Assessment and Evaluation Flashcards

Before planning new services, a library gathers demographic data, surveys residents, and interviews community leaders. What process is this?

Answer: Community needs assessment

A community needs assessment identifies the needs and characteristics of the population a library serves.

A visual planning tool links inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes for a program. What is it called?

Answer: Logic model

A logic model shows how resources and activities are expected to produce outputs and outcomes.

Which measure divides a library's total annual circulation by its legal service area population?

Answer: Circulation per capita

Circulation per capita normalizes usage by population so libraries of different sizes can be compared.

A library calculates that every dollar invested returns four dollars in services to the community. What type of study is this?

Answer: Return on investment (ROI) study

An ROI study estimates the economic value of library services relative to their cost.

Which data source would best show which databases are used most and least?

Answer: Vendor usage statistics such as COUNTER reports

COUNTER-compliant vendor reports provide standardized e-resource usage data like searches and full-text views.

Staff record every reference question for two randomly chosen weeks per year to estimate annual totals. Why is this acceptable?

Answer: A representative sample can be extrapolated to estimate annual totals

Well-chosen sample periods allow reliable estimates without the burden of continuous counting.

What is the main purpose of a pre-test and post-test given to participants in a computer literacy class?

Answer: To measure change in skills resulting from the class

Comparing pre- and post-test results shows learning gains attributable to the instruction.