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Core/RUSA Webinar: From Goals to Impact: Library User Stories
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 2026
All webinars are one hour in length and begin at 11 am Pacific, noon Mountain, 1 pm Central, and 2 pm Eastern time.
Description:
Successful leadership efforts center key partners and anticipate concrete outcomes. In libraries, this means demonstrating impact by linking institutional goals with information about students' library engagement and its relation to their learning and success. User stories are an essential strategy library leaders and managers can use to communicate the benefits of library projects for various audiences and the expected impacts on their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Utilizing user stories as a leadership strategy ensures that students, faculty, staff, and others are included, clarifies the direct benefits of library engagement, and centers equity and impact from the onset of project planning.
This session will demonstrate how library leaders and managers can apply user stories to provide a common understanding of research and results, enabling rapid transition (as appropriate) to address and act upon findings. User stories can be broad or tailored to specific populations; likewise they can be adapted to campuswide or precise questions or needs. As such, employing user stories can help leaders and managers articulate a vision, unite partners around common goals, and drive meaningful change that supports student learning and growth.
Participant Engagement: Participants will engage in an open Q & A discussion with the presenters and other session participants about ways in which clear planning, using user stories and/or other approaches, can advance equity and ensure impact of library projects.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the session, attendees will be able to:
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construct user stories that anticipate institutional goals and action resulting from assessment results.
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communicate the benefits of library projects for various audiences and the expected impacts on their knowledge, skills, and abilities using a user stories approach.
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apply user stories to provide a common understanding of research and results in order to address and act upon findings, as appropriate.
Who should attend?
Library senior leaders, administrators, managers, mid-level leaders, and project-managers
Presenters:
Dr. Megan Oakleaf is a Professor of Library and Information Science and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the iSchool at Syracuse University. She is the author of The Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report, Academic Library Value: The Impact Starter Kit, Library Integration in Institutional Learning Analytics, and Connecting Libraries and Learning Analytics for Student Success and has earned recognition and awards for articles published in top library and information science journals including College and Research Libraries, Portal, Reference and User Services Quarterly, JASIST, and Journal of Documentation. Her research areas include library learning analytics, outcomes assessment, evidence-based decision making, information literacy instruction, and academic library impact and value.
Dr. Rebecca (Becky) Croxton is the Assessment Research Analyst at Colorado State University Libraries. She earned a PhD in educational studies, a doctoral minor in educational research methods, and her MLIS degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). Becky is also an adjunct lecturer and has taught a variety of courses including Data Visualization and Media Production Services. She previously worked as the Head of Library Strategic Analytics and Special Projects at UNC Charlotte, and was a Reference Librarian at both Johnson & Wales University’s Charlotte campus and Central Piedmont Community College. She is an active researcher and has published numerous articles and presented nationally on a variety of topics including library assessment, quantifying the value of the academic library, online learning, professional identity development, and information seeking needs, preferences, and motivation of undergraduate students.
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Registration fees for webinar: Core Member $57.85; ALA member: $80.10; Student member $44.50; Non-member $89.00
For additional information and access to registration links, please go to the following website:
https://elearning.ala.org/local/catalog/view/product.php?productid=1584
Core webinars are recorded and registrants receive a link to the recording shortly following the live event.
For questions about registration, contact ALA Registration by calling 1-800-545-2433 and press 5 or email registration@ala.org.
For all other questions or comments related to Core webinars, please contact Core CE staff at corece@ala.org.
*Posted on behalf of the Core Continuing Education Committee.*
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Jen Montavon-Green
Head of Electronic Resources
University of Kentucky
She/Her/Hers
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