Scoping out the “New Releases” in the AEA Public eLibrary by Sheila B Robinson

Hello aea365-ers! Sheila B Robinson here, your Lead Curator and sometimes Saturday contributor with some Hot Tips, Cool Tricks and one really Rad Resource – our AEA Public eLibrary!

Rad Resource: The AEA Public eLibrary, under the “read” menu on our main site at eval.org is a fabulous resource for evaluation-related content. I’ve always been impressed with our association’s generous offering of evaluation resources to members and non-members alike, and the Public eLibrary is one of my favorites.

Hot Tip: Now is a great time to look for your favorite presenter’s materials whether from Evaluation 2017, a recent Coffee Break webinar, AEA Summer Institute, or even an event from years ago. Perhaps you’re just looking for something new to add to your knowledge base or inform your work around a specific evaluation-related topic.

Of the 2276 current entries, over 30 have been added since Evaluation 2017, and materials are added year-round.

Hotter Tip: Advanced search options. Try searching using advanced search options which allows you to search for materials by:

  • term / keyword / phrase
  • posted since date or posted before date
  • author’s first or last name
  • company name or email address
  • specific tags or keyword
  • event
  • topical interest group (TIG)

Cool Trick: Author’s names are hyperlinks to their profiles where you can often see what they do, where they work, and access any other other materials they have contributed to the library.

Cooler Trick: Since users can create their own tags, not all of the conference-related content is necessarily in one category. Try searching “AEA 2017” along with “Evaluation 2017” and even “#Eval17.”

Lesson Learned: In this library, no one will ask you to be quiet, there are no late fees, and food and drink are welcome all the time!

Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org . aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.

1 thought on “Scoping out the “New Releases” in the AEA Public eLibrary by Sheila B Robinson”

  1. Hi Sheila,

    I am currently completing my first course in Program Evaluation. I came across your article and wanted to express my gratitude for drawing my attention to the online library. I was not aware that there was a library of journals accessible for non-members to aid them in program evaluation.

    As someone who is relatively new to the Program Evaluation process, I have found it to be a bit of a struggle to ensure I have included all the necessary information in design, or selected the appropriate method. It is comforting to know that there is support in the form of literature from experienced evaluators that I can access for reference.

    I really found it helpful that you outlined the advance search options, although evaluator names didn’t appear as hyperlinks on my computer for whatever reason. I am still a bit new to the blog itself. Knowing that there is a multitude of resources on AEA365 that can help me understand program evaluation design means that I will likely make more of a practice using, and navigate the website more confidently.

    Thank you for your helpful insight and contribution!

    Lydia

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