Measuring the Academic Impact of Libraries

University and college libraries often seek ways to demonstrate their impact for the academic community. This article reports the results from a two-year study that analyzed library use as demonstrated through checkouts and off-campus access to full-text resources against grade point averages (GPAs) of undergraduates and graduates at a large Midwestern library. The study found that undergraduates with a GPA above the mean university GPA used the library more than those with a GPA below the mean. There was a correlation between greater use of the library and increases in GPA between the two years-that is, as one grew, so did the other. The study also showed that students who checked out materials in one year returned for additional checkouts.