A small group of midsize land-grant institutions in the western United States responded to a survey on what tools they used for troubleshooting, what activities they accomplished using the tools, and who performed their troubleshooting. Most respondents use subscription-manager administration tools, email programs, electronic resource management…

We conducted a survey of the winners of University of California (UC) Berkeley's Library Prize for Undergraduate Research (2003-2016) to learn about the long-term impact of undergraduate research projects on students, find out what winners gained from the experience, and compare their careers post-graduation with other students. Seventy-four…

Discusses the performance evaluation problems specific to community college librarians, looking at student evaluations of librarians, peer evaluations, and self-evaluations. Compares two methods, one measuring job performance and professional development factors on a Likert scale and the other consisting of some variation of management by…

This paper discusses the utility, versatility, and pros and cons of the formal performance appraisal as one of the tools of management by objectives (MBO). Rather than rating the traits of an employee, performance appraisal based on MBO rates an employee's achievements toward both his professional goals and institutional goals. The paper outlines…

This procedures manual is designed to help book selectors at the University of Toledo Libraries understand their responsibilities in performing their various tasks in regards to building, maintaining, and expanding the libraries' collections to support the university's teaching, research, and service goals. To this end, selectors must have…

As part of university-wide assessment activities at Central Missouri State University, a library assessment program was implemented in 1991. A task force was formed to design an assessment plan that would develop a strategy to determine effectiveness of services; client satisfaction; barriers to improved service; and employee satisfaction within…

This package of procedures and forms for the review of academic library directors includes two background papers as well as evaluation materials used by 14 members of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). These materials, which include both library-specific and university-wide reviews of administrative personnel and/or faculty, were…

Discusses problems and opportunities encountered in implementing staff exchange programs among reference departments of a multibranch academic library, based on experiences at the University of New Mexico. Highlights include communication; collaboration; uniformity of service; implementation criteria; goals; training; workloads and scheduling; and…

One hundred sixty-one MEDLINE searches conducted by third year medical students were analyzed and evaluated to determine which search behaviors were used, whether those individual moves are effective, and whether there is a relationship between specific search behaviors and the effectiveness of the search strategy as a whole. The typical search…

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…

This study, conducted at Illinois State University library, evaluated the ability of professional librarians to answer reference questions. Evaluations by undergraduate students were scored for accuracy of response and attitude of the librarian to determine the best attitudinal predictor of accuracy scores. The evaluation form is appended. (three…

In 1977-78 and again in 1980-81, extensive evaluations of learning resource services at Lake-Sumter Community College (LSCC) were conducted to determine: (1) the extent to which the Learning Resource Center (LRC) contributes to the stated purpose of the college; (2) the extent to which it meets its own objectives; (3) the extent to which the LRC…

Explains a multifaceted process for evaluating the operation of learning resource centers (LRCs). Identifies the underlying management principles critical to evaluation. Proposes self-evaluation by staff, evaluation by faculty, and student surveys as methods of LRC assessment. Includes sample evaluation instruments. (CBC)

Formally stating and assessing student learning outcomes (SLOs) is a new focus for California community colleges required by the 2002 Accreditation Standards. This paper, the first in a series, explores one aspect of this sea change across the state: the emergence of a new group of faculty leaders, Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment…

In 1990, the Online Catalog Advisory Committee (OCAC) of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) charged a subcommittee with developing and implementing ways to measure the impact of the expanded online catalog on staff, users, collections, and library operations. The UIUC's online public access catalog, ILLINET (Illinois Library and…