Purpose & Goals

The poster addresses the issue of how to communicate micro-assessment results to student library users in an eye-catching manner.

Design & Methodology

In Fall 2022, the Assessment & Planning team at George Mason University Libraries conducted micro-assessments, which are “narrowly-focused, short assessment tools that can be quickly designed, implemented, analyzed, and used to make changes to library services” (Taylor, McMullin, Hackman, & Buller, 2016). These micro-assessments took place in the lobby of Fenwick Library, the library on the main campus, where posters hung on the windows with different kinds of questions for student library users to answer– using stickers! Different sticker colors corresponded with different categories of students: undergraduate/resident, undergraduate/commuter, graduate/resident, and graduate/commuter. All questions were regarding student preferences for various library spaces and resources. These questions included: What activities do you use the library for? Does Noise Zone impact your choice of library space? What is your Noise Zone preference? Are you interested in storage? What is your storage reservation length preference? What furniture do you use in the library? What library spaces do you use? Do you prefer natural light? Open comments. During data collection, several students asked the team how the results would be communicated to the public, so in a collaborative effort, the Assessment Librarian and the Database Integrity & Analysis Specialist created an infographic using the GNU Image Manipulation Program, Alma Data Visualization Tool, and Inkscape. Many of the icons used in this infographic were home-grown during this process, as well as the floor maps visualization (which was used to indicate student preferences regarding locations in the main library). This infographic was printed as a poster in honor of the study and was displayed in the Fenwick lobby, and images were created for the Libraries’ Instagram account and the TV screens in Fenwick Library. The infographic also featured a QR code, so that anyone interested could read the full report located in the institutional repository.

Findings

Students were more interested in seeing the results from the study than the original research team expected. This created an opportunity for the Assessment Librarian and the Database Integrity & Analysis Specialist to collaborate on a data visualization to represent the study’s findings. However, throughout this process, scope creep for the project manifested in unexpected ways. For example, printing was delayed due to a color profile mismatch between the open source image software and the campus printers. The project also grew in unexpected ways, which led to a better end product, however requiring heavy staff resources made it difficult to reach the intended time frame.
Action & Impact    This was the first time an assessment study’s results were communicated back to its students at George Mason University Libraries, as well as the first time the Assessment team did such an extensive data visualization. Findings were also presented to Administrative Services for their review.

Practical Implications & Value

Communicating the results of an assessment project contributes to the overall body of work in library assessment because it highlights the student users as the primary stakeholders for library services. Oftentimes, assessment projects are done and only reported to Administrative services, without communicating back what had been found to students. In creating this kind of feedback loop, we can look forward to students who are more involved, and more invested, in participating in these assessment projects, because they know that their feedback truly matters, and they are going to see an end-result.