Effective Needs Assessments: Matching Community Needs and Library Resources

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Format: Online

Fee: Thanks to a special grant from the California State Library, LSTA funding will completely support this course, so there is no charge to the California library community. For out-of-state registrations, the fee is $75 for Infopeople partners (please enter your discount code) and $150 for all others.

(An Infopeople Online Learning Course)
November 24, 2009 – January 4, 2010

Are you planning new or remodeled library facilities? Implementing a new service? Do you want your current services to be more responsive to community needs? Are you writing a needs statement for an LSTA grant application?

If you want to acquire skills for discovering the needs of individuals and groups in your library's environment—users, potential users, governing bodies, volunteers, and staff—then this online course is for you.

You will learn to develop an overall needs assessment process for your library, including how to:

  • Define the purpose
  • Match appropriate methods with library resources
  • Collect, analyze, and interpret information
  • Share results

As a result of this course, you will be able to choose, customize, and carry out methods for needs assessment that fit whatever situations arise.

Course Description: In this online course you will explore and practice proven techniques for needs assessment. The instructor will provide sample tools and useful tips that you can apply immediately in your library. You will read about different methods of needs assessment, hear about best practices by listening to recorded interviews with California experts, and complete assignments that will give you experience using the recommended techniques. Participation in discussion forums and online chat meetings is also part of the online learning process.

Preliminary Course Outline: Using your web browser and your Internet connection, you will log in to the Infopeople online learning site and complete the following learning modules:

  • Module 1: Overview of Needs and Needs Assessment as Related to Library Services
    • Definitions of needs and assessment methods
    • Reasons a library would use assessments
    • Type of groups that make up the library's community
    • What information to gather to identify types of needs of community/target groups
    • Matching library services to meet needs
    • Differences between needs assessment and accountability assessment
  • Module 2: Types of Needs Assessment Methods
    • Informal
      • Observation
      • Perceptions
      • Library/Government Data
    • Formal
      • Interviews
      • Focus Groups
      • Surveys
  • Module 3: Decision steps in an information gathering process, using online survey tools and commercial firms
    • The seven steps in an overall information gathering process
      • Defining the purpose(s)
      • Determining what resources are available
      • Deciding who will conduct the process
      • Deciding what kinds of information should be collected
      • Deciding how information will be collected
      • Deciding how information will be analyzed and interpreted
      • Deciding how the results will be shared
  • Module 4: How to match appropriate assessment methods with community needs and library resources, how to summarize and analyze needs assessment data, strategies for creating winning grant needs statements
    • Matching needs assessment methods with community needs and library resources
    • Tips on summarizing and analyzing needs assessment data
    • Creating winning needs statements
      • What funding sources want
      • Common weaknesses
      • Tips for meeting California State Library expectations

Pre-course assignment: You will be asked to complete a pre-course online survey to indicate your level of interest: either level 1- if you plan to take the course to gain a basic overview of the topic or level 2 - if you have a specific needs assessment or grant development project in mind. In order to earn a certificate of completion at either level, you must complete all of the weekly assignments. To earn a certificate of completion for level 2, you must develop an information gathering process or grant statement tailored to your project. If you have a specific project in mind, the instructor will contact you to set up an individual consultation time prior to the course start date.

Time required: To complete this course, you can expect to spend 2 to 3 hours per week. You can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, it is recommended that you complete each week's assignments within that week to stay in sync with other learners.

Who Should Take This Course: Anyone interested in needs assessment methods, anyone from the library community who intends to gather needs assessment data for planning library services or for preparing a need statement for a grant application. This includes all levels of library staff, as well as trustees and volunteers.

Online Learning Details and System Requirements may be found at
http://www.infopeople.org/training/learning_details.html.

Course Start: This online learning course starts on November 24, 2009. Because several holidays fall within what would normally be a four-week course, the end date has been extended to January 4 to allow sufficient time to finish the four modules.

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Available for contracting: 
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