Skip redundant pieces

Information Services Assessment Council Meeting Minutes


May 8, 2007

Present: Jill Glaser, Holly Mercer, Bill Myers, Ryan Papesh, John Stratton
Absent: Darrell McNamara, Thelma Simons, James Tumlinson, Sherry Umscheid

The Council reviewed its activities and discussed the substance of individual conversations each member had with the chair as outlined below. The Council also discussed the anticipated vacancies with Mandy Swygart-Hobaugh's departure and John Stratton and Holly Mercer indicating their intention not to continue for the 2007-08 year.

ISAC ACTIVITIES SINCE OCTOBER 2006:

  • met as a council a dozen times
  • conducted 4 all-staff programs on assessment
  • increased our knowledge about assessment methods (surveys and quantitative analysis) and the function of the Office of Research & Planning in consultation with Carrie Towns and Adrienne Sadovsky
  • conducted an environmental scan of data being regularly gathered throughout IS
  • participated in a beta test of the TechQual+ survey instrument
  • advised IS staff directly in the development of assessment activities concerning Libraries' service desk quality, Libraries' reference service, Libraries' data services, IS service catalog, NTS customer satisfaction, ResNet services, and online advising tool development
  • fostered/participated in the continuing analysis of LibQUAL+ data, and development of the TechQual+ survey

"STATUS CHECK" PERSPECTIVES OF ISAC MEMBERS:

Things ISAC ought to be doing, keep doing, or doing better:

  • Doing more assessment
  • Attending other meetings across IS to get assessment in the conversation and find opportunities to lead/assist
  • Listening better (to IS colleagues)
  • Documenting assessment activity
  • Using LibQUAL+ information
  • Collaborating with OIRP
  • Being mindful of cultural and operational differences between Libraries and IT, especially as they relate to assessment and relationships with users
  • Monitoring implications of IT/NTS reorg for assessment opportunities
Ideas for improving ISAC meetings:
  • Start on time; end on time; address all items on the agenda
  • Rotate note taking responsibility (thank you Mandy!)
  • Identify action items every meeting
  • Rotate meeting location
  • Keep to same twice monthly schedule (frequency fosters more conscious engagement)
  • Move to once monthly meetings for two hours (fosters more in-depth discussion)
Ideas for getting ISAC members more involved:
  • Members volunteer to explore what other academic institutions are doing with assessment, and report back to Council
  • Members are provided training in focus group facilitation
  • Members volunteer to get assessment on the agenda of other meetings they attend; provide updates on assessment activities, identify needs ISAC might address, lead discussion on assessment issues
Other specific assessments we might encourage or develop:
  • IT call center
  • Desktop support