Today, I read a column by Meredith Farkas called Asking the Right Questions: Meaningful assessment for learning.  It really does represent what my library does.  But I know that we (as an academic division) are trying to improve our data collection.  LibAnalytics is a product that we are trying to purchase.  The hold-up is the technology requirements and getting that all worked out.  However that works out, I don't think this product will really give us the kind of data that we need.  We don't want to collect data that may tell us that what we are doing is broken especially if we don't believe it is and we have data to prove this.

I continue to refine questions.  I have quite a few but only think 3 are in shape to share with my "advisory team".

What a week!  I had a few difficult classes that have led me to question the entire content of my "class".  I'm also finding it difficult to reconcile all the different surveys I'm reading with how thing operate here.  Several of them include disclaimers or statements to the fact that the survey is sanctioned by the college.  I really believe in the need for my library to know how faculty see us but convincing others--there in lies the rub.  The invite for guidance and advice with this project is still in my draft folder because I'm concerned that others don't share my feelings on the subject.  We, as a library, create Black Board modules, handouts, and LibGuides all designed to help faculty.  But I don't think we ever asked faculty what they want.  And if we did ask faculty, it was only selected faculty from one program and only in conversation with one librarian.  But I can't really speak to it because what if the responses we get from my assessment (knock wood!) are from those selected faculty?  Would we be any better off?  Or we could get responses that reveal our modules and guides to be a complete waste of time because faculty really want videos or some other type of product.  Who's ego will be bruised or validated?