Development and Current AssessmentRelated Work of IRISs Research and Assessment Services Unit at Cor

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Development and Current Assessment-Related Work
of IRISs Research and Assessment Services Unit
at CornellLinda Millerlm15_at_cornell.edu
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Background

• The Library has put greater emphasis on research,
  evaluation and assessment to better inform
  decision making
• The Library wants to be sure this work is
  completed in the most efficient and effective
  manner possible
• As in other functional areas, the Library has
  started to assign individuals in a more formal
  manner and create working groups

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Questions that arose

• How can we
• avoid patron survey fatigue?
• reuse data already gathered, and make
  longitudinal data available?
• best support staff efforts and share expertise
  gained?
• Are we making best use of campus/external
  resources?
• Who can we call on to do this work?

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What is RAS and what does it do?

• Within IRIS (Instruction, Research and
  Information Services), the largest department in
  the Library
• Created by Anne Kenney (AUL for IRIS, chair PSEC)
  in 2002, as part of larger reorganization.
  Originally named IRIS Research. Headed by Nancy
  McGovern.
• Like its predecessor, its work has emphasized
  digital preservation and related issues, but
  covers all library formats and functions. Work
  chosen to build library services
• After one year, redeployed my full-time line from
  IRIS collection maintenance
• That addition allows more time for organizational
  research

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My assignment

• Identify, gather, analyze and present relevant
  data for organizational needs and interests (both
  responding to and anticipating needs)
• Coordinate with other IRIS and CUL staff to
  gather data
• Make data gathered available to IRIS, CUL and
  beyond as appropriate
• Develop and expand technical skills to support
  this work (qualitative quantitative data
  gathering and processing information
  visualization and presentation basic web site
  management)
• Share knowledge and skills gained

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User Systems Assessment Review Group

• PSEC appointed, to review and evaluate user and
  systems assessment concepts and recommend a
  structure that could be used at CUL to
  efficiently facilitate and coordinate user and
  system assessment efforts throughout the system

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Assessment, Evaluation Research Task Force

• Appointed by UL and LMT to review library
  administrative support services to see whether it
  would be more efficient to combine administrative
  support for IRIS and Library Administration, as
  well as explore ways in which we could reallocate
  our staff to meet the developing needs of CUL as
  one entity. Part of larger CU project to find
  efficiencies and cost savings.

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Other centralized efforts

• IT staff working to facilitate central (as well
  as individual) reporting
• Voyager reporting classes
• Voyager reporting functional area databases
• Harvest
• CUL Technical Services Statistics
• Web statistics
• Other Efforts within functional areas too many
  to mention here.

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What were common recommendations of USAR Group
and AER task force?

• Facilitate work in this area
• Keep up on current staff needs and developments
  in the field
• Create entities to guide this work
• Create a mechanism to share and preserve data
• Share experience gained

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What were some of the outcomes?

• RAS given principal responsibility for
  coordinating facilitating core system-wide
  statistics and other data gathering, including
  responding to core external surveys
• It coordinates and enables the work of a more
  formally assigned network of staff from across
  the Library
• LMT serves advisory board
• Also advised by other groups within the Library,
  including the functional area working groups
• Main goal is to make life easier for both
  information providers and consumers (reduce staff
  burden, and further consistency of and access to
  data)
• Assessment Committee will be appointed by PSEC
• Assessment Committee will serve staff in all
  functional areas

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What did I bring to this job?

• A good understanding of library records, systems
  and basic services
• Attention to detail, and problem solving skills
• A belief in the importance of treating all
  colleagues as patrons
• A sensitivity to charged issues
• (I hope) the trust of many staff gained through
  other campus wide projects

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How did I need to learn to work and think
differently?

• Many resources from outside the normal library
  realm can be of great help
• Documenting data and processes, and protecting
  data must be more methodical
• Must provide data in different versions to a
  wider variety of audiences
• Must be more aware of work in all functional
  areas
• Must depend more on others

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Types of work

• Manipulating, evaluating and presenting data for
  decision makers
• Examples
• LARIS/Workforce Planning
• Library-to-library delivery

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Functional areas in staff survey http//www.librar
y.cornell.edu/laris/survey/survey.php
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Access Services tasks in staff survey
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Access Services task definitions in staff survey
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Summary FTE and staff count for all functional
areas
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Access Services FTE by library
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Library-to-library delivery data
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Types of work (cont.)

• Researching organizational and service issues,
  both internal and within the profession
• Examples
• How peer libraries organize joint reserve Web
  pages
• LibQUAL

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Word table on how peers organize joint reserve
Web pages
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SPSS file of LibQUAL data
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Use pull down menu to compare means for a
variable by discipline
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Compare means reports with single variable
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Compare means report with multiple variables
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Most significant gaps by user group
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Cornells Staff LibQUAL Website home
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2003 LibQUAL charts/tables
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Longitudinal data on frequency of use of library
materials
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Data for Olin only for daily/weekly use of
library materials by user type
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ATLAS.ti primary document area
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ATLAS.ti network
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ATLAS.ti query tool
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ATLAS.ti output
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Types of work (cont.)

• Providing some quick background information on
  current topics
• Example
• Googles Print project
• Gaining basic introduction to statistics

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Projects currently focusing on

• Taking on responsibility for coordinating and
  facilitating core centralized data gathering and
  core external data provision
• Helping to develop and secure core e-resource
  measures
• Thinking about how to best share data gathered
  with appropriate audiences

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Looking at how best to gather core annual data

• Working to make all issues involved more
  transparent and mechanized
• Would like to collect all data needed annually at
  same time, or at regular intervals
• Officially appointing and starting the new
  information provider network
• Defining issues for administrators and providers
• Skills needed
• Responsibilities
• Time commitment
• Managing expectations

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Unit and functional area contacts
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Cross walk with more detail
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Cross walk summarized
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Level of effort for reports
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Looking at how to make collecting data easier for
data providers

• Create calendar so each type of provider knows
  when data due
• Easing access to surveys and their instructions
• Documenting general procedures
• Data dictionary, crosswalks
• Listserv for questions, suggestions
• Instituting means to verify and vet data

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Data dictionary entry?
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Progress on measuring e-resources and their use

• Reviewing outside data standards and requests
  from library organizations, and sharing with
  library staff
• Working with IT staff to evaluate NetTracker
• Talking to individual resource managers to see
  variation in resources, and whether individual
  programming is required to get wanted data
• Creating examples of reports for administrations
  review

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Thinking about best way to share data and
experience gained

• Thinking about technical and content issues
• Starting small, hope soon to use web pages to
  document resources gathered to date

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Thank you!
Linda Miller Lm15_at_cornell.edu