Surveys

LibQUAL+TM 2007.

Developed by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) from the ServQual tool, LibQUAL+ is widely used in Canada.  The survey attempts to measure the difference between the users’ expectations of service and their experience of that service.  For a general introduction see the LibQUAL site http://www.libqual.org/index.cfm and for a review of its use in Canada, see http://library.queensu.ca/webir/canlibqual/carl-libqual.htm

"The Future of Human Resources in Canadian Libraries," 2005. (Famously, the 8Rs study) http://www.ls.ualberta.ca/8rs/reports.html

The 2005 Survey grew out of an initial concern about the supply of librarians to the institutions that hire them, similar to the AUCC concern for the supply of Ph.D.s from which the universities recruit their faculty.  It is broad ranging and touches on the attitudes of new entrants to the profession, competencies seen as essential (from several perspectives) and other qualitative matters as well as more quantitative aspects of recruitment into graduate education.  As part of the work resulted in the creation of a large database of responses,  researchers continue with the results of the survey.  Future publications out of this project can be expected.

CARL Research Statistics. Canadian Association of Research Libraries.Link: http://www.carl-abrc.ca/projects/statistics/statistics-e.html  An annual survey that originated with CARL but has been adopted by the four regional associations: COPPUL, OCUL, CREPUQ and CAUL-CBUA.  The version specific to the CARL libraries is available from CARL. For the version specific to a region, contact the regional consortium office or the Executive.  The survey tool is not publicly available, but historic data is, as is the annual commentary on the data.

Council of Post-Secondary Library Directors (CPSLD) of B.C. Library/Learning Resource Centres Surveys. http://www.cpsld.ca/default.aspx  Includes a range of data similar to that of the CARL survey and defines some terms slightly differently.  The survey instrument is posted to the website.

Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) FTE and statistics data.
Link: http://www.ocul.on.ca/view.php?id=1100 and Link: http://www.ocul.on.ca/view.php?id=1088  The OCUL version of the CARL survey. The tool is not available but the responses of each institution are tabulated and presented.

Council of Ontario Universities. Common University Data Ontario (CUDO). http://www.cou.on.ca/_bin/relatedSites/cudo.cfm. Presents data to the public on an institution by institution basis.  Library data appears to be taken from the OCUL survey and concerns collection size only.

Association of Research Libraries (ARL).  Annual Statistical Survey.  The 123 member institutions include 14 CARL Libraries.  The range of statistics in the annual survey is similar to that of the CARL survey, but there are some definitions vary between the two.  Link: http://www.arl.org/stats/newmeas/index.html 

MINES (Measuring the Impact of Networked Electronic Services)  An ARL-developed tool adopted by OCUL. http://www.arl.org/stats/initiatives/mines/index.shtml

ARL has also developed a number of other survey tools to supplement the annual statistical survey.  http://www.arl.org/stats/initiatives/index.shtml

ACRL Academic Library Statistics.  This is another annual descriptive survey with “over 1100” participating libraries in the latest published edition, roughly 1,000 more participants than in the ARL survey.  As a consequence, the ACRL survey attracts participation from more mid-sized and smaller institutions.  Participation is free. http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/acadlibrarystats/academiclibrary.cfm

Canadian Undergraduate Survey Consortium.
Link: http://edudata.educ.ubc.ca/Data_Pages/12-PSE/Undergrad.htm  The 2000 version of the survey of graduating students contains a single question about the "Ability of Access Information" and a second concerning commitment to lifelong learning.  Otherwise, does not address issues of specific interest to academic librarians.  The Survey tool is posted to the web site. 

National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).
Link: http://nsse.iub.edu/index.cfm (USA)  The survey is designed to measure student involvement (engagement) on campus.  A variety of involvements is covered, including student-student, student-faculty, student-administrative staff and both directly educational and supportive contexts are included.  There is a single question, in the 2008 US survey dealing with use of “computing and information technology” but otherwise it would be difficult to isolate the impact of the library or librarians from the general data. The US version of the survey instrument is posted to the web site.