Demystifying Data

Librarian's Library by Araceli Mendez Hintermeister

In any profession, making informed decisions often means analyzing available facts and figures. Columnist Araceli Méndez Hintermeister recommends titles that outline best practices for library workers to collect and understand organizational data.

Fundamentals of Planning and Assessment for Libraries
By Rachel A. Fleming-May and Regina Mays
Part of ALA Publishing’s Fundamentals series, this book helps to build understanding of planning and assessment cycles in a way that suits all library workers’ needs, no matter their prior familiarity. Fleming-May and Mays detail different parts of the cycle, including how to design and execute an assessment and how to report and integrate your library’s organizational efforts. The authors provide a series of templates and resources to assist readers as they continue their learning in this topic area or begin implementation. This book can support library workers as they develop a culture of assessment at their workplace and also in personal practice. ALA Neal-Schuman, 2021. 264 p. $64.99. PBK. 978-0-8389-4998-6.

Data-Driven Decisions: A Practical Toolkit for Library and Information Professionals
By Amy Stubbing
This book will help you use data to deliver effective decisions that empower your next project or initiative. Stubbing shows how to collect and leverage data from daily business operations, guiding readers through creating a collection and review process for any new analysis. She offers easy-to-implement guidance regarding the different stages of data collection, from identification to action. A series of case studies helps illustrate how libraries have supported their initiatives through data-rich information. Facet Publishing, 2022. 200 p. $71.99. PBK. 978-1-78330-478-3.

The Data Detective: 10 Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics
By Tim Harford
If the idea of analyzing and presenting numbers terrifies you, Harford’s book will simplify and remove any confusion around statistics. His 10 easy rules can help you to demystify data and use it as a tool to understand the world. Stories about how statistics have been used to both mislead and change people’s behavior for the better illustrate how even complex data can become a tool that brings context and perspective.
Riverhead Books, 2021. 336 p. $18. PBK. 978-0-59308-459-5. (Also available as an ebook.)

Using Digital Analytics for Smart Assessment
By Tabatha Farney
Whether your library has an abundance of digital offerings or not, patrons are interacting with your digital spaces in more ways than ever. Farney illustrates how to access, use, and analyze data collected from library websites, electronic resources, and digital tools. The first section of the book dives into the basics of digital analytics while helping you understand the organizational impact of digital tools. The second section presents stories on how libraries have used digital analytics to develop services and identify areas of growth. Farney adeptly shows you how to find constructive feedback within your digital analytics. ALA Editions, 2018. 168 p. $65. PBK. 978-0-8389-1598-1. (Also available as an ebook.)

The Power of Experiments: Decision Making in a Data-Driven World
By Michael Luca and Max H. Bazerman
When it comes to new initiatives, we often find ourselves wondering what could work. Luca and Bazerman argue there’s no need to wonder when you can experiment. Here, they aim to convince readers of the power and importance of experimentation in decision making by sharing stories of how it helped multimillion-dollar companies as well as organizers of public projects find gaps in their initiatives and identify next steps. The Power of Experiments offers useful lessons as well as inspiration to help you navigate the unknown. MIT Press, 2021. 232 p. $19.95. PBK. 978-0-26204-387-8. (Also available as an ebook.)

Qualitative Data Collection Tools: Design, Development, and Applications
By Felice D. Billups
Without the right assessment tool, evaluation efforts can fall short or even fail. This informative read helps you design, develop, and employ the qualitative tools needed to launch your next data collection. While qualitative research may be foreign to many readers, Billups provides practical guidance and easily adaptable resources to help identify the right approach for your project—whether it be focus groups, journal logs, reflective questionnaires, or one of the many templates included. SAGE Publishing, 2020. 240 p. $30. PBK. 978-1-54433-482-0. (Also available as an ebook.)

Latest Library Links

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PC Mag, Nov. 14; NordPass, Nov. 13; ZDNet, Nov. 14
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John Sharp writes: “Athens and Fairhope are two fast-growing cities in the fastest-growing areas of Alabama, and there is no mistaking their conservative bona fides. But according to early statistics about library card applications, their libraries appear to be bucking a trend embraced by conservative-leaning groups and the Alabama GOP: Their patrons appear to be trusting the libraries. More than 60% of parents at Fairhope Public Library and Athens-Limestone County Public Library have signed off on all-access passes for their children with no restrictions on library usage.”

AL.com, Nov. 17
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Katie Gaddini writes: “Book bans may have mushroomed in the Trump era of reactionary politics, but they have a well-established history in America. One woman in particular, Norma Gabler, redefined the current strategy and logic behind modern book bans. Called ‘education’s public enemy number one,’ by critics in 1980, Gabler led the crusade against the so-called secular trend in school textbooks throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Even though Norma and her husband Mel worked together, Norma was the public face of their efforts for decades.”

Time: Made By History, Nov. 13
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Many members know Bill Ladewski as executive director of the Reference and User Services Association, an ALA position he has held since 2019. In early September, Ladewski added another title to his CV: director of Member Relations and Services. In this role, he and his team are charged with providing service and information to the Association’s nearly 50,000 members. Ladewski answered our 11 Questions to reintroduce himself to the ALA community.

AL: The Scoop, Nov. 19
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John Warner writes: “I understand what people mean when they invoke the term ‘institutional neutrality,’ but I don’t know how it’s workable in today’s world. Higher education institutions are built upon a foundation of actual values, values that are, by definition, not neutral. The Kalven report, the Rosetta Stone of institutional neutrality produced by a faculty committee at the University of Chicago in 1967, is not a call to make all work emanating from an institution ‘neutral,’ but is instead a call to make the atmosphere for scholarly inquiry and debate as free as possible.”

Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 15
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Angela Hursh writes: “Ever wondered how your library’s email performance compares to others? Benchmarks help you understand how well your emails perform in key areas and identify opportunities for improvement. They also allow you to compare your email marketing performance, set goals, and stay on top of trends. However, the lack of industry benchmarks for email marketing metrics specific to libraries has been bugging me. Metrics from similar industries don’t fully capture the unique aspects of promoting a library. To help libraries accurately measure their email effectiveness, we’ve created the first-ever library email benchmark report.”

NoveList, Oct. 22
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Rachel Hendrick writes: “Students and library vendors are pushing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in higher education, but there are very few resources that help librarians and scholars separate the wheat from the chaff. Luckily, we here at Choice love a good assessment rubric. (In fact, we made a PDF of our assessment rubric.) Even the least tech-savvy of us can use a very simple AI literacy framework to think critically about whether an AI application is worth your time.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Nov. 13