Library Assessment: Assessment Plan

Assessment Object

Type, Purpose, and Rationale

Strategic Plan Mapping

Responsibility

Planned Time

Resources

This qualitative study will examine fine appeal data to explore the question of why patrons incur fines. This will help the Library better understand patrons and develop more equitable services. This study was undertaken in the context of changes that are being made in Fall 2019 to Library fine policies. 

Student Engagement: Transform service models to enable the highest quality of service to our user communities

Interlibrary Loan Study

This survey will ask patrons about their use of the interlibrary loan service and the impact it has had on their research. The results will help the Library plan improvements to this service and communicate the value of this service for researchers.

SRC Excellence: Align processes and support structures to ensure the Library can provide excellent stewardship of research materials in a fiscally responsible, transparent fashion.

Student Engagement: Enhance the Library’s ability to support the information needs of diverse learners and facilitate the development of lifelong learning skills. 

Assessment Librarian and Interlibrary Loan Librarian

These forums will engage with students and seek their feedback about the Library through discussions and surveys. This feedback will allow the Library to better understand student perspectives and improve Library services to meet their needs. 

Student Engagement: Develop a robust assessment framework that will allow the Library to improve spaces,
services, and collections through ongoing user consultation and research; 

Innovation Ecosystem: Become a leader in the development of sustainable, innovative library technology tied to our values

LibQUAL+ Discussions

The results of the LibQUAL+ survey from Spring 2018 will be shared with staff through a series of meetings. Sharing information in this way benefits Library understanding of our patrons and allows for shared planning of responses to survey results.  

Student Engagement: Transform service models to enable the highest quality of service to our user communities.

This review of circulation statistics will determine journal circulation following the stacks integration project. This will help the Library to gain a better understanding of the use of our collection. 

SRC Excellence: Align processes and support structures to ensure the Library can provide excellent stewardship of research materials in a fiscally responsible, transparent fashion.

This document, which gives an overview of library services and is used for program proposal and review documentation, is reviewed and updated annually in November. The updating of the fact sheet contributes to Library participation in program changes and accreditation. 

Innovation Ecosystem: Foster a culture of innovation among librarians and staff by supporting ongoing professional development and experiential learning.

An environmental scan for a replacement of the current gate counter software will be conducted. This will improve data collection that will lead to a better understanding of the use of Library space. 

Innovation Ecosystem: Build a flexible, sustainable and progressive technological infrastructure to address the
existing and emerging needs of the Library and its users.

This is an open meeting within the Library to share assessment information and find opportunities for collaborations and new initiatives. This connects to the Library goal of creating a culture of assessment. 

Innovation Ecosystem: Foster a culture of innovation among librarians and staff by supporting ongoing professional development and experiential learning.

Ongoing user experience testing of the Library discover layer is being conducted, which will lead to interface improvements and a better understanding of student needs. 

Student Engagement: Transform service models to enable the highest quality of service to our user communities.

This event bring together collections librarians to share strategies for using collections data through team learning. The Collections Data Day benefits the Library by strengthening our ability to make data-informed collections decisions. 

SRC Excellence: Align processes and support structures to ensure the Library can provide excellent stewardship of research materials in a fiscally responsible, transparent fashion.

A survey of students and a review of circulation data will be used to determine the strengths and areas for improvement of the textbook pilot program. This program was implemented in response to student need. 

SRC Excellence: Align processes and support structures to ensure the Library can provide excellent stewardship of research materials in a fiscally responsible, transparent fashion.

This qualitative study will engage patrons with specific physical accessibility needs about their use of Library space. This project supports the goal of ensuring that all patrons are able to access and use the Library. 

Student Engagement: Enhance the Library’s ability to support the information needs of diverse learners and facilitate the development of lifelong learning skills.

Expand Community Engagement: Build connections with Ryerson communities through targeted services, collaborations, and development opportunities.

Liaison Model Focus Groups

Assessment is necessary to assist with the implementation of a new liaison model. This work will allow the Library to better understand the effectiveness of newly implemented workflows. 

Innovation Ecosystem: Explore new organizational models and informal collaborations that better support collections building, research, and teaching in a dynamic, collaborative environment.

This internal study will examine interlibrary loan statistics based on information provided by the fall interlibrary loan study. This work will benefit liaison librarian work and program evaluation. 

SRC Excellence: Increase capacity to develop research-oriented collections in identified areas of Ryerson cross-disciplinary themes, involving special, archival and print and electronic collections.

This study will assess instruction data for the Archives and Special Collections and instruction in this area. This will improve understanding within the Library of these services, the impact of them, and researcher needs. 

Student Experience: Improve capacity for effective teaching, both online and in person, and engage faculty in embedding Library services, expertise and resources into the curriculum to enhance student achievement.

This is an open meeting within the Library to share assessment information and find opportunities for collaborations and new initiatives. This connects to the Library goal of creating a culture of assessment. 

Innovation Ecosystem: Foster a culture of innovation among librarians and staff by supporting ongoing professional development and experiential learning.

For the purpose of this plan, it is important to note ongoing work. This includes assessment work related to e-resources, print collections, space usage, research help services, instruction, and more.