Standards and Best Practices for Florida Academic Libraries: Home

Libraries are encouraged to use the following outcomes-based method to adopt the Standards:

1. align with the principles;
2. identify and select performance indicators that are congruent with their institution’s mission and contribute to institutional effectiveness;
3. add performance indicators that apply to the specific library (for example, open access initiatives for research libraries, or workforce development support for community colleges);
4. develop user-centered, measurable outcomes that articulate specifically what the user is able to do as an outcome of the performance indicator;
5. conduct assessments that may be quantitative, qualitative, or both;
6. collect data from assessments that demonstrate degree of success; and
7. use assessment data for continuous improvement of library operations.

Association of Research Libraries. (February 2018.) Standards for libraries in higher education. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/standardslibraries 

The core of the Standards is the section titled “Principles and Performance Indicators.” The nine principles and their related performance indicators are intended to be expectations—standards— that apply to all types of academic libraries. Nonetheless, each library must respond to its unique user population and institutional environment.
- ACRL Standards for Libraries in Higher Education

Association of Research Libraries. (February 2018.) Standards for libraries in higher education. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/standardslibraries 

"The Resource Manual is designed to (1) provide guidance to institutions as they seek to identify strategies for documenting compliance with SACSCOC requirements and standards and (2) be a resource in the training of review committee members and trustees as they strive to apply the Principles fairly and consistently. An institution’s primary resource, however, is its SACSCOC staff member assigned to advise and to consult with the institution regarding the accreditation process, its expectations, and applications. Such advice and information do not supplant the peer review process, but rather provide additional insight in helping institutions reach informed judgments about their self-assessments."

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. (2018). Resource manual for the principles of accreditation: Foundations for quality enhancement. [3rd ed.]. Retrieved from https://sacscoc.org/pdf/2018%20POA%20Resource%20Manual.pdf