Introducing Suma:An open source, staff-facing tablet application

for library assessment

Joyce ChapmanNorth Carolina State University Libraries

ALA, Assessment ForumJune 24, 2011

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Problem statement

• We are always trying track more data about how patrons are using our spaces and services in order to better understand our users and in turn, to better serve their needs.

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Why do we care?

With data about use/activity patterns in different library spaces we can– Improve staffing models– Make informed purchasing decisions – Optimize space for patron needs (quiet study,

collaborative areas)– Take an evidence-based approach to planning

future services and spaces

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Where it gets tricky

• Many libraries perform manual counts of patron activities (headcounts, group study, laptop use) for assessment purposes

• The process involves tedious collection mechanisms, lots of paperwork, and much room for error

• There is no coordinated effort to help departments analyze their data

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Our solution

An open source tablet and web-based application to aid library staff in gathering, storing, exporting, analyzing, and visualizing data about patron activities across spaces/activities/time and around events

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Example use case

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Add image of the current practice

Problems of current practice

• Inconsistent data• Decentralized data storage • Uncontrolled vocabularies• No dedicated staff to help with data analysis

= High barriers to analysis and data reuse

in the current system

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SumaA pocket data analyst for every librarian

Tablet-based data collection tool

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What is the system?

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Count via “thumb thump”

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Data collection tool demo

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Browser-based data dashboard

• “Chart wizard” will lead staff through a series of choices to produce charts comparing different aspects of data

• Charts can be exported for print or web• Data in charts can be downloaded as

delimited/Excel files

What kinds of data analysis?

Compare an activity across multiple spacesCompare multiple activities in one spaceAnalyze trends over…• Fiscal years• Academic semesters• Weeks of the semester• Days of the week• Hours of the day

Analyze aggregate ratios

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Timeline

Private beta testing releaseSummer 2011. We are looking for enthusiastic and involved

testers, who want to try out the data collection client and provide detailed feedback.

Open beta testing releaseLate fall 2011

Incremental updatesThrough 2012, adding visualization capabilities, events, etc.

Suma project team

• Jason Casden (project lead) • Joyce Chapman• Eric McEachern• Rusty Earl • Rob Rucker• Hill Taylor

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Thanks!

ContactJoyce Chapman – joyce_chapman@ncsu.edu

More infohttp://www.lib.ncsu.edu/dli/projects/spaceassesstoolhttps://github.com/cazzerson/Suma

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