Who uses the library and why?
The BU Libraries Assessment Committee is tasked with coordinating assessment activities across all BU libraries. The Committee conducts both qualitative and quantitative research to understand faculty and student scholarly needs and to support data-driven decision making in the libraries.
Between 2010 and 2014, the Committee produced three separate surveys of BU faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Reports on the results may be found on the Assessment Committee’s website.
From March 2014 through February 2015 the Committee conducted another survey, meant to gauge the use of the library’s online collection, using a survey instrument called MINES. For the first time, this survey allowed the library to see who was using its online collection, and why it was being used. See the image below for some highlighted results of the latest survey, and please see the full report on MINES for more context.
