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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to suggest move beyond examining the impact of the library from the library's perspective but rather to collaborate with university‐wide assessment efforts to determine the impact of the library from the student's perspective, the instructor's perspective, or the researcher's perspective.Design/methodology/approachA limited number of studies have been conducted in an attempt to determine the impact of the use of the library's physical or electronic resources, reference services, and the library as place. Considerably more studies have been prepared that have examined library instruction programs and information literacy programs although the results paint a very mixed picture. A majority of the evaluation efforts for information literacy programs have used opinion surveys, skills testing, and observed actual behavior using rubrics and other methods. A consistent criticism of such studies has been the small sample size and the lack of replication of such studies. Clearly an approach that collaborates with the university's assessment efforts and allows the library to determine the correlation levels between use of a library collection or service and a desired university outcome will be welcome by all academic libraries.FindingsThe suggested approach is to combine library usage data with university data. In the best of worlds the library data would be combined with both indirect measures of learning (such as student persistence, graduation rates) as well as direct measures of student learning such as the Collegiate Learning Assessment, Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency, and the Measure of Academic Proficiency and Progress. If university libraries were to embark on a coordinated program of data analysis then the results would have greater credibility and impact within the university.Practical implicationsThe paper provides a set of recommendations for combining library data (where the identification of each user is preserved) with institutional performance and demographic data for each user (after which the unique identification information can be eliminated so as to preserve the privacy and confidentiality rights of the user). The resulting large data set can be then used to explore possible relationships between use of library services and important outcomes – student success, student retention, graduation rates, and so forth that is necessary in order to demonstrate the value of the academic library.Social implicationsOnce libraries have a better understanding of the impacts of specific library services in the lives of their students, faculty and researchers, libraries can enhance services that produce positive results and drop services that have marginal or no value. The end result will be that academic libraries will better serve the needs of their customers.Originality/valueThis paper offers a new broad perspective that will encourage libraries to undertake a collaborative effort with others on campus in order to better assess the impact of the academic library.

We are witnessing global disruption at an unprecedented scale. COVID-19 has had a significant impact in the lives of individuals and families as the number of cases and deaths continues to rise around the world. Clearly there is no quick fix for this pandemic, which will continue to plague the world's population while scientists race to develop, test, and manufacture an effective vaccine. As our communities have been shut down the vast majority of public libraries around the world have closed. The shuttering of a public library has significant implications for any community, most of which are not understood by public decision makers. Public libraries are, in fact, one of the last free spaces where vulnerable populations can seek out computer and Internet access, daytime shelter from the streets, and de facto childcare centers among a host of other services libraries provide. People in a public library share everything from books, magazines, computers, furniture and rest rooms in an enclosed space, which may make maintaining social distancing difficult when libraries reopen .

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of adding value and in particular to suggest ways in which libraries can add even more value than they do so now. Design/methodology/approach -With this primarily a literature review combined with some examples of ways in which some libraries are adding value in new and interesting ways. This paper seeks to extend the work of Robert Taylor who developed a Value-Added Model. Findings -Libraries must find new ways to add value to their collections and services as competitors continue to introduce convenient services that are drawing people away from libraries. The ways in which a library might add new value have been grouped into five broad categories: community, content, context, collaboration, or co-creation and connection. Each category is discussed in some detail and examples are provided to illustrate possibilities. Originality/value -Exploring ways in which libraries can add value in the life of their customers must become a topic of conversation for librarians everywhere. The mandate to change is ever present and libraries need to introduce new and innovative services that add real value.

A range of issues are identified and the approaches and methodologies that have proven useful in addressing the questions of "the value of information," "valuing information services," and "valuing a library" are explored. It is suggested that the use of outcomes-based approaches resonate better with external stakeholders than the traditional use of input and output measures. Libraries are encouraged to demonstrate institutional value through the use of outcomes of institutional relevance.