20 years ago, Carla Stoffle, Alan Guskin, and Joseph Boisse opened a landmark collection of essays appearing in New Directions for Teaching and Learning (no. 18, 1984) by describing the services and programs that defined the "teaching library." Over the past two decades, academic librarians have embraced the instructional role at the heart of their service in a teaching library by articulating standards for student learning in the area of information literacy; identifying a research agenda focused on moving theory and practice of information literacy instruction forward; and developing active partnerships with a variety of instructional programs across the college campus.
Many of us are committed to our role as teachers and to the idea that the academic library is an active participant in the development and delivery of instructional programs on campus, but how do we tell the story of the teaching library to our colleagues on campus and to our colleagues within the library profession?
Assessment of instructional services and of library-based instruction programs is critical to telling the story of the teaching library. Whether we are looking at student learning, instructional effectiveness, program development, or contribution to broadly-defined campus programs (e.g., First-Year-Experience), we can build no case for the teaching library without evidence, and we can gather no evidence without a well-defined plan for assessment.
Building on a forthcoming issue focused on assessment of reference services, Public Services Quarterly invites proposals for a special issue focused on the assessment of information literacy instruction. Essays may address:
assessment of student learning;
assessment of instructional performance by librarians (or library staff);
assessment of instruction programs or program development; or
other issues related to the assessment of instructional services programs in libraries.
An excellent set of suggestions for possible research in this area can be found in Section IV (“Assessment”) of the Association of College & Research Libraries’ “Research Agenda for Library Instruction and Information Literacy,” available at http://www.acrl.org/ala/acrlbucket/is/iscommittees/webpages/research/researchagendalibrary.htm
While the editors expect the issue to center around information literacy instruction in academic libraries, essays are also welcomed on assessment of instruction in other venues (e.g., assessment of how instructional services provided in a special library helped to advance organizational goals). Any library may be a teaching library and we welcome a diverse collection of proposals.
This special issue of Public Services Quarterly will be edited by Scott Walter, Assistant Dean of Libraries for Information & Instructional Services at the University of Kansas. Proposals of no more than two (2) pages should be submitted to
For more information on Public Services Quarterly, please visit: http://www.haworthpress.com/web/PSQ/
Please direct any questions regarding the special issue or about ideas for proposals to Scott Walter at slwalter@ku.edu.
