From Observation Fatigue to Purposeful Reporting
Amy Holcomb, the learning experiences manager at Skokie Public Library, oversees the management of three spaces and up to 20 staff members. With a youth space that changes activities weekly, and a studio with numerous pieces of high tech equipment, it’s a lot to keep track of.
Initially, Amy intended to use the Observation Deck as a means of shift reporting. A space for her team to record qualitative outcomes of the space, rather than just quantitative numbers of how many people spent how much time. But the initial test was not promising.
After a week of completing observations each shift, her team was already experiencing data fatigue. Summary responses were coming in blank or with rote information like “good shift,” “engaged with several patrons.” And managing so many busy, part-time staff in 3 different spaces meant dramatically varying quality in observation notes.
However, there were glimmers of excitement. When staff had particularly wonderful interactions or stories to share, they now had a place to record them, tag them and share them. Before, their main means of doing so was a running Slack channel.
Amy decided to change course. One of Skokie Public Library’s strengths is its dedication to community engagement and well defined, timely, strategic plans.
Their reporting structure in relation to that process is robust, with quarterly reports directly tied to goals. However, the reports center almost entirely on quantitative data and would benefit from a more human centered approach.
In January they reported:
In conjunction with the exhibit by the Chicago Weaving School. “Weaving Workshop: Make Your Own Wall Hanging,” was one of the most well attended hands-on programs since prepandemic times.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to connect stronger observable learning outcomes to a successful program? To highlight not only that it was well attended, but what participants took away from the experience?
Amy shifted her plans. Rather than an “every shift” reporting schedule, Skokie would move to a cycle of observations 1-2 days a month to seed the highlights in their board reports. Done regularly, this would allow for a stronger Year-End review of the outcomes from each space.
But always available as a space for staff members or Amy to record powerful stories or anecdotes and moments when they arose - getting them off that Slack channel and into an organized, sortable system.
Skokie’s Director of Public Services, Amy Koester, expressed the value of including stories and outcomes from Observation Desk in regular reports:
It’s incredibly important that we can tell the stories of the value and impact of our work with and for the Skokie community. Being able to include not only quantitative usage data but also qualitative stories of the types of experiences that take place in our spaces–and from the perspectives of each of our excellent staff–means that the stories we tell to our Board of Directors and our community give a full-color picture of the vitality of experiential learning for all ages in our library and the village at large.