Paul Moffett
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Methodology for Evaluating Library Space
Paul Moffett leads and works alongside the staff who serve at the Service & Information Desk at University Library. Paul works and strives to create the best possible experience for library visitors, to make sure they have easy access to resources, receive reliable information, and have safe and inviting spaces in the library to accomplish whatever it is they need.
In 2017, a mixed-method assessment program was implemented before a major renovation project for IUPUI University Library. A significant portion of space occupied by book stacks was to be converted to informal learning and study spaces for students. Paul and a colleague named Willie Miller, sought to gather student input to determine their preferences for environmental features before renovation began.
Paul Moffett's translation of an assessment program that has since been used by other librarians across the country to similarly transform their library spaces and repurpose existing space for informal learning or other mixed-use purposes is another example of how IUPUI's faculty members are TRANSLATING their RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE.
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Item Qualitative Content Analysis: A Reflection(ACRL, 2020) Moffett, Paul; Weare, William H., Jr.Like many public services librarians, we spend much of our time focused on improving service quality. We think of excellent service quality as meeting or exceeding customer expectations consistently over time. One approach for fostering consistent service delivery for libraries is to implement standards like those found in a service philosophy statement. A service philosophy statement communicates directly to users what they can—and should—expect from library services. We decided to study service philosophy statements in a formal way using qualitative content analysis to learn how one might benefit our own public services units. This chapter addresses key questions we had about our research project: Where do we begin? What method or approach is most appropriate to answer our research question? How will we learn to use this method? This chapter describes the challenges we faced while simultaneously learning and applying the method of qualitative content analysis to our study of service philosophy statements.Item 1. #Bookstagram; 2. Why the Library?(2022-10-21) O'Keefe, Alex; Bortell, Alex; Vine, Liz; Moffett, PaulPRESENTATION 1 ABSTRACT: #Bookstagram: Implementing Collaborative Social Media Training in the Library - Alex O'Keefe and Alex Bortell, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Social media has become an integral component of outreach, providing a distinct voice for the library. Recognizing the importance of student workers’ perspectives and the fact that they are at the forefront of content creation in their own lives, the John M. Flaxman Library piloted a Student Worker Content Creators program. Making institutional Instagram content modernizes students’ professional development and provides skills they can use beyond the library. Through the program, students learn to design appropriate content while collaboratively shaping training implementation. The individualized and independent approach gives students agency to learn through hands-on processes, while their honest feedback improves the quality of the experience. The presenters will discuss developing training through collaborative modifications and the outcomes for one student worker. They will also share advice based on their successes and failures for others who are interested in building a content creators program or generally creating collaborative training processes.Item Exploring Service Philosophy Statements Using Qualitative Content Analysis(ISAST, 2020-12) Moffett, Paul; Weare, William H., Jr.; University LibraryThis paper will describe a study in which we examined service philosophy statements at a diverse group of North American academic libraries. We used qualitative content analysis to examine their form and content to identify common themes, trends, and ideas. Public services librarians spend much of their time wrestling with nebulous topics such as service quality, customer satisfaction, and user experience. Improvements in these areas necessitate strengthening the quality of the service and the culture in which it’s delivered. One approach to establish standards for consistent service delivery is for libraries to implement service philosophy statements. A service philosophy statement also communicates directly with users what they can—and should—expect from the library. Before we could develop and implement a service philosophy statement at our respective libraries, we wanted to understand the specific ways that service philosophy statements communicate service expectations to users. We will describe the series of steps we followed to conduct our research, such as creating the coding frame, segmenting the data, pilot coding, evaluating and modifying the coding frame, analyzing the data, and interpreting the findings. Finally, we will review the challenges we encountered during this process, as well as lessons we learned about qualitative content analysis.Item Defining the Value of Libraries: Trends in Academic Library Assessment(2019-10-14) Miller, Willie; Hoffman, Starr; Lowe, Sara; Huisman, Rhonda; Moffett, PaulJust like other academic areas on campus, academic libraries frequently engage in assessment. In this panel, a group of esteemed leaders of library assessment will discuss ways in which libraries are assessing their impact on higher education. Librarians have a long history of evaluating their collections. Yet in the face of seismic change in the technological and educational landscapes, assessment trends in libraries now extend to robust programs of evaluating student learning, assessing the impact of library services and spaces, and demonstrating how libraries are a vital part of achieving institutional goals. Attendees will gain an understanding of assessing beyond direct academic outcomes, learn how library initiatives may be an opportunity to collaborate on common goals, and how libraries demonstrate their value in a campus-wide context.Item Service Philosophy Statements in Academic Libraries: A Qualitative Content Analysis(Taylor & Francis, 2018) Moffett, Paul; Weare, William H., Jr.Some academic libraries use service philosophy statements to strengthen the quality of their service culture. A service philosophy statement communicates directly to users what they can—and should—expect from the library. This article describes a study in which the authors applied qualitative content analysis to service philosophy statements. The objective was to examine the form and content of these statements and identify themes, trends, and ideas in order to determine how and what they communicate about a library’s commitment to service. The results of the study found that statements in the sample varied significantly in strength and purpose.Item Commuter Campus in Transition: Meeting the Changing Needs of Students through Mixed-Methods Assessment(ALA Editions, 2018-06) Lowe, M. Sara; Miller, Willie; Moffett, PaulIndiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis is an urban research university with approximately 30,000 commuter and residential students. This chapter discusses the space assessment done at University Library, the main campus library, which attempts to analyze and quantify the needs of both types of students. Two studies will be outlined, which started separately, but have since merged, both informing student use of library space. While both contain quantitative and qualitative elements, their methodologies are different. One used SMS (texting) in combination with one-on-one de-briefs to track student movement over the course of an entire day. The other uses in-library assessments to gauge student space use and preference. One limitation of in-library assessments is they only tell you about students who already use the library, not those who do not come to the library. The combination of these studies allows University Library to better plan library space, not only for current users, but also to target students who are not in the library (non-users).Item We See You, We Hear You: Using Mixed-Methods Assessment to Observe Student Activity in Informal Learning Spaces(2017-11-23) Miller, Willie; Moffett, PaulThis presentation describes how a mixed-methods assessment program informed the decision-making process to renovate a significant portion of the IUPUI University Library. The presenters led a team of library staff to ensure that newly renovated library environments would support student learning, address campus needs for more informal learning space, and maximize usability for library visitors. Participants will learn about assessment strategies and evaluation methods for informal learning spaces and libraries. The presenters will also describe how input collected from library users influenced design decisions.Item Evidence-Based Renovation: How Libraries Can Engage User Behavior to Inform Space Planning(2017-10-17) Miller, Willie; Moffett, PaulIUPUI University Library is planning a renovation project to convert space occupied by book stacks into informal study spaces for individuals and groups. We planned an assessment program to gather data from library users that helped provide insight to staff, architect, and designers on how and why they choose to use the library. What we learned from user feedback was used to intelligently decide the number and variety of seating types and work environments, so that we could enhance an atmosphere conducive to scholarship in the library. In our short presentation, we described our implementation of a mixed method approach to data gathering using three different tools: unobtrusive observation, survey, and open question solicitation. We discussed how our variety of methods served to corroborate the data that we gathered from each, why it was important to garner input from library visitors, and how the information influenced our decisions about seating types and locations. We provided an overview of our observational assessment in which we recorded specific, relevant data such as group size, activities, and type of work surface or seating. We will also describe the adaption of a survey instrument, used to gauge student opinions about services, locations, and furniture available for their study habits and needs. Finally, we detailed how we designed open quantitative and qualitative questions, posted on white boards, for library users to self-report their habits and opinions.Item Suma Space Assessment Protocol(2018) Lowe, M. Sara; Miller, Willie; Moffett, PaulThis is the space assessment protocol complementing the space study described in the “Chapter 2: Commuter Campus in Transition: Meeting the Changing Space Needs of Commuter and Residential Students Through Mixed Methods Assessment” by M. Sara Lowe, Willie Miller, and Paul Moffett in the edited book Serving Commuter Undergraduates in Academic Libraries (2018), edited by Maura Smale and Mariana Regalado.Item You Talkin’ to Me? Communicating Service Expectations to Users through Service Philosophy Statements(2017-03-23) Weare, William H., Jr.; Moffett, PaulCould customer service at your library be better? Some academic libraries are using a service philosophy statement to strengthen the quality of their service culture. A service philosophy statement communicates to users what they can—and should—expect from your library. This poster will examine these statements and identify themes, trends, and ideas. Discover how a service philosophy statement can support your public services team as they strive to meet and exceed customer expectations.