| Figures | vii |
| Preface | ix |
| Acknowledgments | xi |
1 | A New Day Is Here | 1 |
| Accountability | 1 |
| Terminology | 2 |
| Regional Accrediting Agencies and Assessment Requirements | 4 |
| Regional Accrediting Agency's Standards Applied to Academic Libraries | 11 |
2 | Assessment Plans, Reports, and Guides in Institutions of Higher Education | 18 |
| Guides Developed by Institutions to Assist in Assessment Planning | 18 |
| Assessment Plans and Reports | 21 |
| Academic Libraries and University Assessment Planning | 24 |
3 | Developing an Assessment Plan for Measuring Student Learning Outcomes | 29 |
| Recognizing the Need for an Assessment Plan for Student Learning Outcomes | 29 |
| Identifying the Processes and Components of an Assessment Plan for Student Learning Outcomes | 33 |
| Creating the First Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Plan for the Sawyer Library | 35 |
| Creating the First Faculty Support Outcomes Assessment Plan for the Sawyer Library | 38 |
4 | Information Literacy Assessment Efforts of Some Academic Libraries | 43 |
| Some Libraries Accepting the Call for Assessment | 44 |
| Examples of Assessment Plans for University Libraries | 48 |
5 | Moving Public Libraries toward Outcomes Assessment | 56 |
| Accountability | 56 |
| Performance Measures and Standards | 58 |
| Outputs to Outcomes: What Will Be Different for the User? | 60 |
6 | Outcomes as a Type of Assessment | 64 |
| Outcomes Defined | 66 |
| Not Limiting Outcomes to Students | 68 |
| The Balanced Scorecard | 68 |
| Measures | 69 |
| Phrasing Outcomes | 71 |
| Distinguishing between Objectives and Outcomes | 72 |
| Some Ways to Explore Outcomes | 73 |
| Public Library Outcomes | 74 |
| Best Practices | 77 |
| Assessment Plan | 77 |
7 | The Research Process | 80 |
Stage 1 | Reflective Inquiry | 81 |
Stage 2 | Procedures | 86 |
Stage 3 | Data Collection, Analysis, and Interpretation | 98 |
Stage 4 | Presentation of Findings and Use of the Data Collected | 99 |
8 | Evidence Demonstrating the Achievement of Outcomes | 101 |
| Often-Used Measures (but Not outcomes) | 102 |
| Easy-to-Gather Indicators | 102 |
| Higher Order and Lower Order Outcomes | 103 |
| Data Collection | 104 |
| Illustrations of the Choice of Methods | 111 |
| Preparing to Use the Data Collected | 115 |
9 | Service Quality and Satisfaction | 119 |
| Service Quality | 121 |
| Satisfaction | 128 |
| Conducting a Service Quality or Satisfaction Study | 128 |
10 | Making a Commitment to Accountability and Learning Outcomes Assessment | 133 |
| Learning Assessment--an Imperfect Science | 135 |
| What Will Be Good Enough? | 135 |
| The Need to Clarify Terminology | 136 |
| Setting Priorities | 137 |
| A Taxonomy of Faculty and Library Relationships | 137 |
| Public Libraries and Assessment | 138 |
| A Challenge | 139 |
| Appendixes | |
A. | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, 1998 Criteria for Accreditation, Section V: Educational Support Services | 141 |
B. | Mildred F. Sawyer Library Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Plan for Information Literacy | 143 |
C. | Mildred F. Sawyer Library Faculty Support Outcomes Assessment Plan | 147 |
D. | Information Literacy | 149 |
E. | 1999-2000 Freshmen Pre/Posttest from the Daniel Library, The Citadel | 151 |
F. | 2000-2001 Freshmen Pre/Posttest from the Daniel Library, The Citadel | 153 |
G. | History 203, Student Research Survey from the Daniel Library, The Citadel | 155 |
H. | Information Literacy Standards, Performance Indicators, and Outcomes | 157 |
I. | Example of Research Components | 161 |
J. | Enhancing Skills through Technology: A Project for Advanced Accounting Students | 170 |
| Some Recommended Resources | 183 |
| Index | 189 |