Columbia County Project Outcome 2019

Columbia County public libraries will be using Project Outcome surveys to measure the impact their Education and Lifelong Learning programs have on adults attending these programs over the summer of 2019. Education and lifelong learning programs give patrons the opportunity to gain and impart new knowledge and skills, improve academic performance, and engage in a variety of lifelong learning activities. Examples include book clubs, author discussions, educational classes, classes to learn new skills, informational programs, and more. The Project Outcome surveys will gather data and feedback from patrons, which libraries can use in evaluating their programs and advocating for their library. Libraries will be able to access the data and responses from their own library’s surveys, and the Mid-Hudson Library System (MHLS) will provide aggregate data for responses for all county libraries. Resources and an outline of the program are below. Casey Conlin and Courtney Wimmers are available to help with any questions you might have.

Resources:

  • Project Outcome – use this link to create your account, get started creating your survey, and access data from the responses from your survey. Project Outcome provides surveys to evaluate and measure the impact of many different kinds of library programs for children, teens, and adults.
  • Step-by-Step Instructions for Creating Your Survey – follow these instructions to create the Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning survey for your library. There is a survey template available for Columbia County libraries, and you should be able to set up your survey in just a few minutes. When your survey is set up, you’ll be able to gather responses using a link, or print out a PDF of your survey to gather responses on paper.
  • Step-by-Step Instructions for Entering Data from Survey Responses – if you choose to use paper surveys for your program evaluation, you’ll enter the data into Project Outcome using these instructions.
  • Email Template for Survey – if you choose to send your survey out electronically, you can use the language from this template to distribute the link to your survey. Feel free to modify this language as you see fit or create your own email message to distribute the survey.

 

Timeline:

  • May
    • MHLS will finalize the survey template based on feedback from Columbia County Libraries.
    • Each library will create their survey using the Step-by-Step Instructions.
  • June to September
    • Each library will conduct at least one Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning program for adults, and administer the survey to the people who come to the program. Each library will be responsible for entering the data from paper surveys, and can use these instructions to do that. Libraries are welcome to survey more than one program, but each library should conduct and survey at least one program.
  • September
    • MHLS will review how to access your library’s data and responses from Project Outcome.
    • MHLS will gather and share out county-wide response data with all Columbia County libraries.

Casey Conlin and Courtney Wimmers area available to help with any questions you might have about this program or Project Outcome.

 

Summer Reading Program Surveys and Project Outcome (optional):

If you are interested in measuring the impact of your library’s Summer Reading Program, you can use the resources below. Library Summer Reading Programs provide fun, engaging opportunities to keep kids reading throughout the summer and limit learning gaps for school-aged children by helping them avoid the summer slide, the decline in reading and academic ability that can occur over the summer. To get started with Project Outcome for your Summer Reading Program, you should plan to gather parent or caregiver email info for children participating in the program in June, so you can email the survey to them after or near the end of your Summer Reading Program. MHLS will be able to gather and share aggregate county library data after the summer for interested libraries.

  • Step-by-Step Instructions for Creating Your Summer Reading Survey – follow these instructions to create the Summer Reading Survey for your library. There is a Summer Reading Survey template for Columbia County libraries, and you should be able to set up your survey, and get a link to it in just a few minutes.*
  • Sample Summer Reading Registration Form – this Sample Form captures regular registration info, including the child’s name and age or grade, and parent or caregiver info, along with parent or caregiver email address. You can modify this form as you see fit, or create your own registration form that captures parent or caregiver email info.
  • Email Template for Survey Distribution – use the language from this template to distribute the link to your survey to parents and caregivers who registered children for the Summer Reading Program after or near the end of the program. Feel free to modify this language as you see fit or create your own email message to distribute the survey.

*   The Summer Reading Program survey is best distributed as a link by email to parents and caregivers, who registered their children for the Summer Reading Program, after or near the end of the Summer Reading Program. There is an option to create a PDF version of your survey to print out and distribute to patrons, but distributing the survey electronically through email reduces data entry necessary with paper responses, and allows you to reach everyone who registers for the program, including people who may not have completed the Summer Reading Program, and people who can’t make it to the library for the end of the program.

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