Rebecca M. Teasdale, PhD

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I founded Rebecca Teasdale & Associates in 2013 to help libraries build their capacity to evaluate their offerings and make evidence-based decisions about their programs, services, collections, and staffing.

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My background includes more than 15 years of experience as a librarian and administrator in urban and suburban public libraries. I am also a professional evaluator and have evaluated projects in libraries, museums, afterschool programs, universities, and professional development settings funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Currently, I serve as an assistant professor of educational psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and director of the IMLS-funded Embedding Evaluation in Libraries: Developing Internal Evaluators project. 

 

I hold a BA in biology, an MA in library and information science, and a PhD in educational psychology with specialization in evaluation methodology.

 

Professional affiliations

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I am an active member of the American Evaluation Association (AEA), Visitor Studies Association,  American Library Association (ALA), and Public Library Association (PLA). I align my work with the AEA Guiding Principles that outline ethical conduct for evaluators.

 

I have served on PLA’s Project Outcome Task Force, Public Library Data Service Statistical Report (i.e. the "PLDS") Advisory Committee, and Staffing Patterns and Workload Measures Committee; ALA’s Committee on Research and Statistics; the Executive Board and Conference Program Committee of the Illinois Library Association, and the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the Oregon Library Association. 

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In addition, I have trained librarians and library staff through the Research Institute for Public Libraries, Mortenson Center for International Library Programs, Measures that Matter, Arizona State Library, Colorado State Library, Young Adult Library Services Association, and Reference and User Services Association.

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Associates

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I bring together teams of highly-qualified associates to design and implement evaluations. Team members include methodologists, analysts, data collectors, and subject matter experts.