The goal of Project Outcome is to help public libraries understand and share the true impact of essential library services and programs beyond circulation numbers, program attendance and door counts. While many public libraries collect data about their services and programs, what they often lack is the data to support what benefits they are providing their communities, such as programs serving childhood literacy, digital and technological training, summer reading program and workforce development. Project Outcome is designed to provide simple tools and a supportive online community of library leaders to help turn better data into better libraries. This data will also help libraries tell their stories more effectively to their communities and their funders.

More and more, funders and community leaders want to know how library services make a difference and how people’s behaviors change as a result of a service.

How It Works

Project Outcome provides simple survey instruments and an easy-to-use process for public library staff to measure the outcomes of their library programs. For the first time, public libraries–whether new to outcome measurement or advanced in data collection– will have free access to an aggregated set of performance measurement data and analysis tools they can use to affect change within their communities and beyond.

To participate, start by setting goals for the outcomes your library wants to achieve through your programs, then choose the service areas where you want to measure outcomes. Measuring outcomes is becoming more important than measuring outputs. For example, an intelligent community (not large circulation numbers) should be the primary library goal.

At the end of a library program or series, library staff administer patron surveys for the relevant service area and report their results in a simple, online survey portal. Participating libraries can see their survey results in a visually interactive data dashboard. Libraries are encouraged to then use their data to support and promote future action – from allocating resources more efficiently, to advocating new resources more effectively, to providing support for future library funding, branch activity reports, and strategic planning.

For example: The Everytown Library would like to evaluate their adult programming.  The goal is for all community members have the materials, programs and interactive experiences they need to satisfy individual lifelong learning interests. Everytown Library is about to start their Fall programming and would like to evaluate the programs using the Education and Lifelong Learning online Survey (see below for questions)

For questions on how to register contact Jennifer Ferriss, 518-584-7300 x219

The SALS Main Office will be closed in observance of Veterans Day on November 11th.
But don’t forget to remind your patrons that they can access the library online 24/7:
Catalog: http://pac.sals.edu/polaris/
OverDrive eBooks: http://salon.sals.edu
Databases: http://research.sals.edu/libpacs/salpublic2.shtml   

(The images included in this post are labeled for reuse.  Feel free to save & re-post them.)