Future-proofing libraries

One story is that is consistently told in statistics is that exciting (or terrifying, depending on the company) story: the future of the library. This is perhaps commonplace to those of us who work in libraries. Every interaction at the reference or circulation desk becomes a check or an entry on the stats sheet. Even as I write this I have to stop and add a tick to the right column of the stats sheet.

The librarian's love of stats and surveys is joked about often. The Twitter account, @FakeLibStats, is a great example of a widely-shared inside job:

44% of librarian nightmares including the beeping of barcode scanners #beep #beep #beep

— Fake Library Stats (@FakeLibStats) February 22, 2016

And more appropriately:

78% of librarians blog profile is from when they were trying to get a job their last semester of library school

— Fake Library Stats (@FakeLibStats) February 16, 2016

That might be too real right this second.

Statistics are about survival as I learned very quickly. Numbers, in this case, appeal to a perceived objectivity that allows us to make rational decisions.

Source: University of Toronto Libraries. 2013-2014 Annual Statistics. PDF.

Source: University of Toronto Libraries. Annual Report 2015. PDF.

In Statistics Without Tears, Derek Rowntree writes:

It is by making sense of our experience that we human beings grow wiser and gain greater control over the environment we live in... we have this capacity for noticing things... We notice... similarities and differences... patterns and regularities - especially when such features could endanger us or, alternatively, be turned to our advantage. (14)

He also notes that statistics can be seen as a "set of methods of inquiry" (17). These lines of thinking can help explain the prevalence of statistics in libraries. Statistics are proofs and arguments. They can be used for advocacy and promotion. Below are some examples of infographics that use statistics to promote libraries.

(These are cropped images. To view the whole infographic, follow the links below!)

Source: OpenSite

Source: McGill University Library

Source: Toronto Public Library Strategic Plan

Source: eBook Friendly

What's most interesting to me about these statistics is that they are tied to very emotional subjects but use "cold hard facts" to appeal to stakeholders.

Some libraries are starting to see the limitations of these methods, however. The Princeton Theological Seminary Library has implemented library impact story logs to supplement the statistical data. Jenifer Gundry explains that "even with a wide range of data gathering and feedback mechanisms, ...[they] realized that... [they] were still missing... the stories that lie in the gaps between data sets" (Gundry). The library uses these stories as a way of advocating for library services alongside the regular statistics. While statistics give the broad picture and can be very useful, initatives such as the story logs can give us "an additional lens on the scope and scale of our patron's scholarly activities" and remind us "of the variety of the patron experience," as Gundry shows.

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Gundry, Jenifer. "Micro Assessing: Library Impact Story Logs." College & Research Library News. 76.6 (2015): 302-322. Web.

Rowntree, Derek. Statistics Without Tears: An Introduction for Non-Mathematicians. Toronto: Penguin Books, 2000. Print.