Nevada State College analyzed EZProxy logs to connect student use of electronic resources to academic success. They found moderate correlations between library use and one-term retention, academic standing, semester GPA, and grades on a research assignment. Future work includes understanding the reasons for these relationships and ongoing assessment through strategic campus partnerships. Limitations include not determining the cause of relationships and using an imperfect measure of library use.
1. A PROXY FOR SUCCESS
Analyzing EZProxy Logs to Connect Resource Use to Student Success
April 4, 2016
Electronic Resources and Libraries (ER&L) Conference
2. Tiffany LeMaistre
Nevada State College
Marydean Martin Library
Electronic Resources & Discovery
Librarian
Tiffany.LeMaistre@nsc.edu
5. Diverse Student Population
“By placing a special emphasis on the advancement of a
diverse and largely under-served student population, NSC is
uniquely positioned to improve our state’s economic and civic
prosperity by bringing educational opportunities to those who
historically have been unable to pursue a baccalaureate
degree.The commitment of the entire campus community to
fulfilling this promise and becoming a national model for
closing equity gaps in student performance is a cornerstone
of the 2015-2020 academic strategic plan.”
-Nevada State College, 2015-2020 Academic Strategic Plan
[EmphasisAdded]
17. ManagingThe Risk
Security Strategies
Encryption
Anonymization
Aggregation
Transparency
Training
NISO Privacy Principles
Shared Privacy
Responsibilities
Transparency and
Facilitating Privacy
Awareness
Security
Data Collection and Use Anonymization
Options and Informed
Consent
Sharing Data with Others
Notification of Privacy
Policies and Practices
Supporting Anonymous
Use
Access to One’s Own User
Data
Continuous Improvement Accountability
19. Library Use and OneTerm Retention
One-Term Retention
No Yes Total
Library
Use
No Count 542 1053 1595
% 34.0% 66.0% 100.0%
Yes Count 292 1644 1936
% 15.1% 84.9% 100.0%
Total
Count 834 2697 3531
% 23.6% 76.4% 100.0%
Spearman’s rho 0.135 P < .01
Did Not Use Library Used Library
Not Retained Retained
20. Library Use and Academic Standing
Good Academic Standing
No Yes Total
Library
Use
No Count 329 1243 1572
% 20.9% 79.1% 100.0%
Yes Count 211 1705 1916
% 11.0% 89.0% 100.0%
Total
Count 540 2948 3488
% 15.5% 84.5% 100.0%
Spearman’s rho 0.198 P < .01
Did Not Use Library Used Library
Other Academic Standing
Good Academic Standing
21. Library Use and Semester GPA
Correlation .201
p < .05
3.26
4.5
4.8
5.3
6.8
7.99
10.3
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Under 1.0 1.000-1.499 1.500-1.999 2.000-2.4992.500-2.999 3.000-3.599 3.500 and
up
AverageLibrarySessions
GPA Range
22. Research Assignment Data Project
65.07%
80.61%
Did not Participate Participated
Average Research Assignment
Grade by Library Module
Participation
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
ResearchGrade
Online Library Sessions
Student Grades on Research Assignment by Online
Library Use
23. Summary
Limitations
Unknown reason for the relationship
Imperfect measure of library use
No relationship with graduation rates
Advantages & Future Directions
Strategic partnerships on campus
Automated and on-going assessment
Opportunities for future research
24. References
ALA. (2008, January 22).Code of Ethics of the American
Library Association. Retrieved January 8, 2016, from
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/proethics/codeofethics/codeeth
ics
Cox, B., & Jantti, M. (2012, July 18). Discovering the Impact of
Library Use and Student Performance. Retrieved from
http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/discovering-impact-
library-use-and-student-performance
JISC. (2015). Library Analytics and Metrics Project. Retrieved
February 9, 2015, from http://jisclamp.mimas.ac.uk/
National Information Standards Organization. (2015). NISO
Consensus Principles on User’s Digital Privacy in Library,
Publisher, and Software-Provider Systems (NISO Privacy
Principles). Retrieved from
http://www.niso.org/topics/tl/patron_privacy/
Nevada State College. (2014). Nevada State College: Facts &
Figures. Retrieved February 13, 2015, from
http://nsc.nevada.edu/2069.asp
Nevada State College. (2015). 2015-2020 Academic
Strategic Plan:Opportunity, Enrichment, Impact (p. 8).
Henderson, NV: Nevada State College. Retrieved from
https://nsc.edu/Files/provost/pdfs/NSC_2015-
2020_Strategic_Plan.pdf
Oakleaf, M. (2010). TheValue of Academic Libraries:A
Comprehensive Research Review and Report.Chicago,
IL: Association of College and Research Libraries.
Retrieved from
http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/
issues/value/val_report.pdf
OCLC. (2015). Log File Analysis. Retrieved February 13,
2015, from
http://www.oclc.org/support/services/ezproxy/docume
ntation/loganalysis.en.html
University of Minnesota Libraries. (n.d.). Library Data
and Student Success. Retrieved February 7, 2015, from
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ldss/