Today’s Presentation

Overview of FOPL's Statistics Strategies for Influence and Power

Outcomes, Value & Impact: Metrics for Library SuccessMonterey Oct. 27, 2015

Speaker: Stephen Abram, MLS

Executive Director, FOPL

CEO, Lighthouse Consulting Inc.

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What is FOPL: Mission

• Collaborative body offering one loud voice for all Ontario Public Libraries based on agreed cooperative strategies, and priorities and research.

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FOPL Positioning

• Simply put: Now more than ever before, Ontario’s Public Libraries play a critical role in the social, educational, cultural and economic success of the communities in our province.

• Public Libraries are an essential investment in the future of our communities and are essential drivers of success in school preparedness, reading readiness, economic and employment success, and social equity.

• As the development of the knowledge economy progresses, public libraries are a vital link for every resident and every community to ensure success of all Ontarians, regardless of location or background.

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FOPL VIP Talking Points

The Public Library value proposition is strong and includes (but isn’t limited to):

– Excellent Return on Investment– Strong Economic Development– Great Employment Support– Welcoming New Canadians– Provable Early Literacy Development– Ongoing Support for Formal Education and Homework Help– Serve the whole community equitably– Affordable access to community resources– Access to Government Services and e-government– Questions Deserve Quality Answers – Support Cultural Vitality– Recognized and Valued Leisure Activities for majority of Ontarians

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• Advocacy and Influence

• Research with Power

• Marketing Our Brand

• FOCUS: VIP – Value, Impact and Positioning

So, how does FOPL accomplish our community’s goals?

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Exercise: What Don’t We Know?

June 2013

Just so you know I am going to fly though some slides just to make a point and then provide you with

copies of the slides for you to investigate later on.

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FOPL embarked on a course to answer the following

• Does our sector know enough about influence?• What are the components of our ‘brand’?• What do civil servants, community leaders, & politicians think

they know about public libraries?• Does our sector know what the general public thinks about

public libraries?• What do we do? What are our statistics and how have they

changed over time?• Who are our best partners and who do we want to have a

relationship with?

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FOPL set a strategy and did this in 24 months

• Does our sector know enough about influence?– Built and recorded a 10 part webinar series on advocacy and influence.– Participated in one of the most successful MOOCs on advocacy in partnership with the iSchool at

Toronto.– Planned and hosted 2 symposia on new metrics for libraries in partnership with the iSchool at Toronto.– Delivered 3 recorded webinars so far on Ontario public library polling and statistical data

• What are the components of our ‘brand’?– Did a survey of every public library website in the province as well as collecting every social media

account.

• What do civil servants, community leaders, & politicians think they know about public libraries?– Did a selective telephone survey of Ontario municipal leaders and CAO’s about their perceptions of

public library value and impact.

• Does our sector know what the general public thinks about public libraries?– Did a full computer-assisted telephone poll guided by the ‘right’ demographics supplemented by a web

poll using a web panel.

• What do we do? What are our statistics and how have they changed over time?– Successfully lobbied the provincial government to release the Ontario public library statistics as open

data for 1997-2013.– Hired the top library statistician to aggregate the open data and build measurements after community

consultation.

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So what do we have now that we didn’t have 2 years ago?

• Statistics, Measurements and Professional Development Strategies– Published analysis of Ministry data collection for 2001-2013.– Publish Market Probe opinion polls for 2015 (building on

2001, 2006, 2010 polls)– Hosted and recorded 20 webinars on influence, statistics,

strategy, legal issues, etc.– Published the Ontario library branding research– (So far) Successfully batting 1000 on applying for grants – Libraries 2025 Summit of all Ontario public library systems.

• Thank you to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport for some support.

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Selected Webinars in this series

• August 14th, 2015 Overview of FOPL's Ontario Public Library Statistics and Measurements Report

Speaker: Dr. Robert Molyneux, MLIS, PhD• August 17, 2015

Overview of FOPL's Market Probe Canada Public Opinion Poll of Ontarians and Public Libraries

Speaker: Carol French, EVP, Market Probe Canada• August 28th, 2015

Strategic Use and Insights from FOPL's Ontario Public Library Statistics, Polls, and MeasurementsSpeaker:  Stephen Abram, MLS, executive director FOPL

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Webinars on Influence

• Factors influencing funding decisions by elected politicians at the state/provincial level: a case study of public libraries in Canada: Part 1 & 2Instructor: Cheryl Stenström, PhD

• Real Life: Advocacy Practitioners Sharing Session 1: Advocacy in Town and County libraries Speaker: Sam Coghlan (Retired, Stratford Public Library)

• Real Life: Advocacy Practitioners Sharing Session 2: Advocacy in Urban librariesSpeaker: Ken Roberts (Retired, Hamilton Public Library)

• The Top 6 Best Practices for Advocates in Any SettingInstructor: Professor Wendy Newman, MLS, University of Toronto iSchool

• Community communication strategy at the Burlington Public Library Panel: Stephen Abram, host, Kerry Langford, Burlington Public Library Trustee; Maureen Barry, CEO, Burlington Public Library

• Positive networking techniques and theories Instructor: Ken Haycock, MLS, MBA, PhD, University of Southern California

• Real Life: Advocacy Practitioners Sharing Session 3: Small, Rural and Mid-Sized Libraries Panel: Mary Baxter, Georgina Libraries; Claire Dionne, Russell Public Library; Susan Downs, Innisfil Public Library; Rona O'Banion, King Township Public Library; Cindy Weir, Owen Sound Public Library

• MOOC: Libraries Unshushed (Wendy Newman, iSchool at Toronto)

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FOPL Stat Report Outline

• Ontario Public Library Operating Data 2001-2013: Overview, Primer on Library Statistics and Collected Tables (81 page PDF)– Introduction by Stephen Abram, MLS, Executive Director– A Primer on Library Data by Robert Molyneux, PhD– Key Ratios for Ontario Public Libraries, 2013– Population and Circulation at Ontario Public Libraries, 2001-2013, All Reporting Each

Year– Programs Held and Program Attendance Ontario Public Libraries, 2001-2013, All

Reporting Each Year– Selected Expenditures at Ontario Public Libraries, 2001-2013, All Reporting Each Year– Selected Digital Materials, Held by Ontario Public Libraries, 2001-2013, All Reporting

EACH Year– Circulations per capita and per active cardholder,2013, Ranked by Bands– Expenditures per capita and per active cardholder, 2013, Ranked by Bands– Total Operating Expenditures and Materials Expenditures, 2001-2013, [summary and

by bands]– Active Cardholders as a Percentage of Population (Resident) at Ontario’s Public

Libraries, 2001-2013– Circulation per capita and per active cardholders, Ontario Public Libraries, 2001-2013– Sources of data used in these reports

• http://fopl.ca/news/fopl-member-benefit-performance-measures-for-ontario-public-libraries/

• Each chapter has a separate blog posting as well for June 30-Sept 8.

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Looking into the Future

• Coming Soon – Next Steps to Making it Happen: – FOPL Index of Community Engagement discussion paper– Province-wide Marketing campaign focused on the public

library’s impact and value to communities– Participate in eBook Pricing Fairness Campaign– Invited participant in Ontario’s First Culture Strategy

development– Invited participant in Ontario’s First Community Hubs

Strategy development– Lobbying ‘our’ ministries for e-resources funding, shared

services development, overall funding opportunities, Municipal Act issues, etc.

– Library Day at Queen’s Park (Nov. 25th, 2015)– Continuing to coordinate, communicate, and cooperate with

provincial agencies and associations for joint success.

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Census of Ontario Public Library Websites

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Webinars in this series

• August 14, 2015: Overview of FOPL's Ontario Public Library Statistics and Measurements ReportSpeakers: Dr. Robert Molyneux, MLIS, PhD & Stephen Abramhttp://fopl.ca/news/fopl-statistics-webinar-slides-from-august-14-2015/

• August 17, 2015: Overview of FOPL's Market Probe Canada Public Opinion Poll of Ontarians and Public LibrariesSpeaker: Carol French, Senior Vice President, Research & Client Services Market Probe Canadahttp://fopl.ca/news/todays-webinar-on-the-market-probe-public-opinion-poll/

• August 28, 2015: Strategic Use and Insights from FOPL's Ontario Public Library Statistics, Polls, and Measurements Speakers: Stephen Abram, MLS, executive director FOPL & Dr. Robert Molyneux, MLIS, PhD

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19%

15%

15%

16%

10%

12%

12%

9%

9%

7%

36%

35%

35%

29%

33%

27%

26%

26%

24%

24%

55%

50%

49%

44%

44%

39%

38%

35%

33%

31%

Very Likely Somewhat Likely Total

Interest in new library service concepts varies, in most cases based on age

A program that allows people to try out the newest tech devices or applications, such as 3D printers or laser cutters

Library kiosks located throughout the community where people can check out books, movies or music without having to go to the

library itself

A personalized online account that gives you recommendations based on your past library activity

A cell phone app that allows you to access library services from your mobile phone

An online research service where you could pose questions and get responses from librarians

A cell phone app that helps you locate material easily in the library using GPS

E-book readers already loaded with the book you want to read

Instruction on how to use handheld reading devices and tablets

Classes on how to download library e-books to handheld devices

A digital media lab where you could create and upload new digital content like your own movies or e-books

Likelihood of Using Different Library Services

64% 46%

57% 39%

61% 39%

62% 24%

43% 37%

54% 19%

45% 34%

31% 40%

30% 38%

42% 21%

By Age

18-34 55+

EarlyAdopter

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Previews

The full list of stuff includes:

• The main presentation in PDF format with three derivatives - a completely copyright free version (as opposed to Creative Commons), an editable PPT without the non-standard font, and the original presentation in PPT form in case anyone wants to make their own version of that.

• Three versions of the same Sway presentation, with different visual styles and navigation styles

• A video made in PowToon• A Prezi• Various graphics and images for use on social media

Questions?

Stephen Abram, Executive Director

B: 416-395-0746C: 416-669-4855

stephen.abram@gmail.com

www.fopl.ca

StephensLighthouse.com