52 · SPEC Kit 303
21. Please describe any professional development needs that assessment staff at your library have
that are not being met by the events above. N=15
“Basic statistics, data analysis, data presentation, survey construction, sampling techniques, focus group
administration.”
“Basic survey and focus group techniques, data analysis techniques, best practices on pre and post assessment
communications.”
“Basics of understanding data and data analysis.”
“Classes in statistics and survey design.”
“General overview of statistical analysis of data.”
“I would greatly appreciate a listserv for assessment staff for the benefit of information sharing,
communicating, partnering, and peer group support.”
“In-house training on statistical methods, specific tools, e.g., atlas .ti, SPSS, etc.”
“More practical instruction on how to formulate survey and interview questions. There’s a lot of discussion
about do’s and don’ts, but no opportunity to learn in a collaborative, hands on environment. I’d like to have
someone critique the questions I write.”
“One of the primary challenges related to assessment is educating staff about its value and the need for it in
the current climate. Many staff view it as an intrusion and a threat. Changing the culture is very challenging.”
“Only Northumbria and the Library Assessment Conference provide consistent educational and networking
opportunities. Northumbria is often impossible to attend LAC has only had one conference. The various
meetings at ALA (LAMA, ACRL, ARL) are scattered and uncoordinated, sometimes even scheduled over each
other. There are very few _sessions_ on assessment. There seems to be no one place that people doing
assessment (in any size library) can turn for support and education.”
“Practical level assessment training for staff at all levels of the library. When you don’t have an expert on staff
where do you begin with assessment.”
“Survey writing skills.”
“Tailored training for implementing learned skills into institutional reality. Public presentation of results.”
“The Assessment Officer intends to enroll in statistics and research courses in our College of Education to gain
a more thorough grounding in statistics and assessment methodology.”
“We had consultants come in for two-day session but might be useful to have extensive, affordable consulting
that helped derive a plan when staffing is limited to do assessment.”
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