Translating Standards into actions: a case study on implementation and training

Translating Standards into actions: a case study on implementation and training

While individual libraries and library practitioners must take responsibility for implementing standards locally, library workers may not have a fully developed understanding of what standards are, how to operationalize them, or how to integrate them with other organizational practices. The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) is the source that the higher education community in the United States looks to for standards and guidelines on academic and research librarianship. ACRL promulgates standards and guidelines to help libraries, academic institutions, and accrediting agencies understand the components of an excellent library. Members of ACRL report they need training and assistance with using the standards in their institutions to make the most effective use of the resources that ACRL is providing. In 2011 ACRL released Standards for Libraries in Higher Education. These standards were not simply a revision of the previous version of the standards. They embodied a very different approach, one that emphasized the impact of the library on student learning, faculty research, and institutional quality, not just efficient and effective operations internally. ACRL recognized that releasing the Standards was just a first step in helping the community understand and use the Standards. As the Standards were being developed ACRL also was developing a multi-modal training curriculum to ensure that librarians could successfully use the Standards in their new format. This paper presents a case study of the resulting curriculum, pedagogical framework, and multi-modal delivery as well as assessment of the training based on participant feedback and examination of participant action plans for implementing the Standards. Because the training implemented in 2012 proved so popular, ACRL