Can the Library Contribute Value to the Campus Culture for Learning? Jon R. Hufford ⁎ Texas Tech University, Research, Instruction, and Outreach Dept., TTU Libraries, MS 40002, 1602 Boston Ave., Lubbock, TX 794090002, USA abstract article info Article history: Received 4 December 2012 Accepted 5 March 2013 Available online 9 April 2013 Keywords: Campus culture for learning Academic and research libraries Assessment Student learning What value can academic and research libraries contribute to the campus culture for learning? How can these value contributions be measured? This paper offers the campus culture for learning as a new frame of reference for measuring the library's contribution to learning. It examines various means of assessing the role a library plays in a campus learning culture. It identifies related outcome assessment goals, and the means of measuring performance are suggested. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. INTRODUCTION In a paper presented at the Library Assessment Conference held in Baltimore in October 2010, Stephen Town (2011) suggested that proof of a library's value to its stakeholders should be measured by the “higher order” benefits it provided and that assessments using current performance frames of reference, though useful, were not enough. He called for a new kind of performance assessment that measures “transcendent” contributions to organizational and social values. According to Town, the “aims of the academy and scholarship are transcendent, relying on a shared belief that there is an impact through higher education on individuals and society.” In short, the value he associated with an education supported “human flourishing.” Yet, it is impossible to acquire an education without learning. Indeed, one can assert without much difficulty that learning is the foundation of an education and also that learning can be understood as the transcendent goal of an education that surpasses (or should surpass) all other goals in importance. In recent years, assessment in United States higher education has become very important. Virtually all colleges and universities are now striving to prove through empirical evidence that they are committed to improving student learning. As a part of this trend, academic and re- search libraries have been emphasizing quality assessment of services to their clientele and in particular student learning-outcomes assess- ment. This is reflected in the considerable number of articles, books, and conference papers about LibQUAL+™, the findings derived from application of the LibQUAL+™ survey at various institutions, and the use of a variety of instruments and methods to assess student learning outcomes in information literacy classes and one-shot sessions. Though these kinds of assessments are considered important by many higher education faculty and librarians and their use is wide- spread, the topic of measuring a campus culture for learning comprehen- sively has not been extensively written about in the professional literature and has been largely neglected at conferences (see Fig. 1 for major components of a campus culture for learning). A campus culture can be made to encourage and support learning, and it can be altered so as to be more supportive of learning if need be. Successful student learning is significantly dependent on individual motivation, expecta- tions, capacities, and readiness. These factors are often independent of teaching, and therefore are usually not measured by typical assessment tools. Yet, they can be shaped to a great extent by the campus culture. When students engage in this kind of culture, they can begin learning at a higher level. It is possible to collect evidence to assess how and to what extent a particular institution's campus culture influences learning. This kind of assessment should take into account such things as student, faculty, and administrator behavior and attitudes and the performance out- comes of a wide range of student populations over periods of time. The results of such assessments could enable meaningful comparisons both in and outside of the institution. Academic and research libraries are distinctively academic services that contribute to higher education's goals and values, whether short-term, long-term, or transcendent. What value can academic and research libraries contribute to the campus culture for learning? Can these value contributions be measured? If so, how can they be measured? This article proposes a strategy or plan for determining to what extent an academic or research library contributes to the institution's campus culture for learning (see Fig. 2). The Journal of Academic Librarianship 39 (2013) 288–296 ⁎ Tel.: +1 806 843 4198. E-mail address: Jon.hufford@ttu.edu. 0099-1333/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2013.03.002 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect The Journal of Academic Librarianship