Reports for PR

A School Librarian’s Public Relations Kit

Reports for PR Keep a daily log or journal. Make time to collect data. Pay attention to timing. Identify your audience. Know your objectives. Schedule and print/save reports. Compile other data. Communicate!

Reports for PR – Keep a log

Maintain a journal to log information that isn’t reportable by other means:

events, fund raisers, field trips web page enhancements materials purchased with donations grant applications submitted; grants

awarded in-house studies

Reports for PR - Time

Make time and develop your sense of timing! If you think it’s impossible to find time to

collect data and write reports, go directly to the PR-Advocacy Committee’s Quick Tip #13.

If the objective of your reporting is to increase your budget or grow your staff, compile your data and distribute your report BEFORE budgeting decisions are made.

Reports for PR – AudienceIdentify everyone in your educational community

who plays a part in the decision-making that affects the library…

superintendent principal faculty technical-services staff parents community members… and the opinion-makers they listen to.

Reports for PR – Audience Anyone having anything to do with library

decision-making or library objectives is your target. Design your reports accordingly.

Beware of data dumps! If you cannot parse your data into smaller reports, draw the reader’s attention to the section(s) s/he will find relevant.

Collect data even if it doesn’t seem needed at the time - your audience may change.

Reports for PR - Objectives

There is one primary objective for K-12 media centers: learning.

You must document your contribution to student learning. If you can do so effectively and put it in the right hands at the right time, your library funding, your library, and your job have a better chance of survival.

Reports for PR

Sirsi / INFOhio Reports – use statistical reports as a springboard for advertising the library’s contribution to learning.

PAT : List Users Report - count

Use List Users report to count patrons:

View logINFOhio :: Patron List Users will be selected if user library is MHS. Users will be selected if user Profile is FACULTY1, STUDENT3, or STUDENT4. 10420 user record(s) considered. 1882 user record(s) selected.Status active (1634 records of 1882 records selected)

Circulation Statistics CIR : Monthly Circ Count (INFOhio tab)

Date range can be specified

Circ stats - before (in Word) Monthly Circulation Statistics Produced Friday, December 29, 2006 at 12:30 PM Report for: Call numbers 000000 to 000099.9999, 000100 to 000199.9999, 000200 to 000299.9999, 000300 to 000399.9999, 000400 to 000499.9999, 000500 to 000599.9999, 000600 to 000699.9999, 000700 to 000799.9999, 000800 to 000899.9999, 000900 to 000999.9999, F A to F Z, FICA to FICZ, SF A to SF Z, Z All Item types Item group TOTAL BIOGRAPHY 70 CAREER 41 DVD 60 FICTION 472 NONFICTION 463

Circ stats – after (in Word)Circulation Statistics - Metropolis High School

September 1, 2006 through December 22, 2006

Collection TOTAL

BIOGRAPHY 70

CAREER 41

DVD 60

FICTION 472

NONFICTION 463

TOTAL 1106 (divide by number of users for average)

Circulation Statistics List items (Bibliographic tab)

List Items used in libraryItem Selection tab:

Print item tab:

Circulation Statistics List items (used in library) Item List

1000 makers of the millennium / [edited by Chuck Wills]. 920.02 copy:1 id:30803000015314 library:MHS location:AVAILABLE checkouts:0 bills:0 holds:0 total checkouts:0 circulate flag:YES last used:5/16/2006 in-house checkouts:5

The jazz age : the 20s / by the editors of Time-Life Books. R 973.91 JAZ copy:1 id:30803002025428 library:MHS location:AVAILABLE checkouts:0 bills:0 holds:0 total checkouts:1

circulate flag:YES last used:10/19/2006 in-house checkouts:4

Circulation Statistics List Titles Used/Unused report

On Admin tab - contact LNOCA to save a template to your Templates tab.

Title Use List

The Biographical dictionary of Black Americans / by Rachel Kranz TOTAL:45 MHS:45Science : 100 scientists who changed the world / Jon Balchin TOTAL:19 MHS:19The Presidents / Fred Israel, editor TOTAL:18 MHS:18Elements / [author, Brian Knapp ; illustrations, David Woodroffe TOTAL:18 MHS:18The African-American century : how Black Americans have shaped o TOTAL:17 MHS:17

Metropolis High School

Cataloging Statistics Avg Pub Year by Item Group (All Titles tab)

Run a separate report for each item group.

Average Publication Year by Item Group

Number of titles read 5108

Non-Zero Pub Years Selected Average Pub Year Most Recent Oldest

--------------------------- ---------------- ----------- ------

5094 1988 2006 1834

Investigate! Run a shelf list and sort on pub year.

Cataloging Statistics CAS : Value of Collection (INFOhio tab)Metropolis High School: BIOGRAPHY 977 531 $ 10,621.99 CAREER 303 101 $ 1,654.29 CARTOGRAPH 18 5 $ 140.10 CASSETTE 2 2 $ 56.93 CD 2 2 $ 60.00 COLLBIOG 331 103 $ 2,532.46 COMPUFILE 18 0 $ 0.00 DESK 567 148 $ 15,503.28 DVD 196 186 $ 6,824.15 EASY 135 34 $ 186.57 EQUIPMENT 20 17 $ 7,068.00 FICTION 4,206 2,053 $ 27,861.43 KIT 1 0 $ 0.00 LASERDISC 4 2 $ 59.90 NONFICTION 6,897 2,550 $ 53,248.20 PAPERBACK 3 3 $ 15.00 PERIODICAL 133 130 $ 598.89 PROFESSNAL 407 57 $ 1,147.13 REFERENCE 443 144 $ 7,983.34 SPECLCIRCY 443 91 $ 1,796.43 STORYCOLL 153 58 $ 807.36 VIDEO 940 284 11,794.60______________________________________________________________________Library Totals: 16,199 6,501 $ 149,960.05Number of items with no price: 9,698Number of items with price: 6,501Average value of items with price: $ 23.07

16,199 x 23.07 = $373,710.93

Cataloging Statistics – lost items CAT : Shelf List (INFOhio tab)

INFOhio :: CAT : Shelf List Call Number Barcode Status Title

================================================================================

510 MIT 30807052705227 LOST Pre-GED mathematics and problem-solving

550 KNA 30807054860236 LOST-CLAIM Earth science / [author, Brian Knapp

551.6 CAR 30807052568054 LOST The changing world of weather / Clive C

595 MIL 30807052703636 LOST-CLAIM National Audubon Society field guide to

TroubleshootingCAT : Shelf List Report (INFOhio tab) If the average pub year seems too old:

or run a full shelf list and sort on pub year:

If the average price seems too high:

To identify items without prices:

Reports for PR

Vendor Reports

Vendor Reports Gale Resources: usage statistics are available

from LNOCA’s SOS website at http://web2.lnoca.org:4040/Gale.htm

If you subscribe to any online databases outside the INFOhio/LNOCA family, contact your vendor(s) for usage statistics.

INFOhio statistics are available from http://www.infohio.org/er/Statistics.html. Though they represent statewide use, the yearly growth in totals is indicative of a need for librarian intervention.

Reports for PR

In-house reports

In-house Reports

1. Collaborative efforts2. Bibliographic Instruction (BI)3. Mediated searches4. Class visits5. Computer use / INFOhio searches6. Student and faculty surveys7. MARC record enhancements for AR or

Ohio Academic Content Standards8. Anecdotes and qualitative data

Collaborative Efforts with tech support on library

website and troubleshooting. with faculty on testing outcomes. with faculty on class projects,

lesson plans, homework, collection development.

with faculty on academic content standards.

Bibliographic Instruction

Document the number of group and, if possible, individual BI sessions.

Document the length of these sessions.

Document frequency for specific subject areas, teachers, and indicate areas for improvement.

Mediated Searches bibliographies for faculty, staff professional searches of electronic

resources ER searches which address specific

Academic Content Standards Ebsco alerts, table of contents alerts monitoring of e-lists, listservs, etc. podcasting, creating/monitoring blogs,

wikis, and other new technology initiatives

Class Visits

Document the number and type of class visits, to include student count.

Indicate the kind of ‘teaching moments’ that occur during these visits.

Computer Use Barcode each public workstation and use the

‘Mark Item Used’ wizard, which is reportable. Or check it out and check it in after each use. Or choose a representative day, take a count,

and extrapolate – this can even be done with INFOhio searches if time allows.

Choose a different day each week or month to survey how PCs are being used and/or how the students are using the library.

Student and Faculty Surveys

When a class comes for BI, give out a brief survey before or after the session.

Send evaluation forms to the teacher directly after a BI session.

Form a library advisory committee. Use the questions from the

Ohio Research Study.

MARC Record Enhancements How many bibs have been modified with

Accelerated Reading (526 – study program) data and how is it used?

How many bibs have been modified with Guided Reading (521 – target audience) data and how is it used?

How many bibs have been modified with Academic Content Standards (658 – curriculum objective) data and how is it used?

Is there any collaboration under way with faculty to identify materials that address specific Academic Content Standards?

Anecdotes & Qualitative Data “When I had to write a term paper for

English class, the school library was vital in helping me at all the different steps in the research and write-up.”

“I really didn’t know how to do reading, and I was getting bad grades. Then we started doing main-idea reading, which we learned in library class. Now I know how to come up with a main idea and put my other ideas together around it.”

Reports for PR

See LNOCA’s peer resources at http://web2.lnoca.org:4040/Peers.htm for end-of-year report samples, and LNOCA’s PR/Advocacy page at http://web2.lnoca.org:4040/PR.htm for other samples.