UM Libraries Show 
Gain in ARL Rankings
 

The news was especially good this month as the Association of Research Libraries’ (ARL) ranking of 113 academic research libraries in North America for 2001 (2000 Data) showed that the UM Libraries had jumped from 43rd to 39th place in one year.  

Since the ranking first appeared in 1986, UM Libraries have been below 40 only one other time (1999, #39).  Our ranking has been as low as 50 (1991 and 1992) but usually in the low to mid-40’s.  

Because of increased pressure for institutional accountability, research libraries are challenged to provide measures that document their contributions to teaching, research, scholarship, and community service. ARL serves a leadership role in the testing and application of academic research library statistics for North American institutions of higher education through its Statistics and Measurement Program.

The ARL rankings of 113 institutions are based on five data elements: number of volumes held, number of volumes added, number of current serials received, total operating expenditures, and number of professional and support staff. These quantifiable elements are considered the elements research libraries most resemble each other.  ARL is also initiating a “new measures” program in which the University of Maryland Libraries participate.  LibQual+ measures the service quality of academic libraries without respect to the size of their collections or other budget derived “inputs.”  In the first year of participation our Libraries stacked up very well in the various dimensions of service quality.  The data for the recently completed 2002 LibQual+ will soon be available and will be published in Outlook.  

The top three ranked research libraries for 2001 were Harvard University, Yale University, and the University of California, Berkeley, respectively. UC Berkeley is one of UM’s five peer institutions. UCLA, University of Illinois-Urbana, University of Michigan and University of North Carolina complete the line, Each of these research libraries has maintained its ranking in the top 20 research libraries over the years.  
 

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