Public Library Survey Walkthrough - Week Two

Welcome to Week 2 of the Public Library Survey (PLS) -- Services and Programming
(Earworm of the Day: “The Bare Necessities”)

Hello everyone. Before we get to this week’s sections, I ask that you take a moment to check the dates that appear in 1.12 - Reporting Period Start Date and 1.13 - Reporting Period End Date. Some libraries report their data by fiscal years, others by calendar year. Whichever you choose to do, the dates in 1.12 and 1.13 need to match your reporting period.
 
If your reporting period differs from what the current survey says, please let me know so I can make updates. (Changes to 1.12 and 1.13 are made by me behind-the-scenes.) Thank you very much!
 
And now, on to annual report Section 3.0 - Services:
 
3.0 - Services
 
3.0.1 Reference Transactions – Please enter the number of reference or readers’ advisory questions that were answered for the year. (Don’t count directional questions – “Where is the restroom?”)
 
3.0.2 Reference Transactions Reporting Method – How you calculated this number (Annual Count or Estimate).
 
3.0.3 Programming Expenses – Enter here the amount spent from the library budget on programs (do not include money spent directly from Friends or Trustee accounts).
 
3.1 - Programming
 
3.1a- Total Number of Programs
 
The grid in 3.1a is meant to help you report the number of each type of program offered by age group. Remember to include the Summer Reading Program in these totals.
 
The IMLS requires a breakdown of children’s programming by age. I know that some libraries don't break down the ages for their children's programs this way so you will need to decide how to divide up those programs for the report. 
 
Remember, you can only count each program once, so don't report a children's program in both age groups.
 
What is a program?  - Any planned, scheduled event hosted by the library, e.g.:
•    Story hours
•    Summer Reading events
•    Book Clubs
•    Crafting Classes
•    Lectures and demonstrations
•    Family game nights
•    Computer classes
 
What is not a program?
•    Meetings held by trustees or outside groups
•    Programs held by outside groups that requested use of the library space
•    One-on-one library activities
•    Passive (Self-directed) activities
 
Programs are categorized by type:
•    Synchronous Programs: Any program that is available to view as it happens.
o    Onsite Program: An in-person onsite program is any planned event that includes an in-person attendance option and takes place at the library.
o    Offsite Program: An in-person offsite program is any planned event that includes an in-person attendance option and takes place somewhere other than the library, like a classroom, senior center, etc.
o    Live Virtual Program: Any planned event that is streamed online and can be viewed live as it is happening. Note: If you stream an event that is offered for both in-person and online access, that should only be counted once. Include it as an in-person program unless the virtual option has more attendees.
•    Asynchronous Programs:  Any program that is recorded and only available for viewing after the fact.
•    Passive Programs: Any activities developed by the library that are self-directed and are available to people at any time, rather than as a scheduled event.
 
Enter the number of programs of each type in the grid. Remember, if you didn’t offer programs to one of these age groups, or in one of these types, you should enter zero (0), not “Unavailable”. If the number of programs is truly unknown to you, please add a note explaining why.
 
If you offered a program, but no one attended, that program can’t be counted here. (Sorry!)
 
3.1b - Total Program Attendance
 
•    For each of the categories of programs offered, enter the total number of attendees for all programs.
•    Please count every attendee regardless of age for each category. For children’s events, include parents and caregivers in your totals.
•    Do not include participation in Passive Programs as attendance in this grid. There is another space for that number.
•    Remember, if you didn’t offer programs in any category, the attendance for that category should be entered as zero, not “Unavailable”.
 
3.1c - Programming Totals
 
This is where all the numbers you have entered in the grids in 3.1a and 3.1b above are totaled. All fields are grayed-out because they are auto-calculated by the survey software. If anything here looks wrong to you, go back to the boxes above and check your entries for typos.
 
3.1d - Recorded & Passive Programs     
 
Passive Programs:  This is the place to enter the number of informal activities planned by the library to engage visitors that are not held at a specific time and don’t require direction of a staff member, such as drop-in activities, maker-space stations, self-guided learning activities, etc.
 
Asynchronous Program Presentations: Here, please enter the number of recorded programs your library offered to be viewed online after the fact, not as a live performance.
 
Total Views within 30 Days:  Report the number of views of all recorded programs for the first 30 days that they are available to view.
 
3.2 - Summer Reading Program
 
Here, please report summer reading programs attendance by age group. (These attendance numbers will be a subset of the numbers entered above.) The total attendance is auto-calculated by the software.
 
That's it for this week. If you made it this far, you are well on your way to completing this survey. Well done! As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me at 603-271-2060 or Jennifer.m.finch@dncr.nh.gov. I’ll be sending another email next week with the next steps. (And as before, feel free to continue this journey without me!)

Be well,
-    Jen

Jennifer M. Finch, MSLIS
Reference Librarian and State Data Coordinator
New Hampshire State Library
N.H. Department of Natural & Cultural Resources
20 Park St.
Concord, NH 03301
Office: 603-271-2060
Ref Desk: 603-271-2144
Jennifer.M.Finch@dncr.nh.gov

Request 1000000

Who wants to be a millionaire? Sorry, we can't help with that. Who wants to know more about the one millionth request created in the NHAIS ILL System since its 2019 launch? Read on...

SHAREit request #1000000 was submitted by Cherie at Meredith Public Library at 6:05 p.m. on Thursday, January 22, although she didn't notice the number at the time. The request wasn't for The Frozen River or James or The Berry Pickers (our top three most-requested titles in the ILL system last year). It was for a 1941 book that didn't show up anywhere on last year's most-requested list: Burt's Danish-Norwegian-English dictionary in two parts; Danish-Norwegian-English, English-Danish-Norwegian.

The request was routed to Keene Public Library--the sole holding library for this title in the NHAIS ILL System. The day after the request was submitted, the book was retrieved from Keene's shelves and Alice marked the request Shipped at 4:51 p.m. on Friday, January 23. A lender's note was added at the same time: "This may be hard to read-very small print." The next van pick-up was scheduled for Monday but a major winter storm kept all vans off the road that day. On Wednesday, January 28, Steve was on the Southwest-A van route and picked up three bins at Keene which were brought back to the State Library in Concord for sorting.

 

(Below, we've exposed a bit more of the routing slip than usual so you can see the request number. Normally, you just need the Route To: information exposed. Anything more risks getting that information separated from the book.) 

After pausing for pictures, Steve put the book into Meredith's bin. Two days later Laura loaded the bin into her van (LB5--"the best van" according to Laura) for Friday's Lakes Region route. She reached Meredith Public Library right around its opening time (9 o'clock) and the request was marked Received  by Cherie at 10:13 a.m. on Friday, January 30.

That's the lender-to-borrower portion of the story of just one request out of 3,624 requests created by 215 libraries in the NHAIS ILL System during the week of January 18. The counts for that week are a bit below average, perhaps because of the holiday on January 19.

ILL fixes Tue 2/3 10pm

The NHAIS ILL System will be offline briefly tonight (Tuesday, Feb. 3) starting at 10 o'clock. Fixes will be installed for these issues:

-Borrower Requests and Lender Requests lists have not been sorting properly by Due Date. 

-The “Last Month” date option in Reports (new) has not been displaying the correct date range. 

-When requests were created using a record without a standard identifier (ISBN, LCCN, UPC, etc.) and there was a diacritic in the title, author, and/or publisher fields, the lender list build process failed to properly match lenders. Also, when there was a match, diacritics did not print as expected on shipping labels.

-Request form data with multiple fields (e.g. City/State/Zip) have been displayed on separate rows. They will now display on one row. 

2025 Public Library Survey Walkthrough - Week One: Getting Started

Welcome to Week 1 of the Public Library Survey (PLS)  
(Earworm of the Day: “Whistle While You Work”)

If you are new to the PLS or just wondering where to begin, I will be offering some tips on completing two of the survey sections each week. For those who prefer to break the job down in this way, it should make it manageable to finish up well before the deadline. Here we go!

1.    How to log in
If you are the person at your library who is responsible for completing the survey, you should have received an email from “NH@CountingOpinions.com” last week. That email provides your username and password along with the link to the portal login. Remember, if you have completed this in the past, your username and password are still the same.

If you did not get that email, check your spam folder, and if it isn’t there, please email me and let me know.  I try to keep my lists current but sometimes staffing and email changes slip through the cracks. 

Once you have found the login info, you are ready to go.

2.    Things to Keep in Mind
Grayed Out Question/Answers:
After you log in, you will notice that many of the survey questions and answers are grayed out and cannot be changed. There are two types of these:
•    Items that have been pre-filled by us for each library. If you think there is an error with any of the pre-filled items, please let me know so I can make corrections.
•    Items that are automatically calculated totals of other numbers entered. If you think there is an error with any of the totals, be sure that the numbers you are entering to be totaled are correct.

When to use the response “Unavailable”:
This option is there for the times when you do have the things in question, but you don’t know the number.  **When you do not have the thing in question, but you do know that the number is zero, enter 0.**

Explanatory Notes are Important:
For each data entry box shown, you will see the number your library reported last year to the right of the box for comparison purposes. The system will ask you for an explanatory note for any item that has changed significantly from last year. The notepad icon is just to the left of the data entry box. Click on that to enter notes explaining your answers whenever necessary. Your notes are important to us and to IMLS, so please take the time to leave clear explanations for changes over the prior year.

3.    Section 1:
Public Library Statistics
In this section, you will see many items that are grayed out because they have been pre-filled. Review those for accuracy and complete the four remaining questions. Note that the Reporting Period start and end dates are shown, and this is the period you are reporting on. Some libraries have chosen to report on the calendar year, and others on the fiscal year. Be sure to check and see which one applies to you!

•    Library Visits – The number of people who entered your library for the year.
•    Library Visits Reporting Method – Choose the option you use to count library visits.
•    Number of Registered Users – The number of people registered in your library with an active, unexpired card. The IMLS considers an active card to be one that has been used in the past three years.
•    Non-Resident Fee – If you charge a user fee to people who are not residents of your town, enter the amount here.

4.    Section 2:
Outlets
•    Public Service Hours – Enter the number of hours your library was open to the public for the year in question.
•    Number of Weeks Open – Enter the number of weeks your library was open to the public for the year in question.

Huzzah!  If you have been following along with me, your 2025 PLS journey towards completion has begun.

As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me at 603-271-2060 or Jennifer.m.finch@dncr.nh.gov. I’ll be back next week with the next two sections. (Can’t wait for the next episode? Feel free to continue along the path!)

Jennifer M. Finch, MSLIS
Reference Librarian and State Data Coordinator
New Hampshire State Library
N.H. Department of Natural & Cultural Resources
20 Park St.
Concord, NH 03301
Office: 603-271-2060
Ref Desk: 603-271-2144
Jennifer.M.Finch@dncr.nh.gov
 

No SE van Fri 1/30

The SE ILL van delivery route is cancelled today [Friday, Jan. 30].  The affected libraries are as follows:

Northwood
Center Strafford
Barrington
Rochester
Somersworth
Dover
Lee
Durham
Newmarket
Portsmouth
Rye
North Hampton

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Best wishes,
Jennifer M. Finch, MSLIS
Reference Librarian and State Data Coordinator
New Hampshire State Library

No NC, SE-B vans Tue 1/27

Two ILL van delivery routes are cancelled today [Tuesday, Jan. 27]: North Country (NC) and SE-B (Southeast B). The affected libraries are as follows:

North Country

Whitefield
Dalton
Lancaster
Groveton
Stratford
Colebrook
Errol
WMCC - Berlin
Berlin
Gorham
Jefferson
Randolph
Jackson
Bartlett
North Conway
Conway

Southeast B

Auburn
Derry
Windham
Pelham
Londonderry
Litchfield
Hudson
Nashua
Hollis
Milford
Amherst
Merrimack
Bedford
Manchester

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Best wishes,
Jennifer M. Finch, MSLIS
Reference Librarian and State Data Coordinator
New Hampshire State Library

SE van route truncated Fri 1/23

Apologies for the late notice, but we needed to shorten the SE ILL route today [Friday, Jan. 23].

The libraries that will receive deliveries today are:
Somersworth
Dover
Durham
Newmarket
Portsmouth

The following libraries will not be receiving a delivery today:
Northwood
Center Strafford
Barrington
Rochester
Lee
Rye
North Hampton

Thank you for your understanding.

Best wishes,
Jennifer M. Finch, MSLIS
Reference Librarian and State Data Coordinator
New Hampshire State Library 

The 2025 Public Library Survey (PLS) is now OPEN!

I have exciting news. The NH 2025 Public Library Survey (a.k.a. Public Library Annual Report) is now open!  *cue sparkly lights and cheering fans*
 
Questions you may be asking:
 
1. How do I access the survey?
•    Your username and password will be in an email that you’ll receive later today. The Sender’s name is NH@countingopinions.com, and the Subject line will read NH Public Library Survey Access Information. 
•    Check your Spam and Junk folders if you don’t get the email by early next week. Please let me know if you don’t receive it.
•    If you saved your login information from last year, it hasn’t changed. 
•    Go to nh.countingopinions.com to log in and get started.
 
2. How much time do I have?
•    This year's survey will be open for responses until Thursday, April 30. That means you have 99 days (14 weeks and 1 day) to complete the questions. You can do it! Make a plan, pace yourself, and don’t wait until the last minute. 😊
 
3. What is different this year?
Nothing!  The FY2025 PLS is the same as it was for FY2024.

4. What help can I get to complete the survey?
Lots!  I am here to help you in a number of different ways, so if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me at 603-271-2060 or jennifer.m.finch@dncr.nh.gov.
 
Here are some things to help you get started:
•    For a paper copy of the survey that you can print out and work on before entering the numbers online, Download the Annual Report Worksheet or click on the link at the bottom of the survey login page.
•    For instructions on how to complete each section of the survey go to the FY2025 Annual Report Guide.
•    Beginning next week, look for an email from me each week with tips on how to complete two sections of questions. If you decide to follow along with me on those, your survey will be finished by the end of March.
•    Once you get started, you may find that you have a few questions or need some assistance. Contact me and we can work out the problem via phone, Zoom, or email.
•    If you are in a Co-op or other library group that would like to get an overview of the survey either in person, or on Zoom, let me know and we can set that up.
•    There is a LibGuide for the Public Library Survey available on the NHSL website.
  
5.  Why are we doing this?
Here’s some background for everyone, new and experienced survey filler-outers alike:
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a federal agency established in support of libraries, collects public library data nationally every year. As part of this process, the IMLS requires the NH State Library to collect the same data from all public libraries in NH that is being collected in every other state. They use this data to better understand your programs and services, and to see how our libraries compare to those in other states. Once the data has been entered, we at the state library compile it and make it available to you so that you may use it to see how your numbers compare with those from similar libraries, articulate your value, and help to tell the story of the importance of your library to your community. The data from past years may be found on our website:  https://www.nhsl.dncr.nh.gov/librarians/library-statistics

So, there we are. Thank you for working with me to complete this process. The New Hampshire libraries have done a great job on the survey in past years. I know you can do it again!
 
Let me know how I can help and watch your e-mailbox.

Jennifer M. Finch, MSLIS
Reference Librarian and State Data Coordinator
New Hampshire State Library
N.H. Department of Natural & Cultural Resources
20 Park St.
Concord, NH 03301
Office: 603-271-2060
Ref Desk: 603-271-2144
Jennifer.M.Finch@dncr.nh.gov
 

No SE-B van Thu 1/22

Tomorrow’s SE-B van route is cancelled (Thursday, Jan 22).  The affected libraries are:

Auburn
Windham
Pelham
Salem
Derry
Londonderry
Hudson
Nashua
Milford
Amherst
Merrimack
Bedford
Manchester

Apologies for the inconvenience.

Best,
Jennifer M. Finch, MSLIS
Reference Librarian and State Data Coordinator
New Hampshire State Library