Assessment of Measures and Metrics for Public Services

In 2021, RAO Leadership was informed that the AMMPS subcommittee had not been approved by the SAA Council in 2017 and that the charge and resposibilities belonged under the purview of the Standards Committee. AMMPS paused work at this time and awaits further instructions on how to proceed.

2021 SAA-RAO AMMPS Webinar Series

Tuesday, June 29, 2021
2pm – 3pm EST
Registration required, limited participants
Two 20-minute presentations followed by Q&A

Felicity Knox
Towson University
“Streamlining Researcher Registration”
The 2018 Standardized Measures and Metrics inspired Towson University’s Special Collections and University Archives to reevaluate how we were gathering information about our researchers. We updated the form we had been using to gather more information in a more efficient way. I will discuss those changes, and some of the challenges this data has presented for library assessment.

Alison Reynolds
Georgia Institute of Technology
“Technology, Tools, and Time: Implementing the SAA/ACRL-RBMS Standardized Measures and Metrics for Public Services in Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries at Georgia Tech”
The Georgia Tech Archives and Special Collections started implementing the SAA/ACRL-RBMS Standardized Measures and Metrics for Public Services in Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries in 2019. Implementation occurred slowly in stages determined by institutional priorities, staff buy-in and training, departmental restructuring, and changes in library-owned technology and tools available for data collection. The statistics and metrics gathered through the use of these guidelines has helped us make data-driven decisions, increased the visibility of archival work within the library, and helped show our department’s impact to library and institute administration. This presentation will discuss the stages of implementation, various tools used to collect and manage data, including Aeon, Jira, Confluence, and Excel spreadsheets, and next steps as we move towards an increasingly digital environment.

Call for Proposals: 2021 Webinar Series

The SAA-RAO Assessment of Measures and Metrics for Public Services (AMMPS) Sub-Committee is seeking proposals for a webinar series to be held May through August 2021 on any aspect of implementing or utilizing the 2018 Standardized Measures and Metrics for Public Services in Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries.

Each webinar will be one hour in length and include between one and three presenters. We are aiming to hold each webinar between 12 pm ET/9 am PT and 3 pm ET/Noon PT.

We welcome proposals from anyone who is working with the Standardized Measures and Metrics for Public Services. Please complete the form at the link below to submit your proposal.

Deadline for July and August webinar dates: Friday, July 2, 2021

Webinar CFP Submission Form

For questions or additional information, please contact a member of AMMPS.

2020-2021 Sub-Committee

Current chair(s)
Jay-Marie Bravent, University of Kentucky, 2017-2021, jmbravent@uky.edu

Current Volunteers
Jeanie Fisher, Seattle Municipal Archives
Melanie Griffin, University of Arkansas, melanieg@uark.edu
Amanda Hawk, Louisiana State University, ahawk1@lsu.edu
Tyson Koenig, Southeast Missouri State University
Susan McElrath, University of California-Berkeley, smcelrath@berkeley.edu

Past co-chair(s)
Amanda Pellerin, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2017-2019

Resources

Official Document
STANDARDIZED STATISTICAL MEASURES AND METRICS FOR PUBLIC SERVICES IN ARCHIVAL REPOSITORIES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARIES (PDF)

Quick Guides to the Standards
Visual Guide (pdf)
Text Guide (Word doc)
Handy List of All Measures and Metrics (Word doc)
Handy List of All Measures and Metrics Plain Text (txt file)

Measures and Metrics for Public Services Tools Survey
This survey closed on March 12, 2021.
editable Word document
editable Excel document
full survey pdf document
Results will be published later in 2021.

Presentations and Articles
Griffin, Melanie (2020) "A Methodology for Implementing the Standardized Statistical Measures and Metrics for Public Services in Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries," Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies: Vol. 7, Article 14.

2020. "Setting a New Standard: Practical Applications and Uses of Standarized Statistical Measures," SAA Annual Meeting On-Demand Virtual Presentation

2019. "Do Your Metrics Measure up? Assessment and Implementing the New Standards for Public Services Statistics," RBMS Annual Conference Presentation
Recording: https://alair.ala.org/handle/11213/13233

Hawk, Amanda K. (2018) "Implementing Standardized Statistical Measures and Metrics for Public Services in Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries," Proceedings of the 2018 Library Assessment Conference, p836-843.

Special issue of the RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage, Assessment in Special Collections and Archives, Vol 13, No 2 (2012).

Task Force Website
SAA-ACRL/RBMS Joint Task Force on the Development of Standardized Statistical Measures for Public Services

Goals and Objectives

2020-2021 Goals and Objectives

1. Publish the first "Quick Guide" -- a visual summary of the STANDARDIZED STATISTICAL MEASURES AND METRICS FOR PUBLIC SERVICES.
2. Begin development of additional Quick Guides.
3. Conduct Tools Survey.
4. Continue organization of assessment training webinar series rescheduled for 2021.
5. Stay in contact with the CORDA and assist in efforts to establish a national repository and planning on collecting public services data.
6. Provide update at SAA RAO Section meetings.

2019-2020 Goals and Objectives

1. Finalize new Committee name and revised charge.
2. Finalize draft of first "Quick Guide" begun in 2018, to summarize the STANDARDIZED STATISTICAL MEASURES AND METRICS FOR PUBLIC SERVICES.
3. Begin organization of assessment training webinar series for 2020.
4. Continue work on Tools Survey proposed in 2018/2019.
5. Stay in contact with the CORDA and assist in efforts to establish a national repository.
6. Provide update at SAA RAO Section meeting and metrics session in Chicago; participate in sessions at RBMS in Bloomington, IN.

2018-2019 Goals and Objectives

1. Rename Committee and refine its charge in light of the creation of the Committee on Research, Data, and Assessment (CORDA) in the fall of 2018, a new standing committee which reports directly to the SAA Council.
2. Stay in close contact with the CORDA and assist in its efforts to establish a national repository and provide training on the implementation of data gathering.
3. Plan to establish new volunteer teams, projects, and initiatives in consideration of coordination and collaborative efforts with the CORDA.
4. Develop a draft of a "Quick Guide" to summarize the STANDARDIZED STATISTICAL MEASURES AND METRICS FOR PUBLIC SERVICES.
5. Provide update at SAA RAO Section meeting in Austin, TX; participate in metrics implementation seminar at RBMS in Baltimore, MD.

History and Organization

Leadership and Organization

Up to two co-chairs, appointed by RAO chair.  Volunteers solicited primarily, but not exclusively, from RAO membership; may be organized into teams focused on specific projects or intiatives.

Role of the Committee

This committee will serve in an advisory role and collaborate with related committees both inside and outside SAA. The committee’s products are intended to benefit the archives profession and users of archival repositories.

Charge (originally established November 2017, revised June 2020)

The RAO Assessment of Measures and Metrics for Public Services (AMPS) Committee explores and promotes the measures and metrics which archives and special collections programs and institutions can use to assess public services functions, along with associated resources necessary for implementing an assessment program.

The committee will:

• Promote implementation of the STANDARDIZED STATISTICAL MEASURES AND METRICS FOR PUBLIC SERVICES.
• Advocate for and develop continuing education opportunities related to assessment.
• Gather, create, and share resources useful for gathering data and implementing assessment programs including, but not limited to: conducting surveys, case studies on implementing assessment programs and using specific tools, an annotated bibliography, example survey instruments, reports, and impact stories.
• Provide an annual report to RAO and all interested parties.
• Collaborate with groups from SAA, ACRL-RBMS, and other organizations working on similar issues or wishing to use data and assessment of public services in their work.

Send comments on this website to 2023-2024 RAO Past Chair/Webmaster, Jay-Marie Bravent.