Www.dcoheninfo.com SLA PNW Regional Conference October 2006 D. L. Cohen Information Services Special Libraries Association Northwest Regional Conference

SLA PNW Regional Conference October 2006

D. L. Cohen Information Services www.dcoheninfo.com

Special Libraries AssociationNorthwest Regional ConferenceOctober 6-7, 2006

Donna L. Cohen, M.L.I.S., M.Ed.D. L. Cohen Information Services

Portland, Oregon

Before You Start – Conducting an Information Needs Assessment as a

Foundation for CM, Website, Intranet and Other High-Level Projects



A “Needs Assessment” is a process for establishing needs, gaps and opportunities

before project planning and beyond.

“Let’s start at the very beginningA very good place to start…” [‘Do-Re-Mi’, from Sound of Music]

“A Rose by Any Other Word…”

Shakespeare

Whether we are aware of it or not,

we have all been doing this for eons.



And beyond…

Initial Needs Assessment

Continue as is / Modify / Terminate Implement

Decide / Plan

Evaluate [Formative] / Assess

Establish need for a major service or product [or a

change in an existing service]

Establish components of the service

►Save time or money ►Eliminate redundancy ►Expand perspective or add dimension►Generate new ideas or insight ►Confirm details or facts ►Increase confidence in decision making►Obtain more budget dollars / funding

Conducting User Surveys: An Ongoing Information Imperative by George R. Plosker . Online Magazine, Sept/Oct 2002.



OutputsTraditional – What we have done / services providedE.g. materials purchased, programs offered, website created, training sessions conductedOutcomesHow users have changed: knowledge, attitudes, behaviorE.g. # materials circulated, increased satisfaction with library, website is used, increased use of electronic databases, increased skill in finding information

Assessment and Planning



Outcomes– Simple Logic Model

5 hours per week staff time allocation / Assistance from graphics and marketing departments

Send project leaders a two-page ROI doc monthly

Library Staff will be invited to attend project meetings

Within 6 months library staff will have attended 6 project meetings

Goal: Increase Library Staff Participation in Company Project

Workgroups

Resources / Inputs

Activities

Outcomes

Criteria

Goal: Increase Library Staff Participation in Company Project

Workgroups

Influencers

Politics

Culture

Size / Scale

Who will conduct the assessment?

Internal

Outsourced



Assessment Tools / Methods

► Surveys► In-depth interviews► Focus groups► Brainstorming

sessions► Inventories



Assessment Tools / Logistics

Every method has logistical issues of some type. E.g.:

► “Preparation” of participants► Invitations► Scheduling► Locations► Equipment► Food?



The Needs Assessment



Questions: Some ConsiderationsA Scratch on the Surface

► Directly relevant to the goals of the assessment

► Not be “leading”► Easy to understand► If necessary, ask personal

questions at the end

PRE-TEST!!

[Consider it usability testing.]

A GOOD QUESTION SET IS HARD TO CREATE.



Questions: Some Considerations

► Force specific answers, e.g.: How many times in the past year have you used Factiva?

versus

In the past year I have used Factiva:0-4 times5-10 times11-25 timesmore than 25 times

[notice: exhaustive and mutually exclusive categories]

► Allow for “Not Applicable”, “Do Not Know” and “Other” choices, as appropriate



Assessment Tool: Surveys PaperOnlineEmail

Difficult to probe, clarify, etc.Difficult to create a good question set

ConvenientUseful for quantitative data Allows many individuals to be

involved

Some pros and cons



Assessment Tool: In-depth Interviews

Complex interviewer skillsTime-consumingScheduling can be difficultData analysis is more difficult

Probe for deep and complex dataPresent new ideas Build relationships

Some pros and cons



Assessment Tool: Focus Groups

Complex facilitation skillsComments avoided because of social contextLogistics are more complicatedWill need to record or have assistant(s)

Probe for deep and complex dataSynergy encourages new ideasBuild relationships among participants

Some pros and cons



Assessment Tool: Brainstorming

Must have folks who will speak upScheduling can be difficult

Facilitator skills less complex (although skills still needed)

Encourages new ideas

Some pros and cons



Assessment Tool: Inventories

DocumentsProducts and ServicesTechnical capabilities

Time-consumingNeed cooperation from everyone

Straightforward Main skills are social and organizational

Some pros and cons



Let’s Look at the Question and Data Analysis Handout



Interview Data Analysis Example



Presentation of Results

Is the medium the message?



A successful Needs Assessment is one:

► Which has marketed the results before the fact!

► Upon which decisions are made!

► Whose recommendations are implemented!

► Which contributes to continued assessment and evaluation activities.

Perspectives on Outcomes Based Evaluation for Libraries and Museumshttp://www.imls.gov/pdf/pubobe.pdfIMLSLSTAW. K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbook-Search title phrase on Google. The URL is very long…..