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Assessment (Internal Use Only)

Space Assessment - Past Space Assessment Projects

Date Last Updated  
Purpose The purpose of this project is to identify patterns or themes of user wants/needs from historical data and decide future directions for our future space planning or potential assessment projects.
Research Questions (e.g., What were the most common (or unchanged) user wants/needs over time? What spaces have been used most or least frequently and why? Are there any missing research questions we need to ask in the future? What types of research methods have we not used?)
Motivation It will prevent us from making duplicate efforts, help us understand changes/trends over time, and help us identify future directions
Staff

Susan B. (Admin)

HyunSeung K. (Assessment)

   
Steps  
1 Open each tab associated with a past project
2 Fill in each cell by each instance, theme, or topic
Resources A link to folders
Findings A link to findings

Space Assessment - Existing Systems and Data

Date Last Updated  
Purpose The purpose of this project is to understand our current space usage or to identify base data that will help us systematic sampling for future space assessment (triangulation).
Overarching Question To identify patterns by year (Academic Year), month, day, and/or hour throughout the last 3 or 5 years
Research Questions (e.g., What month, day or hour is most or least busiest? What computer/location is most or least frequently used? What month or hour is most or least booked for study rooms? How can we re-arrange computers that have rarely been used? Is there anything that we can do to help users use under-utilized space/computer more? What types of user group have been using our library space?)
Staff

Linda M., & Melissa G. (Access dept) Robyn B. (IT)

HyunSeung K. (Assessment)

   
Steps  
1 Go to each system (tab)
2 Identify criteria (or variables) that might be useful in identifying meaningful patterns (or systematic sampling)
3 Draw graphs that show patterns of our "current" space usage
Resources A link to folders
Findings A link to findings

Space Assessment - Website Analysis

Date Last Updated  
Purpose A purpose of this project is to identify characteristics of space layout/usage of other peer or aspirational institutions' libraries and decide future directions for our future space planning.
Research Questions (e.g., How layout of our library is different from our peer institutions'? What kinds of space names do they use? What floor is associated with particular spaces? Are there any space that we do not have? Are there any space we need to add or re-arrange to connect our space to faculty/student success or our UNI mission?)
Limitations A limitation of this study is that websites might not reflect upon most recent information about their spaces.
Staff

Julie Ann B. (FPAC)

HyunSeung K. (Assessment)

   
Steps (with websites)  
1 Go to Google
2 Type in "institution's name" "library"
3 Find a library's website (& floor plans*)
4 Check out top levels of menus/links and
5 Identify space-related menus/links from top levels of menus/links and/or their sub-menus/links**
6 Record names***, links****, and floor information
   
   
  * To get a link to floor plans quickly, please type in "institution name" "library" "floor plans"
  ** Do not go deeper than 2nd below top levels of menus/links (i.e., home & one below home only), given that this study is to examine what types of spaces have been "promoted".
  *** Make sure that you include "non-library" units (e.g., Writing Center)
  **** To add a link to a text, please highlight a text, click the "Insert link" icon, and paste a link
   
Another project (with Floor Maps) We can analyze floor maps of individual libraries to identify space layout/usage.
Other project (with SNS) We can check SNS pages of individual libraries in place of their websites as other project.
Resources A link to folders
Findings A link to findings

Space Assessment - Future Trends & Case Studies

Date Last Updated January 2020
Purpose The purpose of this project is to identify the characteristics of "future" libraries.
Research Questions (e.g., Are there any "future" characteristics that our "current" library does (or not) have? Are there ways to make our space better based on "future" characteristics?)
Staff

Claire B. (RUS)

HyunSeung K. (Assessment)

   
Steps  
1 Identify best keywords (most relevant and comprehensive, but reasonably small), extended rapid reviews (with diverse types of resources & diverse categories of information/contents)
  LLIS & LIST : "academic library" (subject) AND "building OR space" (subject) AND "future OR trends" AND "last 10 years"
  LLIS & LIST : "academic library" (subject) AND "building OR space" (subject) AND "assessment" AND "last 10 years"
  ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I : "academic library" (subject) AND "building OR space" (subject) AND "last 5 years" AND "Doctoral dissertations"
  ALAstore: ("space") AND (Audience: "Academic library") AND (Subject: "Buildings/Facility > Library Design")
  Amazon: "library space" and related books (on the bottom)
  Google (Libguides): site:.edu "library space" or "library building"
  Google: ("project/library name" AND "construction") or ("project/library name" AND "renovation")
2 Identify key sources* that contains most recent and most comprehensive** information about future trends on library spaces and case studies of individual libraries***
  A List of Resources Consulted:
3 Identify future characteristics of library spaces from each key source
4 Add characteristics to a tab of "Literature - Future Trends" and tabs of individual libraries/institutions
5 Aggregate all characteristics and add them to a tab of "Findings - Future Characteristics"
   
* Examples of key sources include:
  Books and articles (FUTURE TRENDS)
  Institutional/libraries websites reports from institutional repository & archives, news articles, and Youtube videos via a simple Google search (CASE STUDIES), "grand opening" and/or "construction"
  Staff at the Communications dept. - direct contact via email or phone (as needed)
** In some cases, institutions create their own library renovation websites (e.g., see a case of University of Notre Dame Library at https://renovation.library.nd.edu/)
*** See a list of 53 institutions by Blackburn (2020)
Resources A link to folders
Findings A link to findings