Outreach is a facet of many of our jobs. Over time, library job descriptions have been adjusted to include outreach, whether this includes targeting departments, student populations, or the surrounding community. Libraries have attempted to connect with their users through a variety of activities and strategies. However, how do we ensure our outreach activities are impactful? Assessment has also become more important over time, since many library budgets have shrunk and we are often asked to do more with less. It is imperative that we can justify the amount of time, energy, and money required for outreach activities. Determining in advance what impact we want to make dictates what types of events we hold. Further, better assessment leads to a better understanding of the impact of our activities. Much of the library literature shares strategies for reaching out to campus communities; however, there is a lack of discussion around goal-oriented activities and if these activities reached their goals through assessment.

In this session, learn how to write SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound) outreach goals that are tied to your institutional mission and how to apply various assessment techniques that will evaluate if your goals are being met. Assessment techniques will address various factors, including amount of time and/or funding required, amount of staffing involved, and type of data produced (qualitative or quantitative). Attendees will also learn about the limitations of each assessment method. Participants will be asked to share their previous experience with goal-writing and assessment of outreach and will work through case studies that illustrate a particular scenario with concrete goals and ways to accurately assess the identified outreach activity. Attendees will be provided materials to bring back to their institution to apply what they learned using a previous or upcoming local outreach event.

About the Presenters:
Kristen Mastel is an outreach and instruction librarian at the University of Minnesota. She received her Masters of Library Science from Indiana University, and her undergraduate Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota- Morris. Her research areas of interest include instruction, information literacy, outreach and instructional design. Kristen is a Past President of the Minnesota Library Association. She also is President-Elect of the United States Agricultural Information Network.

Shannon Farrell is the Natural Resources Librarian at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. She holds an MS in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MS in Environmental Studies from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. She previously worked at Colorado State University as the Agricultural and Biological Sciences Librarian. Prior to earning her MLIS, she spent over ten years working on scientific research projects related to sustainable agriculture, genetically modified organisms, animal behavior, wildlife conservation, and invasive species. Her research interests span numerous areas, including outreach assessment, video games and gaming technology, and salaries and status of library workers