Darn Statistics

We have been collecting data about how many people are in each area of the library since first we opened the doors. Every hour a student walks throughout the entire building making tick marks on a clipboard - counting who is using the Graduate Research Room, the Fireside Reading Room, the Cafe, the Lab, the Information Commons, the Reference Tables, the Leisure Reading area, the Quiet Study space.

They also check to make sure nothing is amiss, that the printers and copiers are working and filled with paper, that there isn't excess noise happening anywhere. When they return to their station in the lab, they transfer the information to an SPSS file. Last year we used an Excel Spreadsheet, but everytime we tried to crunch the data, it was so unwieldy that for the life of me we couldn't get a decent graph or sensible report generated.

We have approached it from every conceivable angle and still I cannot convey anything remotely usable for decision making. Do we stay open on weekends during break? Do we need a student at the desk at opening? Should we staff the lab on weekends? All vital questions especially in an economically tight environment. I want to make the best use of our resources as I can. Should we move to a database model? Is there some way to dig into this raw data better?

Finally, we called in an expert. One of the faculty known for his adeptness with polls and data usage agreed to meet with us. We lay our spreadsheets out and a list of the questions we were needing to address and sat back. He looked over what we were doing and made a few suggestions of carrying what we had already set up a step or two farther.

Then he sat back. "I'm impressed," he said. "I had no idea the Library was doing this. It's a great idea. You are certainly on the right track. I would be happy to work with you until you get what you want." He nodded approvingly.

Good! Maybe, just maybe, we can make some sense out of those darn stats. I'll be the first to admit that I am not gifted in this area. I am grateful that others are and that they are willing to help.