Author Archives: Nancy Turner

Strategic Steering Team: Just a Fancy Word for Committee?

I promised a “provocative” discussion at yesterday’s Assessment Community of Practice gathering, and I think we met that goal. The attendance was good, at least, with 27 staff members from  across the library (13 departments represented). A few highlights and … Continue reading

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Brainstorming New Metrics as We Transition to Charles Library

In less than six months we will be moving into Charles Library, an environment that will transform how we think about libraries and the resources and services it provides. And how we provide access to those resources and services. In … Continue reading

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Agile as Assessment: Driving in the Dark but Knowing Where You’re Going

  Cynthia Schwarz, with Dave Lacy and all the staff in LTS/LTD have put into operation a robust set of tools for communicating, documenting, and tracking workflows for all the complex work going on at the Libraries – technology-based and … Continue reading

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Avoiding New Year’s Resolutions, or Not

I may be turning cynical, but I’ve stopped making personal New Year’s resolutions. The U.S. News & World Report says that 80% of resolutions fail by February. That’s depressing! While there may be a rational, statistically valid reason for not making … Continue reading

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Library Space and Pot Plants: An Unexpected Connection

“Fall in love with your users” – Paul-Jervis Heath When Paul-Jervis Heath told the story of how pot plants improved occupancy rates at the Cambridge University libraries, the non-Brits at last week’s Library Assessment Conference were a bit confused. We would … Continue reading

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Mapping Library Goals to Institutional Priorities: An Assessment Workshop

Last week two dozen library staff members took time out of busy schedules to participate in the Assessment Community of Practice. The session was structured a little differently (always experimenting here!) with small round tables, mixed department seating, and facilitators … Continue reading

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Setting the Path towards a New Library

Last week I had an unexpected 12 hours to spend at the Calgary International Airport, providing me plenty of time to consider all that I learned at the Designing Libraries conference.  While the airport provided fun rides between terminals and … Continue reading

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Moving Forward: Lessons Learned from the Last 10 Years of Risk Modeling

Last week the Libraries’ Assessment Community of Practice kicked off the year by hosting Alexandra Yanovski-Bowers (Assistant Director for Undergraduate Strategic Initiatives) and Michele Lynn O’Conner (Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies). The discussion was Undergraduate Studies’ work to build a … Continue reading

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Attending the American Library Association’s Annual Conference can be overwhelming – the crowds, the number of programs, the sheer size of the convention center and all the walking that comes along with that. This year I asked three colleagues to … Continue reading

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Strategic or Operational? That is the Question

  Or is it? This last year we’ve had many lively conversations at the Libraries/Press about distinguishing the strategic work from the operational work we do. Those conversations, coupled with this morning’s early yoga class, have me reflecting on how … Continue reading

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