Assessment and Advocacy:: Using Project Outcome for Academic Libraries

Project Outcome for Academic Libraries, acrl.projectoutcome.org, is a free toolkit from the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) designed to help academic libraries understand and share the impact of essential library programs and services. The toolkit provides simple surveys and an easy-to-use process for measuring and analyzing outcomes. The standardized surveys allow libraries to aggregate their outcome data, compare against similar institutions, and analyze trends over time by service topic and program type.

In celebration of Project Outcome's fifth anniversary, Assessment and Advocacy: Using Project Outcome for Academic Libraries collects case studies demonstrating how a variety of libraries have used Project Outcome to make improvements in their practice and highlighting the value the toolkit has brought to institutions and the academic library profession. Chapters capture ways to use Project Outcome to make small changes, like the optimal arrangement of a library's study room furniture, to using Project Outcome data in conversation with datasets from other sources to provide greater insights into the contributions of academic libraries to student learning and success, as well as evidence that can be used in advocating for institutional, state, and federal funding.

Academic librarians know that their work makes a difference. You set students on the road to success and researchers on the road to results, providing valuable skills and access to knowledge that help our colleges and universities thrive. The challenge for libraries can be capturing meaningful data to support that story. Since 2019, the Project Outcome for Academic Libraries toolkit has helped library workers measure learning outcomes to drive change, make data-informed decisions, and demonstrate the impact and value of academic libraries. Learn how to use this data in your library, institution, and the profession with Assessment and Advocacy, all proceeds of which go to keeping Project Outcome free.