Library Assessment Plan

The library newsletters were initially distributed via email as PDFs (Fall 2013 - Spring 2017). However, this did not allow the Outreach Services Librarian to gauge the number of recipients that read their newsletter.

In Fall 2017, Issuu.com began distributing the newsletters. This site provides statistics about the number of recipients that read the newsletter, as well as the number of links clicked within the publication. Identification of trends may result in changes in future semesters.

The hosting platform changed again in February 2018 from Issuu.com to Libguides.com because of a change in Issuu’s offered services. The statistics feature was removed from Issuu.com for a free account. Libguides was chosen as the alternative because the library already subscribes to the service and it provides a statistics feature.

Library newsletters were sent weekly to students from mid-March - May 2020. Statistics were gathered for all issues during this period.

Fall 2020

Due to thelibrary's renovation and Covid-19, the library did not host an Open House in Fall 2021.

1. Added more signage and student staff to the event to improve navigation. Discontinued using library maps as guides. (2016)

2. Added more visuals, campus organizations, and activities to the Open House. (2016)

3. Invited the TLC Helpdesk to be a part of the Library Open House. (2017)

4. In addition to therapy dogs, the library invited cats to participate in the Library Open House as well. (2017)

Grove City College Objectives Addressed with this Program:

• Promote Social and Emotional Development -- Provide opportunities for students to interact with faculty, staff and peers.
• Promote a Sense of Responsibility to Larger Community and Society -- Provide academic, spiritual, social, and cultural services to the broader community.

Buhl Library Goals Addressed with this Program:

• Provide opportunities outside of the classroom that promote education and care for the whole person.

Outreach / Engagement Outcome:

The Faculty Book Talk event will:

1. Raise awareness of faculty publications.
2. Provide attendees with an introductory understanding of the day's topic.
3. Engage attendees in academic discussions outside of the classroom.

Library staff will observe the attendees at each Faculty Book Talk and count the 1) total number of attendees, 2) the number of questions asked by attendees, and 3) the number of people actively taking notes during the talk.

One staff member will be responsible for counting the total number of attendees approximately 10 minutes after the Faculty Book Talk has begun. Additional staff member(s), using clickers, will observe the Faculty Book Talk adding a tally every time a question is asked and a separate tally for each person observed taking notes.

Outcome – “Engage attendees in academic discussions outside of the classroom.”

• The Outreach Librarian and Library Assessment Coordinator will review the counts and do the following:
  1. Take the total number of questions/comments directed to the speaker and add it to the total number of attendees taking notes. 
  2. Divide the total by the number of attendees.

The percentage of questions/comments and note-takers will be compared to our target of 10% or more attendees engaged in the event to determine if the outcome was achieved. 

1.  Adjusted water pressure in the library bathrooms. (2014)

2.  Adjusted a Media Services door that was banging loudly and disturbing patrons. (2014)

3.  Made it possible for patrons to place their own holds online. (2014)

4.  Improved our displays of audio books (2014) and DVDs for easier browsing. (2015/16)

5.  Added carts with signs for students to place items that they used, but did not check out. (2014)

Grove City College Objectives Addressed with this Program:

• Promote Physical Development -- Encourage individuals to engage in a healthy lifestyle that will promote lifelong fitness and wellness.

Buhl Library Goals Addressed with this Program:

• Provide opportunities outside of the classroom that promote education and care for the whole person.

Outreach / Engagement Outcome:

Students who attend the Therapy Dog Program event will:

• Experience a reduction in their stress level.

Using a scale with three face emojis to indicate their stress, students will use stickers before and after visiting the dogs to demonstrate where their stress levels were prior to and after the event.

Approximately 15 minutes before the event, a large sheet of paper with the emojis placed equidistant from each other will invite students to indicate "How's your Stress?" A poster explaining the purpose of the board and how students can indicate their stress levels will be provided beside the paper. 

Shortly after the dogs have left, the poster and sheet of paper will be collected.

Outcome – “Students who attend the Therapy Dog Program event will experience a reduction in their stress level.”

• The Outreach Librarian and Library Assessment Coordinator will review the sheet of paper and do the following:
  1. Break the space used for displaying the emojis into 5 equal sections to help us better classify any student stress levels where the student indicated they were in between the three emojis provided.
  2. Count the total number of students that indicated their stress level before the event.
  3. Count the total number of students that indicated their stress level after the event.
  4. Calculate the percentage of responses in each of the 5 newly-designated sections.

After the event, students' responses will be evaluated to determine if our target of 25% or fewer students indicating a final stress level in the top 2 sections (indicating a stress level of 4-5) was achieved.