Programming is a complicated and amazing process. So far, I’ve tackled documenting successful programs and collecting program data . Today, let’s talk about program evaluation and innovation. Can we customize content to specific audience needs? Can we change with our communities? Yes! Let me tell you how I did with Family Place.
Why evaluate and innovate?
Things change in libraries: staff, spaces, resources, capacity, community needs, and more. Past successes are important, but always doing what we’ve always done risks stagnation. The longevity of our Family Place initiatives gave us experience and perspective. Program growth and community connections brought new opportunities. Program evaluation highlights your wins, while innovation builds on them.
Step One: Identify Key Themes
To start, identify key themes from your numbers and narratives. Are there trends in program attendance? What about consistent patron shares, like their love of hands-on activities? Maybe it’s observations, like families engaging more deeply in activities with posted instructions. After that, choose a starting point. For Family Place, I chose program time, structure, and participant interactions.
Step Two: Consider Multiple Perspectives
Program evaluation told us how much patrons love circle time, so we include it at the beginning and end of each playgroup.
Consider all voices and weigh your feedback, both positive and negative. Many similar thoughts points to opportunities. Nearly all our patrons commented on the playgroup time, indicating needed changes. On the other hand, consistently positive comments about family interactions demonstrated our success. Further, they influenced training for new staff. In addition, ask who will benefit from proposed changes and consider changes with positive impacts for the majority. Conversely, think twice about about changes that reflect only a single person’s preferences. Finally, consider your change ripples to avoid inadvertently creating more problems with your solutions.
Step Three: Make Small Changes One at a Time
Innovation and improvement are exciting. Before you dive in, practice the pause. Instead of redoing everything, tackle changes one at a time. Program evaluation is about refining, not reinventing everything. Highlighting single changes lets you evaluate their overall impact compared to their intention. Those slight tweaks might eliminate the need for other changes, or identify new focuses. Start with your biggest ask, easiest implementation, or area of greatest influence. We made these small changes at playgroup:
After frequent comments that our start was too early, we shifted the time later in small increments.
To address patron concerns about unfamiliar faces, our program team includes at least one consistent staff member each week.
To answer comments about boredom and overwhelm, we reduced available toys and created a rotation that provides consistency and variety.
To combat overwhelming and messy displays and provide fresh content, we created a seasonal handout rotation.
A hands-on sensory bin from our current playgroup session.
Step Four: Allow Time and Space
Program evaluation at work: This season’s younger audience necessitated a baby-friendly sensory bin.
Before labeling a change a raging success or abysmal failure, let it breathe. Change takes time, whether it’s adjusting schedules to a new time or gathering interest in a new program. It took more than three years, but we’ve seen average playgroup attendance increase by more than 25 percent with our changes. It’s possible your change won’t have the desired effect, but time and space lets you objectively observe impacts. Each group and program are different, so what works for one might not work for another. Continue collecting data and asking questions. Then, you’ll have the resources for evaluation.
Step Five: Try (and Fail)
We’d like every idea to be a winner, but the truth is not everything will fit. It’s hard to get comfortable with failure. Start by identifying tips and tools to help build distance and objectivity. Then, look for lessons learned. Low or no program attendance teaches you what doesn’t work. Patron concerns or complaints provide opportunities to refine staff training and marketing. I can’t say this part is always fun, but embracing the imperfections goes a long way. If your first attempt doesn’t work, try something else. We started by offering playgroups five times a year. A better solution was offering fewer sessions with more intentional timing. Know when to admit defeat, too. Some ideas just won’t work, and that’s okay.
Program evaluation at work: Our handout rotation creates neater, more accessible displays.
Step Six: Be Consistent
Program evaluation and adaptation are ongoing processes. Consistently offer spaces to share feedback. Also, be upfront about how you’ll use it, and you’ll get more (and more honest) responses. Each playgroup session includes a post-program survey for attendee feedback. For staff, we host debrief and strategy meetings. Regular content evaluation informs decisions to keep, expand, and sunset programs. Remember, your definition of success may vary from one program to the next. Be flexible, but keep evaluating.
Hopefully this series has given you ideas for documentation, data, and program evaluation. I’d love to connect with you on your programming journey! What questions do you still have? What are you most excited to try?
Jaime Eastman is a senior Public Services Librarian and Family Place Coordinator at the Harrington Library, one of the Plano (Texas) Public Library locations . She’s currently serving as a member of the ALSC Board of Directors. Jaime is also working on at least two ambitious cross stitch projects, dreaming of future travel plans, and reading far too many books at once. As a child, she wanted to grow up to be an author. Writing for the blog and publishing with Children and Libraries feel like a good start, and she regrets nothing about her adult decision to be a librarian doing storytimes who didn’t have to grow up too much. All photos are courtesy of the author.
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