Fopl ola sc stats with molyneux

Overview of FOPL's Ontario Public Library Statistics and

Measurements Report

Dr. Robert Molyneux, MLIS, PhDStephen Abram, MLA , FOPL Executive Director

OLA Super ConferenceJan. 29, 2015

Introductions

Today’s Speakers

Dr. Robert Molyneux, MLIS, PhDStephen Abram, MLA , FOPL Executive Director

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FOPL Webinars in the Stats Series

August 14th, 2015 Overview of FOPL's Ontario Public Library Statistics and Measurements Report

Speaker:  Robert Molyneux, MSLS, PhDAugust 17th Overview of FOPL's Market Probe Canada Public

Opinion Poll of Ontarians and Public Libraries Speaker: Carol French, Senior Vice President, Research & Client

Services, Market Probe CanadaAugust 28th Strategic Use and Insights from FOPL's Ontario

Public Library Statistics, Polls, and Measurements Speaker:  Stephen Abram, MLS, executive director FOPL

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Context of FOPL Stats and Measurements

Statistics and Measurements Strategies– Participate in CLA task force on national statistics– Host 2 iSchool symposia on measurements for libraries– Lobby for open data for public libraries– Publish analysis of Ministry data collection for 2001-2013.– Publish Market Probe opinion polls for 2015 (building on 2001,

2006, 2010 polls)– Host and record webinars– Coming Soon: FOPL Index of Community Engagement

Thank you to the Ministry of Tourism Culture and Sport for support

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Limits of Library Statistics

Library statistics are very complicated and complex. Most libraries do not have a strong culture of

measurement. What is the difference between statistics, measurements,

polls, etc. All numbers have inherent risk when communicated and

interpreted. Data - Information - Knowledge - Action/Decisions

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Potential Comparisons

Compare by size of population (or any other data point (expenditures per capita, etc.)

North – South (e.g. SOLS vs. OLS North Libraries) Rural, Remote, Town, County, Suburban, Urban

Libraries Special Groups – Francophone, First Nations, etc. Regional comparisons (e.g. libraries around Ajax or

libraries around Waterloo) Handpick a peer cohort

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What do we normally use our data for?

Strategic Planning Program Analysis Budget justifications and comparisons Tracking success, growth, decline Decision support Finding libraries like ours to compare our experience to

theirs– Which means they can be a directory to libraries like

mine for benchmarking and cohort analysis– Comparing like with like is important

And more . . . We will add trying to get a sense of the health of and trends

in Ontario’s public libraries

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If you’re not collecting the data to inform an action, then why are you expending the effort?

Making Decisions and Choices

Library data have a long history

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Library data have a long history

We have fragmentary numbers of collections of a number of these libraries– And like modern library numbers, we are not always

sure exactly what they mean

Adriano Balbi, A Statistical Essay of the Libraries of Vienna and the World [1835]– First modern attempt at comparing libraries in major

European cities using published statistics about them

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Balbi’s observations

“disheartened by a disparity of opinion…” “only approximate data” “exaggerated” numbers in pursuit of prestige

Then a wonderful discussion of the problems of comparative library data

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Types of library data

Balbi was dealing with reports by visitors to various libraries at different times who recorded estimates they heard from a variety of people– One-time studies done by different methods

Episodic surveys– Attitudinal surveys—particularly users and

non-users– Data collection on fugitive or new subjects

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The data we are going to discuss are systematically collected, annual data, professionally compiled from surveys of Ontario public libraries by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport

Available from 1999-2013 in pdf 2014 Coming Soon!

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Now converted to csv files

The Ministry has reissued these data in csv (“comma-separated values”) which means they can be read into a spreadsheet program such as Excel or LibreOffice Calc readily.

In other words, there is not a chance of introducing error when you rekey data.

This is a tremendous boon to studying our libraries using these data.

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What can we do with these data?

We can look at any variables we choose for individual libraries in one year or all libraries in one year. – For example: How big were the budgets of Ontario

libraries in 2013? With a good bit of work, we can rearrange the

data and look at the select variables through time—that is, trends.– Say: What happened to their budgets from 2001-2013?

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We did a bit of both and more

The report is a sampler of what can be done with these kinds of data with the focus on a province-wide view, not individual libraries

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We did not use all data from this series for our report

Small number of variables In order to analyze trends properly, we only used

data from libraries which reported each year. For this study, that number is 301 libraries

Years 2001-2013 We separated them into 9 “Bands”—8 by size plus

the First Nations’ Libraries in a 9th Band. – The Ministry did the same thing– This is common practice in this kind of analysis

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LET’S TAKE A TOUR THROUGH THE REPORT

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First the Primer

The big story is the consistent characteristic of the library world that affects about everything:– Skewed distribution: a few large libraries and many

small ones In 2013, the 10 largest libraries (of 300+) had 60% of the

total circulations and 54% of the total expenditures.

We must take these characteristics into account in analyzing data– Hence, our size “Bands” which follow Ministry practice

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The Primer, then, informs the analysis in the FOPL Reports

Given it is a sampler– We segment by size of library in “Bands”

Same as those used by the Ministry with a difference: First Nations’ Libraries are analyzed separately in those tables where we use Bands

– Another common tool is the “Rank Order Table” Sort libraries in order by their reported data. That, is rank their results

by the reported data or statistics calculated from these data– Most commonly per capitas. Dividing, say, circulations, by the

resident population served by the library We combine this technique with analysis of Bands.

– Our focus, primarily, is the state of the provinces libraries and trends affecting them

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There are many other things you could do with these data

This is a rich series

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ONWARD! 2013 KEY RATIOS!

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2013 data per capita and per cardholder

Thirteen ratios, all libraries The ratios are largely those we focus on in

the rest of the report. As the Primer showed, per capitas allow

apples to apples comparisons of libraries of vastly different sizes– You may be small, but you may be doing a better

job with what you have than bigger libraries.

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Using the Spreadsheet Versions

You have pre-crafted tables in the report(s) You could take the spreadsheet and mosey

around in it a bit. Sort by this or that—it is a very busy table and one hard to show in slides

FOPL can make the spreadsheet available to the members on request.

We are also happy to do custom analysis for you on request for a quoted fee.

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A bit of caution if you work with spreadsheets

Save a copy of the original spreadsheet Did I mention saving a copy of the original and

don’t change it Make another copy for analysis. If you make a

mistake, you always can go back to the safe copy Working with spreadsheets requires caution

– You think you did something but you can’t audit what you have done

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Annual Population and Circulation, 2001-2013

Trend analysis is a bit different Of all libraries which reported in any year,

301 reported in each year These tables are complex

– We will see them again, so let’s take a look

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Traditional library measures are steady

OTOH: New things are growing

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Rank Order Tables

Circulation per capita and per active cardholder, 2013, by Bands

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Rank Order Tables

Expenditures per capita and per active cardholders

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Conclusions

This is the beginning. A first shot based on best guesses of where to look.

There are other ways of studying libraries such as qualitative surveys of a library’s users and their non-users. – Given the rapidly changing information environment

in libraries, quicker surveys likely will be a part of the future of data gathering to support decision making.

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Next Step

Develop a NEW FOPL Index of Community Engagement for testing and discussion.

Can we combine in various ratios the hard copy and digital transactions and attendance of our library members to compare libraries on a more fulsome basis than ‘circulation’?

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Questions?

www.fopl.ca

Stephen Abram, Executive [email protected]

Thank You

www.fopl.ca

Stephen Abram, Executive [email protected]