The SAA-ACRL/RBMS Joint Task Force on the Development of Standardized Statistical Measures for Public Services in Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries is responsible for development of a new standard defining appropriate statistical measures and performance metrics to govern the collection and analysis of statistical data for describing public services provided by archival repositories and special collections libraries.
The Standard will describe and quantify users of special collections and archival materials and services and their usage of the same, including reading room paging/circulation, paging/circulation of materials for other purposes (e.g., class/events, exhibits, reference questions, conservation, processing), reference interactions (in person and via email), reproduction orders (numbers of orders and pages photocopied/digitized), interlibrary loan requests (physical, digital; filled, not filled), and events (e.g., numbers and characteristics of class visits, exhibits [physical and virtual], tours, programs, etc). If feasible, the Standard may also include recommendations for gathering and analyzing statistics about special collections website visitors and their page views and file downloads.
News & Announcements
Progress report submitted on October 18, 2015, for the November 2015 meeting of the SAA Council by the SAA-ACRL/RBMS Joint Task Force on the Development of Standardized Statistical Measures for the Public Services of Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries.
A survey to gather information from archivists and special collections librarians about current practices and priorities for standardized measures for public services is now available at goo.gl/dqWR0f.
SAA and ACRL’s Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) have formed three joint task forces to develop guidelines in the areas of holdings counts, public services metrics, and primary source literacy. Bring your feedback and questions for the groups on Thursday, August 20, 2015. Brief introductions will be provided by each task force.
As archivists and special collections librarians, we are becoming increasingly mindful of the need to gather, analyze, and share evidence concerning the effectiveness of the operations we manage and the impact of the services we provide. Yet the absence of commonly accepted statistical measures greatly impedes our ability to conduct meaningful assessment initiatives and the evaluation and establishment of best practices. Within this context SAA and RBMS have appointed two joint task forces charged with developing standards define statistical measures for describing the collecting and sharing of common metrics in two areas: holdings and public services.
