Author Archives: Nancy Turner

Communities of Practice: People, Spaces, Services

Last Wednesday 20+ library staff members came together to talk and learn about usability testing conducted here at Temple University Libraries. This discussion, part of our Assessment Community of Practice,  covered a range of topics, from how usability testing is … Continue reading

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It’s All About Continuous Improvement

Developing an organization-wide culture of assessment is a slow, incremental process. I  get frustrated by this fact at times, particularly when I imagine a perfect world of systematic, routine plans put into place for assessing and demonstrating the value of … Continue reading

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Meet Mary Marissen: Swarthmore’s Emerging Library Assessment Professional

This summer, on a sweltering July morning, I had a Saxby’s coffee with Mary Marissen, librarian at Swarthmore College. She’s taking on some new roles in assessment at the library and we met to talk about emerging trends in this … Continue reading

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Assessment & Analytics Community of Practice “Kick Off” : A Recap

Yesterday here at Temple University Libraries we kicked off a new approach to developing our culture of assessment, an Assessment & Analytics Community of Practice discussion to which all staff were invited. The Kick Off  focused on two recent research … Continue reading

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Improving our Understanding of Faculty Work: Two Research Projects

Over the last couple of years, Temple librarians have engaged in two significant research projects with potential for informing our work with faculty. This week’s kickoff for the Libraries/Press Assessment Community of Practice provides an opportunity to discuss these projects … Continue reading

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Library Assessment Repository Project

Over the last several years, the American Library Association’s LLAMA (Library Leadership & Management Association) Assessment Community of Practice has been exploring community interest in a repository for library assessment resources. The repository would provide open access to survey instruments, … Continue reading

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Notes from the Field (and Lake) : ALA 2017 Chicago

This June many of us headed off to Chicago for the annual American Library Association conference. The weather was perfect – warm temperatures with great views of the sky and lake, enjoyed off hours, of course.   I asked for contributions … Continue reading

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Assessment for Planning: Special Collections Research Center Uses Data to Drive Location Decisions, and More

Planning to move the Special Collections Research Center  from its current space to the new library building takes careful planning, with different challenges than the general collections. For one, there are manuscripts AND books to be stored, with collections that … Continue reading

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LACUNY 2017: What’s Next for the Academic Librarian?

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the LACUNY 2017 Institute, a small conference sponsored by the Library Association of the City of New York at  LaGuardia Community College. The theme was The Future of Librarianship: Exploring What’s Next … Continue reading

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Improving How We Support New Professionals: The Resident Librarian Program

Temple’s Resident Librarian program is now in its third year, and we have started the recruiting process for our 2nd cohort of resident librarians. I sat down with the program administrators Richie Holland, Director of Administration,  and Sandi Thompson, Head … Continue reading

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