ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


570 / C&RL News ■  July/August 2000

Implementing ACRL's "Standards for College Libraries"

The library faculty at Governors State 
University (GSU), in University Park, Illi­
nois, recently undertook a project to imple­
ment the newly revised ACRL “Standards 
for College Libraries” ( C&RL News, March 
2000). These new standards mark the switch 
from focusing on inputs to outputs.

Assessing the library
In response to a university-wide, yearlong 
focus on outcomes assessment, the library 
faculty decided to use the standards as our 
instrument to assess the GSU Library. The 
standards include the following 12 sections: 
points of comparison; planning; assessment 
and outcomes assessment; services; instruc
tion; resources; access; staff; facilities; com­
munication and cooperation; administration; 
and budget. Each of eight library faculty 
members and the director took responsi­
bility for assessing the library using one or 
more o f these sections.

Creating a peer group and 
gathering data
Nine libraries were identified by GSU's Of­
fice o f Institutional Research as peer insti­
tutions. These libraries were then contacted, 
requesting their most recent IPEDS (Inte­
grated Postsecondary  Education Data Sys­
tem) statistics for the sections covering 
points of comparison and resources. For 
other sections, we looked closely at the cur­
rent operations o f the university library, in­
vestigated past procedures, interviewed su­
pervisors, and consulted annual reports. We 
also developed two surveys: a staff survey 
assessing attitudes towards internal com­
munication and working conditions, and a 
library user survey assessing attitudes to­
wards library service, staffing, and facili­

ties. In addition, library faculty reviewed fa­
cilities and staffing levels, access to the li­
brary and its resources, and availability of 
other collections through consortial arrange­
ments. The sections concerning administra­
tion and budget were written by librarians 
familiar with those aspects of library opera­
tions. After the individual reports were com­
pleted, they were compiled into a single 
document and then reviewed and revised.

What we learned
As a result o f applying the standards, we 
now have a better understanding o f the 
overall functioning of the GSU Library. We 
are more aware of our strengths and weak­
nesses, and we have a basis for changing 
policies and procedures, as well as for re­
questing increases in the library budget.

What will we do differently next time? 
We will consider the use o f focus groups, 
pre-test the user survey for validity, and dis­
tribute the survey regularly and more widely 
to ensure more meaningful results.

The entire process of compiling our in­
dividual findings took approximately three 
months, and currently we are in the pro­
cess of analyzing the data and editing the 
document for publication. We anticipate re­
visiting this process in two to three years, 
and on a regular basis thereafter, to assess 
what needs to be done to improve library 
operations and respond to our evolving user 
needs. With the year 2000 as a benchmark, 
the ACRL standards will be an important tool 
for continued cyclical assessment of the 
university library.— L y d ia  M otrow  Ruetten, 
R eb ec c a  Bostian, D ia n e  D ates Casey, L in d a  
Geller, A nn G lascoff, M ari Ellen L everen ce, 
B eth H an sen  Shaw, N an cy Shlaes, Colleen 
W attm an, G overnors State University

cation piece for Five Years Meeting between 
1912 and I960, published in Richmond.

The index was created by Tom Hamm, 
colleg e archivist, and pu blished  on  the 
Friends Collection Web pages by Neal Baker, 
information technologies librarian. There are 
approximately 13,000 entries in the index. 
Information thought necessary for purposes 
o f identification (name, date o f death— if

given, place o f death, and age or year of birth) 
is included in each entry. For a fee, the li­
brary will provide copies o f obituaries. De­
tails are available at the Index Web site.

Call for Papers: Popular Culture 
Association 2001
The Libraries and Popular Culture Area of 
the Popular Culture Association is soliciting