Academic librarians invest significant time and effort in developing and maintaining research guides, yet the extent to which these tools effectively support college students' information literacy development remains uncertain. This scoping review aimed to comprehensively examine the existing literature on the effectiveness of academic library…

Estimates of the price or value of the individual journals within a full-text database may be useful to librarians engaged in serials reviews or other collection development projects, to scholars investigating the determinants of journal prices, and to publishers seeking to rationalize their pricing strategies. This paper evaluates six methods of…

Statistical reporting of library instruction (LI) activities has historically focused on measures relevant to face-to-face (F2F) settings. However, newer forms of LI conducted in the online realm may be difficult to count in traditional ways, leading to inaccurate reporting to both internal and external stakeholders. A thorough literature review…

Interest in developing ways to assess information literacy has been growing for several years. Many librarians have developed their own tools to assess aspects of information literacy and have written articles to share their experiences. This article reviews the literature and offers readers a flavour of the methods being used for assessment:…

Includes four articles that discuss the evaluation of library reference services. Topics addressed include unobtrusive testing; measuring the accountability of reference librarians by behavioral rather than factual evaluation; on-the-job training of reference librarians; and faculty expectations of academic reference librarians. (52 references)…

A review is presented of the operations of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). Overviews are provided of ACER activities and future planning in the following programs: (1) social context of education; (2) measurement and evaluation; (3) learning and teaching; (4) survey and psychometric services; (5) advisory services; and (6)…

This bibliographic essay discusses a variety of items from the literature on the evaluation of reference services and reference personnel. A model for the evaluation process is presented on which the literature review is based. (Contains 48 references.) (LRW)

Surveys the service marketing literature for models and data-gathering instruments measuring service quality, particularly the instruments SERVQUAL and SERVPERF, and assesses their applicability to special libraries and information centers. Topics include service characteristics and definitions of service; performance-minus-expectations and…

Discusses measurement and evaluation as ways to justify reference work to users and library administration. A trivia contest is cited as a way to achieve public recognition, and measuring use of reference materials rather than the number of reference questions is recommended. User surveys and other measures of reference activity and value are also…

Reviews existing programs for inservice training of professional reference librarians and discusses the changing roles of reference librarians and ways to determine components of a staff training program (e.g., performance functions of reference librarians and use of videotaping to analyze the librarian's ability to communicate effectively). (14…

In attempt to answer the question of how to measure or evaluate the quality of reference service to youth, this essay examines the literature; defines the terms (reference services and tools, parental concern, library instruction); discusses move toward quality evaluation; and provides options and approaches to such measurement. (EJS)

At a time when emphasis is being placed on quality, standards, and accountability, the research world is spending more time assessing the value and impact of library organizations. This paper argues that research in this area requires sociological and psychological research skills. Qualitative data are as important as statistics. Different…

Reviews the various techniques and methods employed to measure user preferences with respect to the provision of particular library services. The ranking of user preferences, direct judgment methods of measurement, tradeoff analysis, and conjoint analysis are among the topics discussed. A reference list is included. (JL)

Libraries have failed to use marketing for three reasons: (1) a misunderstanding that equates marketing with publicity; (2) a lack of understanding of what marketing is; and (3) disagreement about the role of the client. Societal-marketing tries to balance patron demands with long-term societal needs in evaluating product excellence. (AEF)

This examination of the criteria used in the evaluation of library literacy programs reviews the relevant literature, discusses several evaluation models that have already been used in literacy projects, and outlines a proposed evaluation model. (EM)