*Cross posted to multiple lists*

Core webinar: Finding Focus: Library Assessment Focus Groups

Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2020

All webinars are one hour in length and begin at 11 am Pacific, noon Mountain, 1 pm Central, and 2 pm Eastern time.

Description: More often than not, assessment techniques are learned on the job rather than taught in a MLIS degree program. While some assessment techniques are easier to learn without formal training, focus groups could cause undue stress to both facilitator and participant. Given the time and workload that can go into the preparation and execution of focus groups, it is imperative that the data gathered be valuable, with practical applications for improvement based on the feedback gathered. This webinar will go over all aspects of using focus groups in library assessment including when to use focus groups, best practices, potential roadblocks and how to overcome them, and our own personal experiences (both good and bad) using focus groups for library assessment. Helpful examples, scenarios, and other guiding documents will be provided to all attendees. A well-run focus group can help you gather valuable information from your users, but a poorly-run focus group is likely to misconstrue your assessment efforts.

Learning outcomes: 

Attendees will be able to:

• recognize best practices of focus groups and apply them to their own library assessment efforts.

• conduct successful focus groups using the resources and materials provided in the webinar.

Who should attend?  

This webinar is geared towards anyone who has any assessment-related responsibilities in their job and wants to learn about the best practices for conducting focus groups.

Presenters:

Kristina Clement is the Student Success Librarian at the University of Wyoming. She received her MSIS from the University of Tennessee and was a member of the inaugural IMLS Experience-Assessment cohort where she first developed her love of library assessment. Her research interests include all things library assessment, Universal Design for Learning in information literacy instruction, and outreach to underserved populations.

Manda Sexton is the Assessment and User Experience Librarian for Kennesaw State University. She specializes in strategic tracking, adult learning, and alleviating library anxiety. A strong believer in the power of a good story, Manda regularly creates tools of expressing library assessment and value to its users with multiple audiences in mind. Manda enjoys a good romance novel as well as a good streaming binge and can often be found outside getting lost in the woods.

Lauren Johnson is the User Experience Librarian at Nevada State College. Since coming to NSC in 2019, she’s used UX research to design a new library website, streamline the library’s knowledge management process, and create a campus usability testing service for online learning. On weekends, you can find her roaming one of the many national parks around Las Vegas or adventuring indoors playing tabletop RPGs.

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Registration Fees:  Core Member $43; Non-member $59; Group rate $129 

For additional information and access to registration links, please go to the following website: 

http://www.ala.org/core/finding-focus-library-assessment-focus-groups

Core webinars are recorded and registrants receive a link to the recording shortly following the live event.

For questions about registration, contact ALA Registration by calling 1-800-545-2433 and press 5 or email registration@ala.org

For all other questions or comments related to the webinars, please contact freuland@ala.org

Posted on behalf of the Core Continuing Education Committee.