This document outlines steps for libraries to take to better understand how they relate to their communities by looking beyond traditional metrics. It recommends that libraries 1) gather demographic data on community members and library users/employees, 2) work to understand the role the library should play and services it should provide based on community needs, 3) analyze usage and cost data for different services, and 4) collect impact stories from the community to demonstrate the library's value in a compelling way. The goal is for libraries to have a deeper understanding of the communities they serve.

1. Measuring
What
Matters
Presented by
Joan Frye Williams
NEKLS Summer Trustee Workshop
June 7, 2014

2. To understand how your library
relates to your community…

3. Look beyond
what’s
always been
measured

4. Look beyond the conventional wisdom

5. 1. Start with the people

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

7. Who is eligible to use your library?

8. • Demographics
• Neighborhoods
• Destinations: where residents work, play,
shop, go to school, and hang out
• Technology availability/usage
• Quality of life goals and priorities

9. Who has signed up for a library card?

10. 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

11. Who works
at the library?

12. Employee and volunteer profile
• Age range
• Years of service
• Similarity to community profile

13. 2. Reach
consensus on
what role
your library
should play
in your
community

14. Consensus
 The process was fair
 I understood the decision criteria
 There was an opportunity for my voice to be
heard
 Even if the direction isn’t exactly what I would
have chosen, I will support it with positive
communications and actions

16. Strategic profile
• Mission, vision, values
• Alignment with broader
community goals
• Positioning with respect
to other service providers
• Desired impact

18. 3. Get acquainted with
library services

19. What can the community get
from their library?

20. 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

21. Which services are members choosing?

22. 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

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

24. 4. Understand how library resources
are allocated

25. What does the community get
for its investment?

26. Cost data for key services
• Per capita
• Per member
• Per user
• Per program/event
• Per transaction
Compare:
1. Total cost
2. Staff costs only

27. 5. Be on the lookout for…

28. Diversification

29. Signs that interest in a service
is waning

30. Cost/demand
disparities

31. Outliers and exceptions

32. Omissions

33. Surprises

34. 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!

35. joan@jfwilliams.com
Let’s continue
the
conversation…
Photo by Martin Helmke