Affiliation Is Coming This October!

We at the library are gearing up for our biannual School Affiliation Survey, which starts next week and last throughout October! 

Maybe you noticed people already walking around with clipboards, counting and tallying a few times a day. That is for our statistics on the popularity of different spaces, like the study rooms or the couches. School Affiliation is different.  

This time, we’re trying to figure out how many students and staff from which school and program are using the library. We do this two times a year, 3-4 times a day, for every day of the week. There are 7 days spread out over the whole month, strategically chosen to try and maximize the usefulness of the numbers (i.e. to avoid exam blocks).  

During Affiliation, you’ll see a library staff member with a clipboard in hand, asking everyone which school/program they’re with (Med, Dental, GSBS, etc.). We make a check mark and move on. That’s it.

Since we’ll be asking, we wanted to give you some tips to minimize interruptions and make it a smooth process for everyone! 

1. You can leave your ID on your desk beside you, so no one will interrupt you while you’re studying.
2. You can write down your affiliation on a piece of paper and leave it beside you.
3. If you’re in a study room, write down the number of people and their programs on the sheet taped on the front of the door.
4. Just tell whoever walks by.

An approximation of library staff during an Affiliation count.
Illustration source: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/business-folder-clipboard-holding-3009825/

After it’s all over, we’ll take some time to analyze the data and share what we find with you. Feel free to whet your appetite with last March’s affiliation results.   

We really appreciate your cooperation as this helps us put together our budgets for different resources for your benefit. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask us! You can call us at 617-636-6706, e-mail us at hhslcirc@tufts.edu, visit our live chat on the Ask Us page, or just swing by the desk on the 4th floor and chat to us in person. Thank you so much!