In It for the Long Haul: Lessons from a Decade of Assessment

This paper analyzes student evaluations of library orientation and information literacy instruction over a ten-year period, 2002 to 2011. The survey respondents were five hundred students who were taking or had just completed their first course in LEEP, the distance education option of the M.S. program at the University of Illinois. This case study describes the LEEP program and library services for it, focusing on the librarian-led information literacy activities that are integrated into the students' initial ten-day on-campus residency. Student-centered assessment data has informed decisions to modify, replace, or retain components of the information literacy program, as several examples illustrate. This case study re-visits three factors identified in an earlier analysis as influencing both the demand for library services and their successful provision. Finally, this study examines the assessment process itself and shares insights about response rates, multi-year data, small-scale evaluation, and the pros and cons of self-reporting.