Dana Peterman and Research on Library Assessment at UCLA

Dana Peterman is a Research Librarian for Education. He holds two master's degrees from UCLA: an M.A. in Education and an M.L.I.S. in Library and Information Science. Since 2003 he has been a Social Science Librarian and the Coordinator of S.S.L.I.S. His work has primarily focused on the integration of assessment culture within academic libraries, particularly at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His research contributes to the broader field of library science by exploring methods for data-informed decision-making, collection management, and the use of technology to enhance library services.

Assessment Culture in Academic Libraries

Peterman's research at UCLA focuses on fostering a culture of assessment within the library system. This involves promoting data-informed decision-making at all organizational levels. A key component of this effort is the Assessment for Change Team (ACT), which was formed to lead this cultural evolution.

The Assessment for Change Team (ACT)

The Assessment for Change Team (ACT) was formed to spearhead this cultural evolution. This case study discusses how we create an assessment culture in a large, complex institution.

ACT reaches out to the campus community units close to the university administration whose primary jobs employed assessment. We make campus ties to create an environment that influences and is influenced by the university's efforts. In conjunction with creating these ties, we offer workshops to all stakeholders that introduce assessment as a form of change management in a judgment free environment. We use online templates that guide assessment-motivated and administratively supported teams to work toward goals that are future-oriented.

Concurrent with the use of complex, dynamically-generated templates, ACT conducts individual sessions that influence changes in its template designs. The templates evolve iteratively, which improves their quality and stakeholder buy-in. Finally, we accelerate the buy-in of assessment for change by illustrating the impact of using these tools in decision-making that results in improved effectiveness, efficiencies, and better resourcing. We continue working with administration to ensure their support, mutual understanding of group goals, and affirmed understanding of the process of goal-setting and data-informed decision making. While ACT members assist staff with planning as consultants, we do not participate in projects unless we are members of the teams or groups who have formulated an assessment.

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Data Lake: A Tool for Managing Change

A core element of UCLA's strategy is the "Data Lake," an internally built dynamic set of templates using Confluence. The tool we use, called Data Lake, is an internally built dynamic set of templates using Confluence that includes a guided questionnaire for planning assessment, a repository of tools, indexed connections to raw data sets, and reports on assessment projects.

Data Lake is an enterprise wide collaboration platform used for managing change and an assessment culture within the Library. First, a guided questionnaire assists with brainstorming and planning of assessment ideas while invoking dynamic reports and notification of resource managers at critical points within the assessment lifecycle. Next, the platform enables abstracting, indexing and storage of raw data and assessment tools while supporting dynamic visualizations, reports and dashboards. Finally, connections with service tickets and project plans are promoted as assessment plans morph into reports and data informed decisions to launch or change projects.

This platform is designed to:

Assist with brainstorming and planning: A guided questionnaire helps in generating assessment ideas.
Enable data storage and indexing: The platform allows for abstracting, indexing, and storing raw data and assessment tools.
Support dynamic visualizations: It provides dynamic visualizations, reports, and dashboards.
Connect assessment plans to action: The system promotes connections with service tickets and project plans, ensuring that assessment insights lead to tangible actions.

Challenges and Sustainability

We see our greatest challenge as developing a sustainable environment that enables the continuation of our efforts over time and that impacts our organizational culture. ACT members are librarians and library staff with numerous other responsibilities in their respective units who can rotate in and out annually. All leaders need to keep the topic of assessment in the forefront of interest and attention among staff, many of whom feel have competing obligations and are resistant to the time commitments necessary for proper assessment.

We see our greatest challenge as managing and maintaining one solution as an organization's assessment systems and data holdings expand. As much data is sensitive and subject to privacy issues and access restrictions, it is necessary to ensure a data management policy is in place and being followed.

Collection Management and Weeding Strategies

Peterman has also contributed to research on collection management within libraries, specifically addressing the challenges of overcrowding, outdated materials, and items outside the library's scope.

Addressing the "Three Uh-Ohs" of Collections

All libraries confront the three Uh-Ohs of collections: overcrowding, out-of-date, out-of-scope. Instead of weeding in response to crises, we weed year-round. With little foreseeable growth in shelf space and a chronic need for more space, we are complementing collection growth with ongoing deselection.

To formulate sustainable and acceptable solutions to librarians and constituents across disciplines, UCI Libraries use a combination of technology and disciplinary knowledge to identify low-use and duplicate-format material. We developed and shared our different strategies for overcoming obstacles and unforeseen challenges. We created a unique and coordinated approach to rotate weeding among librarians. We show how organizations might replicate our success through communication and coordination among bibliographers and technical services. We will share the issues and the solutions, including planning, matching weeding styles to client needs, disciplinary strategies of viewing colletions, scheduling, and workflows.

Use of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH)

Peterman's work extends to the critical examination of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), particularly focusing on the presence and impact of derogatory terms.

Identifying Derogatory Subject Items

Using previous LCSH research on derogatory terms, we develop a strategy to identify derogatory subject items in the newly implemented consortial unified resource management system of one of the largest collections in the United States.

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Using previous research on derogatory terms in LCSH, we investigate their prevalence and use in UC Library Search at UCLA. We discover how users, cataloging practices, and system behavior work in real life

Expansion of Libraries

As we reported in the fall 2006 newsletter, the Libraries are in an exciting period of expansion in response to the current and expected growth of the campus population over the next decade. Over the past 6 months, the Libraries have hired a remarkable 10 new librarians to serve the growing needs of UCI students and faculty in the coming years. Kristin Andrews has been appointed Research Librarian for French & Italian and Classics. She holds an M.S. in Library Science from the University of North Carolina and a B.A. with a dual major in French and Classical Studies from Hamilton College. Anne Bock is Research Librarian for Education and Outreach, and Women's Studies. Her primary focus will be on strengthening the provision of information literacy instruction to students enrolled in lower-division writing courses. Anne comes to us from Indiana University, where she was the librarian for Core Collections and Gender Studies. She earned her M.S. in Library and Information Science from Simmons College in Boston, and a B.A. Kristine Ferry is Research Librarian for Business, serving as liaison to the Merage School of Business. Her most recent position was as Digital Resources Librarian at CSU Los Angeles, before which she was Advanced Technologies Librarian at the Kresge Business Administration Library at the University of Michigan. She received an M.S. in Information from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. Michelle Light is Archivist in Special Collections and Archives. She has two Master's degrees from the University of Michigan, in Information, and History, as well as a B.A. from the University of Oregon. She comes to UCI from the University of Washington, having held previous positions at Northeastern and Yale. Dana Scott Peterman is Research Librarian for Education. He holds two master's degrees from UCLA: an M.A. in Education and an M.L.I.S. in Library and Information Science. Since 2003 he has been a Social Science Librarian and the Coordinator of S.S.L.I.S. Keith Powell is Head of Acquisitions. He holds an M.A. in History from UC Santa Barbara and an M.S. in Information Science from the University of Tennessee. His experience includes 11 years in acquisitions and serials at UCSB, four years at Alabama State University, and the last five years as Regional Sales Manager with Ambassador Books & Media, a materials vendor to academic libraries. Pat Sarchet is Health Sciences Education Coordinator and is working with a team of librarians and faculty to incorporate evidence-based practice into health sciences curricula. She was previously at SUNY Buffalo, where she developed multimedia tutorials for students, residents, and faculty in the health sciences. She has an M.L.S. in Library Science and an M.A. in Applied Medical Anthropology. Holly Tomren is Electronic Resources and Metadata Cataloger, and plays the lead role in our analysis and use of metadata to facilitate access to UCI's rapidly expanding collection of digital resources. She joins us from Pasadena City College, where she was the music cataloger with expertise in music sound recordings and video recordings. She holds an M.L.I.S. degree from San Jose State University and a B.A. from CSU Long Beach. Brian Williams is Research Librarian for Criminology, Law and Society serving as the liaison to the School of Social Ecology's department of that name. Previously, he was a specialist in foreign and international law at the University of San Diego Research Center. He has a J.D. degree from Wayne State University Law School, an M.S. in Library Science, also from Wayne State, and a B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Ying Zhang is Research Librarian for Asian Studies and is responsible for acquiring materials in East Asian languages. From 2003 to 2006, she was the East Asian Studies Librarian at Rutgers University, where she is also receiving her Ph.D. in Library and Information Science. Her M.S. in Library and Information Studies is from Zhongshan University, and her B.S. is from Ocean University of Qingdao, both in China.

UCLA Library Context

The UCLA Library ranks among the top academic libraries in the United States serving 45,000 students in 125 majors. It employs over 100 librarians and approximately 350 full-time staff working in more than a dozen library across campus. Library units report to the University Librarian through four Associate University Librarians and management staff.

A recently created Library Strategic Plan at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) developed by all staff, identified the need to integrate a culture of assessment throughout all levels organization to encourage data informed decision- making.

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