Evaluation of Branching Out
partners: University of Central England in Birmingham
The Faculty of Computing, Information and English at the University of Central England in Birmingham is the academic partner in Branching Out. A major aspect of the role of UCE as evaluator is therefore to monitor the personal and professional development of this unique group of librarians, using a variety of methods.
Evaluation activities conducted to date have included: an analysis of Branching Out librarians' skills; an investigation of the impact of the project on the personal and professional development of the librarians involved, using themed learning reviews; an evaluation of the Open Ticket and unclassified projects; and interviews with heads of service, to evaluate the wider impact of Branching Out.
Planned evaluation over the third year of Branching Out will include: a continued review of the impact of Branching Out on the librarians involved; a second series of interviews with heads of service to assess the impact of the project on individual authorities; a second skills audit to assess perceived skills development; and two further learning reviews.
Professor Judith Elkin, Dean of the Faculty, is Project Director, and Briony Train, Research Fellow, is conducting the research. Reader development has been a key aspect of UCE research for some time, and we believe that Branching Out offers a unique opportunity to evaluate an exciting, long-term project dedicated to reader development and libraries.
Briony Train, Research Fellow, School of Information Studies
New End of project evaluation - overview of evaluative findings
Self-evaluation of Year One
Online version (120k)Download Self-evaluation of Year One
Offline version: Word Document (145k)
