Counting Counts: Discussion on the Present and Future of Public Services Statistics and Reporting Matt Torrence, Lindsay Johnston, & Lily Todorinova RUSA/MERS Event at ALA Annual, Chicago: June 2013

Overview Statistics are as old as time (and I have the numbers to prove it)… How do various libraries and information centers keep track of use (and what do we call it)? How do we utilize our “Librarian Expertise” What are some of the best technical and procedural ways to track reference statistics? Which tools are best for which applications? How do we asses what numbers we track and how we do it?

Discussion Questions: Tools What tool(s) do you use to collect statistics at the reference desk? What are the pros/cons? Do you collect statistics separately for in-person, virtual, and consultation-based reference? Do you use different tools to collect these? What, in your opinion, would be the characteristics of the “perfect” reference data-collection tool (You can be idealistic here and not be concerned if such capabilities actually exist in a given instrument)?

Tools & Training What types of staff training do you provide on public service statistical recording? What levels of staff participate in data collection? What scales or measures drive your data collection (i.e. IPEDS, ALA measures, state figures, etc.)?

Librarian Expertise In your institution, is the responsibility of collecting, assessing, and managing reference usage data in the hands of one or more librarians? In your view, are reference librarians today prepared to conduct and provide assessment data of reference usage? Is it the responsibility of all reference librarians, or should it rest in one position that is designated for the purpose, i.e. “Assessment Librarian”?

Assessment Librarians are constantly looking for ways to tie library services to measures of student success such as GPA, or student performance in specific classes or projects. At your institution, how have you approached this issue? As part of your reference statistics data collection, do you request any identifying student information, such as their unique university number ID, or other?

Assessment What types of groups or committees does your institution utilize to make public service statistics collection a uniform and standard process? Have you conducted any assessment of the e- resource expenditures at your institution and its relationship to reference service use?

Summary & THE FUTURE Will there ever be complete harmony between record keeping for live and virtual reference services? What tools will we need to manage new forms of contact? Will everything from the movies soon be real (I want my hover board, Michael J. Fox)?

Thanks! If you have any questions, feel free to contact any of us…live, or virtually (and I will record said contact using DeskTracker) Matt Torrence: Lindsay Johnston: Lily Todorinova: