Format: Webinar, original date May 23, 2017
Hosted by: WebJunction and COSLA
Length: 1 hour
In the United States, there are a number of national surveys of public libraries and their patrons. While all of these efforts help us tell a data-based story of public libraries, they differ in terms of their samples, what types of data they collect, and how their data are collected, stored, and accessed. During the first webinar in this three-part series, we scanned the landscape of major public library surveys and considered how library data could be used more productively in the future. In this second webinar, we will drill deeper into the concepts of sampling, data types, and data management, and how they impact what we know about public libraries and their patrons. At the end of this webinar, participants will have a greater understanding of various sampling methods, recognize the differences between inputs, outputs, and outcomes, and be aware of the data management practices for various national public library surveys.
Presented by: Rebecca Teasdale, John Bertot, and Linda Hofschire