Community Assessment for Eurekans

Community Assessment for EurekansDr. Cindy MediavillaLibrary Programs Consultant

Friday, February 21, 201412 Noon Pacific

Why is community assessment important?

To start our conversation,Type your thoughts into the

chat box.

Community

Community = Target population the library exists

to serve

Community assessments

Should always be conducted from the community’s – not the library’s – point of view

Why conduct community assessments?

 Tell us which new library services

and programs are needed

Inform collection development

Often required as part of grant applications

Why grants require “needs statements”

Grants should always be written to resolve a problem

Funders want to provide services to meet community needs

Developing a community assessment strategy

Why assess the community?

Which population(s)?

Which data already exist?

Barriers to assessment?

Which methodologies?

Assessment techniques

Let’s take a Poll

Environmental scans Background data that already

exist

Help put other data into context

Should probably be conducted first before other data-gathering techniques

External data about the community Demographics

Economic conditions

Community setting

Technological sophistication

Sociocultural realities

Internal data about the library Organizational history and culture

Service priorities

Human and “non-human” assets

Technology infrastructure

Sources of support

Tips for successful environmental scans Use the forms

List sources of information gathered

Observation Formal study of events and/or

activities as they occur

Confirm or deny participants’ perceptions

Collect unspoken data that might never be revealed otherwise

Types of data collected through observation

Participant behavior in a given situation

Steps of a particular process

How long it takes to accomplish a task

Traffic patterns inside/outside the library

How activities change over time

Tips for successful observations Try to be unobtrusive

Take notes

Spend time observing

Observe and compare activities

Key informant interviews One-on-one interviews with key

community leaders

Identify target community’s areas of concern and interest

May provide access to other community members

Tips for successful key informant interviews Go to them

Send questions beforehand

Build rapport before interviewing

Focus on community needs/interests, not the library

Take notes

Surveys Usually anonymous method to

get direct input from target population

More than one way to conduct

Relatively easy to administer and tabulate

Questions elicit specific feedback

Tips for successful surveys The shorter the better

Use simple language

One concept per question

Don’t use too many question styles

Test surveys before administering

Focus groups Moderated but unstructured small group

discussions to elicit input on specific topic(s)

May be used to help design surveys and/or provide follow-up information

Not anonymous

May create false expectations

Often difficult to tabulate

Tips for successful focus groups Homogeneous groups of 6-10 participants

5-7 questions maximum

30-90 minutes

Provide an incentive to participate

Record discussion and take notes

Common assessment mistakes and how to avoid Not knowing the target population

well enough beforehand

Biased instruments/techniques

Focus on library and on not the community

Ignored non-users

Using assessment data to justify a grant need

Funders want to know how their money will be used to help the community

Cite findings that have informed your grant project

Triangulate!

Questions?

Thank you.

[email protected]

Infopeople webinars are supported in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian. This material is licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 Share & Share-Alike license. Use of this material should credit the author and funding source.