SCC Library, 5-Year Program Review: 2014-2019

Libraries define, develop, and measure outcomes that contribute to institutional effectiveness and apply findings for purposes of continuous improvement.

Performance Indicator 1.4 
The Library develops and maintains a body of evidence that demonstrates its impact in convincing ways.

SCC library has developed a large body of evidence demonstrating impact in the areas of instruction, collections, library space, reference service, student success, and others. Strategies for supporting information literacy learning are discussed in the Educational Role portion of this review, and services we provide in support of college values, including core themes, are referred to throughout.

Some examples of data we regularly collect include:

• Instruction Statistics
  • Number of library sessions and students taught
  • Dates, times, courses and instructors with whom we partner, content taught
  • Student Learning Outcomes assessment and occasional formative assessments
• Faculty satisfaction with library instruction and faculty perception of library instruction's impact on student success
• Collections reports within the library management system, the library Assessment Log, and elsewhere
• Circulation, interlibrary loan, study room and  classroom use (in 25 Live)
• Annual Strategic Program Assessments 

 Other data and reports include but are not limited to:

• Space survey (2019)
• Informal polls and surveys
• Reports of library support for student success initiatives and equity
  • SCC Library Report: Teaching in Support of Student Success (2015-16)
  • SCC Library Support for the EPIC Project, Title III Grant_(2016-017 report)
  • CCS Libraries Supporting Student Success (2016-17 infographic)
  • SCC Library Impact: An Investigation of Equity and Perceived Value among Varied Student Populations (2018-19 poster presentation of study)

Program-level assessment

While some data we collect is regularly used for continuous improvement, other of our assessments and data collection processes have been marked by a strong emphasis on generating and collecting data without the opportunity to move through a full, iterative assessment process. We have found that the demands of annual Strategic Program Review in particular have left us lacking sufficient time to adequately close the loop on assessment which would include reflecting on collected data, taking the time to plan and implement thoughtful interventions, and communicating our findings to the college community.

Several current NWCCU Standards speak to library support for the college. The library successfully addressed SCC’s 7-year accreditation recommendation for the library (as reported in SCC's 2014 Ad Hoc Report). In addition to reporting to the college for the 2013 accreditation visit, librarians have occasionally submitted to administration other reports and evidence which demonstrate that our services are in accord with accreditation standards:

• Accreditation Recommendation for Standard 2.E - Exhibits: Home
• SCC Library assessment report, submitted June 2016

When appropriate, librarians work with faculty who teach in programs which are externally accredited in order to ensure that library services and resources meet standards for their program.

We are aware of the current revisions being made to the NWCCU Standards and their planned implementation in January 2020.

Contribution to college-wide abilities

CCS Libraries have faced a challenge in that we've been required to primarily align with the values of the District, not those of the two separately accredited colleges we serve. Although much of the role which academic libraries fulfill supports student learning of global awareness, personal responsibility, oral and written communication, and critical thinking, we have not formally assessed our services in terms of our contribution to student learning of these college-wide outcomes.

Performance Indicator 1.7 
The Library communicates with the campus community to highlight its value in the educational mission and in instructional effectiveness.

Annual, large-scale, program-level assessment in the form of Strategic Program Assessments were shared with upper-level administration at SCC and peer review committees. Other data sources have been shared with various college stakeholders, but librarians haven't adopted a regular means of communicating the library's value using our multiple sources of evidence.

The data we collect is saved in various formats and on multiple platforms. While the integrated library system (ILS) houses collection and circulation data, instruction statistics are logged in Office forms, and assessments of student learning reside in our Assessment Log. Other information, like annual Strategic Program Assessments, are stored in private repositories. We lack a single dashboard where data is easily accessible and publicly shared. Some of the online repositories librarians have created to keep track of evidence and make it public have outgrown their current structure.