critical thinking skills focuses on the academic library's role in teaching critical thinking skills based on experiences with a library resources course at Louisiana State University. Teaching techniques are discussed, sample lessons are described, and evaluation of students' research papers and student retention of skills are…

Describes a project conducted by the Texas Tech University Library to review support staff positions, which led to salary increases, and an upgrade of one-third of the positions. Highlights include six examples of competencies required of support staff; six steps in the review process; and the position description questionnaire appended. (four…