SPEC Kit 317: Special Collections Engagement · 33
A question was posted on the “Quick Poll” section of the Library’s home page asking if students knew that we prepared
displays. A part of the question asked if respondents visited special collections. A follow-up poll was posted after we
had prepared an online tutorial.
Amount of publicity, number of people at exhibit opening, word of mouth.
Attendance at gallery talks. Comment box at Luhrs Reading Room.
Comments book mostly anecdotal or informal.
Count of guests attending openings Guest book’s signatures and comments Follow-up inquiries regarding collections
Class visits Interviews for articles to be published in campus journals Requests to view and use documents on exhibit
after the exhibit is taken down.
Count of visitors.
Counting visitors, anecdotal evidence, internal critique.
Counts of traffic and, informally, compilations of visitor comments.
Currently, there is an online survey our Development Office sends to those who have registered to attend the opening
event for an exhibit. Students typically do not register in advance, though. Most are community members and library
supporters, with some faculty. Other plans are currently underway to include more questions about the exhibit itself and
to include a comment card box at the exhibit site to get feedback from the public. Also underway is a place on our Web
site where people may submit comments and suggestions.
Direct feedback from researchers. No systematic surveys done.
Door counts and guest books. Anecdotal feedback. Increase in reference statistics.
Door counts and one-on-one feedback. Requests for class instruction based on exhibits.
Each exhibit has an opening lecture and several have subsequent lectures too. Attendance to lectures is our measure.
For Web-based exhibits we can obtain access statistics.
Each gallery has a guest book and we invite comments on the exhibitions.
Each unit in the Special Collections Division is responsible for documenting the success of their specific exhibitions.
While most units do not actively evaluate all exhibits produced by them, those who do track this information largely
maintain logs of the number of people who visit their exhibitions. All of these evaluations are done on an ad hoc basis.
E-mail response. Articles generated from both campus and off campus newspapers and periodicals. Word of mouth.
Examining collected reviews, both local, national, and international distributing catalogs to area libraries and seeking
feedback.
Exhibit log books, blogs.
Feedback from faculty, staff, and students.
For installed exhibits, we keep a tally of the number of visitors. Similarly, we track page-view stats for our online exhibits
and digital collections.
Gate count.
Guestbook signings can include feedback/comments, various gap analysis surveys indicate positive results for
exhibitions/program relevance.
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