Telephone Eligibility

MEMORANDUM FOR Phyllis G. Smith

Jeffersonville Telephone Center

National Processing Center

From: Laura Hardesty

Academic Libraries Survey

Education and Related Statistics Branch

Governments Division

Subject: Academic Library Survey (ALS) - Universe Research Calls

This memorandum describes the procedures for the 2010 Academic Libraries Survey (ALS) universe research telephone calls. The purpose of the telephone calls is to determine if the institutions that have not responded to the 2010 ALS have a library which meets the four criteria below and if they do to ask them to respond to the survey.

LIBRARY - An entity that provides all of the following:

1. Total library expenditures exceed $10,000.

2. An organized collection of printed or other materials or a combination thereof

3. A paid, trained library staff to provide and interpret library materials to meet the informational, cultural, recreational, or educational needs of clientele

4. An established hours of operation during which paid, trained staff are available to meet the informational service needs of clientele

5. The physical facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and schedule

This includes libraries that are part of learning resource centers

FILES PROVIDED

The Education and Related Statistics Branch will provide an Access database containing the following for each non-response institution.

1. UNITID

2. NAME - Institution

3. ADDRESS - Institution

4. 2008 RESPONDENT name

5. 2008 RESPONDENT PHONE

6. 2008 RESPONDENT E-MAIL

7. GENERAL TELEPHONE - Institution

8. CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICER Name

9. WEB ADDRESS - Institution

MATERIALS

Each caller will be given a portion of the database printout for calling, and call sheets to record the information from the call. The call sheets need to have the four criteria on them to be marked by the caller as each criteria is read.

PROCEDURE

The Chief Academic Officer name and telephone number are offered as additional information. This information may be outdated, but might be useful.

1. If the institution telephone number on the file is inaccurate or missing, use the following to locate a working telephone number.

A. The IPEDS COOL website is a good tool to use to locate the library’s information. It is actually faster than the ALS website. The COOL site is located at:

http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cool/

Go to the website and enter the ‘Name of institution’ in that field at the bottom left of the screen. On the next screen, click on the link under the name of the institution. This brings you to the information page, with phone numbers and a link to their web site. To look up another institution from this information page, click on ‘New Search’ in the upper left of the toolbar at the top of the page.

B. Use the ALS website to reach the institution’s web page and search for a telephone number.

1. Enter the institution’s UNITID in the ‘Search’ box on the institution page.

2. Click on the hyperlink under the institution name.

3. Click on the link to the institution’s website. If there is no website listed, perform a search on the name of the institution in the web browser.

4. Find the telephone number. It may be under ‘Contact us’ in the toolbar.

2. Call the institution and ask to speak to the librarian.

2. If for some reason, you won’t be able to speak to the librarian at any time, offer to email the criteria to them. Use the following message in the email:

Dear Library Director:

Your institution has not responded to the 2010 Academic Libraries Survey. To determine whether you have a library that meets the four criteria for the Academic Libraries Survey, please answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the following questions.

Do you have an academic library? ____

Does your library have the following?

__1. Total library expenditures exceed $10,000.

__2. An organized collection of printed or other materials or a combination thereof

__3. A paid, trained library staff to provide and interpret library materials to meet the informational, cultural, recreational, or educational needs of clientele

__4. An established hours of operation during which paid, trained staff are available to meet the informational service needs of clientele

__5. The physical facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and schedule.

Thank you

Laura Hardesty

Academic Libraries Survey

U.S. Census Bureau

2. Follow the script below for the calls. (Items in blue are, obviously, not part of the script.)

Good morning (afternoon,etc). My name is_____. I am calling for the Academic Libraries Survey, sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Department of Education. Your institution has not responded to the survey, so I am calling to find out if you have a library that meets the criteria for the Academic Libraries Survey.

Does your institution have a library?

If no, thank the person and say goodbye. Write the name of the person with whom you spoke.

If the answer is yes, proceed with the 4 criteria below. Mark ‘yes’ or ‘no’ beside each of the 4 items as you read it to the person.

(Online access to library materials does not qualify, if there is no physical building. Several institutions just have links to online library materials).

Does your library have the following?

1. Total library expenditures exceeding $10,000.

2. An organized collection of printed or other materials or a combination thereof

3. A paid, trained library staff to provide and interpret library materials to meet the informational, cultural, recreational, or educational needs of clientele

4. An established hours of operation during which paid, trained staff are available to meet the informational service needs of clientele

5. The physical facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and schedule

If the answer to all 4 criteria questions is ‘yes’, follow the script below.

Your participation is very important to the success of the survey. I can assist you to register and complete the on-line survey.

It’s easiest to email this information to you. May I have your email address?

If yes, copy email address onto call sheet.

May I also have a mailing address for your library?

(If yes, write this on your call sheet).

Thank you for your time. Have a good ____(morning, etc.).

Record the name of the person and any other information they gave you on the call sheet.

2. Make up to 3 calls to the institution to try to speak to a person who can give you the information. If you have no success, record that on the call sheet.

END OF PROJECT

Ship the call sheets by FedEx to Governments Division at the Census Bureau at the end of the project, to the address below. Or fax to 866-394-0138, please e-mail Laura Hardesty after faxing.

US Bureau of the Census

Attn: Laura Hardesty

Governments Division, 6K152B

4600 Silver Hill Road

Washington DC 20233

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