Using Data to Tell Your Story

Beth Hayden and Joyce Chapman | State Library of North Carolina

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Outline Why data? Contextualizing your data Understanding Census data Data sources Examples Q&A

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Why data?

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why data?data?

Assemble data that1.Accurately answers your questions2.Adds credibility to your claims3.Adds powerful descriptors to your narrative

Identify 1.Where will data substantiate claims 2.Where data will reinforce the story as

evidence

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Knowing what it is that you want to be able to show through your data is critical to knowing whatdata you need

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Data requires context to be meaningful

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Data as stepping stones in your story

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Tips for context

Never provide numbers in isolation Try to answer the question "compared to

what?" The state average? Other libraries that are similar to you in some

way? Trends in the statistic from year to year? What percentage does the statistic represent? Where does the statistic "rank" you among peers? How does the statistic relate to other statistics?

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Data without context

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"43% of children in Robeson

county live in poverty."

Compared to what? Is that typical or atypical?

Source: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (2011)

Data in context

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"43% of children in Robeson county live

in poverty, compared to the N.C. average of 25% and national

average of 23%. The rate of children living in poverty is almost twice as high in Robeson

county as the U.S. average."

Source: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (2011)

Data without context

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"North Carolina public libraries have an average of 1.93

librarians per 25,000 capita."

So what?! Is it high or low?Is it related to any other meaningful data?

Source: Annual Public Library Survey (2010)

Data in context

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"N.C. public libraries receive 19% less

local funding than counterparts across

the Southeastern U.S. Due to the lack of adequate funding,

N.C. libraries have an average of 45%

fewer librarians per capita than the

regional average."

Source: Annual Public Library Survey (2010)

Community data

Characteristics of the community that your library serves Child poverty rate, veteran population, number of uninsured people, percentage non English speakers, families with young children, etc.

Library dataData about your library’s services and programs Circulation counts, program attendance, FTE, revenue and expenditures, public computer usage, reference transactions, etc.

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Understanding Census data

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How to find data

US CensusWhy use?Reliable (since 1790)StandardRecognizableOften Requested

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Census Programs

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Decennial Census American Community Survey

ACS Topics

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Data sources

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www.census.gov

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linc.state.nc.us

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New resource! North Carolina Public Library Data: plstats.nclive.org

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Kids Count Data Centerhttp://datacenter.kidscount.org/

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ExamplesUsing data to support

arguments

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Example #1

"We serve a poor community with high unemployment. The library offers

workforce development solutions via our public access computers, job

search resources, and free classes, but in order to meet demand the library

needs money for more public computers."

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Example #1

"We serve a poor community with high unemployment. The library offers

workforce development solutions via our public access computers, job search

resources, and free classes, but in order to meet demand, the library needs money for more public computers."

1.Median household income2.% of people living in poverty

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Example #1

"We serve a poor community with high unemployment. The library offers

workforce development solutions via our public access computers, job search

resources, and free classes, but in order to meet demand, the library needs money for more public computers."

1.Median household income – compared to surrounding areas or state avg?

2.% of people living in poverty – trend in poverty rate over past 10 years?

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Example #1

"We serve a poor community with high unemployment. The library

offers workforce development solutions via our public access

computers, job search resources, and free classes, but in order to meet

demand, the library needs money for more public computers."

1.Unemployment rate

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Example #1

"We serve a poor community with high unemployment. The library offers

workforce development solutions via our public access computers, job search resources, and free classes, but in order

to meet demand, the library needs money for more public computers."

1.Unemployment rate – where do you rank in unemployment rate among peer libraries?

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Example #1

"We serve a poor community with high unemployment. The library offers

workforce development solutions via our public access computers, job search resources, and free classes, but in order

to meet demand, the library needs money for more public computers."

1.Number of public computers and resources available2.Quantities and frequency of classes, etc.

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Example #1

"We serve a poor community with high unemployment. The library offers

workforce development solutions via our public access computers, job search

resources, and free classes, but in order to meet demand, the library needs money for

more public computers."1.Number of computers and resources available – per capita, compared to peer groups?

2.Quantities / frequency of classes, etc. – longitudinal trends in attendance and offerings? Computer sessions per opening hour? Classes offered compared to other community organizations?

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Example #2

“This type of special collections materials is frequently accessed by users. The papers of X, Y, and Z are among our most requested. The papers of A, B, and C were recently processed and therefore have been accessible for only a couple years. Nonetheless, they have seen growing research interest during that brief time.”

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Example #2

“This type of special collections materials is frequently accessed by users. The papers of X, Y, and Z are among our most requested. The papers of A, B, and C were recently processed and therefore have been accessible for only a couple years. Nonetheless, they have seen growing research interest during that brief time.”

How often? What frequency compared to other materials? Trends over time?

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Example #2

“This type of special collections materials is frequently accessed by users [20 requests this year]. The papers of X, Y, and Z are among our most requested [8, 10, and 12 requests in past 5 years]. The papers of A, B, and C were recently processed and therefore have been accessible for only a couple years. Nonetheless, they have seen growing research interest during that brief time [each requested twice so far].” Problem with special collections: by nature they circulate

much less frequently than other materials. Instead of just listing numbers, we have to provide context for readers to help them understand the significance of these numbers.

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Example #2

“This type of special collections materials is frequently accessed by users; of our six types of collection, 30% of all requests are for this type. The papers of X, Y, and Z are among our most requested. When data from the last 5 years is analyzed in aggregate, these collections appear in the top 10 most requested collections each year. The papers of A, B, and C were recently processed and therefore have been accessible for only a couple years. Nonetheless, they have seen growing research interest during that brief time. A, B, and C have already been requested more times than 40% of our existing collection.”

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Example #3

“We really need a new library facility because the current library is difficult for

elderly people to navigate and it’s too small.”

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Example #3

“We really need a new library facility because the current library is difficult for

elderly people to navigate and it’s too small.”

Elderly people can’t use: prove it! Too small for what? By what standards?

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Example #3

“We really need a new library facility because the current library is difficult for elderly people to navigate and it’s too small.”

Difficult for elderly people to navigate Conduct an annual user survey and ask questions

about ease of access, as well as the age of respondents

Track complaints to public services staff How many elderly or disabled people are there in

the community?

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Example #3

“We really need a new library facility because the current library is difficult for

elderly people to navigate and it’s too small.”

It’s too small How many square feet of facility are available per

capita? How does this compare to peer libraries? Track complaints about space/size from surveys

and day-to-day interactions

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Example #3

“We really need a new library facility because the current library is difficult for elderly people

to navigate and it’s too small.”

Difficult for elderly people to navigate Elderly patrons represent 15% of the population but

25% of our patrons. They check out 30% of our materials. Elderly patrons consistently complain about accessibility on our annual surveys: last year 75% of elderly respondents said handicapped parking was inadequate and 90% said they could not reach the second floor due to the lack of an elevator.”

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Example #3

“We really need a new library facility because the current library is difficult for elderly people

to navigate and it’s too small.”

It’s too small Our library has 20% less space per capita than the

NC average, and 35% less space per capita than our peer libraries.

Complaints about space have ranked as the top complaint on our annual patron survey for the past 3 years running.

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Contact Us

Joyce Chapman Consultant for Communications and Data

Analysis joyce.chapman@ncdcr.gov 919.807.7421

Elizabeth Hayden Demographics and Reference Librarian elizabeth.hayden@ncdcr.gov 919.807.7467

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