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Re: Program evaluations



In our university setting, the various academic programs do under
go a cyclical program review, comparing them with other universities,
benchmarks, etc.   I have always retained them because they do
tell the history of a program.   The University Library is occasionally
program reviewed as part of accreditation, but it rarely comes down
to the department level like Special Collections.

In 1981, the Society of American Archivists attempted the idea of
accreditation of individual repositories and did a test program.  My
repository at the time -- Sangamon State University, now University
of Illinois, Springfield -- volunteered and was included.   The final
report attempted to answer (1) did we have legal authority over the
records?  (2) were we sufficiently staffed?   (3) did we adhere to
archival standards for access, processing, etc.?   And similar
benchmarks.   The difficulty was that there really no benchmarks.
To be honest, the report said one thing that really troubled me at
the time ... it said it was "Dean DeBolt's Archives" and not the
University Archives.    Well, that was true!   It was a one-person
operation with student help and I spent a great deal of time simply
making departments, staff, etc. aware of the archives and its pur-
pose.  So in interviews, they heard my name over and over ...
In retrospect I don't think that was bad, but simply the reality of
small operations.   They become synonymous with the person
running it.   That is less so, if you have a larger staffed operation.

Five years ago, upon remodelling of this present library that I'm
in, the Provost announced it was time for an operational audit of
the Library.   That review consisted of whether the library was meeting
the needs of the students, staff, and faculty.   Of course, all the
students said the library wasn't open enough hours.   The faculty
said we weren't buying everything they needed.   And our answers
to both of these was where are the dollars for staff and books?

I've gotten too chatty in this reply.  I keep re-reading your "program"
statement and wondering if it is really a "Mission Statement" rather
than a program review.  A program review usually is a study to see
what you're doing, what you're not doing, what you are doing well,
what you're not doing well, and whether these areas should be
re-prioritized.

Dean

Dean DeBolt
University Librarian
Special Collections and West Florida Archives
John C. Pace Library
University of West Florida
11000 University Parkway
Pensacola, FL  32514-5750
Tele:  850-474-2213;   Fax:  850-474-3338

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