Answering “How” and “Why” Questions of Library Impact on Undergraduate Student Learning (original) (raw)
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The Understanding Library Impacts (ULI) protocol is a suite of instruments designed to demonstrate connections between undergraduate student use of the academic library and faculty-defined expectations for student learning. The ULI protocol features a Critical Incident Technique (CIT) survey for exploring student use of the library during `high-impact' academic experiences such as capstone courses. A `Learning Activities Crosswalk' links student use of the library to faculty-defined, discipline-specific and general education expectations for student learning. This methodological study evaluated the protocol with a population of undergraduate students enrolled in upper-level and capstone history courses at six colleges and universities. The protocol focuses on students' use of traditional and electronic information resources, library services, and library facilities during learning activities associated with `high-impact' experiences in the academic major. Learning ac...
“Understanding Library Impacts” is a qualitative protocol designed to investigate the ways library services and resources contribute to undergraduate learning using interviews with librarians, faculty, and students. The Critical Incident Technique (CIT) is used in the student interviews to identify aspects of library services and resources that are critical to student success. The Revised Taxonomy of Educational Objectives is used to classify faculty goals for student learning and student interpretations of these goals. An alignment process using these data is proposed to connect library contributions to institutional goals for student learning. This paper reports on a pilot study conducted in 2005 at a liberal arts college to evaluate the protocol. Results of the pilot study suggest the protocol can detect library contributions to institutional goals for student learning. Future studies should be carried out to evaluate the protocol in other post-secondary settings. The protocol should be of benefit to libraries seeking to improve library services and to communicate library contributions to institutional goals to stakeholders.
Start a New Fire: Measuring the Value of Academic Libraries in Undergraduate Learning Notes
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Objectives – This study seeks to identify areas where relationships exist between a student’s library usage and student outcomes at Bellarmine University, a private master’s level institution. The study has two primary aims. The first is to see if an operationally oriented user survey can be used to provide evidence of the library’s support for institutionally important student outcomes. The second is to develop a regression model that provides a big picture with multiple variables to determine if library factors are still significant in student outcomes when controlling for significant demographic factors. Methods – The library regularly conducts student user surveys, and this study examines the results of the first three surveys, from 2007, 2008 and 2010. These surveys include individually identifiable data on why students come to the library and how often they use it in person and online. Researchers aggregated student responses into class-based cohorts and used regression analys...
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What is the value of library services and resources in the college classroom? How do library instruction and collections contribute to academic teaching and learning outcomes? A chemistry instructor, instruction librarian, and technical services librarian collaborated to answer these questions by combining chemistry education and information literacy pedagogy to assess student learning. The authors developed curriculum units that teach information literacy skills and scientific literature research in a General Chemistry Laboratory course for Honors students. Their study extends beyond examining library instruction and collections assessment in isolation. Rather, their research protocol intends to contribute to student learning outcomes assessment research. The authors propose that an embedded, mixed-methodology, and longitudinal approach can be used to collect data and assess outcomes in terms that describe and measure the value of library services and resources.