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abstract: In an age of assessment and accountability, academic libraries feel much pressure to prove their value according to new university measurements of student success. This study describes a methodology for how libraries may examine student interactions with services to assess whether library usage impacts student grade point averages (GPAs) and retention rates. Usage data were collected at six library service points during the 2013-2014 academic year. Analysis suggests an association between student use of the library and higher GPAs and retention rates. The findings may help demonstrate the value of the academic library to stakeholders and thus further integrate library services into course curricula.
Introduction
Libraries feel increasing pressure to demonstrate their value according to new university measurements of success, so their strategies for delivering evidence of their worth must evolve. Changes in student use of the library, both physically and virtually, mean that gate counts, room use counts, in-house print collection tick marks, and attendance for library instruction sessions are insufficient measures for showing student engagement with the library. Libraries must adopt the language and metrics by which other university units demonstrate their value. That is, libraries must describe the value of their services in the context of student outcomes. Two outcomes of particular interest to many higher education institutions are retention rates and grade point averages (GPAs). The hope, of course, is that students who persist in their studies and achieve higher GPAs will be more likely to complete their college degrees. For institutions that receive performance-based state funding, maximizing these metrics is often a key objective. It should also be a key objective for libraries.
In this study, the authors propose alternative methods-beyond head counts-by which a library can gauge student engagement with specific service points. This study replicates, to some degree, a 2011 study conducted at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.1 This study is unique in that it was conducted at a nonresidential, regional campus of a Midwestern public university: Indiana University (IU) Kokomo. IU Kokomo is much smaller than the University of Minnesota. The undergraduate and graduate student head count during the 2013-2014 academic year-the year of this study-was almost 2,900.2
This study offers a methodology for libraries to examine student interactions with multiple service points, including the...