CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 15Library Science and Information LiteracyHigher Education Research StudiesLibrary Science and Administration

Correlation Between Library Instruction and Student Retention: Methods and Implications

Open access
O’Kelly, Mary, Jeffryes, Jon, Hobscheid, Maya, Passarelli, Rachael·2023·College & Research Libraries
DOI 10.5860/crl.84.1.85
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Eight years of data from Grand Valley State University Libraries show a positive correlation between in-class library instruction and student reenrollment the following fall semester. Using consistent statistical methods over time, controlling for confounding factors, and using a large population (N>16,000 annually) and strict protocols that restrict library employees from having access to individual student data, researchers have developed a replicable, secure process for exploring the relationship between library engagement and student success that prioritizes data security and subject anonymity alongside scalability. Results have informed modifications to the Libraries’ instruction program and have raised interesting additional questions about the impact of having classroom faculty who actively engage their students with the academic library.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.5860/crl.84.1.85

Cites

7 of 7 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • There is evidence linking student retention and academic achievement with participation in library instruction.

    “Similarly, there is evidence linking student retention and academic achievement with participation in library instru ction (e.g., O'Kelly et al., 2023; Rowe et al., 2021).”

    From Evaluating the Impact of Information Literacy Workshops on Student Success (2025) · cites this paper as O'Kelly et al., 2023

    The Discussion and Implications section reports a statistically significant association between courses with librarian-led instruction and student retention. It does not report a corresponding link between participation in library instruction and academic achievement; the Introduction mentions GPA as a student-success measure, while the literature review discusses GPA in connection with library collections rather than instruction. Page numbers are not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 19

  1. Megan Oakleaf, Value of Academic Libraries: A Comprehensive Research Review and Report, Chicago: Associa- tion of College and Research Libraries, 2010. http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/issues/value/ val_report.pdf. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid.
  2. Melissa A. Hubbard and Amber T. Loos, "Academic Library Participation in Recruitment and Retention Initiatives," Reference Services Review 41, no. 2 (June 2013): 157-81. https://doi.org/10.1108/00907321311326183. · DOI · Paper page
  3. Krista M. Soria, Jan Fransen, and Shane Nackerud, "Stacks, Serials, Search Engines, and Students' Success: First-year Undergraduate Students' Library Use, Academic Achievement, and Retention," Journal of Academic Librarianship 40, no. 1 (January 2014): 84-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2013.12.002; · DOI
  4. John K. Stemmer and David M. Mahan, "Investigating the Relation- ship of Library Usage to Student Outcomes," College & Research Libraries 77, no. 3 (May 2016): 359-75. https://doi. org/10.5860/crl.77.3.359; · DOI
  5. Angie Thorpe, Ria Lukes, Diane J. Bever, and Yan He, "The Impact of the Academic Library on Student Success: Connecting the Dots," Portal: Libraries and the Academy 16, no. 2 (April 2016): 373-92. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2016.0027. · DOI
  6. Gaby Haddow and Jayanthi Joseph, "Loans, Logins, and Lasting the Course: Academic Library Use and Student Retention," Australian Academic & Research Libraries 41, no. 4 (December 2010): 233-44. https://doi.org/10.10 80/00048623.2010.10721478; · DOI · Paper page
  7. Gaby Haddow, "Academic Library Use and Student Retention: A Quantitative Analy- sis," Library & Information Science Research 35, no. 2 (April 2013): 127-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2012.12.002; · DOI
  8. Gregory A. Crawford, "The Academic Library and Student Retention and Graduation: An Exploratory Study," Portal: Libraries and the Academy 15, no. 1 (January 2015): 41-57. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2015.0003. · DOI · Paper page
  9. Mark Emmons and Frances C. Wilkinson, "The Academic Library Impact on Student Persistence," College and Research Libraries 72, no. 2 (March 2011): 128-49. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl-74r1. · DOI
  10. Elizabeth M. Mezick, "Return on Investment: Libraries and Student Retention," Journal of Academic Li- brarianship 33, no. 5 (September 2007): 561-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2007.05.002. · DOI · Paper page
  11. Krista M. Soria, Kate Peterson, Jan Fransen, and Shane Nackerud, "The Impact of Academic Library Re- sources on First-Year Students' Learning Outcomes," Research Library Issues 290 (2017): 5-20. https://doi.org/10.29242/ rli.290. · DOI
  12. Silas M. Oliveira, "The Academic Library's Role in Student Retention: A Review of the Literature," Library Review 66, no. 4/5 (July 2017): 310-29. https://doi.org/10.1108/LR-12-2016-0102. · DOI
  13. Megan Oakleaf, Anthony Whyte, Emily Lynema, and Malcolm Brown, "Academic Libraries & Institutional Learning Analytics: One Path to Integration," The Journal of Academic Librarianship 43, no. 5 (September 2017): 454-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2017.08.008. · DOI
  14. Sarah Prindle and Amber Loos, "Information Ethics and Academic Libraries: Data Privacy in the Era of Big Data," Journal of Information Ethics 26, no. 2 (Fall 2017): 22-33;
  15. Kyle M. L. Jones, "'Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should': Practitioner Perceptions of Learning Analytics Ethics," Portal: Libraries and the Academy 19, no. 3 (July 2019): 407-28. https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2019.0025; · DOI
  16. Alan Rubel and Kyle M.L. Jones, "Student Privacy in Learning Analytics: An Information Ethics Perspective," The Information Society 32, no. 2 (February 2016):143-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.201 6.1130502. · DOI
  17. Kristin A. Briney, "Data Management Practices in Academic Library Learning Analytics: A Critical Re- view," Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication 7, no. 1 (February 2019): 1-39. https://doi.org/10.7710/2162- 3309.2268. · DOI
  18. Mary O'Kelly, "Academic Libraries and Student Retention: The Implications for Higher Education," in Proceedings of the 2016 Library Assessment Conference: Building Effective, Sustainable, Practical Assessment, ed.
  19. Baughman, Steve Hiller, Katie Monroe & Angela Pappalardo (Washington, DC: Association of Research Librar- ies, 2017), 485-90. https://www.libraryassessment.org/wp-content/uploads/bm~doc/proceedings-2016.pdf

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
O’Kelly, M., Jeffryes, J., Hobscheid, M., & Passarelli, R.
Affiliations
Western Michigan University (US)
ORCID
Venue
College & Research Libraries
Publisher
American Library Association
Published
2023
Volume
84
Issue
1
ISSN
  • 0010-0870 (ISSN-L)
  • 2150-6701
DOI
10.5860/crl.84.1.85
OpenAlex
W4313829683
Cited by
15
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1
FWCI
10.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
College & Research Libraries (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Library Science and Information Literacy
  • Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
  • Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Library Science and Administration
Keywords
library instruction, student retention, academic libraries, library user engagement, student success, data security

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review