Transcript Twitter: #mashspa http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/workshops/mashspa-2010/ Mashspa 2010: "Sixty Minutes To Save Libraries": Gathering Evidence to Demonstrate Library Services' Impact and Value Brian Kelly & Nicola McNee UKOLN / Kingswood School Acceptable.

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Mashspa 2010:
"Sixty Minutes To Save Libraries":
Gathering Evidence to Demonstrate Library
Services' Impact and Value
Brian Kelly & Nicola McNee
UKOLN / Kingswood School
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Context
Our environment 1997-2008:
• “Education, education, education” 
• Increased funding 
• Significant IT developments 
Now:
• Huge cuts 
• Need to demonstrate impact, value and ROI 
But:
• Web infrastructure in place 
• More open data and open APIs available 
• Lightweight developments could make
demonstration of impact easier 
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Context: Coalition Government; cuts to public sector;
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3 value of public sector being questioned; …
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What Is To Be Done?
Need for:
• Mass demonstrations; citizens unrest; …
Or:
• Identification of ways in which impact and
value can be measured
• Implementation of tools & approaches for:
 Gathering and collating relevant data
 Analysis of data
 Interpretation of finding
 Use of findings (e.g. by politicians)
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How Is It To Be Done?
Quickly!
• “Flash, I love you! But we only have
fourteen hours to save the Earth!”
• “Libraries, I love you! But we have
only sixty minutes to identify ways
in which our services can be saved and make
recommendations to others!”
• OK, two hours if you want to start
thinking about implementation (and maybe
additional time in the pub!)
Note Ming the Merciless is:
• Impervious to emotive pleas (whistle alert!)
• Vulnerable to facts and hard evidence
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Part 1 (of 4)
Low-Hanging Fruit
What are the low-hanging
fruit:
• Easily gathered
evidence
• Evidence which can be
easily analysed
• Evidence which can be
used (e.g. press
releases for local
newspapers)
•…
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Part 2 (of 4)
Gathering The Fruit
How should this evidence be gathered:
• Tools which can be used?
• Options and services which need to be
configured?
• Policies which need to be developed and
implemented?
• Barriers which need to be addressed?
• …
In addition also consider the:
• Hard to gather, but very tasty fruit
• ofHow
suchmanagement
fruit be gathered?
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Part 3 (of 4)
Eating The Fruit
How should this evidence be processed:
• Who should do the work?
• How can the work be funded?
• How can the outputs be used?
• …
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Part 4 (of 4)
Avoiding Indigestion
How should the evidence be
used and validated:
• Avoiding over-egging the
(fruit) pudding
• Addressing ethical concerns
• Concerns over league tables
• …
And what if the evidence could be used
against us?
With apologies for the mixed metaphors!
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E
Group Exercise (1)
Identify ways in which (a) specific library services; (b)
individual libraries or (c) library sector can be saved by
providing evidence to defeat Ming’s coalition forces
Address:
a) The low-hanging fruit: scope your work
b) Gathering the fruit: evidence & data you’ll need
c) Eating the fruit: how you (or techies) will analyse
the data and use it
d) Avoiding indigestion: how you’ll address barriers
Note provide suggestions in three areas:
1. Simple achievable approach you can use
2. Big wins which will require collective effort
3.of expertise
Existing
solutions
which you can sharewww.ukoln.ac.uk
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Group Exercise (2)
Who is:
• Hardcore techie
• Script junkie (e.g. can play with Yahoo Pipes;
design Excel spreadsheets; …)
• Non-techie
Who is:
• From academic library?
• From public/ school library?
• From commercial sector?
• Other?
Groups:
• Ad hoc
 Sectoral
• ofMixture
expertise
 Other suggestions
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Example 1: Blog
Blog Metrics:
• Register your blog with Technorati &
Wikio
• Monitor trends to identify successful
engagement strategies
• Share experiences with peers
Note:
• Two UK HE blogs in Top 50 technology
blogs – indicates HE punches above its
weight
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Example 2: Facebook
Use of Facebook by UK HEIs:
• Grown significantly over last 2 years
• Some numerical data on growth available
How to use:
• Significant numbers of students use
institutional Fb presence
• Reduced expenditure on public sector
provision of infrastructure
• Responding to THE article on survey of 6th
formers
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Example 3: Wikipedia
Update to Wikipedia entry on HTTP 303 code
made by Andy Powell:
• 20 minutes of effort
• Expected 35,000+ views in year
How to use:
• UK HE experts are supporting the ‘Big
society’ by ensuring their expertise is
available in well-used Web sites
• UK HE is avoiding setting up less-wellused alternatives
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Example 4: Slideshare
Hosting slides on Slideshare:
• Small effort to upload
• Allows content to be embedded elsewhere
• Metrics available (cf Steve Wheeler, Carol Goble,
…)
How to use:
• UK academics are making slides which support
teaching, training & dissemination freely available
• The xxx dept had yy,yyy downloads
• If yy,yyy had to travel to xxx this would have cost
£xxx and xxx tonnes of CO2
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Example 5: Twitter
Exploiting Twitter:
• The #cilip1 campaign (“Worried about the future
for librarians? Join the #CILIP1 Twitter campaign
– it’s taking off :-) http://bit.ly/dt6w4P”)
• Analysis and use of #cilip (see Summarizr
)
• Professional developments through participation
in amplified events
How to use:
• “Librarians enhance their professional
development through attendance at ‘amplified
events’ – staff development will reduced travel
costs & time away e.g. see stats for #ili2010
conference”
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Conclusions
To conclude:
• There will be a continuing need to gather
evidence
• Open data can be valuable
• Collaboration can be valuable
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Questions
Any questions?
Name: Brian Kelly
Address: UKOLN, University of Bath, BATH, UK
Email: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/
Blog: http://ukwebfocus./wordpress.com/
Twitter: briankelly and
ukwebfocus (automated feed)
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