ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 86 / C &RL News BI Statistics Tips ng E d ito r’s Note: These suggestions w ere developed b y the A CRL Bibliographic Instruction Section R e­ search C om m ittee and subm itted by Jacquelyn M. Morris, Chair (outgoing). W hen assessing the points of contact one might count as data for BI statistical compilations, it is sometimes difficult to know just what to count. For example, do you count each person who takes a tour with the same weight as a student enrolled in a library research course? The following represents a distillation of the dif­ ferent ways in which BI statistics are kept, as well as some of the implications which should be consid­ ered. They should be used, not as a model list of sta­ tistics which should be kept, but to help the BI practitioner decide what statistics are important to keep. I N u m b e r o f P e o p l e A. Number of students reached may be counted: 1) by type of session or program (e.g ., tours, term paper clinics, e tc .)— see Part II; 2) by discipline (broad category or specific de­ partm ent); 3) as a percentage of the total enrollment of the individual course, the class level, and/or the uni­ versity (undergraduate or graduate) enrollment; 4) other categories which might be useful (class level, for example). B. Number of faculty reached may be counted: 1) by type of session or program (e.g., NEH F el­ lows Programs, new faculty orientation sessions); 2) by discipline (broad category or specific de­ partment); 3) as a percentage of the total numbers of faculty in certain disciplines and/or the university, de­ pending on the scope of the library in relation to the curriculum (i.e., as a percentage of those served in a particular library). C. Other groups reached may be counted by type of group (e.g., friends, high school groups, non-university groups, other university-affiliated groups such as staff and administration). I I . T y p e s o f I n t e r a c t i o n s Because of the difficulty of trying to count stu­ dents involved in different experiences (Are stu­ dents who attend a two-session tutorial counted once or twice? Are students enrolled in a library course counted the same as those in a course-related session?) and because bibliographic instruction may take so many different forms, it is probably best to count the types of interaction separately. These categories might be: A. Tours: physical orientation to the buildi and collection. Typically little instruction is given and little preparation is needed. B. Tutorials: one-to-one or small group instruc­ tion given by appointments or prearrangement. C. Other presentations: large group presenta­ tions conducted once or twice with voluntary par­ ticipation (such as term paper clinics). D. Course-related instructional sessions: sessions conducted by a librarian for a course for which someone else has instructional control. Count by number of sessions, or by number of sections, or by both. E . Courses: sessions conducted by a librarian who has instructional control. 1) for credit: can be counted by number of ses­ sions, number of sections, number of courses. 2) not for credit: same as for credit. I I I . T i m e I n v o l v e d A. Precontact: 1) time spent with person requesting the BI ses­ sion; 2) time spent planning promotional materials. B. P rep aration tim e spent by lib ra ria n , and other staff: 1) class planning; 2) media preparation; 3) room preparation. C . D elivery tim e (num ber of hours actually spent teaching). D. Follow-up time spent by librarian, and other staff: 1) correcting papers; 2) evaluation; 3) consultation with students or faculty. I V . C o s t o f M a t e r i a l s In the ongoing operation of a bibliographic in­ struction program, cost of the materials used to support the program may be one of the library’s greatest supporting expenses, after that of staff time. As a result, careful statistics should be m ain­ tained in this area. In keeping statistics on bibliographic instruction materials, there are two important distinctions: duplication and equipment. The following are sug­ gestions for consideration in these two areas: A. Duplication: obvious examples of duplication are the number of hand-outs, transparencies, li­ brary brochures, etc., used for instructional pur­ poses. It would be advisable to set a cost for each item since a financial picture would then be easily accessible. Duplication costs can also result when biblio­ graphic instruction causes heavy use of certain tools and duplicate or replacement copies must be ac­ quired because of the increased use. B. Equipm ent: statistics in this area should deal prim arily with cost of the equipm ent. In most cases, the equipment will be video equipment, cas­ February 1984 / 87 sette players, slide-tape machines, etc. These statis­ tics do not have to be kept after each use, but per­ haps on an annual basis. V . M i s c e l l a n e o u s S t a t i s t i c s f o r C o n s i d e r a t i o n A. Faculty-initiated vs. librarian-initiated. B. Types of promotion and advertising (e.g., poster, memo, personal contact). C. Classes in library vs. out of library. D . T im e of day classes meet (im portant for scheduling reasons). The ACRL BIS research committee has gathered this inform ation from many BI practitioners. There may be other areas that you are using or of which you are aware. The committee would wel­ come your comments. Please address your com­ ments to: Virginia Tiefel, Chair, Bibliographic In ­ struction Section Research Committee, Ohio State University Libraries, 1858 Neil Avenue Mall, Co­ lumbus, OH 43210; (614) 422-6151. ■ ■ How to Participate in ACRL I n f o r m a t i o n f o r N e w M e m b e r s a n d P o t e n t i a l M e m b e r s To Join W rite or call the Association of College and Re­ search Libraries for application forms and infor­ mation: ACRL Office, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; (312) 944-6780. To Learn about A C R L’s Current Programs, O ffi­ cers, and Units Check the ALA H andbook o f Organization and read College & Research Libraries News regularly (as a member of A CRL, you will receive both pub­ lications). 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