Special Libraries Association Northwest Regional Conference October 6-7, 2006

1. Special Libraries AssociationNorthwest Regional ConferenceOctober 6-7, 2006 • Donna L. Cohen, M.L.I.S., M.Ed. • D. L. Cohen Information Services • Portland, Oregon Before You Start – Conducting an Information Needs Assessment as a Foundation for CM, Website, Intranet and Other High-Level Projects D. L. Cohen Information Services

2. “Let’s start at the very beginningA very good place to start…” [‘Do-Re-Mi’, from Sound of Music] • A “Needs Assessment” is a process for establishing needs, gaps and opportunities before project planning and beyond. “A Rose by Any Other Word…” Shakespeare Whether we are aware of it or not, we have all been doing this for eons. D. L. Cohen Information Services

3. And beyond… Initial Needs Assessment Decide / Plan Continue as is / Modify / Terminate Implement Evaluate [Formative] / Assess D. L. Cohen Information Services

4. Establish need for a major service or product [or a change in an existing service] Establish components of the service When?

5. Save time or money • Eliminate redundancy • Expand perspective or add dimension • Generate new ideas or insight • Confirm details or facts • Increase confidence in decision making • Obtain more budget dollars / funding Why? Conducting User Surveys: An Ongoing Information Imperative by George R. Plosker . Online Magazine, Sept/Oct 2002.

6. Assessment and Planning OutputsTraditional – What we have done / services providedE.g. materials purchased, programs offered, website created, training sessions conducted OutcomesHow users have changed: knowledge, attitudes, behaviorE.g. # materials circulated, increased satisfaction with library, website is used, increased use of electronic databases, increased skill in finding information D. L. Cohen Information Services

7. Goal: Increase Library Staff Participation in Company Project Workgroups Outcomes Criteria Activities Resources / Inputs Goal: Increase Library Staff Participation in Company Project Workgroups Library Staff will be invited to attend project meetings 5 hours per week staff time allocation / Assistance from graphics and marketing departments Send project leaders a two-page ROI doc monthly Within 6 months library staff will have attended 6 project meetings Outcomes– Simple Logic Model D. L. Cohen Information Services

8. Influencers Politics Culture Size / Scale

9. Who will conduct the assessment? Internal Outsourced

10. Assessment Tools / Methods • Surveys • In-depth interviews • Focus groups • Brainstorming sessions • Inventories D. L. Cohen Information Services

11. Assessment Tools / Logistics • Every method has logistical issues of some type. E.g.: • “Preparation” of participants • Invitations • Scheduling • Locations • Equipment • Food? D. L. Cohen Information Services

12. Marketing The Needs Assessment D. L. Cohen Information Services

13. Questions: Some ConsiderationsA Scratch on the Surface A GOOD QUESTION SET IS HARD TO CREATE. • Directly relevant to the goals of the assessment • Not be “leading” • Easy to understand • If necessary, ask personal questions at the end PRE-TEST!! [Consider it usability testing.] D. L. Cohen Information Services

14. Questions: Some Considerations • Force specific answers, e.g.: How many times in the past year have you used Factiva? • versus • In the past year I have used Factiva: • 0-4 times • 5-10 times • 11-25 times • more than 25 times • [notice: exhaustive and mutually exclusive categories] • Allow for “Not Applicable”, “Do Not Know” and “Other” choices, as appropriate D. L. Cohen Information Services

15. Assessment Tool: Surveys Some pros and cons • Paper • Online • Email • Convenient • Useful for quantitative data • Allows many individuals to be involved • Difficult to probe, clarify, etc. • Difficult to create a good question set D. L. Cohen Information Services

16. Assessment Tool: In-depth Interviews Some pros and cons • Complex interviewer skills • Time-consuming • Scheduling can be difficult • Data analysis is more difficult • Probe for deep and complex data • Present new ideas • Build relationships D. L. Cohen Information Services

17. Assessment Tool: Focus Groups Some pros and cons • Complex facilitation skills • Comments avoided because of social context • Logistics are more complicated • Will need to record or have assistant(s) • Probe for deep and complex data • Synergy encourages new ideas • Build relationships among participants D. L. Cohen Information Services

18. Assessment Tool: Brainstorming Some pros and cons • Must have folks who will speak up • Scheduling can be difficult • Facilitator skills less complex (although skills still needed) • Encourages new ideas D. L. Cohen Information Services

19. Assessment Tool: Inventories • Documents • Products and Services • Technical capabilities Some pros and cons • Straightforward • Main skills are social and organizational • Time-consuming • Need cooperation from everyone D. L. Cohen Information Services

20. Let’s Look at the Question and Data Analysis Handout D. L. Cohen Information Services

21. Interview Data Analysis Example D. L. Cohen Information Services

22. Presentation of Results • Is the medium the message? D. L. Cohen Information Services

23. A successful Needs Assessment is one: • Which has marketed the results before the fact! • Upon which decisions are made! • Whose recommendations are implemented! • Which contributes to continued assessment and evaluation activities. Perspectives on Outcomes Based Evaluation for Libraries and Museums http://www.imls.gov/pdf/pubobe.pdf IMLS LSTA W. K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbook -Search title phrase on Google. The URL is very long….. D. L. Cohen Information Services