There's a nasty cold making its germ-infested way from person to person here in Kansas City and despite washing my hands 20 times per day and eating Vitamin C like candy, it has at last caught up to me. Luckily, I telecommute so am still able to work without needing to worry about spreading the bug to coworkers. While I don't like contagious colds, I do love infectious ideas and I need to thank my friend Chris Jowaisas (MaintainIT Steering Committee member) for my latest bout of curiosity.The topic?? Believe it or not, it's evaluations and metrics.
Every month MaintainIT hosts a free online technology Book Club discussion, focused on a chapter from the MaintainIT Cookbooks. Chris Jowaisas is always talking about statistics and evaluation and how important they are, so I have been planning and preparing for tomorrow's book club with him in mind. The chapter we're reading and discussing, Evaluations and Metrics, is in the Planning for Success cookbook and is available online (free, of course).
The chapter responds to the question, "Why measure the impact of technology in your library?" and then describes key actions for measuring and using evaluations and metrics. It's a brief chapter and a quick read, but the resources it links to are "meaty". I was particularly interested in the E-metrics Instructional System site, which consists of modules designed to help librarians learn to gather and use various measures related to library technology. It's free and it's well-done. The Cookbook chapter also links to Outcome Based Evaluation resources and examples. If you're interested in participating in tomorrow's discussion, there's still room at the virtual table. Register online, read the chapter, and join the discussion.
I'd love to hear from you here in the comments, too. What technology related statistics do you keep? Which are most useful? Has having data readily available helped you make a stronger case for funding?
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