Evaluate programs and services on measurable criteria
Evaluation is a priority for libraries because of the changing nature of the communities libraries serve, as well as funding pressures. However, when libraries add services “willy-nilly,” with no direction and no ultimate plan, then the survival of the library as an institution is imperiled. It is important for libraries to serve specific needs which are identified through evaluation and assessment of goods and services (Pakaln, 2014, p. 7). It is also important to think about evaluation as a way of promoting diversity and inclusion in the library, and determining whether services your provide “[bridge the] multiple divides . . . [of] socioeconomic status, education, language, literacy, gender, age, race, orientation, ability, [and] geography” among other factors (Jaeger, Bertot, & Subramaniam, 2013, p. 243). As Avery (2015) states, the evaluation of goods and services is something we all do on a day to day basis. We evaluate a good or service and decide on whether the product “meets our needs.” In the library setting, LIS professionals evaluate services based on ratings from library patrons, from the administration of the library (i.e., library directors and library boards), and the funding institutions (p. 42). It is essential for librarians to discriminate between the outcomes and output, as the first is the actual “services, programs, and activities produced for patrons, such as storytime or public computer classes,” while the outcome are changes in individual skills and knowledge and are quantifiable benefits produced by the programs and service (Becker, 2015, p. 35). For my first piece of evidence of mastery of this competency, I am submitting a reference desk shadowing I completed as part of INFO 210. In this assignment, I shadowed the reference desk at my local public library for 2 hours and observed the interactions of the reference librarian with patrons, and used the RUSA guidelines to determine whether the interactions took place were ethically correct and whether the reference librarian provided excellent customer service. For my second piece of evidence, I am submitting a community collection evaluation I completed for INFO 266 in which I evaluated the physical collections of a local public library in light of the community characteristics and made determinations about where the collection was lacking and where it was more than adequate to meet the needs of the community.
In the library setting, I will be required to form an evaluation to test out the effectiveness of library programs, and determine whether they produce measurable benefits for patrons.. One major way that evaluations will be conducted is through surveys. As I write this competency, I am looking at a survey my local library has been conducting over the summer. The survey asks questions about patron satisfaction with services such as the customer service, the collection, inter-library loan services, and the computer access the library provides. The survey also asks about basic demographic information about the user. If I become a library director or collection development librarian, I will need to conduct periodic surveys and evaluations of a collection to determine whether the collection meet the needs of a population which is changing in terms of socio-economic, ethnic, or age, among other factors. Programming is a specific area where patron feedback is needed, as a way to improve the services, and I will have to evaluate the program with an after-program survey. The survey is an important tool because it helps the director determine, through qualitative and quantitative analysis, who is actually utilizing library services, how old they are, what their motivations are for using the library, and it also asks them how the library can improve services. I may also be expected to subtly observe patron behavior to determine whether patrons can access library programs, services, and the collections.
References
Avery, B. (2015). Assessment in the library. Christian Librarian (0309-4170), (69), 42-46.
Becker, S. (2015). Impact survey. Public Libraries, 54(3), 35-37.
Jaeger, P. T., Bertot, J. C., & Subramaniam, M. (2013). Preparing future librarians to effectively serve their communities. Library Quarterly, 83(3), 243-248.
Pakaln, A. (2014). Public libraries: How to save them. Public Libraries, 53(4), 7-9.