Rationale and Uses - Canadian Association of Research Libraries

Introduction

Dashboards can be a powerful, impressive, and effective way to collect, convey, and publish relevant information about your academic library. They can help an academic library to establish its importance in the institution’s strategic goals, to demonstrate its value, to tell its story. Depending on your circumstances, they are well worth the investment of staff time and budget.

Factors impacting the rationale and uses of data visualization and dashboards:

Why do you need data visualization/dashboards?
Who is your audience?
What are you trying to convey via data visualization/dashboards?
What data do you need to collect?
What is the best format to use?
How much money/time will be invested?

Factors to Consider

Why do you need data visualization/dashboards?	Who is your audience?
Internal assessment and development External communication (e.g., demonstration of value, show strategic alignment with institutional goals, distribution of statistics and information)	Internal (e.g., library administration, librarians, other library staff) External / Institutional (e.g., institution administration, faculty and other teaching staff, students) External / Public (e.g., government officials and employees, journalists, members of the public)
What are you trying to convey via data visualization/dashboards?	What data could be collected?
Basic data for public bookkeeping, access to information, or general interest Change over time (e.g, qualitative or quantitative) Promotion of library, collections, services, etc. Value of the library [e.g., contribution to research, contribution to teaching, non-academic value (safe space for students, social gathering place, venue for events, etc.)]	See the “Data Sources and Collection” tab for more details Quantitative (e.g., gate counts, circulation numbers, contact hours, reference statistics, instruction rates, etc.) Qualitative (e.g., survey results, comments and feedback, etc.)
What is the best format to use?	How much money/time will be invested?
See the “Best Practices” tab for more details Consider your purpose, audience, and intended message Aim for simple, direct, and uncluttered data visualization/dashboards	See the “Tools and Technology” tab for information on the monetary and skill investments required for different data visualization/dashboards software

Uses of Data Visualization and Dashboards

Public website	Promotional material
Example: Dalhousie Library Library Assessment: Library Data and Fast Facts Available to all audiences Assessment, demonstration of value, library promotion	Posters and brochures Available to all public, or targeted (e.g. to students, to a specific Faculty or department, etc.) Promote library services, programs, collections, etc.
Research and publication	Presentations to institutional administrators
Use of images by librarians or library administrators as part of research for conference papers and publications Show basic data, change over time, etc., in the context of a research project involving the relevant data being represented Also promotes librarians as academic researchers	Images in electronic (e.g. PowerPoint, .pdf) or printed (e.g. brochure, handout) formats For budget presentations For assessment and unit reviews Demonstrate value, alignment with institutional goals/strategy, present basic information needed for decisions
Internal (locked) website
Available to librarians and library staff; may be made available to other institutional staff Assessment, information

Introduction

Factors to Consider

Uses of Data Visualization and Dashboards

Further Reading