Between imagination and expected impact: libraries in the evaluation of Universities

Abstract

As librarians, we usually deal with surveys evaluating libraries. What happens if we instead analyze the surveys evaluating universities, where libraries appear only as extras? Considering this kind of assessment can be extremely helpful for us to understand the image of academic libraries and the impact that evaluators and decision makers expect they shall make.

This article analyzes several surveys assessing Italian universities in which libraries appear as extras. Some surveys developed by Anvur (the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes) will be analysed to understand whether and how libraries are taken into consideration while assessing research, teaching and distance learning, students’ opinions and the universities’ third mission.

The results of this analysis demonstrate the need to update the image associated with academic libraries, to rethink their communication strategies towards decision makers and to change their narrative and self-representation.