Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Learn about two new national initiatives to help public libraries evaluate their public access technology programs and services and get the information they need to plan and advocate for digital inclusion in their communities. Sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and led by leaders in the public library field, the University of Washington Impact Survey provides public libraries with the ability to collect information to measure the impact of providing free access to the internet and other library resources directly from patrons. It allows any library to easily survey its community and immediately receive the results in ready-to-use reports and advocacy documents for planning programs and services the community really needs, illustrating the impact of the efforts to improve the lives of patrons. The Edge Initiative is a leadership tool designed to enhance public computing services by helping libraries to evaluate their public access technology programs and services against benchmarks developed by a coalition of library leaders. Hear how you can use these tools as well as real examples of how libraries have done so for strategic planning and meeting community goals.