Building the Assessment Librarian Guildhall: Criteria and Skills for Quality Assessment

Abstract

Keeping up on the “latest and greatest” in library assessment isn't easy. Basic strategies for being in-the-know include scanning the professional literature or attending conferences. Professional journals like the Journal of Academic Librarianship, College & Research Libraries, and portal: Libraries and the Academy are great venues for library assessment publications, and the Library Assessment Conference (LAC) is arguably the best professional meeting for learning about current assessment projects taking place in academic libraries nationwide. A few months ago, as an attendee at my fourth LAC, I was excited to note the increase in attendance at this conference, both in the variety of librarian roles represented and in the total number of participants. This growth indicates that a community of “assessment librarians” (or librarians who engage in assessment) is fast developing in academic libraries.