Asian Online Statistics a pilot project Cathie Jilovsky

Asian Online Statistics: a pilot project Cathie Jilovsky

Outline • CAVAL’s online statistical benchmarking services • CAUL Online Statistics • Asian Academic Libraries online statistics pilot project Ø background Ø description Ø progress report Ø evaluation

Online Statistical Benchmarking • online statistical benchmarking service developed by CAVAL • gather, store, analyse & provide access to data • data about users, operations, personnel, services, collections & user populations • for better business & service decisions, improve library visibility, increase user satisfaction

CAUL Statistics The Australian & New Zealand Academic Library (CAUL) Statistics Ø CAUL = Council of Australian University Librarians Ø CONZUL = Council of New Zealand University Librarians http: //www. caul. edu. au/stats /

CAUL Online Statistics http: //statistics. caul. edu. au

Asian Online Statistics • sponsored by the i. Group (Asia) • pilot project objectives Ø development & provision of an online statistical website Ø implementation of sophisticated functionality Ø improvements to the collection processes for the individual libraries Ø provision of a sustainable online statistical service for the i. Group & Asian member libraries

Implementation process 2006 • introductory workshops in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore & Thailand • initial site development by CAVAL • 35 data elements & data definitions agreed • pilot data entry • Phase 1 agreed – collect data for 2005 & 2006

Implementation process 2007 • 2 nd set of workshops Ø details of site functionality Ø understanding the data definitions • August 2007 - data entry commenced • 8 Thai libraries & 4 Malaysian libraries • CAVAL providing help desk & assistance as required

Implementation process 2008 • 8 Hong Kong Libraries joined • 2 Singapore libraries joined • Phase 2 commenced – collection of 2007 data • validated data began to be available for online benchmarking • evaluation of pilot & consideration of future directions

Pilot benefits (1) • local benefits Ø tracking each library over time Ø developing staff expertise • institutional benefits Ø showing the contributions of the library • national benefits Ø comparing with other institutions Ø gaining national overview of library services

Pilot benefits (2) • regional benefits Ø comparing with similar libraries in other countries Ø learning from the differences • global benefits Ø greater understanding of the role of libraries • an opportunity to be involved & contribute to this regional development

22 Participating Libraries • Hong Kong – 8 university libraries • Malaysia – 4 university libraries • Singapore – 2 university libraries • Thailand – 8 university libraries

Asian Statistics site http: //statsasia. caval. edu. au

Functionality • compare institutional data • calculate ratios • display summary statistics • produce graphs • download data • input data module

Institutional Data example

Data by country example

Ranked List example

Graphs example

Input Data example

Help example

Data elements • Library Organisation • Library Staff • Library Services • Information Resources • Library Expenditure • Institutional Population

Asian Statistics pilot - challenges • cultural & language differences • physically located across a wide geographic area • practical issues Ø different currencies Ø different financial & academic years Ø varying technical backgrounds Ø varying local infrastructure support Ø little tradition of sharing data Ø lack of familiarity with practicalities

Evaluation Process • usability of the site • clear & consistent definitions • individual feedback from participants • benchmarking possibilities • resolving issues – data differences • can’t compare apples with oranges

What next? • Peer Libraries • Asian Libraries • CAUL Libraries • ARL Libraries • Global Libraries • Compare like with like …

Questions?

CAVAL Linking Leading Libraries Cathie Jilovsky Email: cathie. jilovsky@caval. edu. au Web: http: //www. caval. edu. au Online Statistics http: //statistics. caul. edu. au http: //statsasia. caval. edu. au