Biblio-Tech Leonard Lief Library Newsletter http://www.lehman.edu/library Spring 2014 Inside This Issue Painting by Numbers, or Better Living Through Data Painting by Numbers, or Better Living Through Data 1 Quantitative Reasoning (QR) is the application of mathematical thought and knowledge to authentic, everyday Quantitative Reasoning and 2 issues; sometimes called quantitative literacy, QR is Information Literacy demonstrated by the inclination and ability to make reasoned Assessing the Library in a Time decisions using fundamental mathematics. Quantitative of Change reasoning skills are widely recognized as critical to academic success across the curriculum, as well as to broader goals related New Learning Modules to 3 Help Students Find Business to personal and career development, and informed citizenry. Information – CUNY website Kenneth Schlesinger Adding Up the Numbers on While emerging as a national phenomenon, quantitative reasoning is currently a Reference major initiative at City University of New York. Sometimes referred to as numeracy, 4 CUNY faculty – including library faculty – is committed to instilling in our students Roving Reference: The Numbers Are In! an understanding and appreciation of the application and beauty of numbers as an effective means of navigating the complex universe that confronts us. And it’s not It Takes a Village to Offer 24-7 Chat at CUNY simply a comprehension of mathematics, but also related components of statistics, 5 data analysis, and graphing. Admittedly – given the strong humanities orientation New Electronic Resource: [and attendant biases] of librarians – this equally presents a challenge and learning Statista curve for ourselves. Geospatial Literacy 6 For better or worse, today’s academic libraries are data-driven. We are required to Geospatial Literacy (cont.) submit a considerable amount of statistical data to library professional associations. While its tracking and collection can prove time-consuming, we refer to it Burkina Faso Portraits 7 repeatedly throughout the year to complete reports, make informed service Displayed in Library Gallery decisions, prepare budgetary justifications for administration, ultimately helping to serve users more effectively. Understanding Math Through Historical Primary Sources 8 The range of data collected would astonish those outside the library: door counts Farewell, Angelica! (number of daily visitors); circulation, reserve, and interlibrary loan transactions; reference and technology-related queries; book, e-book, and e-journal acquisitions; website visits; user counts of online databases. In fact, in a recent Student Government Data on Drug Technology Fee meeting, committee members were actually surprised our recom- Abuse 9 mended electronic databases were based on user metrics. Using Research to Improve the Library’s Website In this numerical issue of Biblio-Tech, library faculty presents and analyzes statistics 10 in such emerging services as virtual chat and Roving Reference. Since we’re New Health and Human Services Resources committed to student success, we share new online tutorials developed to support students to access and comprehend complex company information resources. Faculty Professional Activities Further, library faculty is employing Web Usability practices to empower patrons to 11 share how they navigate our ostensibly user-friendly website. Ultimately, our users Auf Wiedersehen, Havelka! demonstrate what the Library does best, where we fail, and how we can always do things better. Biblio-Tech Staff 12 Kenneth Schlesinger Hours Chief Librarian Quantitative Reasoning and Information Literacy Students entering the workforce will be asked to gather or cre- with a student about what a particular chart really means, and ate data no matter what their field: business students will need my understanding of what can or cannot accurately be said to complete market analyses; teacher candidates will be re- about it in a paper. And I have pulled out citation style guides quired to execute responsible assessments of student perfor- and struggled alongside many students who needed to cite a mance; arts and non-profit workers will be asked to justify the dataset, a graph, or a page full of demographic information. costs of their endeavors with quantitative studies that prove their efficacy; and so on. Even students never called on to per- In our freshman Instruction program, we have consistently em- form a calculation will likely find themselves greatly affected by phasized the importance of critical thinking, often challenging the computations of other people, who will use quantitative students to consider criteria such as accuracy and reliability studies to change practices and workflow, redirect organiza- before selecting a source of information. These factors are just tional efforts, and of course reallocate budgets. as applicable to the evaluation of a quantitative source as any other. And quantitative reasoning is no less crucial for civic engage- ment. One need only visit the homepage of a newspaper to see In upper level classes in Education, Sociology, Science, and how frequently statistics and calculations of various kinds are Health and Human Services, we often teach students to retrieve used to justify public policy. From demographic information to statistics from websites and databases, and we discuss the best budget analyses to performance assessments of government ways to find data relevant to a particular research topic. Just agencies, numbers of all kinds are used to defend or demolish this semester, I watched my colleague Robin Wright work with political arguments. And, as is often noted, these numbers and an upper level public health student who needed statistics that calculations can be incorrect or misleading, and commentary would help her determine if her paper topic was viable; within surrounding them is often lacking appropriate depth and nu- minutes, Robin had shown her how to find exactly the kind of ance. demographic data needed and had discussed the implications of this information for the next steps in her research. So, while many librarians may be reluctant to propose that they can teach quantitative reasoning skills – this is not, after all, our To me, the most important goal of information literacy is to area of expertise – we can contribute to this aspect of our stu- create sharp thinkers – individuals who ask good questions dents’ education by teaching information literacy skills related about the world, and know how to seek meaningful information to quantitative literacy. related to those questions. As quantitative information takes on greater importance, the need to ask incisive questions about it Here at Lehman, library faculty has begun to analyze our infor- will increase as well. It is here that information literacy and mation literacy efforts for areas of crossover with quantitative quantitative reasoning find their common ground – and a com- reasoning. At the Reference Desk, we routinely help students mon goal. find reliable data and point out details often overlooked by novice researchers, such as where data come from, who spon- Jennifer Poggiali sored or produced the research, and the age and scope of the information presented. I have had more than one conversation Esther Wilder (Sociology) and library faculty Robert Farrell, Madeline Cohen, Alison Lehner-Quam, and Robin Wright presented quantitative reasoning concepts and resources at Painting by Numbers: Quantitative Reasoning in the Library on April 9th. 2 Assessing the Library in a Time of Change Breathtaking advances in technology have (2) Evidence supports assessment find- What initiatives have we launched to exponentially increased user access to ings; (3) Assessment results are used for reduce those barriers and how success- information. Nevertheless, libraries re- planning, budgeting, and service improve- ful have they been? main hubs from which students can find ments; and, (4) Assessment processes are and share information to nurture their reviewed and revised on a regular basis. Are my library’s specialized services academic, intellectual, and personal consistent with constituent needs? development. That central position is a Given the college library’s role as an infor- starting point for any academic library’s mation hub, library assessment must To address those questions, a library mission. Effective assessment needs to extend beyond student learning out- needs reliable data and a strategic consider a library’s mission, along with its comes. Libraries need to examine how approach for focusing its data collection. strategic goals, services, and accreditation they serve all their major constituencies. Data can be gathered from Web tracking context. The following research questions provide (useful for analyzing user information some guidance for librarians who would needs and the pathways users take to In terms of accreditation context, the like to develop assessment plans: obtain that information), circulation Middle States Commission on Higher reports, Interlibrary Loan data, user Education (MSCHE) has proposed new Does my library’s mission and strategic surveys, librarian service logs, among standards to replace existing ones. goals support the institution’s mission other sources. Statistical analysis can help Proposed Standards 3 (Student Learning and strategic goals? leverage the value that lies in useful data. Opportunities) and 5 (Educational Effec- tiveness Assessment) are particularly rele- What are the information