Measuring What Matters

Measuring What

Matters

Presented byJoan Frye Williams

NEKLS Summer Trustee Workshop June 7, 2014

To understand how your library relates to your community…

Look beyond what’s

always been measured

Look beyond the conventional wisdom

1. Start with the people

As long as you’re looking at groups, you’re not breaching confidentiality

Who is eligible to use your library?

• Demographics• Neighborhoods• Destinations: where residents work, play,

shop, go to school, and hang out• Technology availability/usage• Quality of life goals and priorities

Who has signed up for a library card?

Member profile

• Age range• Neighborhood• School (add to patron record)• Other demographics or target audiences (add

to patron record) e.g. Spanish speakers, business owners, new residents, etc.

• Recruitment rate• Retention rate

Who works at the library?

Employee and volunteer profile

• Age range• Years of service• Similarity to community profile

2. Reach consensus on

what role your library should play

in your community

Consensus

The process was fairI understood the decision criteriaThere was an opportunity for my voice to be

heardEven if the direction isn’t exactly what I would

have chosen, I will support it with positive communications and actions

Strategic profile

• Mission, vision, values• Alignment with broader

community goals• Positioning with respect

to other service providers• Desired impact

3. Get acquainted with library services

What can the community get from their library?

Service profile

• Complete list of services available• When each service was introduced• How each service relates to the library’s

strategic profile• Where each service is offered – in the library,

out in the community, online/virtual

Which services are members choosing?

Demand data

• Number and percentage of members who are using each service

• Types/groups of members who are using each service

• Seasons, days, or times of heaviest demand• Services for which community demand

exceeds the library’s capacity to respond, with an estimate of the gap

Bonus: What is a “typical” transaction for members of different groups?

4. Understand how library resources are allocated

What does the community get for its investment?

Cost data for key services

• Per capita• Per member• Per user• Per program/event• Per transaction

Compare: 1. Total cost2. Staff costs only

5. Be on the lookout for…

Diversification

Signs that interest in a service is waning

Cost/demanddispa

rities

Outliers and exceptions

Omissions

Surprises

6. Gather brief, compelling stories about the impact of library services

Critical pieces:1. Person – Caden was a bright 6 year old boy.2. Problem – Caden had a stutter, and was having

trouble in school.3. Library intervention – Caden’s Mom took him to the

library, and he saw a library program where children were reading to service dogs. Caden began reading to Toby, and eventually overcame his stutter.

4. Happy ending – Caden’s Mom called last week, and he’s doing much better in school!

joan@jfwilliams.com

Let’s continue the

conversation…

Photo by Martin Helmke