In September 2012, ACRL was awarded a National Leadership Demonstration Grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for the project “Assessment in Action: Academic Libraries and Student Success.” The grant funding of $249,330 will support ACRL, in partnership with the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), and build on their IMLS 2011 Collaborative Planning Grant which convened two invitational summits, described below. With the second grant for this three- year project, a professional development program to strengthen the competencies of librarians in campus leadership and data-informed advocacy will be designed, implemented and evaluated.
In late September 2011, ACRL was awarded a National Leadership Collaborative Planning Grant by IMLS for the project “Building Capacity for Demonstrating the Value of Academic Libraries.” The grant funding of $99,985 supported ACRL — in partnership with the AIR, the APLU and the Council of Independent Colleges — in convening two national summits. In the first, a wide range of participants from the higher education sector discussed the data campus administrators would like libraries to provide and what collaborative assistance is available through institutional research offices. In the second, librarian participants addressed strategies to prepare the library community to document and communicate the library’s value in advancing the missions and goals of their colleges and universities.
A white paper from the summits, “Connect, Collaborate, and Communicate: A Report from the Value of Academic Libraries Summits,” is now freely available. The report — co-authored by Karen Brown, associate professor at Dominican University, and ACRL Senior Strategist for Special Initiatives Kara Malenfant — summarizes broad themes about the dynamic nature of higher education assessment that emerged from the summits.
You can find out more about the project in the grant proposal narrative (PDF) and in these announcements:
- ACRL Awarded IMLS Grant for Value of Academic Libraries Summits (Sept 26, 2011)
- ACRL Announces 22 Colleges and Universities to Attend IMLS Funded Summits (Oct 18, 2011)
- Project Briefing Presentation at Coalition for Networked Information Fall 2011 Meeting (Dec 13, 2011)
- Recent Research Connecting Academic Libraries and Student Achievement (Jan 9, 2012)
- ALA Midwinter Meeting: Update on ACRL’s Value of Academic Libraries Initiative (Jan 22, 2012)
- Report on the Value of Academic Libraries Initiative at ALA Midwinter (Jan 24, 2012)
- Starting the Conversation — Engaging Provosts, Deans, and Institutional Research Members (Jan 28, 2012)
- Interviews with summit participants (audio and transcripts):
- Richard Ray, provost at Hope College in Holland, MI (Feb 16, 2012)
- Andrew Lootens-White, vice president for accreditation relations at the Higher Learning Commission (February 23, 2012)
- Troy Swanson, library department chair at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, IL (March 1, 2012)
- Nancy Marlin, provost at San Diego State University (March 8, 2012)
- David James, associate vice provost for academic programs, and Patricia Iannuzzi, dean of university libraries, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (March 15, 2012)
