Library Assessment – Where Now?

Library Assessment formalized itself through an established biennial conference that started in 2006 in Charlottesville, Virginia, and was last offered in 2024 in Portland, Oregon. The event was sponsored by three organizations originally: The University of Virginia, University of Washington, and the Association of Research Libraries reflecting an extended collaboration among Jim Self, Steve Hiller, and Martha Kyrillidou and many colleagues working in libraries as part of evaluation, assessment, and planning roles. In 2026, there will not be a Library Assessment Conference but we are conceptualizing the following events to bring the community together:

  • A webinar on the state of Library Assessment organized by QualityMetrics, LLC, and its Director, Martha Kyrillidou and featuring library leader and researcher, Stephen Town.
  • A webinar where research libraries from the ACRL Assessment Discussion Group are coming together to share their experiences featuring Susanna Cowan from the University of Connecticut, Piper Cumbo from Auburn University, and Anita Hall from the University of Louisville.
  • An in-person informal gathering hosted by the University of Louisville in conjunction with the Core Forum in November 2026.

We invite you to join us for ACRL Assessment Discussion Group and QualityMetrics: Webinar 2 – The State of Library Assessment! When ‘duties as assigned’ means assessment

Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2026 Time: 2-3 p.m. EST

Library assessment encompasses many things (program evaluation, ethnographic research, metrics gathering, ROI work, etc.), and it occurs at all levels of an organization and with different degrees of positional authority. Even librarians with assessment in their titles must work through their own organizational structures to bring about healthy cultures of assessment–that is, cultures in which we lead with questions and follow with data gathering and decision making. Anita Hall (Louisville), Piper Cumbo (Auburn), and Susanna Cowan (UConn) will share their experiences with this work across three distinct academic libraries. Our hope is to encourage assessment practitioners, regardless of their role, and to illustrate that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to this work.

Click here to register for the Zoom link invitation!

We hope to see you there!

Did you miss Webinar 1 – The State of Library Assessment!  Date: Friday, February 20, 2026 Time: 1-2 p.m. EST. A video link is available for you!

In Webinar 1, Martha Kyrillidou reflected on the history of the Library Assessment Conferences and discussed future trends in evidence based decision making, data analytics, and AI implementations in libraries. Stephen Town presented findings on the role of virtue theory in making good libraries, and how good leaders deploy wisdom in decision-making to deliver value while upholding shared values.

Guest Speakers:

Martha Kyrillidou (Director, QualityMetrics LLC)

Stephen Town (Research Fellow, University of York, UK)

ACRL Discussion Group Co-chairs: Anita Hall (Louisville), Piper Cumbo (Auburn), Susanna Cowan (UConn)