The Evaluation Process/What Do You Need to Know? Your Evaluation Plan/The Data Trifecta – A Winning Combination
Session Materials
Resources
- Reading for Pleasure Study (The Reading Agency)
- Summer Reading: Program and Evidence (Chin & Krashen)
- Impact Survey
- PLA Project Outcome
- Library Evaluation 101: Short video tutorials on how to conduct surveys, interviews, focus groups, and observations
What Makes Your Community Special: Conducting a Needs Assessment
Session Materials
Resources
PLA Census Data Literacy Webinar Series
National Public Data Sets
- American Community Survey demographics (population, age, education, business, race and ethnicity, income, housing, poverty)
- Kid’s Count
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC survey)
- Pew Research Center
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
Washington State Data Sources
Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) – Data and Reporting
Local Records – Maps, Survey Results, Strategic Plans, Trend Reports
- Local planning departments
- County or city demographer
- Health agencies
- Schools and School Districts
- Nonprofits
- Newspapers and mass media
Market Segmentation – Combines demographic and residential data with information on buying habits, leisure activities, and consumer behavior.
- Market Segments – Doing Consumer Research: A Resource Guide (Library of Congress)
- Library vendor Gale offers Gale Analytics, which combines ILS data with market segmentation and mapping functions.
Starting the Conversation: Data Collection Methods
Session Materials
Resources
- Moderating Focus Groups Video
- Rev (transcription service)
- TapeACall (iphone recording app)
- Community Tool Box, Assessing Community Needs and Resources (Working Group for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas, 2016).
- Extensive resource of surveys, tools, and techniques for conducting interviews, focus groups, and surveys of all types.
- Designing and Conducting Focus Group Interviews (2002) by Richard A. Krueger
- This guide includes consideration of moderator skills, participant selection and management, question tips and types, analysis and reporting.
- Introduction to Conducting Focus Groups (2015, 2009) by NOAA Coastal Services Center
- A brief introduction to the steps for conducting focus groups; a high level view of the process from preparation to analysis.
- Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method (4th ed.). by Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., & Christian, L. M. (2009). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
- Questionnaire Design by Pew Research Center
- Survey Research Methods (5th ed.). by Fowler, F. J. (2009). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Survey Research by Teasdale, R. M. (2018). In R. V. Small and M. A. Mardis (Eds.), Research methods for librarians and educators: Practical applications in formal and informal learning environments (pp. 216-225). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
- Tips for Writing Questionnaire Items by Office of Educational Assessment, University of Washington
- Writing Survey Questions by Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching, Grand Canyon University
- Library Evaluation 101: Short video tutorials on how to conduct surveys, interviews, focus groups, and observations
Setting a Course for Your Library: Data Analysis Strategies
Session Materials
Resources
Bringing It All Together: Using Data for Management and Strategic Planning
Session Materials
Washington State Library Lunchtime Session
Telling the Library Story with Data
Session Materials
Resources
Operational Reports:
How to create Sparklines in Google Sheets
Operational Report Example (Excel – you may need to revise the formatting based on the version of Excel you’re using. The file is intended to be 1 page, letter size, landscape orientation.)
Operational Report Example (Google Sheets)
Presentations:
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