The ways in which university quality assessments are developed reveal a great deal about value constructs surrounding higher education. Measures developed and consumed by external stakeholders, in particular, indicate which elements of academia are broadly perceived to be most reflective of quality. This paper examines the historical context of library quality assessment and reviews the literature related to how library value is framed in three forms of external evaluation: accreditation, university rankings, and student surveys. The review finds that the library’s contribution to university quality, when it is considered at all, continues to be measured in terms of collections, spaces,...
A Review of: Scarletto, E. A., Burhanna, K. J., & Richardson, E. (2013). Wide awake at 4 AM: A study of late night user behavior, perceptions and performance at an academic library. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 39(5), 371-377. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2013.02.006 Abstract Objective – To assess late night library usage, including a demographic profile of students benefitting from late night hours, with an analysis of the services and resources they used, and whether the use of late hours is connected to student success. Design – A mixed-methods approach including quantitative demographic information alongside qualitative user feedback collected using a web-based survey....