A new home page design for the ISU Library website was implemented in August 2017. This redesign was influenced by an X’s and O’s study conducted to find out which elements of the home page were deemed important and not important by study volunteers. Recommendations were to make “Floor and tier maps,” “Reserve a Library Space,” and “Hours” (display today’s hours) more visually noticeable. Although Research & Course Guides were one of the most circled items in the study, three commenters asked for a section listing information by major, so while it seems to be desired, it may not be recognizable.

The Iowa State University Library Assessment Plan was developed over the course of 2017, and adopted in October of 2017. The plan provides a framework for efforts related to the creation, assembly, and analysis of library data and information. The assessment plan and supporting information related to it can be found on the Iowa State Library Assessment Website.

The assessment plan is aligned with the library’s five-year strategic plan (2015-2020) and is intended to support strategic decision-making in the library. The assessment plan’s guiding principles are:

• Data-driven: Strive to stay objective, impartial, and grounded in research and analysis.
• Impactful: Focus on the usefulness and impact of library services on users and recommend library process changes based on expertise and findings.
• Productive: Produce and promote innovative, creative, user-friendly, trustworthy, and timely products.
• Efficient: Re-purpose assessment data to support the ongoing review of library operations and tell the Library's story.
• Integrated: Help all ISUL units tell their stories and promote their services. Find and present relevant data in the most valid and effective ways.
• Open: Advance library communication and evidence-based librarianship by sharing and promoting work with the ISUL community.


At the heart of the Iowa State University Library Assessment Plan is a strategy map (Figure 1). A strategy map is a diagram that is used to document the primary strategic objectives being pursued by an organization. The strategy map provides a logic model for the strategy of the organization.

A well-designed strategy map provides a condensed (one side of one piece of paper) view of an organization’s strategic objectives. By providing a simple visual representation of the organization’s most important strategic objectives, the strategy map is useful as a tool to enable discussions within the library related to those objectives, and consideration of measured progress towards those objectives.

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University launched in April 2012, with the deposit of over 2,000 graduate theses and dissertations completed between December 2008 and December 2011. In its full fiscal year of operation (July 2012–June 2013), the repository grew by adding university publications and scholarship of Iowa State’s faculty, students and staff.

This is a compilation of known publication series issued by the Iowa State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Extension Service, as of the last update. The list includes ISU Library call number, location and holdings, wherever possible along with earlier/later title information for each series. In cases where a series is not available in the ISU collections, some entries mention other libraries that have it available. This is an ongoing work in progress. The list is added to as new publications are uncovered.

In June 2017, the Article Indexes & Databases (AID) link on the library website was changed from the AID pages developed in-house to the Libguides A-Z list. Also in June 2017 and also affecting article searches, Quick Search was switched to the new Primo interface. In August 2017, a new home page design was implemented.

Tasks in the interview script were written to explore volunteers’ usual methods of searching for articles, which could include using Quick Search, Google Scholar, going directly to a specific database, or using the AID page to get to a known database. Only one participant reported used the AID page to search for a new database as part of their usual routine.

Providing physical orientation to a library remains a standard function of a bibliographic instruction program. Librarians, faced with diminished resources and increased user demands with diverse needs, have responded in creative ways to provide orientation. One such way is the self-guided audiocassette taped library tour. To assist librarians in developing, planning, and implementing self-guided audiocassette walking tours in a variety of languages, a packet of information representing the development of the multilingual audiocassette taped tour is presented. Included here are: the grant proposal, a Parks Library tour script in English, progress and final reports, tour packet provided to library patrons, and guidelines for planning.

This annual report highlights the growth and usage of Digital Repository @ Iowa State University, Iowa State's institutional repository, between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014.

New features added to Quick Search (Primo), besides the new interface, include a choice to search Partner Libraries (TRAC consortium) and a search scope choice of Library Collections + Articles; Library Collections; ISU Digital Collections; and Special Collections.

Tasks in the interview scripts were written to explore volunteers’ usual methods of searching for articles and/or books, and to see if they are aware of and use features such as Advanced Search; facets; scope dropdown inside the search box; options to save results such as email, Favorites (pin icon), citation or Endnote; Partner Libraries search; My Library Card; and if they can find items from ISU Digital Collections or Special Collections. If they are not already aware of these features, can they find them?

This annual report highlights the growth and usage of Digital Repository @ Iowa State University, Iowa State's institutional repository, between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015.

Data management and sharing became a national research concern when the National Science Foundation (NSF) began requiring Data Management Plans (DMPs) as part of their grant proposal process in January of 2011. While NSF is not the only funding agency requiring DMPs they are one of the largest and most diverse. As competition for grant funding has become more competitive, what were once considered sideshow documents to the main proposal may now factor into proposal acceptance or rejection. In 2013, Iowa State University received over 38 million dollars in sponsored funding from the National Science Foundation. In order to maintain this level of research investment Iowa State researchers need to be able to write and implement effective data management plans which meet funder requirements. The Data Management Brownbag/Seminar held on Nov. 5, 2013 was organized by the University Library, the Office of the Vice President for Research, and SP@ISU (Strengthening the Professoriate). It was the first university-wide presentation to address data management on the ISU campus.