Library Impact Research Report: A Toolkit for Demonstrating and Measuring Impact of Primary Sources in Teaching and Learning

As part of ARL’s Research Library Impact Framework initiative, a team from the University of Pittsburgh Library System addressed how special collections support teaching, learning, and research. This project developed a toolkit that allows measurement of impact of engagement with primary sources. The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) initially worked with University of California, Irvine (UCI) to develop student learning outcomes based on the ACRL/RBMS–SAA Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy and used a logic model framework to identify three types of outcomes: initial (attainment of new skills and knowledge), intermediate (behavioral change), and long-term (change in status). Pitt studied two successive cohorts of their Archival Scholars Research Awards (ASRA), a semester-long undergraduate scholarship program that matches each student with a University of Pittsburgh Library System (ULS) librarian/archivist and a Pitt faculty mentor to engage in an in-depth research project. Next, Pitt refined, expanded, and tested the toolkit for use in class visits to assess student learning and archivist/librarian performance in supporting instructor learning goals. The mapping and assessment toolkit Pitt developed may be applied to teaching with primary sources across different disciplines and institutional settings.