New Research Article: “The Impact of Academic Library Resources on Undergraduates’ Degree Completion” (Preprint)

The following full text research article (accepted for publication preprint) is scheduled for publication in the September 2017 issue of College and Research Libraries (C&RL).
Title
The Impact of Academic Library Resources on Undergraduates’ Degree Completion
Authors
Krista M. Soria, Analyst
University of Minnesota
Jan Fransen
University of Minnesota
Shane Nackerud
University of Minnesota
Source
C&RL Web Site
Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of first-year undergraduates’ (n = 5,368) use of academic library resources in their first year on their degree completion or continued enrollment after four years of study. Propensity score matching techniques were used to construct treatment (library users) and control (library non-users) groups with similar
background characteristics and college experiences.
The results suggest that using the library at least one time in the first year of enrollment significantly increased the odds that students would graduate in four years or remain enrolled after four years as opposed to withdrawing from the university. First-year students who used electronic resources and books also had significantly improved odds of graduation over withdrawing while students who used electronic books and took a library instruction course had significantly improved odds of remaining enrolled over withdrawing.

Direct to Full Text Article (25 pages; PDF)

Filed under: Academic Libraries, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users