(via Gwen Gregory, University of Illinois at Chicago)
The ACRL Project Outcome for Academic Libraries Task Force<http://www.ala.org/acrl/aboutacrl/directoryofleadership/taskforces/acr-tfpi> seeks volunteers to field-test new surveys it has developed. Its work is based on adapting PLA’s Project Outcome<https://projectoutcome.org/>, and the new academic library toolkit will launch in 2019. The goal is to provide users with free, easy-to-use, standard surveys that all types of academic libraries can adopt to assess and improve their services, and to benchmark themselves against their peers.
Volunteers are sought from all types of academic libraries – public and private, community college to research intensive – to contribute by field-testing the new outcomes-based surveys and offering feedback on them. If you are interested in participating, please review the information below and complete this form<https://goo.gl/forms/8ECQ1ss07QYldwEZ2>.
Description
The Task Force has identified seven general areas around which the surveys focus. To preview the full text of the surveys and a brief introduction to their suggested uses, please view this document (PDF)<http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/Field-testing-surveys.pdf>. The general topics are:
1. Undergraduate Instruction
2. Events / Programs
3. Research Support
4. Teaching Support
5. Digital Collections
6. Library Spaces
7. Library Technology
For each survey, following the Project Outcome model, there are four outcome statements to which patrons respond on a Likert scale. These are based on learning outcomes in the areas of knowledge, confidence, behavior change, and awareness. In addition to the quantitative measures, each survey has two open-ended questions. (In the final version of the toolkit, survey administrators will be able to add up to three additional questions, not at this time.)
Volunteers may choose which survey(s) they would like to test. Choose the survey(s) that best suit your needs based on the text of the questions<http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/Field-testing-surveys.pdf> (PDF).
Timeline
The Task Force aims to complete field-testing by October 31, 2018, in order to have time to analyze results, make any necessary changes, and add the survey text to the new toolkit prior to the launch in April 2019. With that in mind we are looking for volunteers who can field test during the summer (July / August) or early fall (September / October).
To volunteer to participate in this initiative, please complete this form<https://goo.gl/forms/8ECQ1ss07QYldwEZ2>.
Why Participate?
In addition to being asked to administer the new surveys, volunteers have an opportunity to provide feedback that will shape the new toolkit.
While the survey responses submitted during the field-testing process will not be entered into the Project Outcome database, staff will provide you with raw data from your programs.
Learn More
Attend a free webinar to learn more about ACRL Project Outcome and the field-testing process. The webinar will be hosted by Eric Ackermann (Task Force chair), Sara Goek (ACRL staff liaison), and Emily Plagman (PLA). The webinar will be held on Tuesday, July 10 at 1pm Central Time (2pm ET / 12pm MT / 11am PT).
Complete your free registration online<https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8mQ-agPrSOmTFESIH5oYOg> by July 9. If you register and cannot attend, you will still receive a link to the recording afterwards.
Please direct any further questions to Mellon/ACLS Public Fellow Sara Goek at sgoek@ala.org<mailto:sgoek@ala.org>.