The committee hosted a lively discussion forum at 2012 Annual, “The How, What, and Why of Reference Evaluation and Assessment,” moderated by committee members Ellen Keith and Jason Kruse on Saturday, June 23. We had seating for fifty and at one point, all fifty seats were filled! In our discussion of who was doing assessment and what tools were being used, interesting paths were shared. Assessment in some libraries is formalized to the point of having an assessment librarian or director. Besides tools like READ and LibQual, some libraries are using the Secret Shopper approach; some have created a rubric to assess undergraduate papers where the undergraduate has visited a librarian. Decisions being made with assessment data inform staffing, services, and best use of time. It was a fascinating discussion and we thank all who attended!
Ellen Keith, Chair, 2011-2013