[Genealib] Re: Statistics and the Bottom Line

[Libby Feil]

Hi, all--
	I collect as many statistics as I can here.  (And use them to 
justify the purchase of our genealogy databases, the collection 
budget for history and genealogy books and microfilm, what types of 
materials we buy, and to give our Administration some good numbers 
they can present to the Board, Hennen rankings, and the public.)
	*Sign-in register:  we also count the visitors from 
out-of-area, out-of-state, and out-of-country.  (Just last week we 
hosted a couple from Belgium who had come to the US specifically to 
visit our Library for family history research!)
	*Computer sign-in register:  gives us the number of patrons 
who used our patron computers
	*Door count:  number of visitors each day (helps us to learn 
about seasonal patterns of usage, which in terms helps us plan when 
to have programs)
	*Number of in-person, telephone, electronic, and mail 
reference questions
	*Database usage statistics supplied by database vendors
	*ClickTracker:  a bit of code that we put into all of the 
links on our website to in-house and paid databases.  This helps us 
see how many people are using our databases for which the vendors 
don't provide statistics.
	*Number of visits to all the different pages of our website
	*Number and kind of materials downloaded from our website
	*Circulation count from our ILS
	*In-house use count for reference materials (books, CDs, and 
microfilm).  We recently started using a bar code scanner to record 
each item that has been used in-house, and found that these numbers 
shot up as a result.  Apparently when we were just making a quick 
tally of the books we saw being used, we were significantly 
undercounting.
	*Number of attendees at our classes, presentations, and programs
	*Number of volunteer hours put in each month

	When I create a report showing all these numbers and then 
analyzing them, I can make a very solid case for how useful people 
find our resources, how important our area is to the Library and the 
local economy, and what a great return on investment we provide.
Best wishes,
Libby Feil

>I have been asked to use my genealogy collection usage statistics to 
>justify my budget. I would like to know what statistics everyone 
>uses to do the same. We use our "In-house Count" since our 
>collection does not circulate. What other stats does everyone add to 
>the in-house counts to show usage.
>
>Thanks so much
>
>Kathy Strauss
>Genealogy Librarian
>Denton Public Library

-- 

Elizabeth "Libby" Feil, Librarian

Manager, Local & Family History Services
St. Joseph County Public Library
304 So. Main Street
South Bend, IN  46601

574-235-4181
l.feil at sjcpl.org
AIM:  sjcpllibby
http://www.libraryforlife.org/localhistory/
To subscribe to our monthly Local & Family History
e-newsletter, email me at l.feil at sjcpl.org


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