Assessment and Evaluation Flashcards

A library divides annual circulation of a collection by the number of items it holds. What measure is being calculated?

Answer: Turnover rate

Turnover rate equals circulation divided by holdings and shows how actively a collection is used.

Which measure tells a library the percentage of patron requests for specific titles that were satisfied?

Answer: Fill rate

Fill rate measures the share of requested items or information that patrons actually obtained.

Counting the number of staff hours and the size of the materials budget are examples of which type of measure?

Answer: Input measures

Input measures count the resources a library puts into its services, such as money, staff, and materials.

A survey asks teens whether they feel more confident using databases after a workshop. What kind of data is being gathered?

Answer: Outcome data

Outcome data captures changes in a participant's knowledge, skills, attitudes, or behavior.

Which federal agency collects the annual Public Libraries Survey used for benchmarking U.S. public libraries?

Answer: Institute of Museum and Library Services

IMLS administers the Public Libraries Survey that gathers statistics from public libraries nationwide.

Library staff count the people in the building at set times each day for one sample week each quarter. What technique is this?

Answer: Sampling

Sampling collects data from a representative subset of times rather than counting continuously.

Which tool is most appropriate for exploring in depth why community members do not use the library?

Answer: Focus group

Focus groups gather rich qualitative insight into attitudes and reasons behind behavior.