Quick and Dirty Data: Ten Tips to Make Your Library Data Useful Alison Clarke Performance Measures & Data Librarian Brampton Library OLA Superconference, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Quick and Dirty Data Start from the end Process not perfection Keep it simple Don’t get dirty Learn to love the pivot Be consistent V - Look up! Connect with your strat plan Make it pretty and tell a story Think long term Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Start from the End Tip #1 Count 20 Programs 20 early literacy programs Category 20 early literacy programs: 10 in the morning 10 in the afternoon Time of Day 20 early literacy programs: 80% of morning programs exceeded target attendance 100% of afternoon programs exceeded target attendance Return on Investment 20 early literacy programs: 80% of morning programs exceeded target attendance 100% of afternoon programs exceeded target attendance Customers learned how to sing a new song to their children, and play a game that helped children develop their fine motor skills. Outcomes Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Start from the End Tip #1 We asked our customers how they felt about the library: Lots of text lots of text lots of text lots of text lots of text lots of text lots of text and a few 453897. Lots of text lots of text lots of text lots of text lots of text lots of text lots of text and a few 453897. Lots of text lots of text lots of text lots of text lots of text lots of text lots of text and a few 453897. 2 Million Books Borrowed What kinds of reports or graphics does your organization produce? Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Start from the End Tip #1 Program data collection goals: Quick and easy easy to enter new data, and easy to analyze Flexible meet the needs of a variety of stakeholders Long term use consistent process for the future Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Tip #2 Process, not perfection Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Tip #3 Keep it simple Data Collection Goals: Collect it once Keep it in a spreadsheet How can you collect the data to meet these goals? Enter directly into a spreadsheet Online forms: google, office, Survey Monkey etc. Who will collect the data? Our staff enter the data into a google form after the program ends Templates are tricky Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Tip #3 Keep it simple We ask for 9 pieces of information: Was the program held In Branch or Offsite Where (branch or offsite location) Program title When (date/time) How many people attended the program Did you use a STEM kit? If yes, which one How many volunteers did you use, if any Anything else we need to know about this program experience Everything else gets added into the spreadsheet through formulas Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Tip #4 Don’t get dirty Before After En francais s'il vous plait En Fraçais Sîl Vous Plaît En Fraçaise Sîl Vous Plaît En Français Sil Vous Plaît En Francais, S'il Vous Plait En Francais, S'il vous Plait! En Française Sîl Vous Plaît Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Tip #4 Don’t get dirty Other: Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Learn to love the pivot Tip #5 6423 rows x 36 columns = 231,228 cells Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Learn to love the pivot Tip #5 20 minutes invested learning pivot tables prevents HOURS of headache later Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Learn to love the pivot Tip #5 ROWS VALUES Google Sheets Version Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Tip #5 Learn to love the pivot ROWS VALUES Excel Version Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Be Consistent Tip #6 Establish naming conventions for special events to make analysis quick and easy afterward Decide on program categories when the program is created, and add the information to a Master List Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Connect with your Strategic Plan Tip #6 Strategic Plan Master List Branch Reports (Monthly) Board Reports (Quarterly) Ministry/CULC (Yearly) Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 V – Look Up! Tip #8 Program Name Category Family Storytime Early Literacy Computer Basics Digital Literacy Program Name Category Family Storytime Computer Basics Early Literacy Master List Live Program Form Responses VLOOKUP Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Make it pretty and tell a story Tip #9 First pass Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Make it pretty and tell a story Tip #9 Dashboards: Who’s your audience? What do they want to know? What do you want them to know? Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Make it pretty and tell a story Tip #9 Second pass Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Make it pretty and tell a story Tip #9 Final Version Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Think long term Tip #10 Things to think about: Your next iteration What happens if your organization changes platforms? What if you move on to a new position? Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Favourite Resources Lynda.com has many different options for learning pivot tables & the vlookup formula: here are two examples that can be found within larger courses: Google Sheets Essential Training: Using pivot tables (4m19s) Building a Dynamic Heat Map in Excel: VLOOKUP (5m14s) https://depictdatastudio.com/ – check out the blog – you’ll find tips and videos on pivot tables & the vlookup formula http://www.storytellingwithdata.com/ – great data viz blog with tons of advice on data visualization and lots of fun challenges – as well as lots of tips/tricks on how to manipulate spreadsheets Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019

Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019 Happy Data Collection! Alison Clarke Performance Measures & Data Librarian Brampton Library OLA Superconference, 2019 aclarke@bramlib.on.ca Alison Clarke, February 1, 2019