Greene County public libraries will be using Project Outcome surveys to measure the impact their Summer Reading Programs have for children participating over the summer of 2019. 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. Project Outcome 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 patrons, 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 Summer Reading Survey – follow these instructions to create the Summer Reading Survey for your library. There is a Summer Reading Survey template for Greene 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.

*   This 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.

Timeline:

• June
  • MHLS will finalize the survey template based on feedback from Greene County Libraries.
  • Libraries will create their surveys using the Step-by-Step Instructions.
• June / July
  • As children and families sign up for the Summer Reading Program, libraries will gather registration data for children and parents or caregivers using the Sample Registration form or their own registration form.
• August / September
  • As the Summer Reading Program wraps up, libraries will distribute their surveys through email or paper forms and begin collecting responses.
  • 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 Greene County libraries.

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