I want to communicate what I believe is the single most useful message about library assessment. This is not an announcement of a new data analytic technique or some all-purpose library value calculator. Nor is it advice on the importance of aligning work and measurement with vision and strategy, recognizing the political pitfalls of evaluation, or [...]
Archive for May, 2009
Library Assessment 101
Posted in Library assessment, tagged evaluation, learning organization, management decision-making, objectivity, program improvement, self-evaluation on May 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Once Size Doesn’t Fit All
Posted in Library assessment, Research, tagged library evaluation, localism, outcome evaluation on May 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Library assessment has come to rely on outcome assessment as the most appropriate indication of library performance. Yet, outcome studies are difficult to conduct, and are typically funded at regional and national levels. Public libraries, though, claim to deliver services specifically tailored to their communities. Upcoming efforts in library outcome evaluation will need to contend with this contradiction.
Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear
Posted in Measurement, Research, tagged library evaluation, measurement error, measurement precision, measurement scope, measurement validity on May 1, 2009 | 3 Comments »
In January my brother and I were laying laminate flooring in his house. Each time we needed to trim a plank, we stood reverently by his table saw and incanted the familiar carpenter’s adage, “Measure twice, cut once. (Amen.)” My brother said, “It’s the damnedest thing. You can repeat and repeat a measurement, and then [...]
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IMLS- Blog Post: You just never know who’s going to drop by the IMLS booth in the exhibit hall! February 10, 2012
- IMLS to Hold Briefing on FY13 Budget Request February 8, 2012
- State Library Agencies Continue to Provide Valuable Services Despite Severe Cuts in Funding and Staff February 6, 2012
- Blog Post: IMLS on YouTube: National Aquarium Teaches with Watershed Moments February 3, 2012
- Application Deadline Extended: National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards February 1, 2012
- February 2012: Tubman African American Museum Takes Exhibits Beyond Museum Walls February 1, 2012
