USING METRICS TO

SUPPORT VALUE IN

ACADEMIA

AS

HLE

Y M

OYE

ME

T AD

AT A

& D

I GI T

AL I

NI T

I AT

I VE

S L

I BR

AR

I AN

CH

AR

L OTT

E S

CH

OO

L O

F L

AW

70

4. 9

71

. 85

67

AM

OY

E@

CH

AR

L OTT

ELA

W. E

DU

~Martha Kyrillidou, Senior Director of the

Association of Research Libraries statistics and service

quality programs

IT’S ALL ACADEMIC

KEEP IT OPEN!

To be most effective in communicating value, expand reporting beyond basic input and output tracking

Inputs: staff, supplies, equipment and money

Outputs: resources and services you produce

Don’t count things for the sake of counting

Find ways to demonstrate value of these inputs and outputs, to at least one of your audience groups

When in doubt, use anecdotal or qualitative data to supplement counts

Always measure with a purpose!

Anecdotal data

Qualitative data

Inputs: staff,

supplies, equipment and money

Outputs: resources

and services

you produce

Outcomes and

Impacts demonstrat

e value

Go beyond basic

tracking

CONTEXT IS KEY

Measure

Is it meaningful?

Shows value from investment?Tells the right story?

IT’S ALL ACADEMIC

LIBRARYAdministration

Stakeholders

Students

Faculty Staff

Alumni

Public

Attorney Members

ALREADY IN THE HOUSE

It’s built in!

Fixed fields are powerful tools

Review reporting options

Administration & StakeholdersQuick & easy required reporting

Custom guides for all audiences

Room booking statistics & Scheduling software

Data banks

SOCIAL MEDIA

Blog Facebook, Twitter, Google +, LinkedIn, etc.

Student Engagement

Positive Branding, Marketing & Outreach

What interests your patrons? What do they value today?

DESK TRACKING & MORE

ALL STAFF

Consistency in collection is key“Happy Patron” to collect qualitative dataTime spent on all activitiesIf you see a trend, track it!

USAGE STATISTICS Many databases are not COUNTER compliant

Difficult to make comparisons across databases

No consistency in terminology or reporting without COUNTER compliance

User behavior and preferences within databases may be difficult to track through usage reports

Your audience determine what

measures have

meaning

CONSORTIA & GROUPS

“Best Practices

” for Electronic Resource

s

• Usage reports

• Usage trends

• User preferences

SMALL GROUPS

Study Aids

SUPPORT INITIATIVES

99% of students used this product!

Digital signage

throughout school

Bookmarks in print

study aids

Blog posts & dedicated LibGuide

FEEDBACK!

Promotional events

Prizes and incentives

Add to other

surveys

Offer free incentivesLeverage staff members’ skills

REMEMBER THIS!

Your reports are only as good as the data you collect

Anecdotal evidence is imperative

Different patron groups have different needs and define value differently

Speak to the factors your audience views as important

Create and prove your own value through conscious metric collection

WHEN YOU’RE STRETCHED THIN…

Identify what’s

available

• What are you already tracking?

• What’s already in place?

Develop staff

reporting

• Track specific activities and trends

• Store your anecdotes

Use the data to support

• Initiatives• Expenditures• Your value!