Understanding in-library use data lifecycle within Greek and Spanish higher education ecosystems

Abstract

As learning analytics, an emergent field, nowadays is seen as a way to break barriers to intra-institutional collaboration that will ultimately lead to educational deep transformational change, HE administrators and library and information science (LIS) researchers argue on the purpose of connecting in-library user activity data to campus-wide initiatives, their relevance and potential contribution to library strategic alignment with broader institutional goals. In this realm and framed within a PhD research, this paper aims to provide an overview of preliminary findings relevant to the exploration of the potential of Spanish and Greek academic libraries to becoming involved in learning analytics initiativesDesign/methodology/approach Spanish and Greek public university library director large scale mini-survey and LIS undergraduate curricula desk research.Findings Analysis of public university library director mini-survey bring to light a series of negative correlations between different LRRC types, in-library use data collection and sharing practices and library-based learning analytics conversations, while LIS undergraduate curricula review identified a limited integration of learning analytics and assessment critical skills.Originality/value It is the first Greek and Spanish university library-specific study aiming to contribute to the dialogue on whether, how and when the wealth of in-library use-generated knowledge could be capitalized within future learning analytics initiatives.