How We Talk about Assessment: A New Framework for Digital Libraries

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

In 2017, six institutions received an Institute of Museum and Library Services National Forum Grant to conduct a year-long comprehensive needs assessment. Through various survey instruments and outreach methods, the digital library community’s input revealed the need for reuse assessment practices and requirements of digital assets held by cultural heritage and research organizations. While the current literature outlines traditional library metrics and assessment, the authors focused on the ways in which users utilize and transform unique assets from digital collections. The needs assessment found that the digital library community wants to more deeply understand how digital assets are reused and repurposed. This article examines the initial qualitative and quantitative analysis of a community needs assessment that showcases the current and anticipated landscape of digital library reuse assessment.