New

• Regrounding the ARL Annual Surveys in the Digital Age: Revisiting Our Assumptions, Revising the Questions, and Incorporating Your Feedback (March 30, 2011)

• ARL Balanced Scorecard Webcast recording now online

• ARL Statistics® Interactive Analytics Available Now to Nonmembers (Jan. 20, '11)

• Organizational Performance Assessment for Libraries (OPAL) Consulting Service Now Offered by ARL (January 4, 2011)

• 2010 Library Assessment Conference Wrap-Up (December 23, 2010)

• Measuring Library Value and Return on Investment (ROI) (Lib-Value) Videos Now Available (December 21, 2010)

• Lib-Value Website Now Available (December 21, 2010)

• ARL Annual Salary Survey 2009–2010 Published (December 17, 2010)

Highlights

• LibQUAL+® 2011 Registration Now Open (October 18, 2010)

• Library Assessment Career Achievement Awardees Named for 2010 (Oct. 13, '10)

• Value in Libraries: Special Issue of RLI on Assessing Organizational Performance (Sept. 23, '10)

• ARL Releases University & Library Total Expenditures Data for 2007-2008 (Aug. 25, '10)

• Call for Participation in ClimateQUAL®: Organizational Climate and Diversity Assessment 2011 (June 17, '10)

Overview

The ARL Statistics and Assessment program focuses on describing and measuring the performance of research libraries and their contributions to research, scholarship, and community service. ARL serves a leadership role in the development, testing, and application of academic library performance measures, statistics, and management tools. Grounded in the tradition of the North American research library environment, the program provides analysis and reports of quantitative and qualitative indicators of library collections, personnel, and services by using a variety of evidence gathering mechanisms, and tools.

Library assessment is gaining in prominence as institutional calls for greater accountability abound. The Library Assessment Conference is a biennial event gathering a vibrant community of practitioners and researchers engaged with the noble mission of demonstrating the value of the library in today's ever-changing environment. The next conference is planned to take place fall 2012 in Charlottesville, VA. Online communities are available through the Library Assessment Blog and the ARL-ASSESS e-mail list. If you would like to subscribe to this list, please send an e-mail to ARL-ASSESS@arl.org. Building Effective, Sustainable, and Practical Library Assessment and the Organizational Performance Assessment for Libraries (OPAL) are ongoing ARL-sponsored consulting services assisting libraries in strengthening their performance. ARL also offers training in relevant skills and methods through such events as the Service Quality Evaluation Academy.