The new year offers everyone a chance to reflect on the past year and think about the year to come. Some people want to kick a bad habit, and some want to start a good one. We all might have a personal goal in mind for 2023, but does your library have one too? It might be time to think about setting one.
First, a question. How many people are using your library? That’s harder to answer than you might think. It depends on a number of things, and any single metric may not completely define utilization of your library. Add multiple branches together, and it gets even trickier. We put together a combination of digital and in-person key metrics that track how typical libraries are serving their patrons in 2023.
1. Materials Circulated
The number of materials circulated can be a good indicator of how much your library is being used by your patrons. As a raw number, it may not be useful. As a percentage it can paint a bigger picture of collection utilization.
Materials circulated does not account for any growth or decline in patron numbers though, and it may ignore digital materials circulated and renewals as well. Materials circulated is best used as a part of a collection of quantitative and qualitative data, as the general trend of checking out books declines across the country.
2. Newsletter Emails Delivered
For your digital presence, newsletters delivered can offer an insight into how often you communicate with your patrons. How many patrons are on your newsletter list? Is it an opt-in or opt-out for new patrons? At what frequency do you send newsletters?
It’s important not just to look at the sheer numbers of emails sent. The quality and specificity of your emails matters when engaging patron.
Does your library have a general newsletter?
Does it have focused newsletters for special interest groups within your patron base?
Consider groups like young adults, parents with young children, or Spanish language newsletters. How interactive are you emails? That also affects how your patrons act on messaging.
3. Accounts Active
The number of active accounts is a good indicator of how many of your patrons are borrowing items at your library. Paired with a time frame (like last 90 days), it can give you a picture of what proportion of your patron base is using the library over a given time.
Comparing active accounts over specific times of year or around specific campaigns can give you feedback on how your engagement efforts are performing. How did your summer reading program affect circulation for instance? Break down active accounts by patrons between 6-18 for the months of June-August.
On the other hand, how many accounts are not active can also be an important metric. Do you have a lot of patrons that haven’t been active for over a year? Maybe an email or mailing campaign to get them back engaged would be a good idea.
Did you know that on average 10% of your patron base moves from your service area?
If you have an above-average number of inactive accounts, you may want to consider purging your database of patrons who have moved out of the area.
4. New Accounts
Is your patron base growing? Is it shrinking? New accounts means that your library is getting new patrons in the door. Growth is a positive sign, but it’s also important that it’s quality growth. Getting new accounts is good, but if your library isn’t creating users that stay engaged, then it is not quality growth. New accounts don’t always mean that your patron base is growing, though. About 10% of your patron base will move every year, so if you don’t have an accurate patron count to compare new sign ups to, you may not be experiencing growth at all.
5. Foot Traffic
The total number of people who come and go from your library is a very valuable statistic. Total utilization of the library, irrespective of patron status is important for several reasons. Staffing can be more accurately managed with an idea of who is coming into your library at specific times of day, days of the week, even times of the year.
As a reflection of your library’s place in the community, foot traffic shows how and how often the library is being used beyond material circulation. This aspect is also helpful in advocating for the library. For gatherings that don’t require registration or other usage of the library that isn’t connected to materials or patron accounts, foot traffic may be the only evidence of the library being used. For efficacy of campaigns, a headcount is an important metric.
Are more people coming into your library after a mailing campaign, for instance? An increase in foot traffic will give you insight.
Setting an Attainable Goal
The total number of people who come and go from your library is a very valuable statistic. Total utilization of the library, irrespective of patron status is important for several reasons. Staffing can be more accurately managed with an idea of who is coming into your library at specific times of day, days of the week, even times of the year.
Once you decide on a mix of metrics that suit your library, it’s time to set a goal. Following the well-known SMART principle will make sure your goals are productive.
Specific – “Get more people using the library” is a good starting point, but not quite precise. “Increase library card applications by 15% vs 2022” is a more specific goal. This will help you pick a metric that also is relevant.
Measurable – Pick a goal that is quantifiable, that way you have a definite on track/off track result when you revisit them.
Achievable – Shooting for the starts is all well and good, but focusing too much on one thing could leave you stretched in other areas. A goal that is within reason gives you a chance of success.
Relevant – What is the reason for this goal? Is it for the good of your patrons? If the answer is “no,” then you should probably rethink your target.
Time-bound – What is the target date for your goal? The end of 2023? End of Q2? Keeping a time horizon makes tracking progress worthwhile.
Making SMART goals with the right metrics is not as easy as it sounds, but it’s an important task for libraries. Here are a couple of examples we came up with.
Example Goals
“Increase foot traffic by 20% by November 2023”
“Decrease patrons with outstanding fines by 35% by Q3 2023”
“Get 250 more children enrolled in the summer reading program for this summer”
“Increase the number of newsletter recipients by 30% by the end of the fiscal year”
These tools and ideas are suitable for any library or library system. Find the right mix of metrics and set a goal that will set your library up for a successful 2023.
