Library Assessment

Libraries hold themselves accountable to the community we serve and to the goals of the institution, and we measure our progress regularly.  When we conduct Library Assessment we:

• Assess the communities the Libraries serve – their needs, expectations, behaviours – to see how the Libraries can best serve them.
• Assess what the Libraries do – the services, resources and spaces we provide - to ensure we are meeting the needs/satisfaction of the community we serve.
• Measure our impact on the community and the goals of the institution – for example, student success/retention, faculty research.

Library assessment is an important part of what we do at Dalhousie Libraries. As a participating unit in the Dalhousie Strategic Plan, we view it as a way to demonstrate accountability, and as a way to document the Libraries’ contributions to the academic and scholarly success of our community.

Library assessment is labour-intensive, so we prioritize our projects in keeping with the Libraries Strategic Plan. These priorities are also driven by results of earlier assessment projects and by current operations.

At Dalhousie, most librarians and many staff participate in library assessment work. Library assessment is lead by the Coordinator of Assessment, Linda Bedwell. Information Literacy Assessment is the responsibility of the Learning and Instruction Librarian, Lindsay McNiff. Collections assessment is the responsibility of the Resources Team. Assessment is also conducted for usability of the website, ease of use for Primo, and in many other areas.

Email: Linda.Bedwell@dal.ca