Washington DC—OPAL – Organizational Performance Assessment for Libraries – is a new consulting service offered in 2011 through the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) to help academic libraries effectively integrate strategy, planning, and assessment within the institution so that ultimately the library is well prepared to demonstrate its value in advancing the organization. OPAL can guide the library to establish effective strategies aligned with its university mission and vision, to monitor and document progress toward plans and goals, and to provide stakeholders with a persuasive and easily understandable summary of the library’s role in the academy. OPAL can focus the library on strategic decision-making and on collecting, analyzing and presenting information that demonstrates the library’s impact, outcomes, and value.

OPAL is the successor to, and builds upon, the Effective, Sustainable, and Practical Assessment (ESP) initiative developed by ARL Visiting Program Officers Jim Self (Director of Management Information Services, U. of Virginia Library) and Steve Hiller (Director of Planning and Assessment, U. of Washington Libraries), working with Martha Kyrillidou (ARL Senior Director of Statistics and Service Quality Programs). ESP has supported consultations with 42 libraries since 2005/06. For more information on ESP see: http://www.arl.org/stats/initiatives/esp/ . In 2011, Raynna Bowlby (Associate, Library Management Consulting and Adjunct Faculty, Simmons College Graduate School of Library & Information Science) will join the ARL team and augment the capabilities of these experienced ESP consultants with additional expertise in consulting, training, and organizational development.

The cost for participation is $5,000 plus travel expenses for two project leaders. Libraries interested in participating should contact Martha Kyrillidou at martha@arl.org . For more information about OPAL, see: http://www.arl.org/stats/initiatives/opal/ .

Raynna Bowlby and Steve Hiller will be available at the LibQUAL+®/StatsQUAL®/ARL booth #1030 at the American Library Association meeting in San Diego on Saturday morning from 10:00 am to noon to answer your questions in person.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 126 research libraries in North America. Its mission is to influence the changing environment of scholarly communication and the public policies that affect research libraries and the diverse communities they serve. ARL pursues this mission by advancing the goals of its member research libraries, providing leadership in public and information policy to the scholarly and higher education communities, fostering the exchange of ideas and expertise, facilitating the emergence of new roles for research libraries, and shaping a future environment that leverages its interests with those of allied organizations. ARL is on the web at http://www.arl.org/ .

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