[Irtalk] Academic librarians & higher education effectiveness and quality

[Ina Smith]

Academic librarians are increasingly participating in the national dialogue about higher
education effectiveness and quality. They are contributing to higher education assessment work
by creating approaches, strategies, and practices that document the value of academic libraries to
advancing the goals and missions of their institutions. By demonstrating the variety of ways that
libraries contribute to student learning and success, academic librarians are establishing
connections between different aspects of the library (e.g., instruction, reference, space and
facilities, and collections) and numerous academic success factors (e.g., student retention,
persistence, GPA, engagement, graduation, and career preparedness).

http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/issues/value/contributions_report.pdf

Some of the findings:

“(3) Students who receive library instruction as part of their courses achieve higher grades and demonstrate better information literacy competencies than students who do not receive course-related library instruction.

(7) Multiple library instruction session or activities in connection with a course are more effective than one-shot instruction sessions.

(8) Collaborative instructional activities and services between the library and other campus units … promote student learning and success.”