Department

Library Administration

Purpose

The library collects and shares data on a regular basis with a number of groups or organizations. By participating in the collection and sharing of the data, it is hoped that the library is better able to make evidence-based requests and decisions by applying comparisons with peer libraries and schools. 

Overview

In 2012, under the leadership of the Associate Dean, the library's Assessment Committee created a shared network area for the annual statistical data that all library departments were charged with gathering. The reporting spreadsheets were created from the various data points required by the three major surveys 
completed by the library each year: the Affinity Libraries, ACRL, and IPEDS. 

This system has served the Library well as a place for reporting data. At the start of a new academic year, everyone knows to begin their process in gathering and reporting. This system has also provided a good record of yearly data that can be quickly accessed for in-house comparisons and tracking. 

This shared network area also provides access to survey results that are appropriate for all Library personnel. For us, this will consist primarily of ACRL comparative data; the lPEDS data can be accessed through its website. Much of the data that is shared by others with us is sensitive to each library and agreements of confidentially and restricted use guide the sharing of that comparative data. When requests are made for data sharing beyond that which is already publicly available in the S:\CCLS\Statistics\Final Reports-Public\ folder, the Dean's office will make the final determination. 

Required Knowledge/Skills

Safety Issues/Precautions

n/a

Equipment/Supplies

PC, access to survey instructions, access to the Library's statistics folders:

S :\CCLS\Statistics\ 
S:\CCLS\Statistics\Final Reports-Public\ 
S:\CCLS\Statistics\Statistics Organization Outline.pdf 2012 (needs updating)

Procedure

Affinity Libraries https://affinitylibraries.org/ 

Due: end of February

Compiled results received: June

The Affinity Libraries' annual process provides a highly-detailed survey of these comparative libraries. While all libraries receive the annual compiled results, not all participate-and even then, not all that do participate do so consistently. The compilation report, the detail-level at which the data is compiled, and the inconsistency of participating libraries make library-wide data sharing quite challenging. If a department wants Affinity Libraries' data, consult with the Dean's office. 

ACRL Statistics http://acrl.lib12uides.com/stats/survevhelp 

Due: end of February

Compiled results received: June

From ACRL: The ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey is administered by the ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey Editorial Board and is the largest survey of academic libraries in the country, providing one of the most comprehensive portraits of the impact that academic libraries have across the U.S. The ACRL Academic Library Trends and Statistics Survey is composed of three parts: 

•    Questions from the IPEDS Academic Libraries Component. Every institution of higher education receiving federal funding must respond to the IPEDS survey. The ACRL survey asks every library question required by IPEDS, with instructions and definitions completely aligned since 2015. ACRL survey results are available quickly: typically three months after the survey closes. 

•    A selection of questions about academic libraries not included in IPEDS, which IPEDS sometimes use as test questions for future surveys.
•    A section of questions about library trends; every year features a different topic.

Beginning with the 2018 reporting year, ACRL provided a Summary Data sheet, a selective listing of reported data as well as some key ratios for that specific reporting period. Information provided from this summary data sheet information will be available in the S:\CCLS\Statistics\Final Reports-Public\ folder in a three-year comparative format. 

IPEDS: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System httos://nces.ed.gov/ioeds/ 

Due: end of February

Compiled results received: not received specifically by the Library

From IPEDS: IPEDS is the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. It is a system of interrelated surveys conducted annually by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). lPEDS gathers information from every college, university, and technical and vocational institution that participates in the federal student financial aid programs. The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, requires that institutions that participate in federal student aid programs report data on enrollments, program completions, graduation rates, faculty and staff, finances, institutional prices, and student financial aid. These data are made available to students and parents through the College Navi2:ator college search Web site and to researchers and others through the lPEDS Data Center. 

The IPEDS data is pulled from the ACRL reports. 

Finding the libraries' data:

I. From the lPEDS home screen, click on the "Use the Data" option:

(https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data).

2.    From that page, click on the "Look Up an Institution" option.
3.    From this next page, click on the blue "Continue" button.
4.    From this next page, enter "Valparaiso University" in the search box. Click on the entry as it appears below the search box.
5.    At the bottom of this list, click on the listing for "Academic Libraries."

For the University data reported in IPEDS, one can find the comparative data in the University's Common Data Set produced by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness in its Institutional Research category: https://www.valpo.edu/institutional-effectiveness/institutional-research/ 

Valparaiso University 
These listings provide a variety of data, some self-evident and some contained within a document or website. 

Office of Institutional Effectiveness: https://www.valpo.edu/institutional-effectiveness/

Office of the Provost: Faculty: https://www.valpo.edu/provost/2014/07/11/status-of-the-faculty/

President's Reports to Faculty & Staff: https://intra.valpo.edu/president/reports-to-the-faculty-and-staff-archive/