Assessment Strategies in Technical Services by Kimberley A. Edwards Michelle Leonard (2019)

Author:Kimberley A. Edwards, Michelle Leonard (2019)
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LAN025000 Language Arts & Disciplines / Library & Information Science / General
Publisher: American Library Association

Asking for Feedback

You should reach out to all librarians and the stakeholder groups that have been identified early in the assessment project. The goal of this phase should be to gather the qualitative information about serials to complement the quantitative data provided by the project team. The importance of feedback from patron groups cannot be understated. This phase is typically marked by a flurry of e-mails and spreadsheet exchanges. Whether intentional or not, there will be more versions of spreadsheets than desired. Librarians reviewing titles will want their own copies to work from. Rather than fight against this, be clear from the outset how people should submit feedback. The master title spreadsheet could include columns for each reviewer’s recommendation, or separate lists could be sent to review. Three things are key to communicate: when the feedback is due, how it should be submitted, and who has final decision-making authority.

Soliciting feedback from library colleagues is a relatively straightforward matter. For external stakeholders, like faculty, a variety of channels for receiving feedback can be used. The most effective choice for a library will depend on how the faculty are consulted in typical collection development decisions. Much will depend on the relationship between the faculty and the library. The library may rely on a faculty advisory board to review decisions. There may be a faculty representative designated to work with the library on collection issues for their department. The subject librarian may attend the department’s (or college’s) faculty meeting. The consultation may happen purely over e-mail, or through feedback forms on the library’s web page. The form of the consultation need not be the same for every stakeholder group. Use as many channels of communication as necessary to get the responses the library requires to proceed.

A public comment period can be left open for anyone to advocate for a resource on the library’s website, or the comments can be submitted through subject librarians. For the former, a feedback mechanism on the website can be created to allow individuals to advocate for a title.20 However feedback is to be managed, be sure to leave enough time for the project team to review and respond to the feedback before coming to a final decision for each title.

But what does feedback look like? The evaluative criteria selected by the project team is a good place to start. You should refer to the strategies and metrics identified in Phase 1, and identify what information the project team does not have and who can provide it. Subject liaisons possess both deep disciplinary knowledge and an intimate familiarity with library resources. They can help identify whether the content is available elsewhere or the subject matter is adequately covered by another title. Even though usage statistics are helpful in determining need, they are not always the most reliable source of information for demonstrating this need. Often it is up to librarians to assess whether or not a journal is truly vital to support the research interests of students, faculty, and staff at the university.

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