Data Collection for Virtual Programs

[Note: For additional updated information on this post, please see this March 19 update on the blog]

Dear Library Staff Serving Youth,

Compassionate greetings to you all during these unprecedented times. I know that many of you are responding to library closures, cleaning materials, and offering virtual resources to children and families, amongst numerous other efforts right now.

Specifically regarding virtual programming, I wanted to share the following detail about data collection for virtual attendance. Livestreaming numbers should be counted for attendance - views of recordings should not. 

It's tricky with online platforms to measure attendance in a meaningful way. This article from Boxcast that explains the differences in measuring using those platforms. For example, if you're scrolling through your Facebook feed and the library's livestream starts auto-playing and you let it auto play for 3 seconds - Facebook counts that viewer as viewer who watched for "a significant amount of time."

I hope this information is helpful to you.

Be well,

Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

Public Library Consultant – Youth and Inclusive Services

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

(608) 267-5077

tessa.schmidt@dpi.wi.gov

Wisconsin Resources YSS blog COVID-19 series:

• WI Annual Report Summer Programming Update  7/8/20
• Data Collection for Virtual Programs 3/17/20
• More Info on Data Collection for Virtual Programs 3/19/20

Friday FAQs with Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

• 4/10/20 recording      
• 4/17/20 recording          
• 4/24/20 recording       
• 5/1/20 recording        
• 5/8/20 recording
• 5/15/20 recording     
• 5/22/20 recording
• 5/29/20 recording
• 6/5/20 recording
• 6/11/20 recording
• 6/19/20 recording
• 6/26/20 recording
• 7/10/20 recording
• 7/17/20 recording
• 7/31/20 recording
• 8/14/20 recording
• 9/11/20 recording
• 10/9/20 recording
• 11/13/20 recording
• 12/11/20 recording