Public Libraries: Public Library Association (PLA) Publishes First Project Outcome Annual Report

From PLA (a Division of the American Library Association):

The Public Library Association (PLA) has launched the first Project Outcome Annual Report.

Access the 2016 Annual Report to analyze survey results, learn what patrons benefited from most, and see what Project Outcome and participating libraries did in the first year to make Project Outcome a success.
PLA’s Project Outcome is a FREE toolkit designed to help public libraries understand and share the true impact of essential library services and programs by providing simple surveys and an easy-to-use process for measuring and analyzing outcomes. Project Outcome also provides libraries with the resources and training support needed to apply their results and confidently advocate for their library’s future, helping them turn better data into better libraries.
Since launching in June 2015, Project Outcome has had over 2,000 participants representing over 1,000 public libraries across the U.S. and Canada register to be a part of this initiative. The Project Outcome system has aggregated over 40,000 patron surveys and is just getting started.
Through Project Outcome, the library field is learning more than ever about the benefits that library patrons see in their own lives. Data collected from the first year of Project Outcome tell us unequivocally that library programs and services improve the lives of their patrons. People come to the library not just for books, but for programs that will help them learn a new skill or make a specific change in their lives. Within the first year, Project Outcome aggregated over 17,000 patron surveys. Nearly 80% of those library users surveyed report that library programs and services have had some kind of positive impact on their lives in the last year.

Read the Complete Report Publication Announcement
Direct to Full Text Report ||| PDF Version of Report (21 pages)
Direct to Dataset (.xlsx File)

Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Data Files, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Public Libraries, Reports