By Dilini Bodhinayaka and Hamid Jamali
Academic libraries are increasingly required to demonstrate the impact of their services. Therefore, measuring library impact has become more critical than ever. As Iroaganachi and Nkiko (2016) stated, impact measurement “serves the purpose of assuring the parent institutions that the library needs the same relative share of the institutional budget, even in the budget itself is shrinking” (p. 9). Evidence of impact can also inform the decision making of library managers.
One important area of library impact is the impact on students. Impact on students can happen before admission (e.g., influencing students’ choices), during the enrolment (students’ performance) and once they finish their course (e.g., what they have learned). Library services and activities can impact any aspect of student life and education, including but not limited to the areas below listed by Oakleaf (2011).
- Student enrolment
- Student retention and graduation rates
- Career measures
- Student achievements
- Student learning outcomes
- student experiences, attitudes & perceptions
- Research productivity
- Learning and teaching
Academic libraries play a significant role in campus-wide recruiting and orientation efforts. Also, library impact is linked to an increase in student retention and graduation rates. Retention, attrition, engagement, and persistence are several outcomes linked with the library impact. Other areas include student job success, performance in internships, and securing placements.
Measuring impact is never easy. Some research has been done in the past about measuring libraries impact. Various types of data and evidence can be used for measuring impact. The matrix below that was created after reviewing a sample of research on impact measurement of libraries, demonstrates different variables that can be used to measure the impact of different aspects of libraries. For instance, the use of e-resources could positively influence students grade point average (GPA). The intensity of colours in the table shows how much research has been done on each dimension. While several approaches (dark cells) have been well-used in the past, there are also several approaches that have received little research attention (white cells) and researchers can use them in the future.
References
Iroaganachi, M. A., & Nkiko, C. (2016). Performance assessment model for academic libraries: the Covenant University Library example. Annals of Library and Information Studies, 63, 7-15.
Oakleaf, M. (2011). What’s the value of an academic library? The development of the ACRL value of academic libraries comprehensive research review and report. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 42(1), 1-13.
