Showing posts with label statistics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label statistics. Show all posts
Tracking people who use the Library's book list blog posts
Someone asked me recently, "Can tell if people who look at the book list blog posts actually click on the books and borrow them?" A good question, and as I looked into it I thought it might be interesting to share some insights. Spoilers: the answer is yes... and no!
Borrowbox Rates Notice Campaign
In July the Library distributed this flyer with the Rates Notices to 70,000 households in the Shire. The first flyers made it into homes from Friday, 19 July 2019. Let's take a look at the impact of the campaign.
 |
| The flyer advertising Borrowbox distributed with rates notices to households across the Shire |
Kanopy Rates Notice Campaign Analysis
In October we paid for the following notice to be included with the delivery of rates notices across the Shire. 63,000 odd flyers were delivered to ratepayers, starting on 19 October 2018. Following is an initial look at the impact of this campaign on the usage of Kanopy.
So we can see that the number of views definitely increases dramatically but, while the increase is obviously a result of the campaign, the chart above includes all site visits, not just those directly related to the campaign. The next chart shows the number of visitors to the site. This shows the number of people directly connected to the rates notice campaign (remember, one person can be responsible for multiple page views).
The light-blue line shows the number or New Users, or people that have not visited our website before, at least for some time (Note that the scale for New Users is on the right and the scale for all users is on the left). The number of new users per day is slightly less than the all users but the pattern of the charts is similar, suggesting that most of the campaign traffic is from people who are not already regular users of our stuff.
The charts above show that the campaign generated traffic to the site but they don’t tell us whether anyone followed through and actually used Kanopy. Over the period from 1 October to 30 November shown in these charts, the site analytics shows that there were 379 sessions initiated as a result of the campaign. Of these sessions there were 219 clicks through to the Kanopy collection, the first step in actually viewing a video.
The increase is a little more visible when looking at the total number of minutes played, shown below by the white line.
Without boring you with the detailed data tables, I can provide 2 key numbers that demonstrate the impact of the campaign on Kanopy usage.
Prior to the campaign, there was an average of 23 videos played per day (all users). This number increased by half again as a result of the campaign to 36 per day. When it comes to minutes played, the impact is larger with the daily average increasing from 679 minutes per day prior to the campaign to 1208 minutes post campaign.
There is also no way to track how many people signed up to Kanopy each day - there is just a total number of Kanopy users. The closest I can get is to look at all the library members who are also signed up to Kanopy and check the date that they signed up as a library member.
The chart below shows how many people joined the library during October and November, who are also Kanopy users. Just let that sink in for a second... the chart does not include any new members who have not signed up for Kanopy. Neither does it include any Kanopy users that signed up to the library before October 2018.
What this chart shows is that, of all the users who joined the library during Oct/Nov, only a handful subsequently sign up for Kanopy as well. Prior to the campaign there was less than 1 per day. Around the time of the flyer delivery there was a little spike where 4 people joined the library and Kanopy and small bump over the next couple of days. All up, however, there were 5 in the 20 days before the campaign and 21 in the 40 days after. We cannot say for sure that these people joined the library directly in response to the campaign but I think it's safe to say that maybe the campaign attracted approximately 10 new members.
In some ways, it's a blessing that there was a relatively small impact on membership. We would struggle to absorb a larger number of new members who wanted to use Kanopy. The way our Kanopy subscription works is that we prepay for a set number of video plays for the year. We then allocate monthly limits per patron to try and manage the demand so that our budget stretches to the end of the financial year. If we have a sharp increase in usage we could easily burn through our prepaid plays and be faced with trying to either find extra money to buy more credits or cut off patron access to Kanopy until the new financial year. Neither scenario is particularly appealing. And as it turns out, it looks like we will have to redirect some funds from elsewhere this financial year to keep Kanopy available at 10 plays per month. We will have to dedicate increased funding to Kanopy in 2019/20 to account for the continued growth in users.
Martin
THE CAMPAIGN FLYER
 |
| Flyer advertising Kanopy distributed with SSC Rates Notices |
THE WEBSITE
The link on the flyer directed people to the Kanopy page on the library website. The following chart shows the daily page views of the Kanopy page, with the campaign delivery date marked. |
| Pageviews on the Kanopy page of the library web site |
 |
| Users who visited the website as a direct result of the campaign |
The charts above show that the campaign generated traffic to the site but they don’t tell us whether anyone followed through and actually used Kanopy. Over the period from 1 October to 30 November shown in these charts, the site analytics shows that there were 379 sessions initiated as a result of the campaign. Of these sessions there were 219 clicks through to the Kanopy collection, the first step in actually viewing a video.
KANOPY USAGE
For more detail about the number of videos played we need to look at the analytics provided by Kanopy. This chart shows the number of page views, sessions and video plays on the Sutherland Kanopy website. The key indicator here is the yellow line – the number of Plays. The increase in sessions and page views is obvious but we need to look at how much that interest translates into actual use – watching videos. Although it is not as pronounced, the increase in plays can be seen. Most importantly, however, is the lasting impact of the campaign. If we were to calculate the area under the yellow line before and after the delivery date it shows that the total usage of Kanopy has increased and there is a lasting effect upon usage as a result of the campaign. |
| Kanopy Analytics |
 |
| Daily minutes played on Kanopy by Sutherland users |
Prior to the campaign, there was an average of 23 videos played per day (all users). This number increased by half again as a result of the campaign to 36 per day. When it comes to minutes played, the impact is larger with the daily average increasing from 679 minutes per day prior to the campaign to 1208 minutes post campaign.
MEMBERSHIP
The final question that I have about the campaign is how many new library members were generated as a result of this campaign? This question is much harder to answer because there is no way to link new users to the campaign itself.There is also no way to track how many people signed up to Kanopy each day - there is just a total number of Kanopy users. The closest I can get is to look at all the library members who are also signed up to Kanopy and check the date that they signed up as a library member.
The chart below shows how many people joined the library during October and November, who are also Kanopy users. Just let that sink in for a second... the chart does not include any new members who have not signed up for Kanopy. Neither does it include any Kanopy users that signed up to the library before October 2018.
 |
| Kanopy users who joined the library during the campaign |
In some ways, it's a blessing that there was a relatively small impact on membership. We would struggle to absorb a larger number of new members who wanted to use Kanopy. The way our Kanopy subscription works is that we prepay for a set number of video plays for the year. We then allocate monthly limits per patron to try and manage the demand so that our budget stretches to the end of the financial year. If we have a sharp increase in usage we could easily burn through our prepaid plays and be faced with trying to either find extra money to buy more credits or cut off patron access to Kanopy until the new financial year. Neither scenario is particularly appealing. And as it turns out, it looks like we will have to redirect some funds from elsewhere this financial year to keep Kanopy available at 10 plays per month. We will have to dedicate increased funding to Kanopy in 2019/20 to account for the continued growth in users.
Martin
How Successful was the Library's Recent Letterbox Marketing Campaign?
In August 2017 Sutherland Shire Libraries delivered a double-sided A5 flyer to all letterboxes in the Sutherland Shire promoting the Digital Magazines and Children’s Reading Games available to library members online. What follows is an analysis of the impact of that campaign.
 |
| Two sides of the campaign flyer |
Shire Kids Festival Promotion on the Library Website
Whenever the library attempts something a little different or tries a new type of promotion or event I think it is important to review what we did and try to determine what impact it had. When it involves the website I always find it interesting to try and evaluate firstly, whether the promotion had any effect on the usage of the website, and secondly, whether the promoting something on the website contributed positively to the activity.
Impact of Website Home Page Promotion on Email Signups
I was wondering about the effectiveness of the main promotion feature on the home page of the Library website so I started digging in to the data to find out.
Promoting Encyclopedia Britannica on the Library Website
A couple of months ago I was asked about moving the Encyclopedia Britannica (and Britannica Image Quest) pages on the library website from their current location under Digital Collections to the Kids and Parents section. The thinking was that staff in the Children's section were often recommending Britannica as a resource for school homework and assignments and in this context it might get more use if people could find it under Kids and Parents.
My initial thoughts were that Britannica's location in the site would not impact use greatly, providing it was in a reasonably logical location. But you can never be sure and I thought it would be a good opportunity to test my assumptions.
My initial thoughts were that Britannica's location in the site would not impact use greatly, providing it was in a reasonably logical location. But you can never be sure and I thought it would be a good opportunity to test my assumptions.
Digital Library Services - 2013/14 Report
The key achievement in the last 12 months was the introduction of a redesigned library website. The new website was launched in early 2014; the goal being an improved user experience for visitors using mobile devices. The site is now fully responsive, with a design that flexibly accommodates the different screen sizes of smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers. In conjunction with a new mobile view of the library catalogue access to the library's digital services is greatly improved.
The increase in digital usage has not, however, fully accounted for the drop in physical loans. Overall, usage of all the library's materials and resources has dropped 2% from 1,763,170 to 1,724,690.
The most popular digital services remain Overdrive audiobooks & ebooks, Freegal music downloads and Zinio digital magazines with these 3 services representing nearly three quarters (72%) of all digital usage.
Website Performance
All the key measures of the library website performance have remained fairly steady, improving only slightly. The number of visits (1%), the number of pages viewed (2%) and the number of visitors (7%) have all increased, which is a pleasing result. |
| Website use is fairly stable, however, all key website metrics are moving in the right direction. |
Mobile Traffic to the Website
Traffic from mobile devices continues to increase substantially with mobile phones up 40% and tablets up 83%. This has come at the expense of traffic from laptops/desktops which is down 12%. This confirms the importance of the work done to redesign the library website. |
| Comparison of mobile traffic. Phone traffic is shown in orange, tablet traffic in green and desktop/laptop traffic in blue |
Physical vs Digital Usage
Usage of digital resources has continued to grow substantially. The total use of digital resources has increased by 49% compared with the previous year. As a proportion of total use of library materials, digital use has grown by 2% from 4.05% in 2012/13 to 6.05% in 2013-14, reaching a high of nearly 7% in March. | |
| Digital use has increased by 49% compared with last year |
The increase in digital usage has not, however, fully accounted for the drop in physical loans. Overall, usage of all the library's materials and resources has dropped 2% from 1,763,170 to 1,724,690.
 |
| Digital use has increased as a proportion of total usage from 4% to 6%. However, the increase in digital use hasn't accounted for the full drop in physical loans |
The most popular digital services remain Overdrive audiobooks & ebooks, Freegal music downloads and Zinio digital magazines with these 3 services representing nearly three quarters (72%) of all digital usage.
 |
| Proportion of total digital use for different digital resources |
On the value of brochures & flyers for digital resources
It's that time of year again. We are preparing the annual performance report for council and I'm delving into the website analytics, looking at whether some of the things we are trying to achieve are backed up by the data.
What was the Impact of the recent letterbox drop on the usage of Zinio?
In mid November the library delivered a postcard promoting Zinio Digital Magazines to households throughout the Shire as part of a partnership with Cronulla CBD Management. On one side of the card was information about Santa photos in Cronulla Mall and the other side introduced Zinio.
It wasn't free; in fact it cost a significant sum. The library contributed money towards the costs of preparing and distributing the postcard, so it was important that we look at whether the investment was valuable.
Well, I have had a look at the figures for the use of Zinio in November and compared it with the month of October. I should also preface these numbers with a long term observation across all our digital services that we would expect to see a decline in usage from September through to January. Ordinarily, November would see less usage than October.
Here's what happened…
This graph show the number of views of the Zinio page on the library website in November compared with October.
This graph shows the number of visits to the website that originated from the URL printed on the Zinio postcard. This URL is also used on the brochure we give have at the library. The number of visits in October represent those visits from the brochure.
This chart shows the number of times that people clicked on the Choose New Magazines button on the Zinio Page of the library website. That button is the primary call to action on the page, which is what we want people to do.
This chart shows the change in the number of magazine borrowed by patrons from Zinio between October and November.
This chart compares what percentage of our members signed up for a Zinio account before and after the postcard promoting Zinio was delivered. Out of all 177 current Zinio patron accounts, 107 of them were created after the letterbox drop.
So there you have it. A resounding success I would say.
You can have a closer look at the raw numbers. They are stored in DMS so you will need to look at this from Internet Explorer at work.
Martin
It wasn't free; in fact it cost a significant sum. The library contributed money towards the costs of preparing and distributing the postcard, so it was important that we look at whether the investment was valuable.
Is it worth spending $$$ on promoting library resources using this method.
Well, I have had a look at the figures for the use of Zinio in November and compared it with the month of October. I should also preface these numbers with a long term observation across all our digital services that we would expect to see a decline in usage from September through to January. Ordinarily, November would see less usage than October.
Here's what happened…
Zinio Pageviews on Library Website ⇧90%
Visits to Library website from campaign URL ⇧1506%
Clicks on 'Choose New Magazines' button ⇧77%
Zinio Magazine Checkouts ⇧81%
60% of all current Zinio Patrons signed up after the postcard delivery
This chart compares what percentage of our members signed up for a Zinio account before and after the postcard promoting Zinio was delivered. Out of all 177 current Zinio patron accounts, 107 of them were created after the letterbox drop.
So there you have it. A resounding success I would say.
You can have a closer look at the raw numbers. They are stored in DMS so you will need to look at this from Internet Explorer at work.
Martin
Physical vs Digital: what proportion of usage of library material is digital?
I've just been looking at the statistics for the library's digital collection for the last financial year. I thought it might be interesting to compare the usage of digital materials with the number of loans of physical materials.
Interesting Statistics from our Website
I was recently preparing the statistics on the databases and the library website for the 6 month performance report. I put together a couple of sentences on what I found interesting about the 2011 for the report but I thought some of you might be interested as well. (how many of you read the performance reports?)
Numbers have remained within a fairly small range for:
While still a relatively small proportion of total visits, we had about 6,500 visits by mobile devices between January and June (5% of total visits). This number increased by 64% to 10,700 between October and December (8% of total visits).
We are seeing a consistent increase in the number of visitors arriving at the site via Facebook. The vast majority of our visitors arrive either directly at our site or via a search engine. But of those who visit as a result of a link from another site, Facebook is one of the key sources of traffic along with the library blog.
Between January – June and October – December there was a 19% increase in referral traffic from Facebook, indicating the Library’s efforts in promotion via this channel are achieving some traction.
In the period from October to December in which the service has been available we have seen nearly 5000 views, which put it in the top 10 pages of the site. In October 819 songs were downloaded. The number more than doubled in December to 1719, representing a cost per song of about $1.30. With continued promotion we should see a continued increase in usage and we could hope to reduce the cost per song downloaded to close to $1.00.
Overall, traffic to the library website has remained extremely consistent over the entire year of 2011.
Numbers have remained within a fairly small range for:
- the number of people who visit the site
- the number of visits and
- the number of pages viewed on the site
Visits from Mobile devices and smart phones have increased steadily.
While still a relatively small proportion of total visits, we had about 6,500 visits by mobile devices between January and June (5% of total visits). This number increased by 64% to 10,700 between October and December (8% of total visits).
Facebook appears to be an increasingly important referral channel for the site.
We are seeing a consistent increase in the number of visitors arriving at the site via Facebook. The vast majority of our visitors arrive either directly at our site or via a search engine. But of those who visit as a result of a link from another site, Facebook is one of the key sources of traffic along with the library blog.
Between January – June and October – December there was a 19% increase in referral traffic from Facebook, indicating the Library’s efforts in promotion via this channel are achieving some traction.
Freegal is the Big Newcomer for 2011!
In the period from October to December in which the service has been available we have seen nearly 5000 views, which put it in the top 10 pages of the site. In October 819 songs were downloaded. The number more than doubled in December to 1719, representing a cost per song of about $1.30. With continued promotion we should see a continued increase in usage and we could hope to reduce the cost per song downloaded to close to $1.00.
Did you know...?
Did you Know… Ref Rap
Did you know…
46% of Australians aged over 18 years visited a library in 2006.
Libraries were the second most attended cultural venue or event in 2006. The most popular cultural and leisure activities enjoyed by people aged 18 years and over in 2006 were: going to the movies (69% of persons when reporting all activities enjoyed over a 12 month period); visiting libraries (46% of persons); visiting zoological parks and aquariums (41%); and visiting botanic gardens (40%).
Almost two-thirds (65%) of Australians aged 15 and over who had visited a library during the 12-month period 2005-06 had visited more than six times during that period, including 25% who had visited more than 20 times.
Females were more likely than males to visit a library - their attendance rate was 41%, compared with 27% for males.
55% (1,467,500) of children visited a public library outside of school hours in 2005-06.74% (1,984,000) of children read for pleasure in April 2006. While 80% of girls read for pleasure during the same period, only 69% of boys did so.
These are just an example of the interesting and informative facts you can find on the ABS website.
A short while ago I attended a training called “ABS website made simple”, and thought I’d share some of the ways you can navigate and search this treasure trove of information.
Search Box-You can use the search box to simply key in a few keywords describing the information you are looking for.
Navigation menus- There are two navigation menus from which to access information. These are the “Left hand side navigation menu” which has shortcuts to the major statistical indicators, key services and products, and the “Global navigation menu” which runs across the top of the ABS Home webpage. The global navigation menu includes a number of headings that link to the different areas of the site you may wish to investigate. These include:
First visit link – This tab is set up as an index, providing links to information and services available from the site including an overview of the site, tailored information portals to meet specific information needs, training and tutorials.
Statistics link-If you already have the appropriate information, you are able to use the statistics link to search by catalogue date, release date or the title of the document.
Census link- There are (now less than) 280 days until the 2011 census! If you need census information before then, you can access this via the census link. There are six online tools you can use to access this data in a format most useful to you. Two popular online tools are Quickstats- A summary of key Census data for a chosen area benchmarked against Australia, and Community Profiles- a collection of various tables showing Census data in detail, for a chosen location.
Topics at a glance-A relatively easy way to find an overview on a particular topic is to click on the ‘topics at a glance” tab to allow you to browse through a wide range of topic areas grouped under five main headings.
Methods and standards link- This link is self explanatory, and includes outlines of the methods used to collect and analyse statistics as well as research reports.
News and media link- This link features the ABS in the media, publications, release dates of key statistical information, and resources for reporting statistical information.
Educational link- this link has resources for teachers and students to bring data to life in the classroom. There is also fun stuff for students. Simply click on games and puzzles link to play and learn about statistics.
Help link-A useful link if you get lost or need further instruction on navigating the site.
Finally- Did you know the ABS also have a free help line 1300 135 070, available during business hours, (alternatively you can send an email) to enable you unearth those elusive statistics.
Happy data hunting
Monique
Did you know…
46% of Australians aged over 18 years visited a library in 2006.
Libraries were the second most attended cultural venue or event in 2006. The most popular cultural and leisure activities enjoyed by people aged 18 years and over in 2006 were: going to the movies (69% of persons when reporting all activities enjoyed over a 12 month period); visiting libraries (46% of persons); visiting zoological parks and aquariums (41%); and visiting botanic gardens (40%).
Almost two-thirds (65%) of Australians aged 15 and over who had visited a library during the 12-month period 2005-06 had visited more than six times during that period, including 25% who had visited more than 20 times.
Females were more likely than males to visit a library - their attendance rate was 41%, compared with 27% for males.
55% (1,467,500) of children visited a public library outside of school hours in 2005-06.74% (1,984,000) of children read for pleasure in April 2006. While 80% of girls read for pleasure during the same period, only 69% of boys did so.
These are just an example of the interesting and informative facts you can find on the ABS website.
A short while ago I attended a training called “ABS website made simple”, and thought I’d share some of the ways you can navigate and search this treasure trove of information.
Search Box-You can use the search box to simply key in a few keywords describing the information you are looking for.
Navigation menus- There are two navigation menus from which to access information. These are the “Left hand side navigation menu” which has shortcuts to the major statistical indicators, key services and products, and the “Global navigation menu” which runs across the top of the ABS Home webpage. The global navigation menu includes a number of headings that link to the different areas of the site you may wish to investigate. These include:
First visit link – This tab is set up as an index, providing links to information and services available from the site including an overview of the site, tailored information portals to meet specific information needs, training and tutorials.
Statistics link-If you already have the appropriate information, you are able to use the statistics link to search by catalogue date, release date or the title of the document.
Census link- There are (now less than) 280 days until the 2011 census! If you need census information before then, you can access this via the census link. There are six online tools you can use to access this data in a format most useful to you. Two popular online tools are Quickstats- A summary of key Census data for a chosen area benchmarked against Australia, and Community Profiles- a collection of various tables showing Census data in detail, for a chosen location.
Topics at a glance-A relatively easy way to find an overview on a particular topic is to click on the ‘topics at a glance” tab to allow you to browse through a wide range of topic areas grouped under five main headings.
Methods and standards link- This link is self explanatory, and includes outlines of the methods used to collect and analyse statistics as well as research reports.
News and media link- This link features the ABS in the media, publications, release dates of key statistical information, and resources for reporting statistical information.
Educational link- this link has resources for teachers and students to bring data to life in the classroom. There is also fun stuff for students. Simply click on games and puzzles link to play and learn about statistics.
Help link-A useful link if you get lost or need further instruction on navigating the site.
Finally- Did you know the ABS also have a free help line 1300 135 070, available during business hours, (alternatively you can send an email) to enable you unearth those elusive statistics.
Happy data hunting
Monique
Sutherland Shire Community Atlas
This is a new resource that you can access from the Council website. Follow the links to:
About your shire > Shire statistics > Community Profile Map
The Community Atlas includes key socio-demographic characteristics for Sutherland Shire presented as interactive maps.
The atlas is useful for patron enquiries and also for staff planning services for specific groups or in specific areas of the Shire.
It is fairly intuitive but if you would like a demonstration please ask myself or Kris O.-Julie
About your shire > Shire statistics > Community Profile Map
The Community Atlas includes key socio-demographic characteristics for Sutherland Shire presented as interactive maps.
The atlas is useful for patron enquiries and also for staff planning services for specific groups or in specific areas of the Shire.
It is fairly intuitive but if you would like a demonstration please ask myself or Kris O.-Julie
CData Online
CData Online is a great tool available from the ABS which allows you to manipulate data from the 2006 census. While Sutherland Shire Council's Community Profile is great for finding statistics for the Shire and it's suburbs and comparing them to the greater Sydney area, CData allows you to create geographic areas as small as a collection district, or as a combination of collection districts or suburbs and view data as tables, graphs or thematic maps.
You can use CDATA Online to:
* Construct tables using 2006 Census Data
* Compare geographic areas * Create custom geographic areas & data groups
* Add totals and view data as percentages
* Produce thematic maps of Census data which can be exported and saved to a file
* Produce a variety of graphs of Census data which can be exported and saved to file.
* Export data in Excel or CSV format
If you register for this free service, you then have the ability to save your customised geographies, data items and tables for reference in future sessions.
While the service is reasonably user friendly, with an online user manual as well as online help, both Julie and I have some experience in constructing tables of local data so please don't hesitate to ask for help.
The Sutherland Shire Council's Community Profile at http://www.id.com.au/profile/default.aspx?id=150 is a great starting point for community statistics and will probably answer most statistical enquiries from customers. It also includes results from the 2006, 2001, 1996, and 1991 Censuses of Population and Housing for many key statistics. However, for customised geographies and data groups check out CData Online at http://www.abs.gov.au/CDataOnline.
You can use CDATA Online to:
* Construct tables using 2006 Census Data
* Compare geographic areas * Create custom geographic areas & data groups
* Add totals and view data as percentages
* Produce thematic maps of Census data which can be exported and saved to a file
* Produce a variety of graphs of Census data which can be exported and saved to file.
* Export data in Excel or CSV format
If you register for this free service, you then have the ability to save your customised geographies, data items and tables for reference in future sessions.
While the service is reasonably user friendly, with an online user manual as well as online help, both Julie and I have some experience in constructing tables of local data so please don't hesitate to ask for help.
The Sutherland Shire Council's Community Profile at http://www.id.com.au/profile/default.aspx?id=150 is a great starting point for community statistics and will probably answer most statistical enquiries from customers. It also includes results from the 2006, 2001, 1996, and 1991 Censuses of Population and Housing for many key statistics. However, for customised geographies and data groups check out CData Online at http://www.abs.gov.au/CDataOnline.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)
