Public Library Survey Walkthrough - Week One

 Welcome to Week 1 of the Public Library Survey!
 
If you are new to this 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 this way, it should make it manageable to finish up well before the deadline.  So, let’s get started…

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 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, email me and let me know.  It may be that I haven’t kept up with staffing changes at your library, or changes to your library’s email.

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

2.    Before entering your data-

-Once you log in and take a look at the survey questions, you will see that many of the answers are grayed out and cannot be changed.  There are two types of questions that may be grayed out:
    -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, 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, you do know that the number is zero, so enter 0.             
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 4 remaining questions. Note that the Reporting Period start and end date are shown there and this is the time 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.

Congratulations!

If you have been following along with me, you are now on your way to completing this survey. As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me at 603-271-2060 or maryann.niles@dncr.nh.gov.

I’ll be back next week with the next steps.  (Can’t wait for the next episode? Feel free to continue this journey without me!)

If you would like to join a one-hour webinar to go over the basics of how to complete the survey, please email me and I will send the Zoom link our to all participants tomorrow.

MaryAnn Niles
Reference Librarian & State Data Coordinator
Phone: 603-271-2060
Email: maryann.niles@dncr.nh.gov