Making Your Numbers Count: Effective Library Statistics

[ Back to Contracting form ] [ Back to list of workshops ]

Making Your Numbers Count: Effective Library Statistics

Are you a library manager or librarian involved in decision-making, service or project evaluation, or grant development for your library? Are you interested in using data to make good decisions and develop effective service programs? Do you feel more comfortable with words than numbers, but know that numbers are demanded by the decision-makers with whom you work? Learn how to tell your library's story as powerfully as possible using basic numerical and statistical concepts.

Workshop Description: In this full-day workshop, participants will learn about the many options available to them for gathering, analyzing and presenting quantitative data about their libraries and programs of service. The workshop will provide the opportunity for participants to share their own experiences and frustrations with what can often be an overwhelming amount of irrelevant information and to learn practical, basic concepts and tools. This is NOT a workshop about technical statistical analysis.

Highlights: Through discussion, practical exercises, and the use of library-based examples, participants will gain a broader understanding of how they can use data to bolster their positions and arguments, evaluate their services, and meet the needs of their funding authorities for outcome-based measurements. Tips for effectively analyzing and presenting statistical information will be presented and discussed.

Data Gathering:

  • What do you need to know?
  • Why do you need to know it?
  • Who is your audience?
  • Various types of data defined
  • Nine reasons for collection data identified
  • Best techniques to use for each kind
  • How and why to select service indicators for your library

Data Analysis:

  • Now that I've collected it, what do I do with it?
  • How can I compare my library with others in meaningful ways?
  • How can I make meaningful evaluations of the services my library presents?
  • Evaluating the quality of the data you have or that others present
  • Analyzing data by looking at averages, percentages, percentile rankings, multiple variations, correlations, and trend lines
  • How Excel can help you with basic analytical tasks

Data Presentation:

  • Telling your story effectively with the data you've gathered and analyzed
  • Three basic ways to organize information and the most useful models to use under various circumstances
  • Presentation options and why to choose them
  • How to use the office suite software you have available to make effective presentations

Who should attend: Library Directors, Assistant Directors, managers, administrative assistants or analysts and anyone else responsible for compiling data and making decisions with it.

Prerequisites: None.

Please Note: There is a $75.00 fee for this workshop. Infopeople does not provide parking passes, lunch or refreshments.

Check-in: 8:30 to 9 AM Instruction: 9 AM to 4:30 PM