Universities are pursuing learning analytics practices to improve returns from their investments, develop behavioral and academic interventions to improve student success, and address political and financial pressures. Academic libraries are additionally undertaking learning analytics to demonstrate value to stakeholders, assess learning gains…

This paper introduces a Patron Counting and Analysis (PCA) system that leverages Wi-Fi-connection data to monitor space utilization and analyze visitor patterns in academic libraries. The PCA system offers real-time crowding information to the public and a comprehensive visitor analysis dashboard for library administrators. The system's…

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oklahoma State University Library developed an open-source application to record real-time building capacity. Library student security tracks building entrances and exits via the program, with current visitor numbers appearing on the library's website via an API. This effort helps administrators have a…

Multiple data collection or research methods exist for evaluating library spaces. Faced with numerous choices and limited time for gathering data, it becomes challenging for information professionals to determine the best way to proceed with evaluating their libraries' physical spaces. There is a gap in the literature on best practices for…

In this paper, the authors address learning analytics and the ways academic libraries are beginning to participate in wider institutional learning analytics initiatives. Since there are moral issues associated with learning analytics, the authors consider how data mining practices run counter to ethical principles in the American Library…

This report updates the 2011-12 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) survey components report--"The History and Origins of Survey Items for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System"--in order to reflect the 2016-17 data collection. As the first report did, this report provides an inventory of the IPEDS data…

Assessment and supporting data have become of increasing interest in librarianship. In this paper, we describe the development and implementation of the Northwestern University Library Acknowledgments Database tool, which gathers and documents qualitative data, as well as its component reporting function. This collaborative project and resulting…

The Main Library Service Desk is a one-stop academic help center located between a newly renovated student-focused space called the Learning Commons and the library collections. Services began with the first day of classes, August 26, 2013, and assessment has been ongoing, in part due to the availability of data. Staffing levels, staffing hours,…

This article describes the process and role frontline access and public service staff play in needs assessment and evaluation of user services, specifically in understanding the voice of the customer. Information includes how the University of Arizona Libraries have incorporated daily data collection into the strategic planning process, resources…

The management and curation of digital geospatial data has become a central concern for many academic libraries. Geospatial data is a complex type of data critical to many different disciplines, and its use has become more expansive in the past decade. The University of Idaho Library maintains a geospatial data repository called the Interactive…

Academic libraries have traditionally collected reference statistics using hash marks on paper. Although efficient and simple, this method is not an effective way to capture the complexity of reference transactions. Several electronic tools are now available to assist libraries with collecting often elusive reference data--among them homegrown…

E-books have been around for more than 10 years but are still a relatively new phenomenon to many librarians and publishers. With the introduction of e-book readers, the e-book has become mainstream, with recent triple-digit annual increases in sales. But what place do they have in the library? In this volume, Sue Polanka brings together a variety…

In the journal "The Chronicle of Higher Education," an article by Geoffrey Nunberg criticizes Google's Book Search (GBS), emphasizing that disturbing errors are endemic. He recognizes that for mainstream "googling" purposes, "they don't really care about metadata provided by a library catalog." In perhaps his most discouraging point, linguistics…

This manual describes the methods, procedures, techniques, and activities that were used to produce the Academic Library Survey of 2004 (ALS:2004). This manual is designed to provide guidance and documentation for users of the ALS data. Included in the manual are the following: (1) an overview of the study and its predecessor studies; (2) an…

It has been a decade since the first aggregator journal packages began to become available at academic and public libraries throughout the United States of America. During these 10 years, the library and information science community has published numerous articles on the pros and cons of this method of delivery and these collections, more than…