VAMP – laying the foundations
Claire CreaserAngela Conyers
Suzanne Lockyer
VAMP – laying the foundations2
VAMP – laying the foundations
Background to the project Phase 1
Critical Review Survey of SCONUL members Synthesis and recommendations
Outcomes
VAMP – laying the foundations3
Value and Impact Programme
Key area of concern WGPI role to support members Three phase programme
Phase 1 – definition & scoping Review available tools Survey understanding & use Inform future developments
Phase 2 – development Phase 3 – delivery & dissemination
VAMP – laying the foundations4
Critical review
Effective academic library SCONUL statistics
User surveys One-off projects Other sectors Other countries Selective, not comprehensive
VAMP – laying the foundations5
SCONUL resources
Annual Library Statistics HELMS Trends analysis
Quality Assurance resources Benchmarking support Information literacy Impact project
VAMP – laying the foundations6
User surveys
SCONUL template LibQual+TM
In-house instruments Rodski
VAMP – laying the foundations7
Projects
EQUINOX JUBILEE JUSTEIS Evalued project & toolkit E-measures project Outcomes project
VAMP – laying the foundations8
Other sectors
British Library Economic impact study
Public libraries Public library service standards Impact measures Libraries impact project Longitude II
VAMP – laying the foundations9
Other sectors
Health libraries Further Education libraries
CoLRiC fforwm
School libraries
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Worldwide activity
USA – ARL LibQual+tm and DigiQualtm
MINEStm
E-metrics SAILS
Australia – CAUL Performance Indicator database Case studies User surveys Publications & guidelines
South Africa
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Members’ survey
Questionnaire 38 respondents 68% had undertaken value & impact
Follow-up interviews Suggested percentage might be higher
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Key findings
Reasons: Advocacy within institution Improve services Comparison with others
Instigated by head of service Methodologies:
Customer satisfaction/service evaluation Benchmarking
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Understanding
Value & Impact not understood as unified concept
Need for evidence Linking to university mission Differing stakeholder interests Quantitative measures
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Institutional drivers
Questionnaire Little institutional requirement Underestimated?
May be implicit rather than explicit Libraries go beyond institutional demand Essential to management Expected to increase
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Barriers
Methodology/statistics Flexibility Comparability
Resources – time and/or cost Particularly for first time
Skills/knowledge 2/3 had little or no knowledge of relevant
tools/frameworks Stakeholder buy-in
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Advantages
Improved services Advocacy
Increased funding Impressive
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Synthesis of results
No general lack of tools Lack of understanding of value and impact Definitions needed:
Value Impact
On institution On users
Outcome
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Tools identified and used
Used by questionnaire respondents SCONUL Statistics SCONUL User survey Libqual+tm
Benchmarking methods SCONUL/LIRG impact project
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Tools identified and used
Also mentioned Evalued E-measures project British library contingent valuation Health library work Australian examples
VAMP – laying the foundations20
Tools identified and used
Which leaves… EQUINOX JUBILEE JUSTEIS Outcomes project SCONUL QAA
guidelines
SCONUL WGIL resources
Public library examples
USA examples (other than LibQual+tm)
South Africa
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Gaps identified
Locating appropriate tools Lack of knowledge, and confidence Adaptable to local needs, but also allowing
comparisons Impact of the library Value with respect to institutional aims Promotion & dissemination
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Recommendations
Establish community of practice Support for existing tools
In-depth assessment Promotion & branding Training
Guidelines on outcomes Staffing & operational issues
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Outcomes
Workshops Content development
Impact on learning and teaching & on research Value, cost and library staff
Performance portal
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Performance Portal
