'Academic Library Impact' Report from ACRL

For many years, I've recommended ACRL’s 2010 report, "Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report," assembled by Dr. Megan Oakleaf. 

Now, at last, there's an updated resource on the topic. ACRL is calling this one an "action-oriented research agenda."

According to the September 25, 2017 press release: 

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) announces the release of “Academic Library Impact: Improving Practice and Essential Areas to Research.” Developed for ACRL by OCLC Research, this valuable resource investigates how libraries can increase student learning and success and effectively communicate their value to higher education stakeholders. 

Now more than ever, academic libraries are being asked to demonstrate value to their institutional stakeholders, funders, and governance boards. Academic Library Impact builds on ACRL’s 2010 "Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report" and the results of the subsequent Assessment in Action program. It demonstrates how libraries are now measuring library contributions to student learning and success, and recommends where more research is needed in areas critical to the higher education sector such as accreditation, student retention, and academic achievement.

You can download the report as a free PDF. (Thank you, ACRL and OCLC!) 

A companion online tool, “Visualizing Academic Library Impact: The ACRL/OCLC Literature Analysis Dashboard” was created to help librarians and researchers "filter the existing literature for studies most relevant to their research interests and visually explore the literature and other data in the form of charts and graphs."

If you want academic libraries to retain their respect and funding, study this wonderful tool and use this tool for all it's worth!